Nothing and no one is big enough to change your life. There are only several things that make small changes to your life, at different stages of your life, whether negative or positive changes, depending on how you cope with them. Add to this, what could be important for you, could be completely meaningless for someone else.
Ask HN: What's the most life-changing blog post you've ever read?
151–160 of 393 posts
Re: Ask HN: What's the most life-changing blog post you've ever read?
#1527 years ago I had just aborted an internship, my foray into being an employed adult, because I found myself unable to deal with disagreements. Contrary to my naive hope that the confidence boost from being a Professional Software Developer(tm) would solve all my emotional problems I now knew that my limitations would follow me around anywhere I would go. But I had no idea how to change and was too stuck in my own anx…
> Finding a Femur: You probably already have at least a couple of femurs around the house. However, it is usually best to find one whose original owner no longer has any use for it.
Re: Ask HN: What's the most life-changing blog post you've ever read?
#153Not sure about life-changing as such, but I often think of "Argue well by losing" by Phil Haack [1] when I think about how I and others go about arguing, online or in person. It really helps me to step back and be objective about discussions I get involved in.
[1] http://haacked.com/archive/2013/10/21/argue-well-by-losing.a...
Re: Ask HN: What's the most life-changing blog post you've ever read?
#154I know that it is tempting to paste a link to your favorite blog post, but I would like to encourage you to post really life-changing posts. If you post "maybe not" or "not really" maybe refrain from posting? Otherwise it will be just another popularity contest of random blog posts, we have more of them than those from the title I believe. It's okay for the thread to be short. Not a GP. The opinion is my own.
> If you post "maybe not" or "not really" maybe refrain from posting?
Sometimes people use hedging language like this because they’re being vulnerable beyond their comfort level. So even though a post might truly have been life changing for them they brace for someone responding with a dismissive or snarky comment by hedging with “maybe not really” type words. It’s a form of self-protection, in a way.
So I fear your comment could very likely discourage people who were already on the fence about sharing, perhaps even sharing something interesting. So I say, the more the merrier! Who knows what might be life changing for someone. I definitely didn’t expect to open this thread and read a blog post about bone trumpets but I’m really glad I did.
Re: Ask HN: What's the most life-changing blog post you've ever read?
#155Aphantasia: How it feels to be blind in your mind By Blake Ross https://m.facebook.com/nt/screen/?params=%7B%22note_id%22%3A... Before reading this post I had no idea I had aphantasia and thought everyone else was the same as me, unable to see anything when they closed their eyes. This helped me understand myself and my relationships so much better than ever before. Thanks Blake!
What's even crazier is that not everyone has an internal monologue: https://www.insidemymind.me/blog/brain-stuff/today-i-learned... If aphantasia is "internally blind", this one is "internally mute and deaf". I wonder if anyone in the world has both conditions. That would be interesting to understand how they think.
I participated in the Prosopagnosia study at Imperial a few years ago. I also don't hear any internal monologue; When I think, I think in words, and it is very similar to reading.
I think I can imagine sounds in my head, but it is a little like singing, or humming a tune without making noise. I believe I have the cadence and rhythm of sounds, but it's not really easy to get words that way.
I can also recognise some specific images I have seen previously, but I definitely do not see them and cannot conjure up any imagery of any kind.
You might be amused to know that until I joined that study I had no idea that you were thinking any differently than I was, and since learning you-all are freaks, I have wondered if the reason you guys get distracted so easily is that you're watching a movie out of the corner of your eye, or maybe the reason you think code is unreadable is that you need to sound out your program in order to read it.
Re: Ask HN: What's the most life-changing blog post you've ever read?
#156https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis/entries/78691781-c9b7... Now Then by Adam Curtis for really reinforcing my suspicion that algorithms that feed me more of what I like prevent me from ever experiencing things I havent before. Tasting new flavors means ordering what I am least, not most, familiar with. https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/09/30/i-can-tolerate-anythin... And although I Can Tolerate Anything Except the…
Thanks for sharing I Can Tolerate Anything Except the Outgroup - I'd never read it before, and it's worth reading the whole thing. It has me reflecting on who my "out group" is.
You may also enjoy https://slatestarcodex.com/2017/05/26/the-atomic-bomb-consid...
Hes not someone ive read a lot of so there may be more better of which im unaware.
Re: Ask HN: What's the most life-changing blog post you've ever read?
#157The Gervais Principle, Or The Office According to “The Office” https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2009/10/07/the-gervais-principle-... Read it a decade later than I should have, though
Same here. It was an eye-opener for me.
This logic of alpha/beta/omega always seemed incomplete to me.
The Gervais principle seems to capture reality better, the losers are the ones that form groups where people can be categorized as alpha/beta/omega etc. and the clueless and sociopaths act completely outside of such groups. For the worse (clueless) or the better (sociopaths) of themselves.
Funny enough, lately alpha/beta/omega logic includes a "sigma", which is the ham-fisted try to add sociopaths to their flawed system.
Re: Ask HN: What's the most life-changing blog post you've ever read?
#158http://bookofhook.blogspot.com/2013/03/smart-guy-productivit...
Made me realise smartwork is bs. If you want to boost productivity, increase your focus span. There's no other hack.
Re: Ask HN: What's the most life-changing blog post you've ever read?
#159http://bookofhook.blogspot.com/2013/03/smart-guy-productivit... Made me realise smartwork is bs. If you want to boost productivity, increase your focus span. There's no other hack.
That post reeks of confirmation bias.
Re: Ask HN: What's the most life-changing blog post you've ever read?
#160https://blog.tjcx.me/p/consume-less-create-more This article inspired me on two things : 1) Lots of the things I do in everyday life is just to consume: buying, watching, following, etc. These things either consume my money, or my time. These things make me feel good, but it does not generate real value. In order to get rich, I need to create things. I also start to realize that great people are great because they st…
Wow, really great article. I think there is nuance to consumption as others have pointed out. Regardless, this article really resonated with me and I appreciate you bringing it into my perspective.