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Ask HN: Did you learn any life changing lessons this year?

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Re: Ask HN: Did you learn any life changing lessons this year?

#91

Post by tucaz »

RickS wrote: post #22
drieddust wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am stealing this quote from you. It is print worthy. On similar lines I have started to feel that happy life is not necessarily a good life. Often they don't gel together well. Unhappy struggle for the principle is way better than living a false Facebook Happy Life.

I don't own that quote – I wish I could claim to have known that innately rather than having to hear and learn it in times of pain. The thing you said about happy life not being good life is dead on IMO. Happiness != comfort != meaning. Optimize for meaning. I didn't attribute this quote because hackernews relentlessly downvotes him, but I learned all of this from Jordan Peterson, who has done more than most other pe…

Upvoted for mentioning JP.

Great guy. Really interesting insights and ideas. Every word he says has a meaning. It is really hard to listen to someone like him talking. You have to pay attention to each word because that will change the meaning of the whole thing.

He uses meaningful and precise words. Not just empty and unfounded ideas.

edit: now I see how it works. Got downvoted for mentioning JP.

Re: Ask HN: Did you learn any life changing lessons this year?

#92

Post by ishjoh »

Imanari2 wrote: post #66

Your Environment is more powerful than you willpower. I found that to be very true. After 2 years abroad and living through a lot of very intense experiences and changes I thought I was a "new man", and indeed, I learned and changed a lot. Then when I came back home I hang out with my old friends in our old places and I fell back into my old behavior immediately. That's why its so hard to start working out at home, b…

Change is hard, and like you said it's easy to fall into the same old habits. Something that has worked for me is to change something small at first. Maybe redecorate your room a little bit, or always make your bed, or always keep your room clean. Then build off of that.

You're in your old city again, but you don't have to go to the places you used to, try a new lunch/dinner/beer spot. You spent 2 years abroad, you have the ability to adventure, and there's probably a ton of new people and experiences awaiting you if you get back off the beaten path in the very city you live.

Re: Ask HN: Did you learn any life changing lessons this year?

#93

Post by ishjoh »

jerriep wrote: post #36
naavis wrote: post #15

I learned that I need coworkers and a proper work community. Joining a good company as an employee after running my own business from home feels like such a great breath of fresh air.

I went the same route. After six years of freelancing and remote work, I decided to head back to a permanent job and into the office to seek out the community that it offers.

if your old freelancing clients are looking for someone to fill your shoes drop me a line, i'd love to chat with them.

Re: Ask HN: Did you learn any life changing lessons this year?

#94

Post by squirrelicus »

websitescenes wrote: post #79
squirrelicus wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Strange claim. From what I can tell Trump has likely never practiced and would probably be an "agnostic" if not for seeking the Republican nomination. He might be the first atheist president actually. It's hard to tell. http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trumps-religious-tal... As someone who "stockpiles" weapons and ammunition and with a large number of religious friends who also do so, I can say religion plays…

The issue for me is that both Trump and his followers operate off of belief. In my opinion, belief is the most dangerous force in the universe. It leaves infinite room for manipulation. No amount of evidence can change the mind of someone that just believes and that’s truly terrifying. Sure, Trump may not actually believe everything he claims to but his followers absolutely do and that makes them easy to manipulate a…

What do you mean by belief? This is going to get deeply epistemological really fast. But if I can summarize millennia of great thinkers trying to figure it out: all you have is belief. We cannot know what the fact is. We merely believe something is a fact with high degrees of confidence. And this is not a trivial distinction. Is it true that that Neptune is closer to Earth than Alpha Centauri is if this is a simulation? Things we think are facts are merely beliefs in context of assumptions.

Again, I know very little about your experience. But it sounds like they became something that digusts you. The fact that you could not tolerate your friends transitions to self-professed right wing extreme Christianity is a you problem, not a them problem. Your lack of tolerance isn't their fault. Just as their supposed lack of tolerance isn't your fault. You might lament losing the person they were, but that doesn't make them wrong and you right.

