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Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?

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Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?

#601

Post by seanmcdirmid »

mtlynch wrote: post #33

Staying warm. In the winter, I used to stay warm by turning up the thermostat. Then I discovered (via HN) the Low-Tech Magazine article, "Insulation: first the body, then the home." [0] The article argued that it's much more efficient to focus on heating yourself rather than your whole living space. I invested in high-quality wool clothes that I wear in layers and warm slippers. Now, I keep my home about 5 degrees F…

An extreme version of this: my mother in law lives in southern china where they don't get indoor heating by default (and the buildings are poorly insulated and aren't designed to be insulated, so adding it yourself isn't very feasible), so we are all bundled up the entire time we spend there in the winter, and everyone else is to, including the clerks are the department store and so on. The coldest 5C of my life :).

That's what happens when central planning makes the above observation.

Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?

#602

Post by yamtaddle »

Striykur wrote: post #587
yamtaddle wrote: post #479

Oh! Another! Car side mirrors. I spent more than a decade of driving adjusting them wrong. You want them so you don't see cars behind you at all in your side mirrors until they're transitioning off the edge of your center rear-view mirror. This gives you far more coverage of your sides, and every car is still visible in at least one mirror at all times. For me, where I put my seat, this usually means setting them as…

I often see this technique used to eliminate your blind spot since side view mirrors are mainly facing the area where your blind spot is. I don’t recommend this: 1. When you set your side mirrors like this you are heavily relying on you rear view mirrors to see cars behind/around you in the other lanes. However your rear view mirror can easily get blocked by people or items sitting in the back of the car or large veh…

It doesn't replace looking around, but does expand how much I'm aware of from mirrors alone, a ton. I don't get how seeing less is better (though I do adjust them in if something's blocking the rear-view, but that's not a normal situation).

Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?

#603

Post by lpapez »

mmaunder wrote: post #592

Not my whole life but stuff I’ve discovered: Realizing that sitting for 8 to 12 hours per day coding is catastrophic for my health. Understanding the incredibly high and hidden cost of conflict and anger. Films romanticize fighting the good fight. Avoiding a fight (legal, arguments, etc) until you absolutely can’t is worth a lot. Creativity and intellectual progress happen in a quiet relaxed and happy environment. Le…

I haven't tried yoga yet because I luckily realized other items before I needed yoga :) Agreed fully

Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?

#604

Post by wintogreen74 »

Waterluvian wrote: post #376
rjmill wrote: post #152

When my then-gf/now-wife and I first moved in together, I got really mad at her because she kept "hiding" my stuff when I left it out for more than a day. I couldn't find anything! At some point, I yelled, "It's like you don't even want to see any of my things when I'm not using them!" Then I stopped for a second. For the first time in my life, it made sense. The whole point of putting things away is to hide them! No…

My wife and I have a rule, "everything needs to have a home." Because if it doesn't have a home, it becomes clutter, and after enough clutter, it finds a home... usually a sub-optimal one, like a junk drawer. The kids (4 and 5) have adapted to this wonderfully. It really helps them. It makes cleanup a trivial task because everything is known to belong somewhere specific. Related to this: the recognition that everythi…

It's also going to vary greatly based on the individual. Some people have homes that look like ocean going ships, with nothing that's not permanently attached or stowed neatly away. Others have shit everywhere. Both scenarios are fine if you're comfortable with living that way.

Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?

#605

Post by btdmaster »

mtlynch wrote: post #33

Staying warm. In the winter, I used to stay warm by turning up the thermostat. Then I discovered (via HN) the Low-Tech Magazine article, "Insulation: first the body, then the home." [0] The article argued that it's much more efficient to focus on heating yourself rather than your whole living space. I invested in high-quality wool clothes that I wear in layers and warm slippers. Now, I keep my home about 5 degrees F…

See also this article from "Mr. Electricity". [1]

[1] https://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/heating.html

Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?

#606

Post by Laaas »

hypertele-Xii wrote: post #373

Breathing. I was sucking my gut in on inhale, and expanding it on exhale. Once I tried it the other way around, it locked and I've breathed this new way ever since. It's obvious to give your lungs more room, couldn't believe to have been doing something so basic wrong.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaphragmatic_breathing

Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?

#607

Post by ravishi »

I have always taken my good relationship with my father for granted. Not sure how to properly express this in english, but I don't remember having issues with him. We were present in each others' lives but while at the same time not connected.

Yesterday while visiting him it just struck me like a lightning strike that I had no connection with him. Our world views are so fundamentally different that I might have disrespected him by some honest mistake. It was a difficult realization to process, but I feel like there's no going back from this.

Something very deep inside has changed. I spent the night awaken next to my toddler thinking how I want a different fate for our own relationship, while at the same time having no clue how to even bring this up to my father. He expects something from me that I just can't (and don't) want to give.

Still, I think this is progress, somehow.

Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?

#608

Post by qorrect »

alainchabat wrote: post #380
LVB wrote: post #173

Not using a bidet. I was enlightened the first time I traveled to Japan, and an affordable ($50) add-on has been installed in our master bath ever since.

which $50 one do you recommend?

$34.

I've recently switched to the handheld ones because the seat attachments require you to shift your butt around to catch the stream. Friends seem to be more weirded out by this one though.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076G9M9JG/

Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?

#609

Post by triceratops »

mabbo wrote: post #38
mtlynch wrote: post #33

Staying warm. In the winter, I used to stay warm by turning up the thermostat. Then I discovered (via HN) the Low-Tech Magazine article, "Insulation: first the body, then the home." [0] The article argued that it's much more efficient to focus on heating yourself rather than your whole living space. I invested in high-quality wool clothes that I wear in layers and warm slippers. Now, I keep my home about 5 degrees F…

I don't like wearing big layers of clothing. I like being in a very light t-shirt. I'm happy to pay the extra cost to heat the room I'm in with a space heater in the winter time.

That's still better than keeping the whole house at 75F all winter.

Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?

#610

Post by ChildOfChaos »

rjmill wrote: post #152

When my then-gf/now-wife and I first moved in together, I got really mad at her because she kept "hiding" my stuff when I left it out for more than a day. I couldn't find anything! At some point, I yelled, "It's like you don't even want to see any of my things when I'm not using them!" Then I stopped for a second. For the first time in my life, it made sense. The whole point of putting things away is to hide them! No…

Oh this is me, I very much want anything that I don't need to see right now to be out of the way, which is why I hate the modern world, even UI interfaces and constant notification etc, everything that is not relevent right now, I want to hand for the times when i do want it, but also out of the way when i am doing something else.
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