I think similar mindsets of comparison cut across multiple domains, even creative ones.
As a prospective literary novelist, for many years, I was obsessed with the idea of debuting before 30 to critical acclaim. Naturally, I had a similar swathe of anecdotes to compare myself to.
In the end, I self-published my novel years after the fact, to much more humble results, but what I find particularly interesting about the craft of literary fiction is that, much like politics, it can take decades for a writer to develop into their prime.
It's a nice point of comparison to the hyperspeed of meritocratic competition we see in SV or tech more broadly (although perhaps AGI will eliminate the need for human novel-writers altogether one day!).
Great piece!
I think similar mindsets of comparison cut across multiple domains, even creative ones.
As a prospective literary novelist, for many years, I was obsessed with the idea of debuting before 30 to critical acclaim. Naturally, I had a similar swathe of anecdotes to compare myself to.
In the end, I self-published my novel years after the fact, to much more humble results, but what I find particularly interesting about the craft of literary fiction is that, much like politics, it can take decades for a writer to develop into their prime.
It's a nice point of comparison to the hyperspeed of meritocratic competition we see in SV or tech more broadly (although perhaps AGI will eliminate the need for human novel-writers altogether one day!).