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

Re: On the link between great thinking and obsessive walking

#131

Post by dmos62 » Mon, Aug 23, 2021, 7:37 AM UTC

vivferrari wrote: post #128

I was recently reading a book called Why we Swim where the author traces how the ape got back into the water. I think she rightly points out that Swimming is the best place to think because there is no way to be distracted by your phone or anything else for that matter. While I am also in a landlocked city with little access to pools but it would be interesting to get the point of view of swimmers.

There's headphones for swimmers :)

Re: On the link between great thinking and obsessive walking

#132

Post by mackrevinack » Mon, Aug 23, 2021, 7:38 AM UTC

keerthiko wrote: post #83

jcq3 wrote: post #46

"Historically, however, walking has been the privilege of white men." Come on... Anyway, Nietzsche used to walk before writing like Darwin Long time ago I read that walking or taking a shower make your thinking more effective because it somehow enables automation mode and allow to be more focused

This statement is a bit broad and thus debatable in overall accuracy, but it is based on something real. It is probably overly centered on the western and white-centric world, since being white or not doesn't even come into question in many other parts of the world. But in the US/Europe... Women have been, for valid reasons and patriarchal overprotectiveness, been trained to feel vulnerable and exposed when walking o…

im fairly certain white men can't do the "idly staring into a park where kids may be playing" thing either

Re: On the link between great thinking and obsessive walking

#133

Post by quadrifoliate » Mon, Aug 23, 2021, 7:46 AM UTC

ilovefood wrote: post #118

I love walking and there are many parks next to where I live. However I am never able to fully enjoy it or indulge in any longer thinking activities as most of the time I'll be interrupted by either elderly people asking me "to go back where I came from" or random ID checks by undercover police. This happened a lot (5x times) over the last year when I decide to go and walk in a park, once even during an online call w…

I thought I was hurt a lot by casually racist comments passed by coworkers in a small, relatively liberal town in the US Midwest.

Then I read about your experiences and count myself lucky. I can say nothing other than, I hope things get better over time.

Re: On the link between great thinking and obsessive walking

#134

Post by decodebytes » Mon, Aug 23, 2021, 7:49 AM 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?

This is sad. Just enjoy walking through the woods, all the different colors and use that as time to reflect. You can still think about work and coding blocks you need to overcome, but spare yourself the IDE in front of your eyes. This is just symptomatic of how we are at an extreme with how we need to be productive, all of the time.

Re: On the link between great thinking and obsessive walking

#135

Post by pestatije » Mon, Aug 23, 2021, 7:58 AM UTC

robertwt7 wrote: post #97

Coming from Asia, especially tropical countries, walking is not very common during lunch time as you can get sweaty and disgusting coming back to work. After living in AU I'm surprised by how many of my co-workers do walking as part of their lunch break. Me on the other hand just stay at my computer, code, when I'm stuck I stop and think.. Maybe I should start walking rather than being a lazy ass

That's really surprising. In AU they'll leave their desks to go for lunch, yes. Go walking? Never seen that. The most they'll do is take the car to go to the gym.

Re: On the link between great thinking and obsessive walking

#136

Post by pr_nik2 » Mon, Aug 23, 2021, 8:05 AM UTC

For a long time, the scholarly consensus was that you are born with a fixed number of neurons and then start losing them over your lifetime. Now there is good evidence of adult neurogenesis and it seems to be linked to endurance exercise, such as walking. These links can be a starting point for reading up on it:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4425252/ https://www.npr.org/2011/02/04/133498136/growing-a-bigger-br...

Re: On the link between great thinking and obsessive walking

#137

Post by scns » Mon, Aug 23, 2021, 8:17 AM 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?

A treadmill desk might be easier to obtain.

Re: On the link between great thinking and obsessive walking

#138

Post by bryanrasmussen » Mon, Aug 23, 2021, 8:25 AM UTC

jolux wrote: post #107

bryanrasmussen wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>This statement is a bit broad and thus debatable in overall accuracy the statement is very broad and as such laughable. Basically it implies history is something that has existed in the last few hundred years in the Americas. It's ridiculous enough it could easily fit in a satirical skit. >"justifiably walking thoughts free with impunity" is indeed the privilege of white men in the lands of white men - maybe lose th…

You can choose to laugh at someone for misphrasing something, or you could just apply charity and move on…

it's a sentence in an article, not a typo and not a quick comment on HN, I have to assume a good amount of thought went into it.

Re: On the link between great thinking and obsessive walking

#139

Post by galfarragem » Mon, Aug 23, 2021, 8:27 AM UTC

ilovefood wrote: post #118

I love walking and there are many parks next to where I live. However I am never able to fully enjoy it or indulge in any longer thinking activities as most of the time I'll be interrupted by either elderly people asking me "to go back where I came from" or random ID checks by undercover police. This happened a lot (5x times) over the last year when I decide to go and walk in a park, once even during an online call w…

I had exactly the same experience while travelling in Morocco. Random ID checks by police and people bothering me all the time. And I'm male..

Unfortunately comments like mine (and yours) don't make things better. Possibly they make things worse.

Re: On the link between great thinking and obsessive walking

#140

Post by jjt-yn_t » Mon, Aug 23, 2021, 8:34 AM UTC

ilovefood wrote: post #118

I love walking and there are many parks next to where I live. However I am never able to fully enjoy it or indulge in any longer thinking activities as most of the time I'll be interrupted by either elderly people asking me "to go back where I came from" or random ID checks by undercover police. This happened a lot (5x times) over the last year when I decide to go and walk in a park, once even during an online call w…

Sympathize. Fall 1979 two city co-workers hooliganized near me near-victimizing the public outside, and by fall 1980 the news I was a leader of 3 hooligans [ due to police incompetance, LAPD, 1975 , along with the legislative-quality vocabulary I write with, vs the public ] was popularized by ten diverse types of upright citizens who should have known better simply by asking me, to have local FD clandestingly harass MY SLEEPING HOURS 1980-2021 resulting in neurological problems that PREVENTS enjoying walking so much. All through no fault nor intent nor permission of mine. Worse, I was born way early and the imposed neuro problems are ATOP ones I incur from being isolated in the NICU. The past 48 hours, in fact, where without 'the public' I would have slept, say, 18 hours, I was 'allowed' only 4 or so. USA!