For years I dealt cards with my non-dominant hand. When I switched I got twice as fast.
That and wearing incorrectly sized dress shirts and feeling like I was being choked in ties.
Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?
911–920 of 1001 posts
Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?
#912I used to assume the religious people were missing something and missing out on the latest and greatest. Now I am seeing that often it's us the non-religious that have lost something of value and are trying to replace it with things that don't work as well.
The real question is it better to lie to yourself and believe in something that is simply not true? Or to be true to yourself and deal with the loneliness that is existence. To me the choice to clear- be true to yourself. In that sense, organized religion has no place in this world.
I think you're mistaking (along with many people including many religious people themselves), what religion's purpose actually is.
IMO, religion isn't really about truth, or "there is an afterlife", or "there's a magical almighty person(s) out there". Rather, it's mostly just a bunch of advice, principles and curated wisdom passed down from generation and generation to help people live a happy, meaningful life.
Like "you shall not kill", or "you shall not steal" or "treat your neighbor like you would yourself" - are arguably good principles to follow if you want to live in a peaceful society free from violence, as obeying these rules minimizes desire for anyone to have vengeance upon their neighbor. Or take Buddhism, which preaches that nirvana is absence of desire and craving, which shows that sometimes your own greed and ambitions can be the cause of your suffering, and by simply being grateful, can bring you happiness.
In this sense, I think it's valuable and has a place in the world. I mean, are we alone in existence, and is death the end? I think so, but if it makes some people feel better thinking otherwise is possible, then what's wrong with letting them believe or put hope into that?
So to me, religion isn't so much about "what is true and not true", but more rather: "here's some wisdom on how to lead an enjoyable life".
Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?
#913Mental health. Haven't seen it mentioned yet. Never think of yourself as wrong, invalid, defective or unworthy. That's wrong. Don't do it. For about 90 % of my life I've thought about myself as defective in many ways. - In puberty I thought I was defective because other boys were talking about their crushes, how they'd like to f--- this girl or that girl or how they got a boner just looking at them. Later almost ever…
Can you recommend an online autism test? Asking for a friend :)
Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?
#914Staying 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 live in the midwest and cold is normal for a chunk of the year, but one thing always worse than cold: wind. After college at some point I splurged on a North Face jacket with the wind protection bit and it was eye popping how much more tolerable being outside became. I always go for a nicer coat/jacket now -- the value brands at the department stores don't always have the right technology. Good outdoor gear is spen…
Any fleece under a wind breaker/shell is pretty simple warmth for most conditions
Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?
#915I used to regularly feel bad but didn’t recognize the feeling as thirst. Turns out humans are supposed to drink water.
This is heavily underrated
Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?
#916I 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 disre…
The big difference between most people's relationship with their father and their mother (at least for us of a certain age) is that fathers historically were not involved in caring how their children felt. The traditional role of the father was to lay down the law of the house and to provide income. This comes all the way back from the initial formulation of the nuclear family, which was an imitation of the royal family where the king makes the rules and is responsible for the wealth of the land.
I provide that background only to point out that it is based on nothing other than folklore and fairy tales. It was a tradition that served its purpose but is not really necessary in modern times. You can be emotionally involved in your son's life. You can let him know how you are feeling, even if you are feeling weak or unsure. I can't say for sure, but I would investigate if you are more concerned about how your father feels about you as a person or if you are more concerned as to whether or not he thinks that you are a success. Is he the voice in your head that says "you can do it, I believe in you!" or "you better not mess up!"?
Part of this has to do with being emotionally competent yourself, which is something that you can work on.
Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?
#917Not waking up earlier to the fact that the meat section in the supermarket is a product of systemic, gruesome torture of intelligent beings. Like probably many of you who read this, I usually felt a bit guilty when I was confronted with the ugly facts we are all vaguely familiar with. I justified my meat consumption with specieist arguments (humans are so much better than pigs, cows, etc). My wife challenged me to wa…
Age-restricted login required. That's a shame.
Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?
#918Not waking up earlier to the fact that the meat section in the supermarket is a product of systemic, gruesome torture of intelligent beings. Like probably many of you who read this, I usually felt a bit guilty when I was confronted with the ugly facts we are all vaguely familiar with. I justified my meat consumption with specieist arguments (humans are so much better than pigs, cows, etc). My wife challenged me to wa…
This is something I am guilty of ignoring. My excuse is protein. How do you get enough?
Tofu, Tempeh, beans, peas, Fu [1] (found in Japan but you might see local variants of this). If you are living a sedentary lifestyle you are bound to overeat if you want to reach anywhere near recommended protein levels. So it's just inevitable you will want to supplement your food with Protein powders. Soy Protein is a complete protein and much cheaper than Whey or Casein.
Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?
#919For the past 15 years or so, every night before bedtime I would proclaim “Time to hit the shack!” or “I’m going to hit the shack”. In reality it is a “sack” that you hit, not a “shack”.
The real question is for those people who heard you make this proclamation.
Re: Ask HN: Something you’ve done your whole life that you realized is wrong?
#920Wearing modern shoes. As a society, we have somehow led everyone down the path that feet must be wrapped in socks that constrict the feet, then placed in shoes that are designed for looks and not anatomy. It's led to generations of people that have weak feet, and unnecessary pain all throughout their body because the base of what they stand on has been weakened. Wearing toe socks and minimalist shoes, combined with g…
Just an addendum since HN is so often quick to try new things. Do not. Do not. Do not jump into jogging with barefoot or minimal shoes without a very very slow increase in distance. Even if you feel fine and don't notice any pain or problem, or your cardio can support you going 5 kilometers, you want to very slowly adjust up your distance/time spent doing harder exercise with that type of big change in footwear. Othe…
Agreed, I spent 8-12 months transitioning to minimalist footwear for daily use. Then picked up running slowly, to eventually running a half marathon in very thin running sandals.