I'm kinda empowered by my impostor syndrome. I figure I got a degree at a first-tier school, did a postdoc at a better school, and worked at a lab for 5 years at an even better place, all while being an incompetent clod. I must be one of the best impostors in the world!

Bookmarked this substack, thank you!

Maybe more imposter syndrome experiences would be useful? For me, it really helped having had some experience with a job that required ~no intelligence, which I did not hate. Knowing that the floor of my scholastic achievement (dropping out and going back to customer service) wasn't so bad meant I could just try things and see how it went. So what if I'm an imposter, this puzzle is fun.

I'll add, the whole series on proofs (that this is an intermission from) is a great read.