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Comment by 1vuio0pswjnm7 | Hacker News Reader

"And it can blind us to the joy that can be found in mediocrity."

Is this a joke,

No? Being a mediocre hiker is perfectly adequate for a joyful day out with friends. Being a mediocre cook is sufficient for adding joy to your meals. Being a mediocre singer is enough to be a joyful and contributing member of a church choir.

Thinking expertise is required to enjoy things definitely can blind you to the joy that can be found in mediocrity.

It's ok as long as it's not an excuse to not put in the work. It's very often used as an excuse to not even try. Nobody wants to be mediocre, just like nobody wants to be fat, but plenty of people will tell you they're perfectly happy in both of these scenarios.

It's like most things in life, people don't care if you're mediocre or an expert, just don't brag about either

> It's ok as long as it's not an excuse to not put in the work.

Hmm? I'm perfectly happy with my hiking performance that is usually about 30% slower than the estimated time for the marked trails i do. I see no reason to improve it because I don't make a living out of hiking.

Not all parts of your life have to be ultracompetitive.

We probably don't have the same definition of mediocrity then, the way I look at it is that if you go for a hike you're already in the top 25% which puts you way way way out of mediocrity. Most people haven't done anything more straining than walking up a couple of flights of stairs in their last 5 years

Again, nobody in the entire world prays for a mediocre life, a mediocre health, a mediocre salary, a mediocre partner. If you could put in the same amount of effort and get better results you'd accept on the spot. There is joy in things, no matter how good you are at them, but being mediocre at something certainly doesn't bring more than being average or good at it.

> We probably don't have the same definition of mediocrity then

For a hiker, I'm worse than average :) Since the estimates in our mountain guides are 'for the average person'. Of course I'm better than someone who just walks to/from the car.

As anecdata I'm pretty sure I did a 3 hour estimate hike up a mountain in 1.5 to 2 hours when I was 19, enthusiastic and in top shape. So they really are averages.

> Again, nobody in the entire world prays for a mediocre life, a mediocre health, a mediocre salary, a mediocre partner.

There are plenty of people for whom mediocrity would be a big step up. If you have terrible health, having mediocre health sounds delightful. If your partner is abusive, having a mediocre one looks like a grace.

Your sample selection for "the entire world" seems to be leaving a lot of people out.

Nobody's saying you ought to hope for mediocrity. But plenty of people do.

In fact, for most things that aren't important to me, mediocrity is the level I hope to attain. Sure, I could probably achieve higher, but if it's something I don't value, putting in that additional effort would be at the cost of something I value more. If my achievement drops below mediocre, it's usually bad enough to cause problems, so mediocrity is my "not very good, but not bad enough to be a problem" level goal for things that don't matter to me.

It's ok as long as it's not an excuse to not put in the work

After a point, it isn't about 'putting in the work'. If you are a mediocre cook, that's good enough. No need to put in any more work than that. You'll enjoy your food well enough and be able to feed yourself and your family healthy meals.

There is a lot to be said about something being good enough and not put any more effort in. This does include things like jobs: It doesn't matter much if you excel at mopping a store nor put the work in to be better: All anyone needs is good enough and effort is better used elsewhere.

And I'll brag if I want to. I generally don't, but I'm not going to say I suck at (hobby) when I don't believe it either. Society does not benefit by understating abilities.

Good enough isn't mediocre though, mediocre is lower than that. Mediocre is, by definition, insufficient, unsatisfactory, &c. Mediocre is what you use when something is about average but you expected better, you cannot simultaneously expect better and be content.

Mediocre is "just good enough not to be so bad it causes problems." And for the many, many things in my life that are not important to me, "bad, but not so bad it causes problems" is, in fact, "good enough."

Plenty of people are okay with being fat. It's society constantly telling them "you shouldn't be fat!!!!" that complicates this.

> Nobody wants to be mediocre

I do. At least in some areas of my life. Maybe the issue is in the loaded word “mediocre.” It has a very judgemental connotation, whereas “good enough” is an assessment of satisfaction with one’s level of attainment. Professionally, I’ll never be satisfied with a given level of knowledge and ability; but in other realms, mediocre (good enough) is perfectly fine. In the kitchen, I’m mediocre. And I don’t try. I can’t imagine a life where every pursuit had to be pursued with equal striving toward expert status.

> Nobody wants to be mediocre

Wanting to be mediocre and enjoying being mediocre are different. League of Legend players want to be amazing. I don't think it makes them enjoy the game.

I feel like wanting to enjoying yourself and wanting to win competitions are two completely different drives that are even antagonistic.

I think this can actually be a very good idea - this is a thing often discussed in rock climbing, where for most people, no matter how hard and long you train, there will simply always be someone (most likely a 13yr old child) that is just incomprehensibly better than you. So I am glad that I find profound joy in my climbing and trying the hardest I can, while still knowing that globally I will probably always be mediocre at best.

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