OSDev.org

Has anyone ever tried to give information to people and they ignore you. I have alot of people at my highschool who want to know things about computers, but look at me like i dont know anything at all. When im sitting here, programming, and atm working on self teaching Opengl 3.1 for my hobby and child dream to come true. I guess because of who i am, makes everyone think im an idiot? Does anyone else ever get this feeling. I rely on being an owner of a software company in my future with college degrees in buisness management and Software development in graphics design with opengl or direct x to prove people wrong and show everyone im not just some kid who says ****, and never does it tho. Im not some poser. Im sure someone else has had this problem...

Assuming that you're not actually incompetent, you must simply be doing something that makes people think that you are. For example, (not trying to take a cheap shot here,) proper capitalization and punctuation can really help you command respect on the Internet, and their absence can detract from even the most logical argument. See if you can isolate any problems like that when talking to people or trying to show them that you can program well.

Of course, if you are actually incompetent (and therefore somewhat delusional), it would be best to acknowledge it so that you can redirect your energy from thinking you're great to becoming great. From personal experience, I can tell you that this sort of thing can actually happen without you knowing it, and equally that it is critical to diagnose and fix it early.

I agree with NickJohnson but I will also add a few points of my own, with the "tl;dr" highlighted in bold :

• You don't always need to "prove them wrong" - it rarely works anyway if they've already made their mind up. And you'll be back in the cycle of needing to prove them wrong...
• Where do you want to be in 5, 10, 15 years time? Where do they want to be? Work towards your dreams and goals and don't let anyone turn you from that path.
• Develop your skills and abilities. Do research into the areas you have a passion for. Adopt a hobby that doesn't involve computers! Engage in some sort of sport that you enjoy. Develop your mastery of the English language alongside your native language. All of these will improve your social capacity (and probably also find you a few friends with similar interests that won't cut you down all the time); this can also create a solid foundation for your future.

All that said, keep in mind that you need to be open to constructive criticism when it comes. Constructive criticism is how you build your abilities as a programmer/artist/musician/whatever, and you'd be crazy not to acknowledge it. Listen and learn from those with more knowledge and experience than you.

Ok.

Thanks alot, its just i wish people would come to me, instead of "wow, im programming, i must be the smartest guy here" and when i start talking about this field, they automatically assume i know nothing and im just pulling random **** out of my head, when really they are and have done 1% of what ive completed and that i have and am currently capable then what they have done so far, and probably ever will do.
Its not a competition, i just want people to see that i am what i think i am, and if not im will get there.

I will try and use better Grammar and punctuation on here though, my "just type it and hope they will understand" english is proving my intellect Falsely. Thanks for the help

@pcmattman: I do alot of self teaching. Everything ive done in computers, C++, assembly, osdevelopment, OpenGL, Computer and game concepts, along with some help, ive all self taught. No i dont mean to brag, im sure many if not, all have done this. I just wish people would understand my dedication and how much of a future i want this to be for me. But what i hate the most is when people who dont know as much as i do, and i know they dont, try and tell me about things i already know. For some reason it offends me, but i put in weeks to months of self teaching to know a subject, to have someone come tell me "Do you even know how to make a rendering context" It makes me feel like im the person who says "Yea i know that" and really, is just lieing.

Your problem is that you care too much about what others think, well, that's one of your problems.

Dunning Kruger Effect

I think you might be affected by the Dunning Kruger Effect. Either it is you that is incompetent, or the people around you that make you feel incompetent. I'm gonna guess it's probably the people around you.

tylerh: Had a feeling it was.

Hi,

There's 2 things I've noticed..

First, anyone who thinks they know everything about computers is a moron. If you look at everything from the physics (e.g. properties of silicon at the sub-atomic scale) all the way up to "How do I do <foo> in an application called <bar>", then it'd probably take you a few years just to learn what changed in a month. There's a very good reason why I.T. is a field of specialists.

Second, most people really don't care about most things. For example, if you start trying to explain how to implement lockless linked lists to a web developer, they might be polite and nod their head at appropriate times for the first few minutes, but any more than that and their eyes will glaze over while they try to think of an excuse to get away from you. This can be frustrating in "real life" (as opposed to the internet, etc), because the chance of finding anyone that actually does care about things like low level system programming is almost zero (especially at a high school).

Basically, if people think you're just a kid that says ****, then stop saying ****. They probably don't care and probably don't want to listen anyway. After a while they'll start to forget and you'll become "just a kid" (the same as everyone else at high school). Later in life you can look forward to becoming "just an old man" rather than "just an old man that says ****".

