korrents

humility

Why does humility matter? — the views on this, and who holds which

Knowing what you do not know: whether it makes you learn and decide better, or costs you the self-belief that gets things done.

FilterEveryone, all time30 from 19 people
Who Everyone DHDavid Heinemeier Hansson 7 AGAdam Grant 3 LRLisa Randall 2 MCMarty Cagan 2 SCSean Carroll 2 AMAdam Mastroianni 1 ADAswath Damodaran 1 DLDerek Lowe 1 HWHillel Wayne 1 ISIan Silber 1 JZJulie Zhuo 1 LSLyman Stone 1 MPMark Pincus 1 NCNick Cave 1 NSNoah Smith 1 PGPaul Graham 1 PSPeter Sellis 1 RHRyan Holiday 1 SKSriram Krishnan 1
When All time Past 1 yearPast 3 yearsPast 5 years
  1. PS

    Peter Sellis quoted

    Former head of product at Discord

    Our readingA really good product manager has to be very confident, often to the point of bordering on arrogance.

    product management

    Their wordsI think to be a really good really good PM you kind of have to be like really confident and that borders on arrogance a lot of the time.

    ↗90 minutes of unfiltered product advice from Snap and Discord’s product chief | Peter Sellisyoutube.com 18th of 18 in this recording

  2. 10 days earlier
  3. MC

    Marty Cagan quoted

    Founding partner of Silicon Valley Product Group (SVPG)

    Our readingHumility in product people is not a mere personality trait; its absence contributes directly to the root cause of many failed products.

    Their wordsAnd yeah, this might sound like a personality trait to you, but it's not. I would argue this contributes directly to the root cause of so many failed products,

    ↗Marty Cagan: Strong Opinions, loosely held (Lenny & Friends Summit, San Francisco, 10 September 2026)youtube.com 6th of 15 in this recording

  5. MC

    Marty Cagan quoted

    Our readingThe desire for predictability, among product people and senior executives alike, is powerful, deeply rooted and at odds with innovation and outcomes.

    innovation

    Their wordsI honestly had no idea and I just didn't appreciate how powerful and deeply rooted the desire for predictability was. And that's from both product people and senior executives and how at odds that desire for predictability is with not just humility but innovation and outcomes.

    ↗Marty Cagan: Strong Opinions, loosely held (Lenny & Friends Summit, San Francisco, 10 September 2026)youtube.com 7th of 15 in this recording

  6. 2 weeks earlier
  7. DH

    David Heinemeier Hansson quoted

    Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals

    Our readingLarge language models could still plateau, and that possibility should be held open even though no evidence of it has appeared.

    LLMsscaling laws

    Their wordsSo we should also have the humility. As amazing as the LLMs are now, it could be that they eventually plateau. We haven't seen any evidence of it yet, and I think this is also why we're seeing this absolute gobsmacking levels of investment, because so far the scaling laws are true, and the more billions are poured in, the more intelligence comes out.

    ↗DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Agentic Engineering, Vibe Coding & Linux | Lex Fridman Podcast #501youtube.com 35th of 41 in this recording

  9. PG

    Paul Graham quoted

    Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb

    Our readingFounders' reputation for overconfidence is sample bias; most good startups actually underrate themselves.

    startups

    Their wordsStartup founders have a reputation for overconfidence, but this is just sample bias; the arrogant ones are also the loudest. Even now most good startups underrate themselves, so it really helps to encourage them.

    ↗@paulg on Xx.com

  10. 6 days earlier
  11. LS

    Lyman Stone quoted

    Demographer

    Our readingCalling the fall in birth rates a mystery is not humility but obscurantism: there is already a good causal account of it.

    demographics

    Their wordswe really do have a good causal model of how to think about fertility decline!

    ↗We Actually Know A Lot About Fertility Declinelymanstone.substack.com 1st of 5 in this piece

  13. AD

    Aswath Damodaran quoted

    Professor of finance at NYU’s Stern School of Business

    Our readingNobody can yet know whether the current enthusiasm for AI is excessive, so anyone claiming conviction about how it resolves is overreaching.

    Their wordsanyone who claims to have conviction that they know what's coming is being either ignorant or arrogant

    ↗AI’s Bar Mitzvah Moment: From Hype & Hope to Business Questions!aswathdamodaran.blogspot.com 3rd of 3 in this piece

  14. 4 days earlier
  15. IS

    Ian Silber quoted

    Designer who led product design at OpenAI

    Our readingIt is much better to be humble about AI and admit it is changing quickly.

    Their wordsI think it's much better to be humble about it and be like wow yeah I don't know this is like changing quickly

    ↗Chatbots are not the final interface: OpenAI’s Head of Design on what’s next | Ian Silberyoutube.com 20th of 22 in this recording

  16. 7 weeks earlier
  17. NC

    Nick Cave quoted

    Australian songwriter and writer

    Our readingThe past is not something a maker should discard but something to draw on, and approaching it with humility is what lets the work come out distinct.

