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Mihály Csíkszentmihályi has died

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Re: Mihály Csíkszentmihályi has died

#71

Post by relativeadv »

troppl wrote: post #70

Tangentially related, but has anyone here read his other book, "Creativity: The Psychology of Discovery and Invention". I loved "Flow" (his main book) so I wanted to read something else from him, but somehow it was just not the same. In the Flow book, I understood which concepts I should understand as a reader and the background of them, including individual stories, was very coherent. I can't really say the same abo…

ten years ago I took a college freshman course that centered around "Creativity." I've never actually read all of Flow and so "Creativity" was my introduction to the Flow concept. I was an art student at the time so it was convenient to have source material that did the work of showing me how any of this was relevant to what I do. That said, it definitely seems like "Creativity" was a re-hash of the concepts originated within Flow. It has been a long time since I read it and should probably revisit.

I often forget, but it was this book that helped me decide to become a programmer. I flip-flopped a lot between college majors and just generally what the hell it was i wanted to do for a living. The professor who ran that course asked me what job would easily create (and sustain) flow states for me. For me, it was programming that did the trick. Not even art, which i did for 12 hours a day at the time, worked quite as well.

Re: Mihály Csíkszentmihályi has died

#72

Post by browningstreet »

BostonEnginerd wrote: post #36
underyx wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love Flow, it's my favorite cafe to work from in Budapest. Can't wait to visit home so I can hang out there again.

Thanks for the recommendation! In pre-COVID times, I would visit Budapest a few times per year. My coffee stops are usually Addicted2Caffeine on Bartok Bela, and Tamp & Pull, depending on which hotel I'm staying at. There's also Barako Kavehaz, which serves an interesting Filipino coffee varietal called Liberica Barako.

I'm a regular visitor to Budapest (both parents were born there) and have added all of these to my list of things to include on my next trip.. whenever that may be (borders).

Re: Mihály Csíkszentmihályi has died

#73

Post by leobg »

kashyapc wrote: post #31

One of my favorite quotes from his book, Flow : "The ultimate test for the ability to control the quality of experience is what a person does in solitude, with no external demands to give structure to attention. It is relatively easy to become involved with a job, to enjoy the company of friends, to be entertained in a theater or at a concert. But what happens when we are left to our own devices? Alone, when the dark…

Well. In such situations, I turn to HN. Now what does that say about me?

Re: Mihály Csíkszentmihályi has died

#74

Post by gHosts »

stavros wrote: post #35
kmarc wrote: post #19

For the casual HN reader, he was the one who recognized and scientifically described the creative state of "flow" [1] Why would it be of interest for the audience of hackernews? Well, programmers and related fields' mostly creative workers tend to experience the flow, and even though it is hard to explain (or describe, for that matter) most of us agree that it's great to be in. [1]: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fl…

I tend to describe flow as "when an hour passes in three minutes".

Or that which open plan offices most effectively destroy.

Re: Mihály Csíkszentmihályi has died

#75

Post by kmarc »

QuestingElf wrote: post #60
kmarc wrote: post #19

For the casual HN reader, he was the one who recognized and scientifically described the creative state of "flow" [1] Why would it be of interest for the audience of hackernews? Well, programmers and related fields' mostly creative workers tend to experience the flow, and even though it is hard to explain (or describe, for that matter) most of us agree that it's great to be in. [1]: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fl…

Summoning that successful kind of creative, productive, free play state of mind is really difficult in software coding job interviews. There's a lot of back and forth, warming up as well as looking up things and experimenting to reach that flow state. Once you're in it, you know you're in it. You've shipped robust apps thanks to it. Having to explain that almost instinctive process to a complete stranger who has cont…

FWIW, I mostly find these interviews useless on almost every aspect, including measuring candidates programming abilities that could contribute the projects/products given company is hiring for.

