Charles Bukowski on the Ideal Conditions and Myths of Creativity, Illustrated(brainpickings.org)
brainpickings.org
Charles Bukowski on the Ideal Conditions and Myths of Creativity, Illustrated
http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/10/04/charles-bukowski-air-and-light-and-time-and-space/
10 comments
This is great. It's also why I think "fuck you money" is BS. Just as he says in the poem - you'll create even if you're on welfare.
I hear so many people saying once they get enough money they'll finally have the time for the things they really want to do. Just do it now, you only live once.
I hear so many people saying once they get enough money they'll finally have the time for the things they really want to do. Just do it now, you only live once.
Poverty is not a hurdle to creativity but it's foolish to say that it doesn't affect the realm of possibilities. You can't build a new rocketship if you are on welfare (Elon Musk). You can't architect buildings if you lack the money to acquire the necessary formal education and certifications. You can't build electronics if you lack the money to own a soldering iron.
Yes, you can do other things, but maybe those other things won't be as fulfilling, as profound, or as meaningful.
Consider that if Newton, Galileo, Michelangelo, or Da Vinci were born into poverty we might never have heard of them.
Certainly many people use the excuse of not having the time or the money to follow their passions, but that doesn't mean it's never a factor.
Yes, you can do other things, but maybe those other things won't be as fulfilling, as profound, or as meaningful.
Consider that if Newton, Galileo, Michelangelo, or Da Vinci were born into poverty we might never have heard of them.
Certainly many people use the excuse of not having the time or the money to follow their passions, but that doesn't mean it's never a factor.
> You can't build a new rocketship if you are on welfare (Elon Musk).
Sure you can, just not it in a single step. Even Elon Musk had to use PayPal as a stepping stone to bankroll his real ambitions.
Sure you can, just not it in a single step. Even Elon Musk had to use PayPal as a stepping stone to bankroll his real ambitions.
It amuses me when people create a 'sanitized' image of Bukowski. Let's not forget that this is a guy who cheated on his women and beat them, the latter even on video [1].
He was immature to an extreme degree. One of his popular quotes begins:
> "If you’re going to try, go all the way. Otherwise, don’t even start. This could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives and maybe even your mind..."
That's not a recipe for happiness, and certainly not sanity. Or anything good at all. I'm not sure it's best to take advice from someone who woke up every morning by vomiting to get over last night's drinking.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8KJiay6EI0
He was immature to an extreme degree. One of his popular quotes begins:
> "If you’re going to try, go all the way. Otherwise, don’t even start. This could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives and maybe even your mind..."
That's not a recipe for happiness, and certainly not sanity. Or anything good at all. I'm not sure it's best to take advice from someone who woke up every morning by vomiting to get over last night's drinking.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8KJiay6EI0
If we're going to judge people's contributions by personal issues they have, nothing is of use anymore, including your advice.
How can we be sure everyone is "pure" before we consider their creations? Unless we all start living in a magic reality tv show, that is...
How can we be sure everyone is "pure" before we consider their creations? Unless we all start living in a magic reality tv show, that is...
Normally I'd agree that ad hominem attacks are just that.
But in Bukowski's case, his life was his art. His personal issues were his art.
It's not like he had a few minor issues while he was writing beautiful sonnets about birds, where the issues have no bearing. His writing is about how he cheats on women, how he beat them, how he drank himself sick, basically about how he was just an a * * hole to people. He glorified it (your interpretation may vary as to this, but it is certainly read that way by many people).
Plenty of people appreciate Bukowski's honesty in his writing, but the idea that one should take advice from him... on anything... boggles the mind. Before anyone goes defending him, make sure you've read some of his stuff first.
But in Bukowski's case, his life was his art. His personal issues were his art.
It's not like he had a few minor issues while he was writing beautiful sonnets about birds, where the issues have no bearing. His writing is about how he cheats on women, how he beat them, how he drank himself sick, basically about how he was just an a * * hole to people. He glorified it (your interpretation may vary as to this, but it is certainly read that way by many people).
Plenty of people appreciate Bukowski's honesty in his writing, but the idea that one should take advice from him... on anything... boggles the mind. Before anyone goes defending him, make sure you've read some of his stuff first.
...if you're in software you're going to create on your little sister's beater of a laptop with the My Little Pony stickers on it.
One of the truly awe-inspiring things about the early hackers is that many of them worked without benefit of a real humming computer in front of them; they programmed with pencil and paper until the opportunity to buy or bargain for a bit of time on The Computer with which to test what they've written came along. It didn't matter, and nothing could stop them. Hackers gonna hack.
One of the truly awe-inspiring things about the early hackers is that many of them worked without benefit of a real humming computer in front of them; they programmed with pencil and paper until the opportunity to buy or bargain for a bit of time on The Computer with which to test what they've written came along. It didn't matter, and nothing could stop them. Hackers gonna hack.
I'm still using a pencil and paper.
Obligatory. I'm guessing this is from mid-80's:
http://allpoetry.com/poem/8509517-16-bit-Intel-8088-chip-by-...
http://allpoetry.com/poem/8509517-16-bit-Intel-8088-chip-by-...
Silicon Valley is a culture that celebrates extremes. Extreme ideas, extreme hours, extreme success, extreme failure. People do a ton of everything or a lot of nothing, but something is being done. The point Bukowski always made was to be doing "it", what ever "it" is. Because if you are indeed doing "it", then "it" is a extreme act.
He was pretty into computers at the time —
http://realitystudio.org/bibliographic-bunker/charles-bukows...
http://realitystudio.org/bibliographic-bunker/charles-bukows...
The same goes for software design as far as I can tell. But no amount of effort can make up for a deep well of imagination.
Once, I saved up and bought myself a long sabbatical. It was the most productive time of my life.
Consider:
- Bukowski spent many years trying to get published, failed, developed a severe drinking problem, and took up a progression of itinerant jobs. But he gave writing another shot while lying in a hospital bed, having nearly drunk himself to death. At the time, he was working in a post office.
- Albert Einstein failed to land a prestigious academic position and took up a day job as an assistant patent examiner. He and his friends pursued scientific projects on nights and weekends.
- Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling created her famous series as a single, working mother on welfare. She worked out of train stations and coffee shops, often on the verge of homelessness.
- Actor Jack Nicholson went on over 300 auditions before landing his first significant role.
- Johnny Depp spent his days as a telemarketer, selling office supplies. He carved out nights and weekends to practice his craft and look for opportunities.
- Joseph Heller, author of Catch-22, worked at an advertising agency by day. Three hours a night, for eight years straight, he worked on his book before submitting it to a publisher.
Only the very fortunate have the ability to drop everything and pursue their creative dreams. Everyone else has to pay the bills somehow, and carve out the "right time" when and where they can.