Put down devices, let your mind wander, study suggests

Post by binkHN » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 3:56 AM UTC

quickthrower2 wrote: post #79

My anecdotal experience is this is good thing to do. But I am addicted to devices, especially HN, Reddit and a game I won't mention because I don't want to get you addicted to it too. I think you can get a lot of joy by letting your mind wander! It may not be productive (like an Eureka moment), but it can be fun, it can also remembering to do something you would have otherwise not thought about.

Post by quickthrower2 » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 4:01 AM UTC

pddpro wrote: post #84

quickthrower2 wrote: post #79

My anecdotal experience is this is good thing to do. But I am addicted to devices, especially HN, Reddit and a game I won't mention because I don't want to get you addicted to it too. I think you can get a lot of joy by letting your mind wander! It may not be productive (like an Eureka moment), but it can be fun, it can also remembering to do something you would have otherwise not thought about.

Try me.

Post by nisa » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 4:10 AM UTC

tapanjk wrote: post #99

nisa wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not being poor or in debt also helps quite a bit. Having a perspective and not being stuck in jobs that will never pay a house no matter what you do might also help. Having successful parents also helps, otherwise it's difficult to read all the subtle social cues that make a difference. Never felt as anxious and isolated as when hanging around with privileged art students. Subjectively society got a lot more focused…

> Never felt as anxious and isolated as when hanging around with privileged art students. I am picking up a broad brush but bear with me for the moment. It is likely that half -- if not more -- of those 'privileged art students' felt anxious and isolated in spite of their positive demeanor. If privilege alone was a solution for general well-being, we would not have as many rich and famous people struggling to keep it…

Post by bubblebaker » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 4:33 AM UTC

gofreddygo wrote: post #62

jerlam wrote: post #31

There's also the long-standing idea that people come up with great/interesting ideas while in the shower (so much that it's an internet meme), and that's attributed to the shower being one of the few places where you don't have media or electronics trying to capture your attention.

That phenomenon is very real in my personal case. Unfortunately the ideas go away by the time i get hold of pen and paper after the shower. Possible solutions to this are welcome.

Post by switchbak » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 4:50 AM UTC

liberia wrote: post #34

xcambar wrote: post #19

As I grew older, there are certain things I have learned to enjoy more, such as slowness, inaction, loneliness, boredom. Boredom is typically the most controversial, so the reason here is that boredom first allows for moments you want out of, but also there's more: It expands the range of comfort zone of emotions and sets the ground floor of your emotions low enough that you can actually welcome more experiences as r…

Well as a hacker, boredom is the enemy and we’re always at war with boredom. For a hacker, boredom is a form of death.