[HN Gopher] Bill Watterson Commencement Speech (1990)
___________________________________________________________________
Bill Watterson Commencement Speech (1990)
Author : cryingpotato
Score : 174 points
Date : 2023-12-24 05:47 UTC (17 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (web.mit.edu)
(TXT) w3m dump (web.mit.edu)
| cryingpotato wrote:
| A piece I read at least twice a year to understand how creative
| work is done - "Some thoughts on the real world by one who
| glimpsed it and fled"
| jraby3 wrote:
| https://web.mit.edu/jmorzins/www/C-H-speech.html
|
| To save a search for anyone that wants to read it.
| cryingpotato wrote:
| You should be able to click on the title to get to it, but
| thanks for posting here too!
| ramraj07 wrote:
| I don't know if I got anything very profound from it tbh - this
| sounds like just another commencement speech from someone who
| has very little in common with almost every person in their
| audience asking them to do something they would never do.
| Similar initially inspiring but later on making you question
| speeches include the ones from Neil Gaiman, Steve Jobs and
| Conan O'Brien.
|
| Honestly the most amazing speech is from David Foster Wallace.
| Some great wisdom that's not easily found elsewhere that
| applies to the common man instead of the exceptional creative.
| jebarker wrote:
| I disagree about Watterson's speech. It seems very actionable
| to me for the common man: define meaning in life for
| yourself, don't get stuck on the hedonic treadmill, think
| about what your values are and shape your life around them,
| etc
| cryingpotato wrote:
| Yeah I totally agree with this! The crux of the speech for
| me is "To invent your own life's meaning is not easy, but
| it's still allowed, and I think you'll be happier for the
| trouble."
| ramraj07 wrote:
| This is not very different from telling a depressed person
| to just cheer up and go for a walk imo.
|
| No one told Watterson to love cartooning and hate "work"
| the way he says it with disdain. He was just born that way.
|
| And he also turned out to be an exceptional artist. People
| with exceptional skills should refrain from telling others
| to follow their paths. It's disingenuous and not in the
| interest of the audience at all. Follow your passion will
| fail badly at you if you are bad at it.
| tracerbulletx wrote:
| This is a really negative outlook. The crux of the advice
| is to have a playful mind, and don't live a life of quiet
| desperation. This advice can apply to engineers, business
| people, and anyone else. It does not mean you have to be
| a cartoonist. In fact the reason I love programming is
| exactly the same as the reason he says he loves
| cartooning, because it allows us to play with ideas and
| learn new domains and problems and ways of thinking.
| Let's go exploring.
| jebarker wrote:
| I don't think he's just saying follow your passion. He's
| saying be true to your values (and figure out what those
| are). If your values are that hardwork is important or
| providing well for your family is the priority then you
| can be happy doing those things.
| thowawatp302 wrote:
| He's not telling them to follow his path. He's telling
| them to make sure the path they follow leaves them
| satisfied.
|
| I'm not particularly exceptional, and I give the same
| advice.
| gizzlon wrote:
| The way I read it, it's not about being exceptional (or
| not).
|
| More like not blindly following other people's definition
| of success.
|
| We all have choices to make. And most of us could, for
| example, choose a less prestigious job in order to have
| more time and energy for other stuff. Among other
| things..
| zerbinxx wrote:
| I agree on the DFW point. It's rare for a commencement speech
| to hit the nail on the head, it almost always lapses into
| this "do what you love" shtick that isn't really relatable
| for kids who studied business to pay off their incredibly
| large student loans - at that point, you love not being in
| debt
| cryingpotato wrote:
| I've always been conflicted about the DFW speech as a
| wonderful tool to think about how to live from a man who
| seemed to have led a pretty troubled life. I keep coming
| back to the speech for its content, but can't help but
| think of the man who gave it when I do.
| ramraj07 wrote:
| You can take the argument at its own merit. The a big
| chunk of the world walks their bride to the music of one
| of the most famous antisemites in history anyway!
| regurfvjtdf wrote:
| It's gotta be tough to write a more realistic speech for
| those folks though: "if you don't love business and making
| money you done fucked up. Even if you do? This was almost
| certainly a dumb idea."