    Their wordsOver time, that fiery intensity ebbed away, and I realised that the past wasn’t something to discard but to respect.

    ↗How have your beliefs evolved? What did you once hold true in your beliefs that you don't hold now?theredhandfiles.com 2nd of 3 in this piece

  18. 2 weeks earlier
  19. MP

    Mark Pincus quoted

    Founder and former CEO of Zynga

    Our readingBeing too ambitious and visionary at the outset is how founders miss product-market fit, because it stops them starting somewhere small and humble enough.

    startupsproduct management

    Their wordsif if we're if we're too ambitious and we're at the outset and too ambitious and visionary about the product we want to build, then we will probably miss product market fit because we won't start at a small enough humble enough place

    ↗The hidden pattern behind successful products | Mark Pincus (FarmVille, Words with Friends, & more)youtube.com 8th of 22 in this recording

  20. 5 days earlier
  21. AG

    Adam Grant quoted

    Organizational psychologist and professor at the Wharton School

    Our readingArgue like you are right and listen like you are wrong, with the humility to know what you do not know.

    curiosity

    Their wordsArgue like you’re right and listen like you’re wrong. Have the humility to know what you don’t know and the curiosity to pursue knowledge and wisdom.

    ↗Silence Is Not Necessarily Violenceadamgrant.substack.com 3rd of 5 in this piece

  22. 2 weeks earlier
  23. AG

    Adam Grant quoted

    Our readingPeople gravitate toward arrogant leaders in uncertain times because they mistake swagger for strength and skill.

    Their wordsPeople are more drawn to arrogant leaders in an uncertain world, because they mistake swagger for strength and skill.

    ↗The Allure of Narcissistic Leaders and the Forgotten Joy of Being Ordinaryadamgrant.substack.com 3rd of 3 in this piece

  24. 3 weeks earlier
  25. NS

    Noah Smith quoted

    Economics writer; author of the Noahpinion newsletter

    Our readingDevelopment economists can contribute far less to a poor country’s growth policy in real time than either they or their critics assume.

    economists

    Their wordsUnless and until AI gets smart enough to study human society from a bird’s-eye view, I think we should be humble about how much we expect development economists to be able to contribute to developing countries’ growth policies in real time.

    ↗Could development economics be more useful?noahpinion.blog 3rd of 5 in this piece

  26. 8 weeks earlier
  27. SK

    Sriram Krishnan quoted

    Investor and writer

    Our readingTrying to make complex systems fully legible carries real downsides.

    Their wordsThere are underlying lessons here on humility and the downsides of trying to make complex systems legible.

    ↗Daniel Ellsberg, Kissinger and knowledgesriramk.com

  28. 13 months earlier
  29. DH

    David Heinemeier Hansson quoted

    Our readingHaving the humility to give up on good bets turned bad is important

    Their wordshaving the humility to give up on good bets turned bad might be just as important

    ↗When to give upworld.hey.com 2nd of 3 in this piece

  30. 5 months earlier
  31. DL

    Derek Lowe quoted

    Medicinal chemist

    Our readingHow much machine learning can help a biological problem is set by the quality of the data around that problem, not by the algorithms.

    Their wordsI predict (with confidence bordering on arrogance) that whatever machine-learning progress can be made will correlate extremely closely with the quality of the data around any given problem

    ↗AI and Biologyweb.archive.org 1st of 4 in this piece

  32. 5 months earlier
  33. SC

    Sean Carroll quoted

    Theoretical physicist at Johns Hopkins University

    Our readingAssuming you are a typical observer in the universe is not humility but a hilariously presumptuous claim that typical observers are like you.

    Their wordsBut then you draw some conclusions from this, and what you end up realizing is you’ve been hilariously presumptuous because by saying, “I’m a typical observer in the universe,” you’re saying, “Typical observers in the universe are like me,” and that is completely unjustified by anything.

    ↗Sean Carroll: General Relativity, Quantum Mechanics, Black Holes & Aliens | Lex Fridman Podcast #428youtube.com 9th of 20 in this recording

  35. SC

    Sean Carroll quoted

    Our readingWhen somebody accuses you of being arrogant about an idea, almost all they ever mean is that they disagree with you.

    JavaScript

    Their wordsYeah, it is interesting because, when people react against you by saying you are being arrogant about this, 99.999% of the time, all they mean is I disagree. That’s all they really mean, right?

