If you have such a hard time not reading reddit or hackernews maybe the correct conclusion is not that you're 'wasting' time but that there's something enjoyable about so called low quality or idle activities and that they're normal part of a healthy life. I think it's deeply ironic that people will judge videogames on that basis but then to proceed to gamify and min-max their entire life because of this rat race men…
Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time. (Many credits https://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/06/11/time-you-enjoy/ )
Scattered thoughts on why I waste my own time
161–170 of 179 posts
Re: Scattered thoughts on why I waste my own time
#162Earlier quoted context omitted.
> In gambling addiction the gamblers aren't addicted to winning, they are addicted to losing, or "almost winning". I disagree. I remember my DotA addiction, I wasn't addicted to losing or "almost winning", if anything I was addicted to "almost losing". Stomping the enemy wasn't fun, getting stomped wasn't fun, almost winning but losing in the end was VERY not fun, almost losing but winning in the end was a huge high,…
That's why I try not playing competitive video games anymore. Matchmaking is set up so that you have a 50/50 win/loss rate. When you take into consideration all the outcomes you mentioned, maybe 1/20 games was fulfilling. Not to mention the "can't quit on a loss, can't quit on a winning streak" mentality.
Re: Scattered thoughts on why I waste my own time
#163Why not keep "wasting time" but through a filter, like a different language? Language learning by immersion is a thing, and by consuming stuff you're drawn to (just in a different anguage) you're likely learning faster doing so.
Difficult to get over the initial curve. I'm attempting your suggestion lately.
Before that I got fluid in Spanish by living in a non tourist location for several years.
Re: Scattered thoughts on why I waste my own time
#164Earlier quoted context omitted.
Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time. (Many credits https://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/06/11/time-you-enjoy/ )
Would it 'twere so simple.
Re: Scattered thoughts on why I waste my own time
#165Earlier quoted context omitted.
Or as Hamming says in his famous essay: He who works with a closed door is more productive today and tomorrow, but over time works on just slightly the wrong things to make an impact. But those with an open door are full of flitting and scattering and keep getting distracted, yet over time stay aligned with the field and are much more likely to do important work
Is there a link to this essay? I'm curious now. Edit: found it https://www.cs.virginia.edu/~robins/YouAndYourResearch.html
https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...
Most recently: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28322153
At least 10 instances with some discussion.
The lecture is part of a series of lectures by Richard W. Hamming and is collected into a book The art of doing science and engineering : learning to learn
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2FF649D0C4407B30
https://www.worldcat.org/title/art-of-doing-science-and-engi...
Re: Scattered thoughts on why I waste my own time
#166If you have such a hard time not reading reddit or hackernews maybe the correct conclusion is not that you're 'wasting' time but that there's something enjoyable about so called low quality or idle activities and that they're normal part of a healthy life. I think it's deeply ironic that people will judge videogames on that basis but then to proceed to gamify and min-max their entire life because of this rat race men…
As in the comment above.
Re: Scattered thoughts on why I waste my own time
#167If you have such a hard time not reading reddit or hackernews maybe the correct conclusion is not that you're 'wasting' time but that there's something enjoyable about so called low quality or idle activities and that they're normal part of a healthy life. I think it's deeply ironic that people will judge videogames on that basis but then to proceed to gamify and min-max their entire life because of this rat race men…
"Why quit smoking? If you're smoking this much, it must bring you great joy!" You don't seem to understand how addiction works.
The fact that it's not scientifically proven that compulsive browsing is harmful was explicitly addressed in the article. That's a problem.
In my opinion, the biggest problem with compulsive browsing is that you give up a proactive design of your own free time. You hand over all decisions to the algorithms. The only decision left is whether or not to open up a thumbnail. It's a slot machine, it's gambling. For a laugh, for entertainment, for the next dopamine hit.
"Why quit gambling? It's only a couple minutes every night, and you have so many minutes left."
Re: Scattered thoughts on why I waste my own time
#168Earlier quoted context omitted.
Would it 'twere so simple.
Care to expand? It may depend on your values. Is the purpose of a life to be as productive as possible? Is it to share love with friends and family? We have this sick obsession with productivity that harms our quality of life. Wouldn't you rather make the world happier "wasting" good time with those close to you (even yourself, e.g. video games) than being "productive" for someone else's bottom line?
Re: Scattered thoughts on why I waste my own time
#169When you watch something like "The Bachelor" every day together with your girlfriend, some might consider that wasting time. And maybe it is, but I wouldn't consider it problematic. It's limited to one episode per day. And when you're watching it with someone else there's a social aspect to it. Ultimately it might not be valuable. It won't make you smarter, hustle harder, or improve your life. It's not a worthwhile endeavor. But I still wouldn't consider it problematic.
So that's one hypothetical situation. Another is when you open up Reddit because... well, that's what you always do while eating. And then keep scrolling /r/all for three or six hours, and go to bed at 3. What I consider problematic here is that the decision of what I feed my brain is deferred to a website. And that sometimes I have a hard time willing myself to stop.
So I don't think it should be about wasting time, because that derails the discussion into what is considered a waste of time and what isn't. That's a question everybody should find their own answers to. The issue is that you're not happy with how you spend your time. It becomes problematic once you can't control your usage, can't stop once you start using, and feel like you're no longer in control over what you're watching.
Thank you for posting by the way.
Re: Scattered thoughts on why I waste my own time
#170If you have such a hard time not reading reddit or hackernews maybe the correct conclusion is not that you're 'wasting' time but that there's something enjoyable about so called low quality or idle activities and that they're normal part of a healthy life. I think it's deeply ironic that people will judge videogames on that basis but then to proceed to gamify and min-max their entire life because of this rat race men…
The article is written by someone who regards their habit as a problem, and, without knowing anything about it, you try to minimize it. "Why quit smoking? If you're smoking this much, it must bring you great joy!" You don't seem to understand how addiction works. The fact that it's not scientifically proven that compulsive browsing is harmful was explicitly addressed in the article. That's a problem. In my opinion, t…