| dang wrote:
| Related. I thought there were others but can't find them...
|
| _Bill Watterson 's Speech - Kenyon College, 1990_ -
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5587976 - April 2013 (58
| comments)
|
| _Bill Watterson Commencement Speech (1990)_ -
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3412165 - Dec 2011 (14
| comments)
| eiiot wrote:
| For those who want to learn more about Watterson, I read "Chasing
| Calvin and Hobbes" a few years ago and recently re-read it,
| really enjoying it both times. It's a more in-depth view of the
| strip and Watterson as a person.
| 3abiton wrote:
| I am not familiar with the story, what's your pitch for the
| book (without spoilers)?
| zooweemama wrote:
| That sounds interesting, could you share a link? I couldn't
| find anything obvious by Googling. Thanks!
| constantly wrote:
| I'm curious too. Nothing on Google, except this thread haha.
| naraic0o wrote:
| could it be "Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The
| Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and his Revolutionary
| Comic Strip"?
| qp11 wrote:
| Just watched the utter sewage that was Rebel Moon and was
| thinking someone needs to install Bill Watterson as content
| approver at Netflix asap, cause the amount of visuals to convey
| absolutely nothing is reaching new highs of mindlessness. Tools
| being used for no reason other than they exist.
|
| Its a sign there aren't enough Bill Wattersons in the room.
| wizerno wrote:
| On a tangential note, here's Calvin and Hobbes Search Engine -
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26119380
| pdm55 wrote:
| Links re Bill Watterson:
| http://timhulsizer.com/calvin/index.php/words/
| tempodox wrote:
| Link to a Calvin and Hobbes collection:
|
| https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1985/11/18
| quickthrower2 wrote:
| The ol' recurring dream! Freak me out too. And Randall I assume:
| https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/557:_Students
| paulorlando wrote:
| "my fondest memories of college are times like these, where
| things were done out of some inexplicable inner imperative,
| rather than because the work was demanded."
| voisin wrote:
| Sounds like the ideal which "unschooling" aims toward. Look for
| the child's inner imperative and give that the focus.
| cmsonger wrote:
| One of the smartest things I've done in recent years is to buy
| the complete Calvin and Hobbes and put it prominently on a table
| that I walk by daily.
|
| I turn a page a day...
|
| In the morning before I get coffee usually, though it's often too
| dark and I'll come back to read the two facing pages later.
| Depending on the day that means I'll read a Sunday strip and
| three daily strips or six daily strips. Once in a great while
| it's one Sunday strip and some custom art -- I presume from one
| of the books. Those days are a little disappointing but it's
| still one page turn a day.
|
| I'm re-reading Calvin and Hobbes at somewhere around 5x original
| speed but somewhere about 50x slower than if I were to sit down
| with it and turn pages willy nilly. I've been doing it about six
| months and I'm still in the first book of the three that comprise
| the complete set.
|
| It's a real added joy in my day and will be for some time. Some
| of the best money I've spent in a long long time.
| mysterydip wrote:
| They're right now working on shrinking the size, with the
| "portable compendium vol 1" out now with more on the way. I
| love the original books but they're a bit unwieldy for me to
| just pick up and browse, so I'm buying these as they come out.
| cmsonger wrote:
| The form factor is huge! In my case it works really well
| because I can read it standing up while looking down at the
| huge book.
|
| But that's a great edition to put out!
| iamwil wrote:
| Reminds me of the project where someone got a big eInk display
| to show the front page of every newspaper in the morning.
|
| Could be awesome to apply here to get a Calvin and Hobbes a day
| on the wall.
| cfr2023 wrote:
| You are doing what I have been planning to do all year. Looks
| like 2024 will be the year for me.
| dtgriscom wrote:
| I've had The Complete on a bookshelf, unread for a decade. And
| yesterday (!) I decided to start reading it, but man, is there
| a lot there. About 1500 pages, with each either a Sunday strip
| or three dailies.
