I really try to be nice and give an article by Sebastian Marshall a fair chance when it crops up on HN.<p>But every single time, I'm disappointed. There is little to no editing, no digestion process that I can detect that would turn what I find to be haphazard notes into an actual product of a writer. I see that he really, really cares about saying something - apparently, though, not so much about being understood. The content of these articles is at best something that somebody else somewhere has already said better and more succinct. At worst, it's meaningless drivel that could just as well be the work of the postmodernism generator[1].<p>After a while, the words blend together and I remain astonished how others find meaning in his writing. Maybe they need to supply it themselves?<p>Can anybody point me to something even moderately tangible that Sebastian Marshall has actually done?<p>And yes, I know he has published a book. A book that seems to be about how he's a guy who is crazy and does things. But I have yet to see what those things <i>actually are</i>, besides talking about doing things. The level at which you apparently can never actually learn what he <i>does</i> is maddening to me.<p>[1]<a href="http://www.elsewhere.org/pomo/" rel="nofollow">http://www.elsewhere.org/pomo/</a>
Is this post inspired or insipid? Neither, really but the message is worth noting; one can get a lot done by working full on, on one task, for hours, success feeds on itself and feels good, and the easiest way to get into this zone is a big opportunity combined with a hard deadline.