Hi Shawn, check out Rose Digital or shoot me an email at evan@rosedigital.co Have done work for Zoetis but usually focused on building revenue generating web and mobile products for F500 cos.
I would love to build/use an app that generates RE investment market suggestions based on some of the datapoints you're mentioning. Maybe see if there's some way to automate the analysis of socioeconomic status of the neighborhood with the distribution of various types of businesses and then map price/price delta over time. Might be some cool data in there. Re racism comments...kinda.
I agree with the general sentiment of this post but I don't think a polymath is necessarily one who is an 'expert' in multiple fields. It isn't as much about the learning and mastery as it is about the interconnections between disciplines.
I think of a polymath as one who is able to gain a level of expertise and understanding across several disciplines. The polymath then uses that knowledge to generate new insights and interesting innovations or even new fields of study between and across disciplines.
Check out the book 'Mastery' which is -- as you might guess -- about the process to attaining mastery in any subject. It delves into the history of the 'great masters' including Michaelangelo etc and discusses how they utilized cross-discipline thinking to take each of their crafts to new levels. Very cool stuff.
I taught myself. I spent a ton of time building software/apps for myself to show my skills before I could bring that portfolio to anyone and have them be willing to pay me. I took my first project at way under market rate. It took me 2 years from no coding knowledge at all to getting paid. I had other jobs in between so that will not be accurate for others. I was able to generate revenue pretty shortly after I put my mind to it. My first gig was building an HTML5 iPad interactive for a museum.
I wanted to take a minute to just say that this thread has moved me to tears.
Firstly, people sharing their story. This is exactly what Steve wanted, to share his story, his ideas. Sharing the story is so important to removing the stigma around mental health. It warms my heart to see people with the courage to tell others about their struggles (and then it double-warms my heart to see other people supporting them!!)
Secondly, the sheer support for him. He was a quiet person but a mental giant. Just to have so many people acknowledge him is truly beautiful for me and my family.
"Many people fail to recognize the severity of psychological problems because they're too busy looking at superficial measures of well being: a person's career, his or her physical appearance, etc. But depression has made some of us feel as if we're in a deep fog or a war zone, even if, on the surface, we live in nice neighborhoods and succeed in the workplace."
THIS.
Being vocal about the struggle is so crucial. My family had no clue what to even look for when these issues started cropping up much less how to get him help. By the time we got him the level of help he needed he had already been in the throes of deep depression and anxiety. Thanks for your kind words.
We lost my sister to depression about 6 years ago. Superficially, life was fine -- good career, no money issues, good friends. But she was carrying baggage around from years earlier, when she was overworked and overloaded in grad school. (In a lab notorious for overwork, and unfortunately, suicide.) She was told she was depressed then, but no one really got the scope of it. I don't know why she wasn't getting treatment years later, other than things seemed to be going alright.
There were a couple of things, that later, seem to be really key. Had we known, or understood, I think things might have been different.
Hey thanks for sharing your story. My brother was just starting a blog and hoping to share his ideas with others. He was an avid problem solver and I wish he had found ways to reel himself back in like you did. Will check out your site!