|
| I like your idea a lot, but I'm wondering if leaving such an
| enormous book open to a page would break the binding. Any
| trouble with that?
| layer8 wrote:
| My personal opinion is that books are there to be used in the
| way one finds most convenient, not art sculptures to be kept
| pristine. If that breaks the binding, then so be it.
| cmsonger wrote:
| So far it has not broken the binding but then I didn't buy it
| as a collectors piece and if it does break the binding,
| that's OK with me.
|
| Not deriding book collecting. :) I've been there. I've just
| decided on this one that I don't care about the book. I care
| about the experience. I bought it to do this exact thing
| with.
| stevendaniels wrote:
| It is also great for kids.
|
| My oldest has read it multiple times, and my first grader has
| started reading it (struggling with all the big words). One of
| the longer lasting Christmas gifts I bought.
| shagie wrote:
| An excerpt of that speech as a cartoon done by Gavin Aung Than of
| Zen Pencils - http://www.zenpencils.com/comic/128-bill-watterson-
| a-cartoon... (published 2013 along with commentary)
|
| New Yorker's "Life after Calvin and Hobbes"
| https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/10/30/the-mysteries-...
|
| The Mysteries - by Bill Watterson, published October 10th, 2023
| https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Mysteries/Bill-Wa...
| programmertote wrote:
| Thanks for sharing the cartoon author's name. I have seen that
| before and didn't realize that Gavin is most likely a
| descendant from Burmese parent(s) -- his last name 'Aung Than'
| is distinctly Burmese. I immigrated to the US from Burma and it
| always brings me joy/pride when I see my fellow country people
| (or descendants of them) are doing something that contributes
| to the humanity/society. :)
| iancmceachern wrote:
| Thank you for sharing this. So beautiful.
| asah wrote:
| He buried the lede: "Drawing comic strips for five years without
| pay drove home the point that the fun of cartooning wasn't in the
| money; it was in the work."
|
| My advice is similar: don't do what you love, do what you can
| stand doing for 10 hours a day.
|
| When people ask about software development, I say: can you debug
| one line of code for 10 hours straight? if so, then you can be a
| software engineer.
|
| (actually, I've had to chase bugs for 3+ days straight, but I
| don't mention this lest it scare the kiddies...)
| dkqmduems wrote:
| 3+ days is standard for code in academia hahah.
| algeom wrote:
| Academic mathematician here. I've been stuck on something for
| the last 20 years.
| blast wrote:
| Can you tell us what it is?
| KRAKRISMOTT wrote:
| Prove this, and the Fields is yours.
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collatz_conjecture
| kwelstr wrote:
| I have discovered a truly remarkable proof of this
| theorem which this margin is too small to contain. ( ~
| [?]? deg)
| throwawaaarrgh wrote:
| There's nothing wrong with leading a life of quiet desperation.
| What's wrong is cheating yourself out of happiness by not being
| grateful for what you have. So you're one of the unwashed masses
| in the garage waiting for the clock. Does that mean you have to
| be unhappy? Not if you can be grateful for what that affords you
| in the rest of your life, not to mention grateful the work isn't
| worse. You can always choose to change things. But don't change
| just because you don't think you're happy enough.
| EternalUsenet wrote:
| This is a very profound piece of wisdom. There are times where
| I dwell on how I should have invested my money a decade ago and
| wish I made different choices before hitting my mid 30s. Yet I
| have a lot to be thankful for now, despite my mistakes.
| LiquidPolymer wrote:
| Don't beat yourself up. When i was in my mid-30's I had
| trouble wrapping my head around the fact that I had escaped
| the fate of every other member of my family: poverty,
| addiction, and early death. Compared to that, my investment
| decisions seem trivial.
| causal wrote:
| I don't think he meant to chide those who don't love their
| jobs. Quite the opposite, really: he encouraged us to ignore
| how unprofitable it is to play, and play anyway.
| tracerbulletx wrote:
| Just joining in the love fest for Calvin and Hobbes and Bill
| Watterson. Absolutely monumental work.
___________________________________________________________________
(page generated 2023-12-24 23:02 UTC)