> I mean that I’ve watched them slowly lose there cognitive abilities and become vantriliquist dolls spewing whatever they hear on Fox News without question. I prefer to talk to people that can have their minds changed based on new evidence.

Rest assured that many people on both sides believe this about each other (though arguably more lefties take this view than righties). Is by no means one way. I have been a right winger with friends on both sides for a very long time, and the same sentiment you expressed about losing cognitive abilities is expressed by the right wingers about left wingers. Ever heard the epithet NPC? It's aimed at SJWs specifically, calling out the supposedly unthinking, dataless parrotting of CNN talking points.

You should check this out and see how your perspective about your opposition and the alt-right's perspective of their opposition are nearly identical. https://kotaku.com/how-the-npc-meme-tries-to-dehumanize-sjws...

I don't use dehumanizing terms like NPC because they are not constructive, and neither is assuming your ideological opposition is a cognitively degenerate enemy.

> These used to be decent people but are now entirely consumed by a perceived attack on race and religion

I wonder what that means. That being said, surely you can see they might have reasons to fear a near-future problem, if there is no problem today, right?

Re: Ask HN: Did you learn any life changing lessons this year?

#95

Post by websitescenes »

squirrelicus wrote: post #94
websitescenes wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The issue for me is that both Trump and his followers operate off of belief. In my opinion, belief is the most dangerous force in the universe. It leaves infinite room for manipulation. No amount of evidence can change the mind of someone that just believes and that’s truly terrifying. Sure, Trump may not actually believe everything he claims to but his followers absolutely do and that makes them easy to manipulate a…

What do you mean by belief? This is going to get deeply epistemological really fast. But if I can summarize millennia of great thinkers trying to figure it out: all you have is belief. We cannot know what the fact is. We merely believe something is a fact with high degrees of confidence. And this is not a trivial distinction. Is it true that that Neptune is closer to Earth than Alpha Centauri is if this is a simulati…

True, there are believers on both sides. Also I agree that network news is saturated with falacious content meant to do nothing but divide and manipulate. I honestly can’t remember the last time I watched network news of any type but I assume it’s as bad as I remember. I can see that you’ve rationalized your opinions thoroughly and you believe you are correct so I’ll leave it at that.

Re: Ask HN: Did you learn any life changing lessons this year?

#96

Post by squirrelicus »

websitescenes wrote: post #95
squirrelicus wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you mean by belief? This is going to get deeply epistemological really fast. But if I can summarize millennia of great thinkers trying to figure it out: all you have is belief. We cannot know what the fact is. We merely believe something is a fact with high degrees of confidence. And this is not a trivial distinction. Is it true that that Neptune is closer to Earth than Alpha Centauri is if this is a simulati…

True, there are believers on both sides. Also I agree that network news is saturated with falacious content meant to do nothing but divide and manipulate. I honestly can’t remember the last time I watched network news of any type but I assume it’s as bad as I remember. I can see that you’ve rationalized your opinions thoroughly and you believe you are correct so I’ll leave it at that.

I'm genuinely interested in what you think belief is. I've talked to thousands on the internet and about a hundred in person deeply about epistemology and religion, and read even more, and you're the first person I've read that disparages the concept of belief in general.

Is English your first language?

Re: Ask HN: Did you learn any life changing lessons this year?

#97

Post by janlin1999 »

squirrelicus wrote: post #90
janlin1999 wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> To be clear, I'm Christian now, as of August. I take the Bible seriously now. But to be extra clear, I believe it's all metaphor. Isn't that an odd position to take when parts of the Bible insist that it is not metaphorical? (e.g. Paul's argument in 1 Corinthians 15 about why he believes in Jesus' bodily resurrection and his conclusion that "If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be…

I realized I may not have directly addressed your comment, and I definitely didn't address your last question. In reverse order, I do believe God is the one setting me free. God, in my view, is at least (and maybe more) a cultural spirit we have inherited. Much of the condition I've been born and raised into was not my choice, God included. I believe I am recognizing and embracing that which is a part of me, and a pa…

Thanks for your comments. It would certainly be hard for me to share as openly as you have here.

