Live data from Hacker News

I'm an addict

onetwo.bearblog.dev

481–490 of 602 posts

Re: I'm an addict

#481
So, here's what I'd like to have heard N years ago: try medidation (in the eastern philosophy sense). Of course, at its root meditation is just 'sitting still' (and not doing anything else); there are many things that could go in your mind while you sit still.

Or simply set aside a sacred time block where you'll do nothing but think about what you will do for the day.

Meditation lets you clear your mind of anxiety, at least for a moment (and I find this moment is extended until you can become much less anxious all the time). It lets you get face to face with anxiety and understand why you're anxious. Or why you're avoiding something (like doing chores, your work or your homework), and then you can work to address those whys -- it could be moving to a different job or simply joyfully accepting your situation. I recommend the Zen tradition simply because it's the one I'm most familiar with.

Here are some suggestions for a meditation routine: (not exactly Zen meditation I believe, I've modified it a little)

(1) Start by breathing and focus on your breath;

(2) Scan your body and see if there's anything different or painful or uncomfortable; (I mean you whole body! every muscle that you know of, if you can) also take the opportunity to relax every muscle; be aware of your environment.

(3) After you're relaxed, spend some time clearing your mind. If anything comes to mind, "archive it", like saving it to disk and freeing your RAM. Try to make your mind a peaceful, clean slate, like a still water lake.

(4) Process whatever you're feeling uncomfortable about -- camly invite and embrace your fears and anxieties, understand where they come from, let them be felt, and then you can think clearly how to address them, without anxiety, fear or suffering.

(5) (Optional) Reflect on what you've accomplished and what you need to accomplish in the near term. How do those relate to the world and the most social good.

(6) Come out of meditation, slowly. Take a deep breath and resume your day.

During this, sometimes I keep my eyes closed, half closed, or fully open (but not wandering, concentrated in a single point). This requires a large amount of concentration, and I believe you will improve your overall ability to focus with this practice. Feel free to ask questions and add suggestions :)

edit: Another important teaching I got from (secular) Buddhism is to be realistic, attuned to reality (rationalism is a great resource as well). That includes the realism of your goals. Having unrealistic goals can make you really anxious and get in your way of doing anything at all. That doesn't mean you can improve; but for example tiny bits of realistic progress can be wonders for getting a project done, compared to unrealistic expectations of being active 100% of the time. Binges and distractions come when the reality of your limited stamina or simply rate of thinking clashes with your unrealistic expectations. Relaxing, resting, can be a healthy and necessary part of your routine, without unnecessary self-hatred and suffering.

Re: I'm an addict

#482

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That does not clarify things for me.

Okay, they are not literally adding up the hours in the day and accounting for how they spend 24 hours. Obviously they didn't include eating and bathroom breaks, so we know there are omissions here. They are saying the sum total of what they feel they are accomplishing in a day is waste time on Youtube and HN, and then sleep for a short amount of time. Maybe it's 3 hours, maybe longer. Later in the post the author sa…

Ok, I thought maybe the author is going to work getting 8 hours sleep etc. And spends their free time napping and watching youtube. I thought maybe they are software dev moaning about how they are not working on their side project in addition to a job. ... Which would be crazy! If u can hold down a job, pay rent, exercise, drink water etc. without losing it then youre doing great. You dont see many builders moaning that they dont build a small house in their backyard after labouring on the building site all day.

Re: I'm an addict

#484
post #341

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t want to guilt anyone here, but just sitting there and consuming oxygen and therefore calories is a significant environmental impact. Feeding humans, especially fresh fruits and vegetables or meat, has a pretty large environmental impact. (Staples like grains and such don’t because they’re storable and calorie-dense on a per-acre metric.) And humans can have a positive impact on the environment. We can plant t…

reminds me of church of euthanasia's "save the planet kill yourself" from the older internet. the point is that it's the least we can consume, in contrast with a more capitalist friendly "go sit at a cafe to buy a drink" or even a scholarly-ambitious "read a book, or newspaper or learn something, don't just sit there". both of which are much worse.

I think his point is that instead of minimizing consumption you should aim to actually produce something and not just drain "minimal" resources sitting around day dreaming.

