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Productivity

blog.samaltman.com

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191–200 of 428 posts

Re: Productivity

#191

Post by mgkimsal »

richmarr wrote: post #183
badpun wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if you have an IQ of say 90 and want to be really good at theoretical physics? I don't see caring a lot and working continously as enough to overcome IQ here.

Care a lot and work hard. IQ in later life is only correlated with IQ in childhood., it's not a fixed trait. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/beautiful-minds/2011...

> 9% of the students showed a significant change of 15 points or more in IQ scores

I had the opposite experience. I've had various IQ tests at age 5, then 9, then 16, then again in my mid-late 30s. 7 tests in all. They have various scores and scales, but in every case, I was within spitting distance of the same spot on the various scales of each test. In some cases, I didn't know I was going to be tested - no prep. In other cases, I'd planned the tests, so ... I can't say I "studied" as such, but I got good sleep, was relatively(!) calm, not anxious, etc.

I don't doubt that over time intelligence capacity changes some, based on a variety of factors. My own experience is that it doesn't change much - both with myself and people I know. It may be that I already tend to know people of above average intelligence, and there's less room for them to grow in the first place?

Re: Productivity

#192

Post by dorgo »

bachmeier wrote: post #122
bobwaycott wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It makes perfect sense when one realizes increasing productivity is the single key to extracting maximum surplus value from labor under capitalism. Measuring (and increasing) productivity wasn’t invented for workers.

We're learning that in the debates over public education funding. For some reason, at least in the US, public education is justified if and only if it creates a more productive workforce. Why the government should subsidize the cost of training employees is rarely stated (probably for a good reason).

Maybe educated emploers pay more taxes?

Re: Productivity

#193

Post by jjallen »

badpun wrote: post #143
philwelch wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's really only two things you need to do in order to be really good at basically anything: 1. Care a lot. 2. Work on continuously improving your skills. That's pretty much it. Yes, there is such a thing as natural ability, but outside of the true outliers, natural ability is a pretty small factor compared to caring a lot and continuous improvement. And, even if you're an outlier in terms of natural ability, cari…

What if you have an IQ of say 90 and want to be really good at theoretical physics? I don't see caring a lot and working continously as enough to overcome IQ here.

Doubtful you would care about theoretical physics in the first place if your IQ was 90.

Re: Productivity

#194

Post by jjallen »

mgkimsal wrote: post #191
richmarr wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Care a lot and work hard. IQ in later life is only correlated with IQ in childhood., it's not a fixed trait. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/beautiful-minds/2011...

> 9% of the students showed a significant change of 15 points or more in IQ scores I had the opposite experience. I've had various IQ tests at age 5, then 9, then 16, then again in my mid-late 30s. 7 tests in all. They have various scores and scales, but in every case, I was within spitting distance of the same spot on the various scales of each test. In some cases, I didn't know I was going to be tested - no prep. I…

Wow, what would cause you to be IQ tested without knowing that in advance?

Re: Productivity

#195

Post by Diederich »

nosefrog wrote: post #123

Hey Sam! Regarding sleeping, I've had really bad sleep problems since I was a kid, to the point where I pulled all nighters a couple times a month just because I knew I wasn't going to get to sleep that night. I fixed all of my sleep problems over time by taking a low dose of melatonin (1g, low doses are more effective than high doses) and wearing orange glasses at night to block out blue light. It took a while for m…

> low doses are more effective than high doses

Can you expand on that?

Re: Productivity

#196

Post by rkhassen »

jwilliams wrote: post #160

Productivity for me is more about managing my energy and motivation than time. Hence I find a lot of planning and prioritization actually counter-productive. Some level is important, but not that much. I generally know what I need to do. More planning really doesn't clarify that. Instead I work on energy. A lot of the things Sam mentions -- but for goals/priorities I tend to take a very long view (decades out) and a…

Wondering if you can say more about managing "energy and motivation"? I'm curious abut the details, how one does this. It sounds like a great approach!

