below the iceberg

there’s this iceberg meme where the deeper you go into a system, the more niche the knowledge gets:

i doubt that i’m ever that deep on any iceberg tier (see last post) due to time constraints + breadth of interests + never wanting to claim that status (how do you know you truly know everything???). however, it’s always such an interesting and rewarding feeling to move down an “iceberg tier” for a system.

as most of my friends know, the “system” i’m referring to here is formula sim racing. it’s crazy to think that i spend a hunk of my weekends trying to beat my fastest lap on circuits. understandably, that sounds boring to a lot of folks: “just go fast and don’t crash”. but then you’re adjusting your front brake bias mid-session, second-guessing your gear choice into a chicane, debating how much downforce you need to apply to your car, and trying to unlearn every braking instinct you have so you can actually trail brake properly. turns out that the tip of the iceberg is “driving” and there is indeed another rabbit hole below it.

unexpectedly, this interest of mine has helped me have more patience with learning new systems. i was bad at this when i started, and i wanted to actively resist the urge to get demoralized because of it. the thing i keep coming back to is that improvement when you’re a beginner isn’t really a question of if, but when. that has been a pretty grounding feeling to hold onto. not necessarily a new or “groundbreaking” discovery i made about the world, but just being able to feel it myself has made me believe in this saying a lot more than if i were to keep hearing it recited.

that’s also why i’m writing this: i claim to be a poor writer; i’ll try to practice more : 3