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The Top Of My Todo List

paulgraham.com

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Re: The Top Of My Todo List

#51

Post by Estragon »

technology wrote: post #43
Estragon wrote: post #21

It's hard to step outside the systems of social domination which suppress dreams, encourage overwork, etc. because they operate from fears which are often so deep-seated we're often not even aware of them. Bringing those fears into the light and unlearning the reactions they trigger is the main goal of spiritual practice (at least of mine.) This sort of emotional study and training is on the critical path for all of…

Another tool for designing out choices is called "Nudge" [1] By a nudge we mean anything that influences our choices. A school cafeteria might try to nudge kids toward good diets by putting the healthiest foods at front. We think that it's time for institutions, including government, to become much more user-friendly by enlisting the science of choice to make life easier for people and by gentling nudging them in dir…

Interesting, but I think we're talking about very different things. You're talking about engineering systems which manipulate people into doing things you think are good for them, and I'm talking about largely undoing the system's scope for such manipulation, by undoing the internal mechanisms by which such systems operate.

The other post currently at the top of HN is about the poster's fear that by pursuing entrepreneurial ambitions now they are setting themselves up for economic irrelevancy in a few years' time. The top comment in that thread is currently from an experienced programmer saying that he has almost never had the optimal skillset for any job market of the last three decades, yet never been unemployed. That's the kind of fear which turns someone into a cog, and the kind of thing you have to undo to live out pg's desiderata.

Re: The Top Of My Todo List

#52

Post by pg »

aantix wrote: post #50
pg wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn't phrase them that way by accident. "Follow your dreams" is too strong. I wrote about that here: http://www.paulgraham.com/hs.html . "Don't work too much" is phrased that way because it really is a matter of avoiding something.

>Don't work too much Then why advocated startups "as a way to compress your whole working life into a few years." So is this balance only good after you've "made it"? http://paulgraham.com/wealth.html

The phrase "don't work too much" doesn't mean "don't do a lot of work today." It means don't let work take up your whole life. Starting a startup is the best way to do that, if you're suited to it. Note the word "compress" in the passage you quote.

Re: The Top Of My Todo List

#53

Post by paul »

allbombs wrote: post #3

"Don't ignore your dreams; don't work too much; say what you think; cultivate friendships; be happy." Will counter and say, it's impossible to achieve dreams (or the first big exit) without putting your head down, working insane hours, neglecting friends, and being miserable. Need to live the bad times, ultimate lows, to fully realize happiness and no regrets.

Nope. The journey is the destination.

Re: The Top Of My Todo List

#54

Post by [deleted] »

aantix wrote: post #50
pg wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn't phrase them that way by accident. "Follow your dreams" is too strong. I wrote about that here: http://www.paulgraham.com/hs.html . "Don't work too much" is phrased that way because it really is a matter of avoiding something.

>Don't work too much Then why advocated startups "as a way to compress your whole working life into a few years." So is this balance only good after you've "made it"? http://paulgraham.com/wealth.html

[deleted]

Re: The Top Of My Todo List

#55

Post by ernestipark »

aantix wrote: post #50
pg wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn't phrase them that way by accident. "Follow your dreams" is too strong. I wrote about that here: http://www.paulgraham.com/hs.html . "Don't work too much" is phrased that way because it really is a matter of avoiding something.

>Don't work too much Then why advocated startups "as a way to compress your whole working life into a few years." So is this balance only good after you've "made it"? http://paulgraham.com/wealth.html

I interpret this more as, don't work to the point where it pushes other priorities out of your life. For me, I'm young and don't have a family, so starting a startup with some friends could be a tough, yet fun learning experience. Maybe for people in different circumstances, it takes over your life to the point that you lose sight of your relationships or faith.

Re: The Top Of My Todo List

#56

Post by _delirium »

Estragon wrote: post #21

It's hard to step outside the systems of social domination which suppress dreams, encourage overwork, etc. because they operate from fears which are often so deep-seated we're often not even aware of them. Bringing those fears into the light and unlearning the reactions they trigger is the main goal of spiritual practice (at least of mine.) This sort of emotional study and training is on the critical path for all of…

A big problem is that the fears are not all irrational, either, at least not in all circumstances. For many people on HN, they might be, but on average we tend to have pretty marketable skills and middle-class backgrounds (with some exceptions). I think for a lot of people it's unfortunately the case that making yourself look as much like a shiny cog as possible really is the best strategy to making a decent living.

In sheer numbers, the largest path out of poverty is a pretty mundane one: find a stable middle-class job in a large company. There are more exciting rags-to-riches stories, but rags-to-decent-paycheck stories are a lot more numerous and high-probability. So, maximizing attractiveness to large companies is probably the highest-probability way out of poverty. And, large companies are large machines whose hiring processes usually aim to acquire new cogs that can be inserted into the machine as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

Re: The Top Of My Todo List

#57

Post by AznHisoka »

dkrich wrote: post #23

At the risk of sounding cynical, I wonder how much it actually matters. We tend to live our lives thinking as we go that we should be striving to end up at some optimal place and that the purpose of our lives is desperately trying to keep us exactly on that course. If we don't ask the girl to the dance, or give up on an idea, or spend extra nights at the office to get a promotion instead of hanging out with our famil…

You're right, it doesn't matter. Life is absurd is death is the final word. Just live it however you want.. just don't toil 60 hours working for some company, that's the worst.

Re: The Top Of My Todo List

#59

Post by javajosh »

pg wrote: post #52
aantix wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Don't work too much Then why advocated startups "as a way to compress your whole working life into a few years." So is this balance only good after you've "made it"? http://paulgraham.com/wealth.html

The phrase "don't work too much" doesn't mean "don't do a lot of work today." It means don't let work take up your whole life. Starting a startup is the best way to do that, if you're suited to it. Note the word "compress" in the passage you quote.

This implies that you advocate working very hard for what is essentially an early retirement.

Re: The Top Of My Todo List

#60

Post by MrJagil »

As a person who is currently pretty much paralyzed by anxiety attacks I can vouch for the "don't work too much" part. Even though the cause of my distress was actually a mixture of work and fun. It sounds counterintuitive but doing stuff you like and being happy can actually be quite stressful.

Please remember to take vacations and the like.

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