Re: Productivity

#197

Post by [deleted] »

gideon_b wrote: post #179
badpun wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if you have an IQ of say 90 and want to be really good at theoretical physics? I don't see caring a lot and working continously as enough to overcome IQ here.

IQ can be raised by a full standard deviation with a few months of training [1]. IQ is only stable over time because most people don't work continuously to improve it. IQ can be learned, just like everything else. [1] Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S104160801...

[deleted]

Re: Productivity

#198

Post by SubuSS »

throw2016 wrote: post #91
stavros wrote: post #6

I see these kinds of articles come along from time to time, and it always makes me wonder: Why this pressing need to maximize productivity? Why not just do things you enjoy, at a pace that you enjoy? Is it for more money/prestige? What's the use if you've been stressing and pressuring yourself for it all your life? I feel like the odd person out because I work on something while I enjoy it, stop working on it when I…

I don't understand this obsession with productivity. Everywhere around me I see people working hard. It's unimaginable how hard some people work. If this was not the case our entire edifice of civilization would fall apart in a day. From public services to businesses who continue to run efficiently and make profits because of the hard work of their employees. Yet there is a whole mythology which sees a special need t…

Let me try to address your points in general since I assume the question is whether productivity is worth 'pedestalizing'?

Even if you forget about the impact to company / society / civilization and focus simply on yourself, you can see that you get X hours in total and one shot at life. If you pare it down by necessary but not directly productive hours like downtime / time spent towards learning / physical-mental well being etc. You get Y which is very much lesser than X.

Some folks want to maximize the heck out of this Y just because they have so many things they want to get done OR they have chosen to listen to someone / company that tells them that they should get all of those done.

Usually maximization like that in comparison to a lifestyle that maximizes consumption is always 'pedestalized' because of a few reasons:

- historically they have moved the bottom line on many real world scenarios.

- someone else values it enough that they pay actual money for it (I am yet to find a viable lifestyle option that will pay me money :). I personally value money because it buys me time (via ability to delegate) and experiences with the limited time I have.

- When you have a ton of things you want to get done (irrespective of socio-economic impact) and little time, there is no other choice.

I agree it might be 'marginal behavior' which is what makes it so sought after. There are folks who can't get there, folks who don't want to get there, folks who will try but won't get there and a ton of mortals who will get somewhere close. In general, humans want to make a difference in some way, we see the Elon's of the world somehow making a difference and folks chase after it (hence pedestalizing). IOW your question will make more sense if we are immortal :)

Re: Productivity

#199

Post by acallahan »

Diederich wrote: post #195
nosefrog wrote: post #123

Hey Sam! Regarding sleeping, I've had really bad sleep problems since I was a kid, to the point where I pulled all nighters a couple times a month just because I knew I wasn't going to get to sleep that night. I fixed all of my sleep problems over time by taking a low dose of melatonin (1g, low doses are more effective than high doses) and wearing orange glasses at night to block out blue light. It took a while for m…

> low doses are more effective than high doses Can you expand on that?

Not the parent, but this is a comprehensive source: https://examine.com/supplements/melatonin/

You can ctrl+f "dose" there.

Re: Productivity

#200

Post by mmcnl »

ravitation wrote: post #43
StavrosK wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be honest, I didn't read it. Reading articles about productivity makes me feel like I'm doing something wrong, when I'm perfectly happy otherwise. They're the Instagram of work life for me. EDIT: I went back and read it, I agree with most of what he says (and my original comment wasn't very relevant to this particular article), I would just add "don't stress about productivity, most of the time it's fine to just d…

So, what you're saying is that you find it hurts your productivity to read productivity articles, so you try not to put yourself into the position where you have to read them? On a more serious note, I feel like "maximizing" "productivity" on things you are passionate about is largely wasted effort (unless the thing you are passionate about is "maximizing" "productivity")...

No that's not what he was saying.
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