    ↗Sean Carroll: General Relativity, Quantum Mechanics, Black Holes & Aliens | Lex Fridman Podcast #428youtube.com 18th of 20 in this recording

  36. 3 months earlier
  37. DH

    David Heinemeier Hansson quoted

    Our readingApple is arrogant

    Apple

    Their wordsI don't believe we've ever seen this level of arrogance from a major tech monopolist in the history of the computing industry

    ↗Apple actually lost a court case for once, but they refuse to comply in good faithworld.hey.com

  38. 6 weeks earlier
  39. LR

    Lisa Randall quoted

    Theoretical physicist and cosmologist, Frank B

    Our readingThere is probably no bottom level of reality we will ever reach; physics will keep penetrating layers without ever arriving at the last one.

    physics

    Their wordsI might not seem so, but I think I’m more humble than a lot of physicists. I’m not sure that we’re ever going to get to that bottom level, but I do think we’re going to keep penetrating different layers and get further.

    ↗Lisa Randall: Dark Matter, Theoretical Physics, and Extinction Events | Lex Fridman Podcast #403youtube.com 12th of 16 in this recording

  41. LR

    Lisa Randall quoted

    Our readingString theorists were overly arrogant at the outset, promising to solve problems they were never going to solve.

    Their wordsI do think that string theorists were a bit overly ambitious… Not overly ambitious, but a little bit overly arrogant in the beginning, thinking they could solve many problems that they weren’t going to solve.

    ↗Lisa Randall: Dark Matter, Theoretical Physics, and Extinction Events | Lex Fridman Podcast #403youtube.com 14th of 16 in this recording

  42. 4 months earlier
  43. DH

    David Heinemeier Hansson quoted

    Our readingThe best software developers are too keen to downplay their own talent, in their eagerness to look humble.

    Their wordsPart of the problem here is that in their eagerness to polish their humbleness, the best software developers seem overly keen to downplay their own talent, competence, or achievements.

    ↗Not everyone can be the bestworld.hey.com 2nd of 2 in this piece

  44. 3 months earlier
  45. AM

    Adam Mastroianni quoted

    Our readingRanking people costs something every time: the top become more arrogant, the bottom more indignant, and the rankers more callous.

    Their wordsEvery time we rank one another, we lose a little humanity.

    ↗I wanted to be a teacher but they made me a copexperimental-history.com 6th of 6 in this piece

  46. 4 weeks earlier
  47. JZ

    Julie Zhuo quoted

    Co-founder of Sundial; former vice president of product…

    Our readingThe more your target audience does not look like you, the more you should be skeptical of your design intuition.

    design

    Their wordsThe more your target audience does not look like you, the more you should be skeptical of your design intuition. Despite having seen thousands of a/b test results for minor design details, I am still regularly surprised and humbled by my intuition being wrong.

    ↗The Looking Glass: What AI Won't Changelg.substack.com

  48. 4 months earlier
  49. AG

    Adam Grant quoted

    Our readingConfidence without humility breeds arrogance and humility without confidence breeds doubt, so the two belong together.

    Their wordsConfident humility is being secure enough in your expertise and strengths to admit your ignorance and weaknesses. In Think Again, I highlighted evidence that confidence without humility breeds blind arrogance, and humility without confidence yields debilitating doubt.

    ↗A Key to Better Leadership: Confident Humilityknowledge.wharton.upenn.edu

  50. 4 days earlier
  51. DH

    David Heinemeier Hansson quoted

    Our readingTruth can still be validated, but finding it calls for far more humility about where it lies and how long validating it takes.

    Their wordsWe can still validate knowledge. But we need far greater humility in where we're going to find said truth, how long it takes to validate it, and our urge to protect ideological paradigms at all cost.

    ↗Nobody Knows Anythingworld.hey.com 2nd of 2 in this piece

  52. 3 months earlier
  53. DH

    David Heinemeier Hansson quoted

    Our readingBeing wrong is a treat, because it adds a pinch of humility to every judgement that follows.

    Their wordsIt means infusing your future judgements with an extra pinch of humility. It's a treat to be wrong.

    ↗I love being wrongworld.hey.com 2nd of 2 in this piece

  55. DH

    David Heinemeier Hansson quoted

    Our readingSwing with confidence, and take a bad hit with the humility of a learner.

    Their wordsAlways swing confidently to the best of your ability. Always embrace a bad hit with the humility of a learner.

    ↗I love being wrongworld.hey.com 3rd of 2 in this piece

  56. 20 months earlier
  57. HW

    Hillel Wayne quoted

    Writer and consultant on formal methods

    Our readingSoftware is not uniquely unpredictable; other engineering disciplines are hit by the same surprises and overruns.

    Their wordsTo assume that software is uniquely unpredictable is a special kind of arrogance.

    ↗We Are Not Specialhillelwayne.com 2nd of 7 in this piece

  58. 3 years earlier
  59. RH

    Ryan Holiday quoted

    American author of The Obstacle Is the Way and Ego Is the Enemy

    Our readingThe better you get at a craft, the humbler it makes you.

    Their wordsWhen you are pursuing a craft you realize that the better you get, the humbler you are.

    ↗25 Ways To Kill The Toxic Ego That Will Ruin Your Liferyanholiday.net

How recent

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