[1031] in Discussion of MIT-community interests
Desire for accomplishment, was: Loss, law suits,
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Kenneth Lu)
Fri Feb 1 15:25:48 2002
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Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2002 15:24:14 -0500
From: Kenneth Lu <kenlu@MIT.EDU>
To: MIT-Talk@MIT.EDU
In-Reply-To: <200202011536.g11FaRf14235@loon.lcs.mit.edu>
At 10:36 -0500 2/1/02, Victor Luchangco wrote:
>One particular issue we must address is the desire for excellence. I
>don't think any of us wants MIT to settle for mediocrity.
This is something that is definitely exacerbated by the MIT
environment. I've found that when I've been at an internship out
there in the Real World, I've felt smart and accomplished and
desired... But once I come back here, I feel stupid and mediocre and
worthless again. As a Course VIer, I know that in my low moments, I
tend to look at the Ph.D. students, the SIPB people, whatnot, and
feel that my skills will never approach there.. It even sometimes
makes me doubt that I'm in the right field.. But it's all an
illusion...
Yes, I agree with Victor that lack of accomplishment wouldn't mean
that you're worthless, that our lives have meaning and value even if
we don't found the next Akamai or whatnot... but I also think that
accomplishment DOES mean SOMETHING. If it were totally meaningless,
we wouldn't be at MIT. We just need to realized that we all ARE
quite accomplished already, and we don't need to push ourselves to
the breaking point.
I'm not sure what can be done about this problem. I think
internships have definitely helped me to put things in perspective,
but that hasn't a cure-all.
I'm a big proponent of communication, and I agree that opening lines
of communication among students and between students and the
administration is important.. Talking to others with the same
problem helps you realized that you're not alone. But how do we go
about doing that? I mean, "getting people to communicate more" is
pretty much the epitome of easier said than done..
-ToastyKen
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| Kenneth Lu - kenlu@mit.edu - http://www.mit.edu/~kenlu/ |
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| "Life is far too important to be taken seriously." |
| |
| -- Oscar Wilde |
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