On the link between great thinking and obsessive walking • Hacker News Board

Re: On the link between great thinking and obsessive walking

#31

Post by math-dev » Sun, Aug 22, 2021, 9:14 PM UTC

Kaibeezy wrote: post #11

math-dev wrote: post #6

I agree 100% with this article - I do my best thinking when walking. It is the combination of light exercise that gets the blood moving (to the brain!), but not too strenuous that our minds must devote mental energy to the act of phsyical exercise, the oxygen from the fresh air, the feeling of _wandering_ and letting our minds wander. Sometimes I struggle with deep thinking at my desk - its too quiet / stable. A litt…

We took in an older dog who had worked for 10 years at a hunting lodge. He’s incredibly well trained, doesn’t need a leash, doesn’t go wild or bark his head off under any provocation, and is happy going for long walks at a slow pace with random pauses. I’ve lost track number and quality of excellent solutions I have come up with on these walks, including three provisional patents filed and a major contract saved. He’…

That’s a fantastic story to hear :)

Re: On the link between great thinking and obsessive walking

#32

Post by andy_ppp » Sun, Aug 22, 2021, 9:19 PM UTC

throwaway803453 wrote: post #13

Somewhat related, about 10 years ago I was in a tragic situation where someone I loved would be murdered but I couldn't speak out because of possible retaliation against my family. I found myself compulsively walking randomly in the city every night for several nights. I would walk half way to a random destination only to change directions in 30 minutes convinced I was headed the wrong way forgetting the previous des…

Do you still believe they were murdered? Who were these people? Which country is performing possible assassinations in America? Why would they want to murder your family member? So many questions!

Re: On the link between great thinking and obsessive walking

#33

Post by romwell » Sun, Aug 22, 2021, 9:21 PM UTC

Can we, for a second, remember that walking-makes-thinking-easier is a classic ADHD/ASD symptom?

And that both ADHD and ASD have been linked to creative, deep thinking?

Charles Darwin, the #1 example in this article, has been long suspected to have had Asperger's (which we classify as ASD today)[1]; and had exhibited symptoms of ADHD (one makes the other more likely)[2].

That link is only a surprise to neurotypicals. The answer is in plain sight:

"On the link between great thinking and obsessive walking: it's ADHD/ASD!”

EDIT: the word obsessive alone should give a clue were to look.

While walking might make thinking easier for everyone, it might be outright necessary for people with conditions like ASD/ADHD.

Please consider this before hitting that downvote button.

Disclaimer: I'm a person with ASD, ADHD, and a PhD

[1]https://web.archive.org/web/20090221125332/http://www.telegr...

[2]https://www.masters-in-special-education.com/lists/5-histori...

Re: On the link between great thinking and obsessive walking

#34

Post by irrational » Sun, Aug 22, 2021, 9:22 PM UTC

zz865 wrote: post #9

twobitshifter wrote: post #8

I don’t deny the link. I worked with a programmer/mathematician who would just start ambling about the office without any mission when deep in thought. I think that in his case the thinking actually drives the walking instead of vice versa. >Oppezzo designed an elegant experiment. A group of Stanford students were asked to list as many creative uses for common objects as they could. A Frisbee, for example, can be use…

I'm more interested that the walk was before the test. I thought the point was to think while you're walking.

Maybe they told them the question beforehand and then the test was writing down their answers.

Re: On the link between great thinking and obsessive walking

#35

Post by lordnacho » Sun, Aug 22, 2021, 9:24 PM UTC

This is why I am looking for a simple AR headset: so I can look at code while walking through the woods in my area. Just a simple translucent IDE is all I need.

I definitely feel that I am better at thinking when walking, but I also need to be looking at source code to get the details, otherwise I can only think about larger architecture.

When is this coming?

Re: On the link between great thinking and obsessive walking

#36

Post by Sevii » Sun, Aug 22, 2021, 9:26 PM UTC

lordnacho wrote: post #35

This is why I am looking for a simple AR headset: so I can look at code while walking through the woods in my area. Just a simple translucent IDE is all I need. I definitely feel that I am better at thinking when walking, but I also need to be looking at source code to get the details, otherwise I can only think about larger architecture. When is this coming?

The wolfram alpha founder does this with a laptop and custom harness.

Re: On the link between great thinking and obsessive walking

#37

Post by omarhaneef » Sun, Aug 22, 2021, 9:27 PM UTC

Lots of writers are also runners. But if you’re collecting walking-thinking connections I’ll add: Kahneman mentions somewhere that many of his ideas with Tversky emerged from long walks the two took together.

Re: On the link between great thinking and obsessive walking

#38

Post by SamPatt » Sun, Aug 22, 2021, 9:30 PM UTC

dasil003 wrote: post #25

damontal wrote: post #16

Would listening to music or a podcast or an audiobook interfere with the generation of ideas while walking? I love running and walking but I always feel like I have to have something playing in my ear during.

I believe it does interfere. I started walking pretty obsessively during the pandemic as a way to get exercise that I used to get by bicycle commuting. Normally I would listen to podcasts during this time. However a few times when I went without anything in my ears I noticed that I was starting to do real work while walking, and coming up with great solutions to difficult problems. Now I limit podcasts just as I woul…

I second this.

I do long distance cycling and always had an audiobook going. One day my battery died and I had an hour and a half of silence.

I found my thoughts were enjoyable. I now take some rides without any audio at all.

Re: On the link between great thinking and obsessive walking

#39

Post by ReactiveJelly » Sun, Aug 22, 2021, 9:33 PM UTC

andy_ppp wrote: post #32

throwaway803453 wrote: post #13

Somewhat related, about 10 years ago I was in a tragic situation where someone I loved would be murdered but I couldn't speak out because of possible retaliation against my family. I found myself compulsively walking randomly in the city every night for several nights. I would walk half way to a random destination only to change directions in 30 minutes convinced I was headed the wrong way forgetting the previous des…

Do you still believe they were murdered? Who were these people? Which country is performing possible assassinations in America? Why would they want to murder your family member? So many questions!

Yeah the story about losing a family member to murder (a pretty rare form of death, AIUI) overshadows whatever they were saying about walking

Re: On the link between great thinking and obsessive walking

#40

Post by TchoBeer » Sun, Aug 22, 2021, 9:38 PM UTC

Sevii wrote: post #36

lordnacho wrote: post #35

This is why I am looking for a simple AR headset: so I can look at code while walking through the woods in my area. Just a simple translucent IDE is all I need. I definitely feel that I am better at thinking when walking, but I also need to be looking at source code to get the details, otherwise I can only think about larger architecture. When is this coming?

The wolfram alpha founder does this with a laptop and custom harness.

https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2019/02/seeking-the-prod... this article goes into some details about Stephen Wolfram's walking laptop setup.