The "30 freakout" is one of the great undiscussed traumas in our society. I don't know if this is just an American thing, or a product of western culture, or if this is universal. It needs to be addressed, and I wished people started talking about this to kids in high school. I believe this is a more significant problem than the mid-life crisis.
For whatever reason (base 10 maybe?) we latch on to 30 as the time by which we should have some proof that we are on the right track. You can always beat yourself up at any age by comparing yourself to others. If you're in college, look at a Galois or a Joan of Arc and you're already a complete failure.
I think it makes sense. Early twenties is college, mid twenties is still considered "just out of college", so you are allowed to waste time and drink. Late twenties is getting older but still "hey, we're still in our twenties".
After that, thirties hits and you can't say that you're fresh out of college, or just graduated a few years ago. I think you start to look back and want some validation for the way your life is going.
I'm also over 30 and am still motivated to try and learn to do lots of new things well. I expect this to last my entire life, I'm just too curious to stop. Needing to reassure myself it's not "too late" is a sad consequence of the group-think you're describing.
Isn't it funny how practically all rich, developed, western countries have rising life expectancies but especially on the internet you get the feeling that by 30 they will just grab and bury you because your life is over...
Man, you totally said it. Someone with drive and who understands the "30 Freakout" should register the domain name and create a resource where people can learn about this extremely common condition.
> I guess by definition this whole forum is 1st world problems
Maybe I am misreading this. But I am not sure why you think so. A lot of what goes by "hacking" is common to the first and third worlds. Often it is even more effective in a third world country where a little bit of appropriate technology can have a serious impact on the lives of a lot of people.
OP was whining that he was turning 30 and hadn't had his great artistic breakthrough yet. I was trying to make the comparison that that isn't really a problem compared to mass starvation, refugee camps, etc. In other words, he sees a problem when the solution is, find what you love to do, etc. He's got the tools to do it but just hasn't found a goal yet. Not that there aren't problems discussed here (ycombinator news) that have good tech solutions, like mosquito netting, solar power, water filtration, etc... My point is, his problem is very specifically a 1st world problem.
For whatever reason (base 10 maybe?) we latch on to 30 as the time by which we should have some proof that we are on the right track. You can always beat yourself up at any age by comparing yourself to others. If you're in college, look at a Galois or a Joan of Arc and you're already a complete failure.