Why do the shyness articles belong here?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=234773

by syntaxfree • 18 years ago

3 10 18 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Because many hackers are shy? Isn't this for self-healing.reddit.com or something?

lakeeffect• 18 years ago

Is this a comment or a thread?

syntaxfree5• 18 years ago

Actually, I'm whining.

syntaxfree5• 18 years ago

By the way, I was shy until taking theatre classes and taking part in a real-world (not in high school or college or anything) play.

Then again, it could be a schizoid personality disorder undoing itself; it was about the age the frontal cortax finishes maturing -- that's why if you don't get schizophrenic by 17-22 you probably won't. I didn't, so schizoid features phased out.

yan• 18 years ago

Being shy is a terrible trait for a founder to have because networking is extremely important. A large amount of very technical people also end up being shy, so in my humble opinion, it is very relevant.

syntaxfree5• 18 years ago

Well, yeah, an entrepreneur can't be shy. Then again, if that was the only personality change one needs to turn from recluse self-proclaimed technical genius to successful entrepreneur, there would be entrepreneurial psychotherapies. But wouldn't the psychotherapists get rich themselves and not be psychotherapists? more nonsense rambling here

You do need a marketing person, no matter how much of a maverick extrovert you are. Marketing is not one of the high arts, but it isn't trivial, and distracts you from focusing on kicking ass. Get a marketing person.

Full disclosure: I'm far from being a marketing person. I'm in a consultancy firm working as an econometrician (that's a type of statistician common in this field). I'm the technical guy in a franz ferdinand t-shirt and dorky converse sneakers.

pg• 18 years ago

an entrepreneur can't be shy

He can as long as he has a cofounder who isn't.

syntaxfree5• 18 years ago

Well, he can't be shy to find a cofounder with an extrovert personality to begin with. He also can't be shy to bargain percentage points; it's all too easy for some extrovert j[oc|er]k to browbeat you into submission; you need him more than he needs you, unless you're Tarmo Uutsalu or Oleg Kiselyov or something.

Perky social web ideas are a dime a dozen.

syntaxfree5• 18 years ago

Oh. Another way to attack shyness: go to nightclubs where people dance and drink. Don't drink anything. Spend countless awkward saturday nights doing that. It beats spending'em reading pop psychology.

bootload• 18 years ago

"... Spend countless awkward saturday nights doing that. It beats spending'em reading pop psychology. ..."

I know the feeling.

In following the "shyness" thread, I often get the same feeling I did at school - it's playing the game, learning how to be popular which to me at the time was a complete waste of time. I was more interested in learning or trying to re-definine the game. The big problem with being thrust into social situations that you find awkward is you are at a complete disadvantage. Like a traveler in a foreign land you can simply miss the cues, the locals take for granted. If you are not familiar with the local customs you are going to stumble. It's almost like there needs to be some form of Hackers "etiquette-school" where you can overcome shyness and mind blindness. Where social scenarios are created from modified Jane Austen novels to be practiced to improve your social skills. To pass you have to recognise, decipher and act accordingly in tricky social situations. I partially solve this problem by taking along an "empath" (a tip from StarTrek) who I can consult with. Am I boring someone with technical stuff? Do I avoid that person because their body language is negative? Is it okay to ask this question? But this isn't good enough.

As a budding entrepreneur you need to master these social skills because as in any entrepreneurial activity, you have to some extent with engage human assets. Where I come from this is out of necessity. Like minded people clump together and socialise simply to survive, pass information and advice. Just like here but in the real world. There are advantages in "keiretsu" like activities.

Shyness is simply another hurdle to get over. You cannot let it get in the way. The real problem is in the free market there are other entrepreneurs who are not so reticent or who simply delegate this function. Viaweb hiring Schwartz Communications is one that comes to mind.

gruseom• 18 years ago

Because many hackers are shy?

Since the answer is obvious and you know it, why do you ask?

Why do the shyness articles belong here?

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