But it's an interesting aspect anyway, if a candidate ever experienced / aware of flow

Re: Mihály Csíkszentmihályi has died

#76

Post by TawandaMoyo »

DocTomoe wrote: post #40
kashyapc wrote: post #31

One of my favorite quotes from his book, Flow : "The ultimate test for the ability to control the quality of experience is what a person does in solitude, with no external demands to give structure to attention. It is relatively easy to become involved with a job, to enjoy the company of friends, to be entertained in a theater or at a concert. But what happens when we are left to our own devices? Alone, when the dark…

> Csíkszentmihályi's Flow also introduced me to Seneca and Marcus Aurelius (although, I prefer Epictetus to Aurelius). Flow led me down the rabbit hole to philosophical Daoism. It is astonishing how closely intertwined philosophy and psychology turn out to be.

Felt the same too. Concepts like wu wei are clearly related to flow. And Taoism has a lot of stories that relate to flow, my favorite being Cook Ding cutting up an ox.

Re: Mihály Csíkszentmihályi has died

#77

Post by tomjen3 »

Koshkin wrote: post #42

(OT) One big problem of completely different languages sharing the same alphabet is the tendency to keep the spelling of names in the original language rather than convert it to reflect the way it may be read off in your own. For the life of me I can’t even guess how to pronounce this post’s title. (Or, when you have to call a guy whose last name - in English - is Chrząszcz, what do you do?)

You can't convert all names to English anyway, because there are sounds in some languages that do not exist in English.

I am Danish, and have yet to hear anybody not a Dane pronounce Søren Kierkegaard[0] correct. I wouldn't have a clue how to rewrite the name so that it becomes more clear.

[0]: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Da-S%C3%...

Re: Mihály Csíkszentmihályi has died

#78

Post by dredmorbius »

dredmorbius wrote: post #33

I had a brief email exchange with Csikszentmihalyi a few years ago over a concept he'd mentioned in an Edge essay. Discussion turned to other notable Hungarians (and Austrians), including the Polanyis (Karl and Michael). He'd known their neice, Eva Zeisel Polanyi, a ceramicist, and he dropped this small-world gem: Karl Popper used to go hunting in the summers through the Carpatian Mountains with my grandfather; occas…

There've also been numerous previous discussions of Csikszentmihalyi on HN. Via Algolia search: https://hn.algolia.com/?q=Csikszentmihalyi

A more complete obituary was also submitted as his death was announced though marked a dupe on HN.

"Mihály Csíkszentmihályi- Flow Theory Architect, Hungarian-American Psychologist, Dies Aged 88"

https://hungarytoday.hu/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi-flow-theory-...

(HN submission: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28948395)

Re: Mihály Csíkszentmihályi has died

#79

Post by BostonEnginerd »

browningstreet wrote: post #72
BostonEnginerd wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for the recommendation! In pre-COVID times, I would visit Budapest a few times per year. My coffee stops are usually Addicted2Caffeine on Bartok Bela, and Tamp & Pull, depending on which hotel I'm staying at. There's also Barako Kavehaz, which serves an interesting Filipino coffee varietal called Liberica Barako.

I'm a regular visitor to Budapest (both parents were born there) and have added all of these to my list of things to include on my next trip.. whenever that may be (borders).

I really love visiting there. Hoping that I can get over there sometime soon!

Re: Mihály Csíkszentmihályi has died

#80

Post by Koshkin »

tomjen3 wrote: post #77
Koshkin wrote: post #42

(OT) One big problem of completely different languages sharing the same alphabet is the tendency to keep the spelling of names in the original language rather than convert it to reflect the way it may be read off in your own. For the life of me I can’t even guess how to pronounce this post’s title. (Or, when you have to call a guy whose last name - in English - is Chrząszcz, what do you do?)

You can't convert all names to English anyway, because there are sounds in some languages that do not exist in English. I am Danish, and have yet to hear anybody not a Dane pronounce Søren Kierkegaard[0] correct. I wouldn't have a clue how to rewrite the name so that it becomes more clear. [0]: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Da-S%C3%...

But the pronunciation does not have to be correct. The way similar words (and names) are pronounced in a given language is a matter of that language alone. You cannot demand that a Chinese student must pronounce the name as a Dane would; you cannot require that a Russian student knows and uses the original spelling, either. So, Sorren Quirky Guard is the best I can do; my preference, of course, would be to have a more correct sounding "native" spelling that an English speaking person would be able to read.
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