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Ask HN: Name one idea that changed your life

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Re: Ask HN: Name one idea that changed your life

#341

Post by qlk1123 »

michaelrpeskin wrote: post #206

Antifragility Or more specifically, just getting the term for it. I spent years trying to articulate in my own mind many of the ideas in Taleb's book, and once I had a word for it I could see it everywhere and actually start to change my life to take advantage of the chaos in the world. Basically: you can't control what happens to you, but you can set your life up so that the natural variability of the world can be u…

I read this before Black Swarm, but Antifragility should have been read later. When I read Antifragility, the idea is cool and convincing, and it did change the way I understand things, especially the essential difference between organic things and engineering systems, but still I always felt like it is a puzzle missing some pieces.

I am almost finishing my Black Swarm read now. It turns out that it is the missing pieces.

I wonder what Taleb will say if someone can present software engineering practices to him.

Re: Ask HN: Name one idea that changed your life

#342

Post by Loomx »

Rury wrote: post #221
Dumblydorr wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is that the point? Or is it that enlightenment is grounded in the every day. That monks and Buddhist masters can simply sit and do basic chores and that's it, enlightenment is grounded next to the most basic human needs of fire and water and food.

It's that enlightenment doesn't change anything. People set out pursuing enlightenment to try to find fulfillment or happiness, but enlightenment is realizing that fulfillment or happiness is entirely dependent on your attitude towards things. Therefore, nothing changes from becoming enlightened, other than your decision to keep a positive attitude about the every day. As they say, you can choose to be happy, and min…

This makes me think of a story I like:

> Somewhere in the ocean is a place called the "Dragon Gate". Any fish that swims through the Dragon Gate turns into a dragon. However the Dragon Gate is invisible. Also, when a fish swims through it the fish doesn't look any different afterwards. And finally, after a fish has swum through the gate it doesn't feel any different, it just is a dragon.

Re: Ask HN: Name one idea that changed your life

#343

Post by cagenut »

Class consciousness. So so so so much hypocrisy and confusion over seemingly contradictory things people say and do have a remarkably tendency to suddenly make sense when you apply rudimentary class analysis.

You don't even need to know what marxism or socialism are, much less agree with them, but if you haven't gotten the hang of basic class consciousness you're missing a key reality-rubric in life.

Re: Ask HN: Name one idea that changed your life

#344

Post by Loomx »

Mindless2112 wrote: post #157

"You can use your laptop power brick as a foot warmer." Not quite so grand as some ideas here, but still... my feet are warm.

This idea might not have changed my life, but it changed my day :-) (Within seconds and for the better; what more could you ask for?)

Re: Ask HN: Name one idea that changed your life

#345

Post by pizzicato »

TheAdamAndChe wrote: post #21

Spaced repetition. It's a method of learning where you only get a reminder of material when you're about to forget it. I've found a way to use spaced repetition to self-learn maths without forgetting processes between obsessive cycles. I memorize names, birthdays, dates, locations, and anything else I want to remember much easier than before because of it. https://www.gwern.net/Spaced-repetition

Anki[0] is great for this, and it's free.

[0]: https://apps.ankiweb.net/

Re: Ask HN: Name one idea that changed your life

#346

Post by NaOH »

Sohcahtoa82 wrote: post #228

Don't sweat the small stuff. And it's almost all small stuff. If you're finding yourself stressed out about something, ask yourself...will it have a significant impact on your life within the next month? Will you even remember it in a year? If you can truly adopt this mentality, it cures road rage. Okay, so some asshole cut you off in traffic. Why lose your mind over it? It won't even have an impact on your day, let…

> Don't sweat the small stuff. And it's almost all small stuff.

The comparable idea I repeat to myself: "There are problems and there are inconveniences. Recognize the difference."

Re: Ask HN: Name one idea that changed your life

#347

Post by starpilot »

darkerside wrote: post #192

This might be super basic, but... assume positive intent. Your parent is not your enemy. Your teacher is not your enemy. Your boss is not your enemy. The other team at work is not your enemy. The corporation is not your enemy. The other political party is not your enemy. Or, more accurately, YOU are not THEIR enemy. At best, you're an NPC in their game. Many of them probably even want to help you, because you are ano…

On the internet, everyone assumes bad faith. Like the kid staring at the native american guy, not everything is intended to be malicious (and so he successfully sued CNN for defamation). I think there's a theme of "Person supports X" and every commentator who is predisposed to disliking that person, twists X into the worst possible form.

Re: Ask HN: Name one idea that changed your life

#349

Post by cheezebubba »

abj wrote: post #85

The Elephant in the Brain A lot of common ideas about education, charity and laughter (we laugh because something is funny) are evolutionary useful lies we tell ourselves. "But while we humans often play by ourselves (e.g., with Legos), recall that we laugh mostly in the presence of others. So what communicative purpose does laughter serve in the context of play? Gregory Bateson, a British anthropologist, figured it…

This book shows that many of our institutions have both visible, socially-respected goals, but also hidden goals nobody likes to acknowledge.

Example: Health Care

Visible goal: Improve Health

Hidden goal: Show how much we care ("kiss the booboo")

This explains why much of health care is devoted to high-cost high-visibility interventions (like bypass surgery) and much less to lifestyle interventions (like diet/exercise).

It also explains why many obvious changes that would improve the stated goal keep failing to be adopted - they hamper the hidden goals.

Software example: Why do people keep estimating development task size assuming nothing goes wrong? And why do their managers not hold them responsible for continually slipping the schedules?

Visible goal: Accurate estimates

Hidden goal: Brag about how fast we are

If accurate estimates were the only goal, then when schedules slip there would be a strong feedback loop to improve future estimates. My experience has been the opposite - the slip is blamed on something "no one could have foreseen" and everybody keeps estimating as before.

To be clear, it's always a mix of the visible and hidden motives. Much of health care is actually about improving health. But acknowledging the hidden motives is vital to understanding how much of society works.

Re: Ask HN: Name one idea that changed your life

#350

Post by alexpotato »

This line which, apparently, came from a famous con man:

Interviewer: "Sir, how did you get these otherwise worldly, intelligent and sophisticated people to give you whatever you wanted?"

Con Man: "You see, everyone has something that they desire above all else. If you can give them that thing, or appear to be able to give them that thing, they will give you whatever you want in return."

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