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paulg's profile
Paul Graham
Paul Graham
Paul Graham
Verified account
@paulg

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Paul GrahamVerified account

@paulg

paulgraham.com
Joined August 2010

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    Paul Graham‏Verified account @paulg 20 Jan 2017

    In many fields, being optimistic makes you more likely to succeed. Are there fields where pessimism makes you more likely to succeed?

    5:04 AM - 20 Jan 2017
    • 69 Retweets
    • 224 Likes
    • NT EcoTP Matthew Willis @ 🇨🇭 Vlad Chitulescu Michael Carusi Francis Waithaka💙 Taka Umada Techito x si llueve Sacha Coppier
    191 replies 69 retweets 224 likes
      1. New conversation
      2. Ben Thompson‏Verified account @benthompson 20 Jan 2017
        Replying to @paulg

        life insurance sales

        4 replies 0 retweets 58 likes
      3. Paul Graham‏Verified account @paulg 20 Jan 2017
        Replying to @benthompson

        Surely you don't have to be pessimistic, but rather have to convince other people to be.

        3 replies 0 retweets 13 likes
      4. MEL‏ @liebo7 20 Jan 2017
        Replying to @paulg @benthompson

        actuary; optimism will get you fired

        2 replies 0 retweets 6 likes
      5. Ben Thompson‏Verified account @benthompson 20 Jan 2017
        Replying to @liebo7 @paulg

        but so will pessimism!

        1 reply 0 retweets 1 like
      6. MEL‏ @liebo7 20 Jan 2017
        Replying to @benthompson @paulg

        this is true tho would imagine a pessimistic actuary has higher survival odds than an optimistic one

        1 reply 0 retweets 3 likes
      7. MEL‏ @liebo7 20 Jan 2017
        Replying to @liebo7 @benthompson @paulg

        there is probably an actuary table for that 😉

        1 reply 0 retweets 8 likes
      8. Ben Thompson‏Verified account @benthompson 20 Jan 2017
        Replying to @liebo7

        haha 😂

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
      9. End of conversation
      1. New conversation
      2. Jabe Bloom‏ @cyetain 20 Jan 2017
        Replying to @paulg

        I wonder abt the relationship between asymmetric payoffs, risk affinity and survivor bias. Maybe optimism only appears advantageous?

        1 reply 0 retweets 3 likes
      3. Paul Graham‏Verified account @paulg 20 Jan 2017
        Replying to @cyetain

        I have hundreds if not thousands of data points just in my own life, so I don't think it's just survivor bias.

        1 reply 0 retweets 2 likes
      4. 1 more reply
      1. James 'Crypto Listing Fees' Clark  🎃 😱 🤦🏼‍♂️‏ @mr_james_c 20 Jan 2017
        Replying to @paulg

        Legal profession. Good lawyers are professional pessimists - always considering what can go wrong and mitigation.

        0 replies 1 retweet 23 likes
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      1. Sam Beran‏ @samberan 20 Jan 2017
        Replying to @paulg

        honestly? Software. Overly optimistic tech choices lead to failed products.

        0 replies 1 retweet 8 likes
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      1. New conversation
      2. Garry BUIDL Tan‏Verified account @garrytan 20 Jan 2017
        Replying to @paulg

        antiterrorism and most law enforcement, I suppose.

        4 replies 0 retweets 11 likes
      3. Shakeel Rashed‏ @Shakeelr 20 Jan 2017
        Replying to @garrytan @paulg

        Reminds me of "Only the Paranoid Survive" by Andy Grove

        0 replies 0 retweets 2 likes
      4. End of conversation
      1. Jonathan Libov‏ @libovness 20 Jan 2017
        Replying to @paulg

        Gambling

        0 replies 0 retweets 14 likes
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      1. Hasan M‏ @Hasmanean 20 Jan 2017
        Replying to @paulg

        QA and testing.

        0 replies 0 retweets 11 likes
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      1. Satyen V Kothari‏ @saty_77 20 Jan 2017
        Replying to @paulg

        Security related jobs - both cyber and physical

        0 replies 0 retweets 8 likes
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      1. Alberto Escarlate  🚌‏ @cacheop 20 Jan 2017
        Replying to @paulg

        running for president?

        0 replies 0 retweets 9 likes
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      1. Hannes Hesse‏ @thetable 20 Jan 2017
        Replying to @paulg

        Comedy.

        0 replies 0 retweets 10 likes
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      1. Eric Sink‏ @eric_sink 20 Jan 2017
        Replying to @paulg

        Actors who voice the Eeyore character from Winnie the Pooh

        0 replies 0 retweets 3 likes
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