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The Modern-Day Mind-Killer

keaganstokoe.com

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Re: The Modern-Day Mind-Killer

#31

Post by omreaderhn »

crims0n wrote: post #25

The article seems to be making a case for protecting your mind from the constant bombardment of "junk food" media readily available in our current culture. I respect the idea, but I find it impractical. I do however find it effective to control the flow of that media, and in particular control the order in which I consume it. If I roll out of bed and open reddit or facebook first thing in the morning, I feel like I a…

I built something to help with this actually: https://omreader.co

You can read blogs (RSS feeds) and email newsletters on your Kindle. It allows you to wake up and read long form content without needing your phone. I personally find that whenever I have my phone on me I almost always end up getting distracted so my solution is to just not have my phone anywhere near me when I wake up in the morning (or throughout the parts of the day where I'm trying to be productive).

I just launched it a few weeks ago. Any feedback would be great.

Re: The Modern-Day Mind-Killer

#32

Post by asguy »

dsr_ wrote: post #30
tomgp wrote: post #19

The reason why people cut a cross in the base of Brussels sprouts is so they tough part cooks faster so the more delicate leaves don’t go soggy the evil spirits thing is just a nice story

2 useful notes: - A less bitter variety of Brussels sprouts became widespread about a decade ago - Any water-based method of cooking Brussels sprouts is convenient but terrible compared to pan-frying with some onion and salt

Do you pan fry them entirely to done? I usually par-cook by steaming them a bit, and then finish in the pan. Or roast them.

Re: The Modern-Day Mind-Killer

#33

Post by m-i-l »

tomgp wrote: post #19

The reason why people cut a cross in the base of Brussels sprouts is so they tough part cooks faster so the more delicate leaves don’t go soggy the evil spirits thing is just a nice story

> The reason why people cut a cross in the base of Brussels sprouts is so they tough part cooks faster so the more delicate leaves don’t go soggy the evil spirits thing is just a nice story

That was my assumption too. But having researched further (or more specifically entered "why do you put a cross on sprouts" into an internet search engine) I get information like "Contrary to popular opinion, Brussels sprouts do not benefit from having a cross cut into the bottom of them. Instead of helping them to cook evenly, the cross can make the sprouts waterlogged"[0].

[0] https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/brussels_sprouts

Re: The Modern-Day Mind-Killer

#34

Post by watwut »

nottorp wrote: post #27
rytill wrote: post #3

The buffet line analogy doesn’t really work. Since you can’t go backwards or look too far ahead, you take the items at the beginning that are above your satisfaction threshold, not knowing whether there will be items further along that satisfy you.

Not to mention that there are people who just want to eat something and will pick the first item that's above said threshold because they just don't care.

That is me. I fill the plate with stuff that I want to eat and stop filling it when it is enough.

I do look in advance whether there is something awesome worth longer wait, typically it is just more of the same.

Re: The Modern-Day Mind-Killer

#35

Post by ipython »

Ugh. I hate these pseudo intellectual puff pieces. What ends up happening is that this is used by all sides to reinforce their own existing thinking patterns, not to challenge existing ones.

There are no actual actionable takeaways from reading this. As the article says, we have an abundance of information. This, coupled with bad actors who intentionally inject misleading, false, and emotionally charged information into our incoming data stream, means our lizard brains are overloaded and basically do the easiest thing possible: revert to emotion and agree with information that confirms our already held biases.

The only thing that has been helpful to me is two fold: one, to revisit technological triumphs of previous eras. I’m listening to 13 minutes to the moon with my kids. It brings me to tears the focus, determination, and pure dedication to science required to pull off such engineering feats. Second, I push myself to read books. Mostly books about espionage because I find them both entertaining and I like to think it helps me make sense of the noise today. Currently I’m reading Ben Macintyres books - highly recommended.

Re: The Modern-Day Mind-Killer

#36

Post by Smithalicious »

The buffet example is bad. You can't really go back in a buffet, so it's a gamble where the certain outcome those first things (which you can see). Furthermore it doesn't factor in the cost of having to walk more to get the later items.

My only take away from it is that people don't really have as strong a preference for buffet food as they might think. I'd also wager that avoiding "bad" food is much more important than finding particularly "good" food.

Re: The Modern-Day Mind-Killer

#37

Post by blfr »

red_admiral wrote: post #17

Since this is freshman-level "think, don't believe", here's an equally valid counterargument at roughly the same level. In Heinrich's book "The Secret of our Success" on cumulative cultural evolution, he gives an example of pre-Columbus American cultures whose diet was based on bitter manioc (a.k.a. cassava). Like the name suggests, in its raw form it's too bitter to eat, but these cultures evolved a set of tradition…

It's not that weird that people pick the first buffet option, or browse Facebook, or whatever the default easy option is. What I do find weird is that they stop there. You don't need some paradigm shifting insight or a leap in the dark to do a little random walk and find something else you like a little more.

I used to read PC magazines, the kind that were available in grocery stores (because I'm old), then I discovered USENET, then RSS, then Reddit, then HN, and a bunch of other more and more esoteric infotainment sources more aligned with my tastes. But so many people get on Facebook and just stay there.

I used to watch news networks. Then I started reading political blogs. Then I got onto Twitter and started following people with best leaks, insider info, and wittiest comments. Finally, I realized it's pointless and stopped following it at all. But so many people stay watching the news networks which just launder all that other stuff you can so easily get directly. Worse, they allow the media to capture their minds.

Sure, not everyone can be a groundbreaking innovator but, in this age of massive choice, why do people choose anything other than hyper hipsterdom?

Re: The Modern-Day Mind-Killer

#38

Post by _0ffh »

crims0n wrote: post #25

The article seems to be making a case for protecting your mind from the constant bombardment of "junk food" media readily available in our current culture. I respect the idea, but I find it impractical. I do however find it effective to control the flow of that media, and in particular control the order in which I consume it. If I roll out of bed and open reddit or facebook first thing in the morning, I feel like I a…

> I respect the idea, but I find it impractical

I think it depends. I've ditched my telly when I was about twenty. I neither use Facebook nor Twitter nor any other social media, unless you want to count HN as such. But I do consume selected entertainment products, and I don't think such material is really "non-enriching". It's part of recreation, and as such I think it counts as a kind of enrichment in it's own right.

Re: The Modern-Day Mind-Killer

#39

Post by headmelted »

Smithalicious wrote: post #36

The buffet example is bad. You can't really go back in a buffet, so it's a gamble where the certain outcome those first things (which you can see). Furthermore it doesn't factor in the cost of having to walk more to get the later items. My only take away from it is that people don't really have as strong a preference for buffet food as they might think. I'd also wager that avoiding "bad" food is much more important t…

I laughed at the analysis of the buffet because of this.

I don’t want sausages and eggs, but if I get to the end of the line and find out Janine has made off with the last of the Cheerios and pastries again my whole day will be ruined and I’m not taking that chance.

Re: The Modern-Day Mind-Killer

#40

Post by guscost »

red_admiral wrote: post #17

Since this is freshman-level "think, don't believe", here's an equally valid counterargument at roughly the same level. In Heinrich's book "The Secret of our Success" on cumulative cultural evolution, he gives an example of pre-Columbus American cultures whose diet was based on bitter manioc (a.k.a. cassava). Like the name suggests, in its raw form it's too bitter to eat, but these cultures evolved a set of tradition…

This is an excellent counterargument. Here is another one:

You will never be a completely rational being, no matter how hard you try. You are very good at tricking yourself, and it happens all the time. If you attempt to "think, don't believe", you will fail, and along the way yield all control over what you believe.

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