For what itâs worth, I was barely able to do CS homework, but worked pretty successfully as a programmer for about a decade and still occasionally code for fun. Some (all?) universities have a remarkable ability to make the most interesting subjects monotonous, and I would be cautious in going from âI donât want to read a CS textbookâ to âCS is not for meâ. (If you are directly reading AI safety research, and you have enough of the background to understand it yet still are bored by it, that seems like a stronger signal to me.)
Thanks! I hadnât read that post, and itâs definitely related to what Iâm thinking about.
I donât have any real experience with AI research, so I wonât claim to know how interesting I would find that in particular. The thing that concerns me most is that as a kid I really enjoyed programmingâand reading programming booksâin a way I donât anymore, even when I do it for fun.
I have a tough time getting immersed in it now. Itâs hard to tell whether thatâs from my interests shifting elsewhere, or me accumulating more responsibilities/âworries/âstressors, or if itâs just novelty wearing off.
You might be interested in the lottery of fascinations.
For what itâs worth, I was barely able to do CS homework, but worked pretty successfully as a programmer for about a decade and still occasionally code for fun. Some (all?) universities have a remarkable ability to make the most interesting subjects monotonous, and I would be cautious in going from âI donât want to read a CS textbookâ to âCS is not for meâ. (If you are directly reading AI safety research, and you have enough of the background to understand it yet still are bored by it, that seems like a stronger signal to me.)
Thanks! I hadnât read that post, and itâs definitely related to what Iâm thinking about.
I donât have any real experience with AI research, so I wonât claim to know how interesting I would find that in particular. The thing that concerns me most is that as a kid I really enjoyed programmingâand reading programming booksâin a way I donât anymore, even when I do it for fun.
I have a tough time getting immersed in it now. Itâs hard to tell whether thatâs from my interests shifting elsewhere, or me accumulating more responsibilities/âworries/âstressors, or if itâs just novelty wearing off.