Re: Why downvote nodes without commenting on them?

[tomhukins]

I like to understand why people like what I write as well as why they dislike it, but I don't expect an explanation for either.

Why do you care more about the reasons behind criticism than the reasons behind praise? How does understanding criticism help more than understanding praise?

[danmcb]

because if you want to get better at something, you try to work on your weaknesses, not your strengths.

[tomhukins]

if you want to get better at something, you try to work on your weaknesses, not your strengths.

If you take this approach, you'll end up average at everything and exceptional at nothing, unless you're one of those rare, special people who excel in many areas. I'm not, so I focus on what I'm good at and what I enjoy. I don't mind improving my weaknesses, but I try to focus my effort on the areas where I'll achieve most.

For example, I gave a talk a few days ago and got some positive feedback. I asked people what they liked about the talk and how I could have improved it. By knowing what people like, I know what to keep, both in terms of the content and they way I presented it. If I only listened to negative feedback, I would only know what to change but not what to keep.