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

Re: On the link between great thinking and obsessive walking

#161

Post by lordnacho » Mon, Aug 23, 2021, 9:58 AM UTC

decodebytes wrote: post #134

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.

I actually like what I do though, otherwise why would I want to bring it with me? I feel good when I code, I feel good when walking, and I'll feel better if I can code while walking.

It's really a bit patronizing, as an adult without an AR headset I've obviously tried "just walking and reflecting".

Re: On the link between great thinking and obsessive walking

#162

Post by Pandabob » Mon, Aug 23, 2021, 10:01 AM UTC

According to Apple Fitness for the past year I've walked on average 15.9 km per day (or 19715 steps). It's fair to say that I enjoy it immensely.

The thought of walking being a privilege of certain a subset of the population hadn't even crossed my mind, but does make me a little sad.

Re: On the link between great thinking and obsessive walking

#163

Post by zabzonk » Mon, Aug 23, 2021, 10:10 AM UTC

> 19th-century naturalist’s version of backpacking around Europe during a gap year

I find it hard to imagine sailing around the somewhat quite unknown world on an 19thC sailing ship (rum, sodomy and the lash, not to mention scurvy, rats, cockroaches) was much like a millennial gap year.

Re: On the link between great thinking and obsessive walking

#164

Post by Uberphallus » Mon, Aug 23, 2021, 10:12 AM UTC

C19is20 wrote: post #146

Uberphallus wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It shouldn't have to be this way, but try wearing sport clothing and make it a light jog for extra health points. And by that I mean actual sports clothing, not the archetypical tight Adidas tracksuit that the average European troublemaker wears.

Oh, the irony....

Where's the irony? The bias is there whether you like it or not.

Never have I ever been harassed while wearing sports or hiking clothing, including accidental trespassing in countries where I barely spoke the language. Can't say the same about the outfit I mentioned, while doing nothing wrong.

The fact that the Adidas tracksuit and the tiny bag are the closest thing to the official uniform of a drug dealer in much of Western Europe became apparent really quick.

Re: On the link between great thinking and obsessive walking

#165

Post by globular-toast » Mon, Aug 23, 2021, 10:14 AM UTC

What in the hell is that video embedded on the page doing? I was reading, then noticed a woman's head moving which distracted me. The article was interesting enough that I was prepared to put in the effort to pause it myself, but when I mouse over the video pauses and presents a play button. When I mouse out it starts playing again.

Re: On the link between great thinking and obsessive walking

#166

Post by PartiallyTyped » Mon, Aug 23, 2021, 10:30 AM UTC

bordakt wrote: post #44

eurasiantiger wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Try digging a tunnel. Sensory deprivation combined with meticulous hard labor can be enlightening.

Very interesting you said that here. I regurarly walk aimlessly, I regurarly have this impression that i have to skip a day of sleep to be exceptionally productive, and i also used to be obseessed with digging large holes especially when i was younger and able to dig like that in my parents garden.

As a person that often exhibits characteristics and symptoms of depression (but has never been officially diagnosed), I find that staying awake for well over a day can clear my symptoms and reset my brain. I Scott Alexander has written an essay on this [1].

[1] https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/sleep-is-the-mate-of-d...

Re: On the link between great thinking and obsessive walking

#167

Post by LudwigNagasena » Mon, Aug 23, 2021, 10:31 AM UTC

jee1shi wrote: post #160

atoav wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it depends entirely on where you are in Germany, like everywhere you have more tolerant places and more intolerant places. Curiously the places with the least foreigners are the most xenophobic ones and vice versa.

> Curiously the places with the least foreigners are the most xenophobic ones and vice versa. That's actually the standard. It's easy to be xenophobic when someone has very little exposure to other cultures. Once they get exposed over a long period of time, people realise that they are just people too.

It’s also easy to be tolerant towards someone you don’t have to interact with. Once you get exposed to other cultures you realize that they are different.

Re: On the link between great thinking and obsessive walking

#168

Post by blowski » Mon, Aug 23, 2021, 10:31 AM UTC

jee1shi wrote: post #160

atoav wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it depends entirely on where you are in Germany, like everywhere you have more tolerant places and more intolerant places. Curiously the places with the least foreigners are the most xenophobic ones and vice versa.

> Curiously the places with the least foreigners are the most xenophobic ones and vice versa. That's actually the standard. It's easy to be xenophobic when someone has very little exposure to other cultures. Once they get exposed over a long period of time, people realise that they are just people too.

Exactly. When your main exposure to other cultures is via tabloid media versions of those cultures, it's not surprising that you believe strange things about them.

Re: On the link between great thinking and obsessive walking

#169

Post by globular-toast » Mon, Aug 23, 2021, 10:37 AM UTC

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…

I enjoy walking very much and I can understand that it might increase overall health and therefore the quality of one's thoughts. But I never have good thoughts while walking. My brain seems to be occupied in the state of walking itself. To get into deep thought I need to be sitting down with no distractions.

Re: On the link between great thinking and obsessive walking

#170

Post by blowski » Mon, Aug 23, 2021, 10:39 AM UTC

LudwigNagasena wrote: post #167

jee1shi wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Curiously the places with the least foreigners are the most xenophobic ones and vice versa. That's actually the standard. It's easy to be xenophobic when someone has very little exposure to other cultures. Once they get exposed over a long period of time, people realise that they are just people too.

It’s also easy to be tolerant towards someone you don’t have to interact with. Once you get exposed to other cultures you realize that they are different.

I guess the realisation we're talking about is going from thinking "they eat human babies" to "they drink different types of tea".