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Ask HN: How do you deal with information and internet addiction?

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Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with information and internet addiction?

#111

Post by tippytippytango »

I’d bet your information diet has become mostly stuff recommended to you by algorithms. This kills our creativity because we are just thinking about the same stuff that every other person is getting recommended at this moment. There’s no room for us to think your own thoughts, we just jump from latest thing to latest thing and sound like a twitter summarizer bot at parties.

There’s a simple way to solve this. You get to indulge your love of information. BUT, only if you searched for it first.

Want to look at twitter? Don’t look at the feed, search for something relevant to you. Want to watch a YouTube video? Search for something you care about, something relevant to your perspective.

When you seek out information you are spontaneously curious about, it connects to real problems in your life, things you might have a genuine opportunity to influence. If you consume algorithmic content, your head fills up with problems you can’t do anything about. It’s paralyzing.

It’s important to write, take walks or sit and stare at a tree or even a wall. That’s where the ideas find their space to entire your mind.

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with information and internet addiction?

#112

Post by s1artibartfast »

eBombzor wrote: post #98
labrador wrote: post #11

I handle it by collecting quotes that tell me to knock it off. I've since started to focus on just the things I really care about: The purpose of knowledge is action, not knowledge. ― Aristotle Knowledge isn't free. You have to pay attention ― Richard Feynman "Information is not truth" ― Yuval Noah Harari If I were the plaything of every thought, I would be a fool, not a wise man. ― Rumi Dhamma is in your mind, not i…

Okay... so what about academic research?

What about it?

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with information and internet addiction?

#114

Post by dinkleberg »

zzzbra wrote: post #58
labrador wrote: post #11

I handle it by collecting quotes that tell me to knock it off. I've since started to focus on just the things I really care about: The purpose of knowledge is action, not knowledge. ― Aristotle Knowledge isn't free. You have to pay attention ― Richard Feynman "Information is not truth" ― Yuval Noah Harari If I were the plaything of every thought, I would be a fool, not a wise man. ― Rumi Dhamma is in your mind, not i…

Thank you for this -- adding these to my quotes Anki deck. I would also add to these the TS Elliot quote from his work, the Rock: > “Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?”

I’m curious, how do you use quotes in your anki deck? Do you do a card like “What did TS Elliot say about knowledge?” And have the answer be the quote?

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with information and internet addiction?

#115

Post by 50 »

labrador wrote: post #11

I handle it by collecting quotes that tell me to knock it off. I've since started to focus on just the things I really care about: The purpose of knowledge is action, not knowledge. ― Aristotle Knowledge isn't free. You have to pay attention ― Richard Feynman "Information is not truth" ― Yuval Noah Harari If I were the plaything of every thought, I would be a fool, not a wise man. ― Rumi Dhamma is in your mind, not i…

It seems to me distraction hinges on some imaginative falsivity. Kafka, in effect: "Life is a continual distraction which does not even allow us to reflect on that from which we are being distracted."

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with information and internet addiction?

#116

Post by ImaCake »

While this post has many great responses I want to also suggest that difficulty with addictions and failure to do what you actually want to do are also hallmarks of ADHD. Not everyone with these problems has it, but if you do then treating the disorder will make dealing with the addiction easier.

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with information and internet addiction?

#117

Post by mike_mg »

beezlebroxxxxxx wrote: post #99
mike_mg wrote: post #80

> Does anybody else feel that way? oh yeah, sure! 2 actionable things that changed my view on this things completely: 1) Huberman lab podcast on dopamine: https://hubermanlab.com/how-to-increase-motivation-and-drive... . It's not some self help BS, all based on science, backed by publications. TL; DR, you might be riding too high on dopamine / layering too many dopaminergic activities. You might need to lower your ba…

I think I've ran into some criticisms of Huberman for often citing animal studies as equally applicable to human studies. Tbf, I like Huberman generally, but I do also think he's very good at making every single thing he says "science based" as if the existence of a single finding from a one-off study on mice is somehow iron clad confirmation and proof in favor of his specific recommendation. But his general recommen…

Indeed, citing animal studies for humans is a classic bio meme: https://twitter.com/justsaysinmice

I haven't seen huberman accused of this yet, interesting. Innocent until proven guilty?

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with information and internet addiction?

#118

Post by aloer »

labrador wrote: post #11

I handle it by collecting quotes that tell me to knock it off. I've since started to focus on just the things I really care about: The purpose of knowledge is action, not knowledge. ― Aristotle Knowledge isn't free. You have to pay attention ― Richard Feynman "Information is not truth" ― Yuval Noah Harari If I were the plaything of every thought, I would be a fool, not a wise man. ― Rumi Dhamma is in your mind, not i…

In the context of quotes I will throw in what I read on reddit the other day:

  Addiction is giving up everything for one thing, 
  sobriety is giving up one thing for everything
Unfortunately knowing quotes is not enough to kick the habit. Too much time spent on reddit and HN :/

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with information and internet addiction?

#119

Post by chki »

eBombzor wrote: post #113
s1artibartfast wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about it?

What "action" does the knowledge from academic research provide to a grad student?

It enables action. Knowledge is not pointless but it is not the end goal. An education is not pointless but it is meant to lead to some action afterwards like designing a house after studying architecture. That action might even be creating more knowledge (both by researching and teaching), if you are thinking about a career in academia.

I'm actually not sure whether I fully agree, I think that knowledge can also be a goal in and of itself sometimes.

Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with information and internet addiction?

#120

Post by gessha »

I found HealthyGamerGG’s recent video really useful for this:

https://youtu.be/8PYhEWK2wVA

Some scattered notes from this video:

- when you're bored, your mind is looking for a particular stimulation

- when you allow yourself to resolve boredom with dopaminergic activities like video games, you reinforce for yourself the idea that this is how to relieve yourself of boredom. Your brain in turn will learn to immediately reach for unproductive, dopaminergic activities to make the boredom stop

- if you resist the boredom (procrastinate on boredom, procrastinate on procrastinating) your mind will start thinking creatively

- shower thoughts, hikes - times when your boredom is unresolved and creativity follows it

- capture your fleeting creative impulses

- instead of falling for a craving or a desire, jot it down and meditate on it, think it through. Ask yourself: "What else can I do?"

- Examples - jot things down, work on small business idea, doodle, anything but falling for your boredom resolution

- The reason why we typically don't do this is we don't have the habit of it and we don't reinforce it

- reflect on the work that do

- people are not good at it

- Playing a game a lot does not reflect on skill

- physicians who practice a lot are not necessarily the best at a specific task but the ones who reflect are

- It may help you to visualize this step as an IRL replay analysis. Bronze tier players in video games stay bronze because they don't actively seek out their mistakes and tro to correct them.

- rereading notes, revisiting older work helps create new ideas

- ride out boredom

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