This past two weekends I took some university students for programming contests in Japan and Taiwan. After two heavy weekends, the first thing they were doing once they were back in the train back home was to check the upcoming local contests.

I have always prided myself on having a wide variety of hobbies and interests. But that comes at a price that I am not particularly good at any of them. I will easily climb the first few steps of the learning curve, but I rarely commit the time or resources necessary when the difficulty becomes steep. Instead I move on to the next interesting thing.

Of course, this means that I am never completely lost towards new situations, and I fell I have the ability to pick up a new skill relatively quickly. On the other hand, when I am among people who dedicate themselves to some kind of task, I also fel that I often fall behind quickly.

A runner of difficulty curves, not a climber. I was wondering this weekend if this “jack of all trades” attitude was really the way to go.