Re: I'm an addict

#485

This hits hard. I recently counted hours watched on YT (via history export) and OH MY GD, it averaged around 3 hours daily throught the year, for several years. I just imagined WHAT IF I have spent this amount of effort and time on ANYTHING else: playing an instrument, learning a new language, coding a side-project. The thought scared me so much, aka the difference between current me and "potential" me that I have ab…

Very un-HN take but maybe you're not meant to be 100% efficient all the time, maybe having some time to be passive and relax is good actually. Maybe we work far too much already and expecting to be additionally productive outside those hours is an express train to burnout?

Instead of seeing them trying to maximize efficiency, think of them trying to maximize fulfillment. Now it makes more sense why binging Youtube (or whatever) might be a problem. And it's not about getting work done.

It's about being happy with the life you're living, the life you chose, and being able to take control to work towards your fulfilling desires rather than just choosing the feel-good compulsions forever.

Re: I'm an addict

#486
post #350

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any particular recommendations for an intermediate Japanese learner? Edit: Maybe "upper beginner" is a better fit. I dunno, self study is weird.

Self study is weird. I'm having a hard time finding good resources because I feel like the content is either too easy, not applicable by me, or completely impenetrable. I lack vocabulary and kanji knowledge to actually utilize grammar I've learned, but I also don't do well with rote memorization so I need material that's interesting and practical to learn with.

Yeah, for me my grammar is pretty weak, but I think my vocabulary is better. But I feel the same way about content. It's either too easy, really boring, or way too hard.

I was hoping for an easy win here. ;)

Re: I'm an addict

#487
I deeply resonate with this article. It's like the author read my mind.

ADHD feels really big and complicated as it lives in my brain, and it's always difficult to grapple with the question of, "Am I really addicted and need help for that, or is it my ADHD and need help for that?"

My best wishes go out to the author. I feel you.

Re: I'm an addict

#488

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Desoxyn 5mg is highly reviewed by people who have it prescribed for ADHD.

Generic name: methamphetamine hydrochloride Ummmm??? Maybe not a best first step to working on ADHD Problems...

No medication is ever the best first step but it's often a necessary one.

Re: I'm an addict

#489

Knowing that HN is generally against it, I say it anyway: I recommend religion and religious teachings which address this and many other daily worldly issues perfectly. Christianity and Judaism both have excellent resources. Religious scholars have actually been the best psychologists but are generally dismissed by non-believers. Edit: for those asking for specific recommendations. It’s always best to find your own p…

As someone who was religious when they are younger but no longer, why? I used to be a devout Christian until I went exploring the world and saw the unreal amount of massive suffering, imbedded greed etc; If god is real, he is a cruel god. We have the technology and means to ensure every person on this earth does not go hungry and has a safe place to sleep at night. But humans do human stuff. You probably pass plenty…

After the Irish Potato Famine that George Boole lived through, he worked on a paper named "Origin of Evil".

His conclusion was: Absolute evil does not exist and pain is an instrument of good.

I can't find it online, my source is the documentary "The Genius of George Boole" [1].

Kierkegaard's The Sickness unto Death [2] could be a related reading too. I remember that I enjoyed it in a fun way.

Also a dumb theory of mine is: suffering is the proof that you are still alive.

[1] https://youtu.be/Hljir_TyTEw?t=1855

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sickness_unto_Death

Re: I'm an addict

#490

Knowing that HN is generally against it, I say it anyway: I recommend religion and religious teachings which address this and many other daily worldly issues perfectly. Christianity and Judaism both have excellent resources. Religious scholars have actually been the best psychologists but are generally dismissed by non-believers. Edit: for those asking for specific recommendations. It’s always best to find your own p…

The problem I have with religion is the focus on "removing the doubt", which I strongly disagree with - doubting a god's existance is a major no-no in most popular religions. And as soon as you remove the doubt ban, you don't really have a religion anymore, but a philosophy. So I'd personally recommend philosophy to people, instead of religion. Bertrand Russell (also known for his mathematical work) is an excellent p…

>doubting a god's existance is a major no-no in most popular religions

This is certainly not true of the Christianity that I've been witness to all my life. In those circles, doubt is a given - an intrinsic component of the inquisitive human mind - and doubt is basically the core of all faith. If there's no room for doubt, there's no room for faith.

Post reply on HN