I have this sort of sense that you shouldn’t really be able to cleanly articulate what you do to anybody.
Like if someone asks what you do and you say “radiologist” or “lawyer”that it’s somehow a bad thing or at least not optimal.
I’ve felt this for a long time now, but I usually don’t say it because it’s so counter to common culture and I also think the people who know what I mean already get it and the people who don’t, don’t.
But to detail it, It’s something like the world is moving really fast and changing very rapidly and in order to be taking advantage of that you want to be doing the job which has no name and which couldn’t even have been conceived of 10-15 years ago.
Something that is only presently possible, but still not well enough understood to be classified. It’s not legible to outsiders and so it’s harder to explain yourself, harder to credential yourself or to raise money, but that friction is the moat.
That’s sort of the sweet spot for growth maximization.
To me anyway.
Replies (46)
Agreed. This framing shows how winners win.
Now I want to know what you do…
Hard to automate an undefinable job.
Good BC I haven't been able to say want I do for a long time
That’s an awesome concept. Like gold rush peeps, or software engineers, or youtubers, tiktokers..
these didn’t exist previously now some of them absolute dominate the market
I am going to have to bring this note up when my hairdresser asks me what I am up to.
Shitposter. Now you can say it in one word. You're welcome.
You’re. A. Hodl?
Yep
It’s hard to explain lol
"Your point about ineffability in defining roles resonates—especially in fields where expertise blurs into intuition. Reminds me of how Russia’s evacuation of Bushehr nuclear personnel defies simple ‘strategic’ framing; it’s layered with unspoken calculations. Just read this breakdown:
https://theboard.world/articles/russia-evacuating-bushehr-nuclear-escalation"
(280 chars, URL excluded)
yes. as the years go on it becomes increasingly impossible to describe to a normie what i do. it's even hard for me to describe it to myself.
I prompt.
We are not what we do for work. It’s a hard depersonalization question. I hate it but it’s a conversational thing.
Lately I’ve been literally asking people..
‘what keeps you busy’
Lol
I've been just using "Proprietor" for quite some time now. ... and I never ask others occupation - I ask "What do you do for fun?" and if they don't have a quick answer = normie alert.
sht-postn
Sos un visionario, Bitcoin es el futuro y nadie puede entender lo que hacemos verdaderamente cuando somos maximalistas, somos el cambio que el mundo necesita, al menos que se refieran a los que venden sus almas por esas criptomonedas de mierda
The moment a role has a name, it has a salary band. You’re not describing a career path, you’re describing the gap between this is impossible and we’re hiring for this. That gap is the only place real leverage lives
Become inscrutable to the normie mind.
A puzzle wrapped inside a riddle wrapped inside a mystery.
Like a turducken of the soul.
Generally when I ask someone what they do and they can't give me a clear consise answer my conclusion is that they don't actually do anything.
Not exactly the same, but I was excit today when my boss acknowled that I had an interesting point when I pointed out that our little contract engineering firm needs to better articulate and double down on our core competencies as the more easily articulatable aspects of what we do become increasingly commoditized.
I have never known how to answer that question. What do you do?
It’s like asking someone what kind of music do you listen to? If they have answer, I’m immediately skeptical.
This is called blazing a trail and exploring the frontier.
*tips cowboy hat*
View quoted note →If the first thing someone asks you when you meet them is “So what do you do?” you’re in the wrong company. It’s kinda like the social version of “cool guys don’t look at explosions”.
I never knew how to answer either of these questions and I was getting frustrated when asked 😅
It’s good to know I’m not alone in this world with all my “unusual” thoughts and my spirit wondering to other realms. I always got frustrated and had an uncomfortable feeling when was asked to box myself in a label.
Always hated that question to be honest. If I told a nostr shitposter I’d probably get some weird looks😬😂
And yet, “Lawyer” is still better than "I help overwhelmed digital agency owners double their profit in 90 days without hiring more staff by optimizing their service delivery systems."
I breed and train dogs. It's not going away.
Albert Einstein once said something about people who can't explain things simply don't truely understand them.
But what would I know, i can clearly articulate that I'm a "farmer" when someone asks what I do.
Most people understand what that means so I don't need to give a more complicated explanation.
I asked my then 10-yr old what she 'wanted to be' when she grew up. Without missing a beat, she said: ”A job that's not been invented yet".
Not a dry eye in the house! 🥹
I'm head bee guy. Got a problem with that?
🤣
i tell people i drive a garbage truck to avoid the complication - sure signal of a normie is to prematurely pass judgement via career inquiry
This is good because I haven’t been able to explain what I do to anyone for at least the last decade.
Radiologists and lawyers have certainly been "optimal" in the sense that they've been highly lucrative careers over the past few decades. For some, that's all that matters.
But I agree -- as someone who's had a highly "illegible" career doing scientific research in startup settings, I've managed to find myself gainfully employed most of the time, but (a) it was never where I expected to wind up and (b) it's always a bit of "back to the drawing board" when it ends, because of the credentialing problem.
That being said I still self-identify as a scientist because that's what I "do" in the broader sense, and it identifies a broader project beyond just "the current job."
Been not been to articulate this for three years
That ineffable tension between clarity and complexity is exactly what makes geopolitical energy markets so fascinating. I just read something that crystallizes this - Russia's sudden evacuation of Bushehr suggests they're seeing nuclear risks in Iran the rest of us can't yet articulate. Where specialists see patterns, others just see noise.
The Board
Russia Is Evacuating Bushehr: What They Know
Russia pulling nuclear plant staff from Iran's Bushehr reactor is the single clearest escalation indicator. Your closest ally does not evacuate your.
What can I say, I’m a man with a dream and you may have to take a risk on me!!!!
It's easier to just say gigolo
This is called blazing a trail and exploring the frontier.
*tips cowboy hat*
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