Also, a person's goals tend to change every few years. At the moment your goals might be to become the owner of a software company with college degrees in business management and software development. In 5 years time your goal might be to get a house loan paid. 5 years after that your goal might be to get a house loan paid (but more serious). 5 years after that your goals might be to get a house loan and a car loan paid. 5 years after that your goal might be to find the cash to pay for a decent education for your kids (and to get that house loan paid one day). Maybe you might enrol in college for the first time when you're 50 (after you actually do manage to get that house loan paid because your kids have left home, and can afford to leave your job as a gardener).


Cheers,

Brendan

Brendan wrote:Basically, if people think you're just a kid that says ****, then stop saying ****. They probably don't care and probably don't want to listen anyway. After a while they'll start to forget and you'll become "just a kid" (the same as everyone else at high school). Later in life you can look forward to becoming "just an old man" rather than "just an old man that says ****".

Word.

I'm glad that people ignore me. It just means that there's less for me to put up with.

GhostXoPCorp wrote:...No i dont mean to brag...

That may be exactly where you problem lies.

Lot's of people don't mean to brag, but do so anyway, unintentionally I'm sure.

Lot's of people say they don't mean to brag, while the reality is a whole lot different.

Lot's of people don't have anything to brag about, but do so anyway

And so on an so forth.


The key point here not being if bragging is a good or bad thing, but dishonesty is always a bad thing and people always notice one way or another.

So whatever your talents, whatever you say, do or don't do, be honest about it. People will notice if you're not and it will alienate you.


I'm not saying that this is the problem, but I did notice a certain structure to your post that could suggest it and I do talk from experience.


Also, this is neither good or bad. We are who be are. Some need to brag, some need to go unnoticed and some like cats. That's just how it is, but if you're honest about it, you'll soon know who your real friends are.

The key point here not being if bragging is a good or bad thing, but dishonesty is always a bad thing and people always notice one way or another.

Not one dishonest thing in there. I understand your point though.

Just a word of advice: do what I do. When somebody gets on my nerves, or gets in my way, or makes me feel inadequate, I just think to myself:

smeg you. I've done more in a month than you have in your life. And, sooner or later, I'll stroll into maccy D's, with my wife and kids, after just coming back from Holland on a business trip, and I'll see you there. Mopping floors.

Nothing more to it. They don't matter. Do what you want to do. Take a step back. You're doing operating system development. That proves how clever you really are. If you survive long enough to become self hosting, it will be obvious: you're a lot smarter than they are. You will win out. I know, the Wiki says that OsDev won't land you a job, but I beg to differ. If you were an employer, and you received my CV, saying, "I am developing my own operating system in my free time, please find enclosed a CD containing a bootable installer to see for yourself," would you not want to employ me. Right now, you're clever enough, just go wherever you want to go. Ignore anyone who gets in your way. They're wasting your time. Don't get yourself heat up about it. A philosophy my father always taught me: don't get mad, or stressed, or depressed. Its just wasted energy.

death2all wrote:You're doing operating system development. That proves how clever you really are. If you survive long enough to become self hosting, it will be obvious: you're a lot smarter than they are. You will win out. I know, the Wiki says that OsDev won't land you a job, but I beg to differ. If you were an employer, and you received my CV, saying, "I am developing my own operating system in my free time, please find enclosed a CD containing a bootable installer to see for yourself," would you not want to employ me.

You're walking a thin line there. No, none of the three major companies I've worked for so far would have hired you on basis of that OS boot CD, because working as a software engineer is much more than that. It's about working with others, working in environments you do not enjoy, working under all kinds of restrictions and still working efficiently. It's also about social skills, and what you're displaying in this post is borderline.

Not saying that you should change yourself, but I don't want to let this stand as "generally good advice". Being able to temper yourself is just as important as knowing your value.

The truth, as always, is in the middle road.

While it's true that having done some OS development certainly isn't enough, my expierence is that interviewers are actually very interested in this kind of things, so avoid getting into the other extreme. Don't be shy to mention what you've done. At first I wanted to keep quiet about it because I didn't feel like I achieved something special and maybe they would call my crazy, but I was careless enough that during one interview they came to ask me about it and they found it really cool. Today it's part of my CV and I think it belongs there as one piece besides the usual other ones.

Though my experience might not apply to other companies, who knows.