I understand from your comments that you have turned to some concept of God (cultural inheritance) in order to find meaning in your life. Different people find meaning in different ideas, people, projects, etc. I don't mean to belabor the point, but I think you have invested meaning in a set of writings that explicitly say that they are meaningless (or worse than harmless) unless certain key parts are historically true, and you explicitly deny the historicity of those parts.

As I have understood your situation, it's a little like a cancer patient being presented with several different options, all with varying probabilities of success and none with any guarantee. After much research and deliberation, the patient knowingly chooses the placebo option. There are obviously some benefits to the placebo option; it just seems that most people in that situation wouldn't choose that option. If you're interested in talking more synchronously, I can be reached via contact information in my profile.

Re: Ask HN: Did you learn any life changing lessons this year?

#98

Post by websitescenes »

squirrelicus wrote: post #96
websitescenes wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

True, there are believers on both sides. Also I agree that network news is saturated with falacious content meant to do nothing but divide and manipulate. I honestly can’t remember the last time I watched network news of any type but I assume it’s as bad as I remember. I can see that you’ve rationalized your opinions thoroughly and you believe you are correct so I’ll leave it at that.

I'm genuinely interested in what you think belief is. I've talked to thousands on the internet and about a hundred in person deeply about epistemology and religion, and read even more, and you're the first person I've read that disparages the concept of belief in general. Is English your first language?

Belief is similar to an idea but a little different. An idea is similar to a theory while belief is more similar to an absolute. This is why belief goes hand in hand with religion and faith; which are two other concepts that I dislike. Thinking an idea may be true is vastly different than knowing so. When someone “knows” something is true they can almost never be convinced otherwise. Belief in a religion or an inherent superiority has enabled the great atrocities of our world and that is the main reason for my dislike of the concept. I would be naive to think that I do not have beliefs and it’s important to note that I am not devoid of belief but it is something I work towards eliminating in my life. Ask any militant, religious fanatic or terrorist what they BELIEVE in and you’ll quickly realize that people are willing to die for some pretty ridiculous things. Someone has taken their trusting demeanor and convinced them into the belief that they are righteous and justified in their actions. Today in America that force is Network Television. They repeat and repeat until one believes. I was raised in an evangelical Christian community and I’ve seen first hand how senseless things can become when belief is involved. My first love is computer science but my muse is philosophy/political science so I’m not surprised you haven’t run into my ideas yet; I’m often on the edge of what is mainstream. I’m actually writing a book on the concept of belief, which I’m happy to share with you when it’s done. My hope is that we can step away from the concept and usher in a new era of science and exploration because right now we’ve stagnated.

Re: Ask HN: Did you learn any life changing lessons this year?

#99

Post by techsin101 »

karmakaze wrote: post #67
techsin101 wrote: post #49

I learned... I do get burned out. Intermittent fasting works. React redux is clunky together at best. To stop complaining to others, on internet, and to my self, it kicks starts cycle of medicority. Phrase next Facebook won't look like Facebook really settled in when I saw rise of twitch despite there being YouTube. Very few actually want to do startups or at least sacrifice that a founder ought to make. There are no…

> Telling someone you're going to do something is great way to never do it. This is very interesting and unexpected. I'd always thought that telling someone would help with follow-through since you're now committed. On a side-project I was working on, it started out well, but as I kept discussing what was next, I found myself completing less and less. The trick here must then be just to discuss what you've completed…

it's like getting that satisfaction and after you have had it by telling someone then relatively speaking actually doing it isn't going to make you look that much better.

it's like when you tell someone you get 70% social boost. When you do it it's only 30% short term boost in social status, but who cares about 30%. You already got the most out of this whole deal BEFORE the hardwork.

I've found even telling people when you 95% done affects hugely. Don't tell, dont brag, dont show off, in fact try to hide so people can't connect dots and find you on linkedin.

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