The average person doesn’t think enough.
Thinking too much can be bad for you (2012)
141–150 of 257 posts
Re: Thinking too much can be bad for you (2012)
#142In my case, I have found myself not doing enough stuff whenever I think too much. "doing" here doesn't necessarily mean productive work. Even spending quality time with friends and family counts towards and can have much more rewarding effects when compared to overthinking.
Re: Thinking too much can be bad for you (2012)
#143Being already known by my friends and family to be an "overthinker" and prone to "analysis paralysis", I sometimes wonder why I'm still a SWE. I've slowly started to realize over time that my profession is filled with overthinking and over-engineering, and that our interview process can even select for it. IMO its hard to be the person that aces the technical interview gauntlet then walks out of the building and turn…
> I sometimes wonder why I'm still a SWE. I've slowly started to realize over time that my profession is filled with overthinking and over-engineering
You've already seen how to be a better SWE than most.
Now you just have to execute.
Re: Thinking too much can be bad for you (2012)
#144Thinking keeps me awake. It's getting worse as I get older. Maybe it's anxiety or something related, and sometimes it's worried thoughts, but often it's just running through scenarios. Video games, media plots, what I need to do next week. My brain is far more active after 10pm, and I am personally more motivated. I get a burst of energy but it's not really the right time to clean the house so lying in bed has it all…
I'm exactly the same, only I've done it ever since I was very little and it simply never went away (I'm in my early 20s now). Usually I'm awake in my bed for at least an hour. Sometimes two. I just really can't stop thinking. It's not anxiety in my case. Any people here who were in a similar situation and were able to get rid of it, or make significant improvement?
Usually I'm awake in my bed for at least an hour. Sometimes two
Huh, lucky one. Some stay awake until morning.
I know that some people find it strange or even perverted, but try listening to ASMR. First find an artist and a specific 1-2h long video that calms your mind at day while you work or read, and then use it for going to sleep (use comfortable earbuds). They have special videos for sleep, but you may use any of them. You’ll skip a handful of artists and asmr types before you find that one, so be patient. Also try languages you don’t speak (french, chinese). Top, “general purpose” artists is a good start.
Also use browser youtube version and adblock that surely blocks youtube ads, or they will jumpscare you, and turn off autoplay.
Re: Thinking too much can be bad for you (2012)
#145Earlier quoted context omitted.
As someone who's been programming for years, one of my biggest complaints in software is over-engineering. It's so universally prevalent, I literally expect to get downvoted for even making this comment. I strongly advocate for simplicity in software implementation, allowing for maintainability and flexibility... the cleanest solution that reaches the goal and doesn't lock us too far into a narrow approach that may b…
It's a weird term, "over engineering". Think about over-engineering a bridge. What does it look like? Huge and bulky, way too expensive, able to hold much more weight than it should, lots of walkways and access points and design features that nobody really wants? But wait: "any fool can build a bridge that doesn't fall down. It takes an engineer to build a bridge that just barely doesn't fall down." The whole point o…
I think that in a way that view is like the entry level engineer's lie. It makes it seem like the engineer is there to make shoddy things, always a hair's breadth from failing.
What an engineer is actually there for is to run the numbers and predict behavior without having to go through the mess or expense of doing it any more than absolutely necessary. To plum the depths of our collective technical knowhow to drive a project that makes all the right tradeoffs.
It's not about making a bridge that can hold a semi out of matchsticks and bubblegum. It's about knowing it won't work without having to do it to find out.
Re: Thinking too much can be bad for you (2012)
#146Earlier quoted context omitted.
“In the words of the ancients, one should make his decisions within the space of seven breaths. Lord Takandobu said, “If discrimination is long, it will spoil.” Lord Naoshige said, “When matters are done leisurely, seven out of ten will turn out badly. A warrior is a person who does things quickly. When your mind is going hither and thither, discrimination will never be brought to a conclusion. With an intense, fresh…
Ubuntu the operating system takes its name from the concept that you talk about here. That is also why the logo of Ubuntu the operating system is three people holding hands, which kind of blew my mind when I first heard about it. Prior to that I thought the logo was just some lines and circles in a pretty pattern with no specific meaning.
Ubuntu is the distribution. GNU is the operating system. Linux is the kernel.
Re: Thinking too much can be bad for you (2012)
#147I am reminded of Alan Watts' book, 'The Wisdom of Insecurity,' where I was first exposed to this idea that "thinking too much can be bad for you." I found it lifechanging as it helped me to better manage OCD and anxiety. Recommended reading if you are searching for a tool to slow or limit your thinking.
I'll definitely check this out.
Re: Thinking too much can be bad for you (2012)
#148Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm exactly the same, only I've done it ever since I was very little and it simply never went away (I'm in my early 20s now). Usually I'm awake in my bed for at least an hour. Sometimes two. I just really can't stop thinking. It's not anxiety in my case. Any people here who were in a similar situation and were able to get rid of it, or make significant improvement?
Aside from (mostly) practicing normal sleep hygiene recommendations, I listen to a sitcom that I've already watched many times using wireless earbuds as I fall asleep. Sometimes I do both ears, somtimes one ear, depending on whether I feel like sleeping with my head turned. I'm normally a back sleeper. Because I've already seen the episodes, they don't stimulate any thinking. They're comedy, so all happy and lighthea…
Thanks for the earbud recommendation. I was talking to my mother about the Sleep With Me podcast (she hates it but she's extremely picky) and I realised I need something wireless if I'll ever listen to something like that in bed.
Re: Thinking too much can be bad for you (2012)
#149In chess there's an idiom for this. "Long think, wrong think" because it's a quite common phenomenon that very good players will ruin positions by rather than playing with their good instinct, over-analyzing a position, there's a related situation of the hardest games to win being already won positions because there's so many ways to win that people will on occasion start doing something really stupid akin to the exa…
> all the people in the rationalist cult never seem to actually be successful at anything other than rationalism
do you have a link? would love to read this, and it probably applies to me :)
Re: Thinking too much can be bad for you (2012)
#150Earlier quoted context omitted.
As someone who's been programming for years, one of my biggest complaints in software is over-engineering. It's so universally prevalent, I literally expect to get downvoted for even making this comment. I strongly advocate for simplicity in software implementation, allowing for maintainability and flexibility... the cleanest solution that reaches the goal and doesn't lock us too far into a narrow approach that may b…
It's a weird term, "over engineering". Think about over-engineering a bridge. What does it look like? Huge and bulky, way too expensive, able to hold much more weight than it should, lots of walkways and access points and design features that nobody really wants? But wait: "any fool can build a bridge that doesn't fall down. It takes an engineer to build a bridge that just barely doesn't fall down." The whole point o…
When I say "over-engineering" I mean stuff like this: https://github.com/MarkSFrancis/enterprise-fizz-buzz Building a whole ton of stuff, just to do something fairly trivial.