Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ten years of remembering every day that passes (2022)

lembransation.blogspot.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 108 posts

Re: Ten years of remembering every day that passes (2022)

#61

Post by newman8r »

bradley13 wrote: post #56

I'm not sure. Maybe it's because I have a poor memory to begin with, but I just don't see the reason for this. It reminds me of older people (mind, I'm over 60 myself) who spend all their time reminiscing. Isn't it better to look forward rather than back? Approaching retirement, my pressing question is: what do I want to do next ?

> Isn't it better to look forward rather than back?

After looking into some basic Zen philosophy, I think it also makes sense to consider focusing on spending more time in the present. The past and the future being ideas compared to the reality of the present - it's like watching a movie compared to real life. If the plight of the old is to reminisce, perhaps the plight of the young is to daydream. Both are important parts of life, but taking time to appreciate the present is easy to leave out.

Re: Ten years of remembering every day that passes (2022)

#62

Post by thread_id »

bradley13 wrote: post #56

I'm not sure. Maybe it's because I have a poor memory to begin with, but I just don't see the reason for this. It reminds me of older people (mind, I'm over 60 myself) who spend all their time reminiscing. Isn't it better to look forward rather than back? Approaching retirement, my pressing question is: what do I want to do next ?

I also am over 60 and my philosophy regarding this topic is similar. Life is a series of moments that happen and are over never to be revisted again (unless you make this effort - and good for those who do and get value in their lives for having done so). My memory of the past is also limited - I remember random people and events going back to early childhood for reasons I don't fully understand, but mostly I have forgotten all the eras of my life and I don't really dwell on it. I have no concept of time and it has always been that way and age has had zero impact here. I get it "The unexamined life..." etc. So I invest energy in introspection and self discovery in service of continuous improvment. Whether I am satisfied with the life I have lived or not makes no difference - I cannot go back and change it. However, no longer do I have the luxury of time. By comparison to the journey I have already completed, I have very few moments remaining. And one day.... So I gratfully focus on this moment and all the precious few moments I am graced with.

Re: Ten years of remembering every day that passes (2022)

#63

Post by passion__desire »

tetris11 wrote: post #2

Alzheimer's has to be one of the worst. I do find euthanasia to be a slippery slope[0], but I'll make an exception for Alzheimer's. 0: picture an understaffed and underfunded hospital, with a single nurse walking around calmingly asking anyone if they want it to end

movie "The Father" [0] really drived home the point of how much memory is part of our identity. I highly recommend this movie.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TZb7YfK-JI

Re: Ten years of remembering every day that passes (2022)

#64

Post by leobg »

dmd wrote: post #39
tmountain wrote: post #4

I just moved to a new country for the first time, and I've been doing a micro journal every day. Basically, I write 3-5 sentences capturing the most meaningful moments of the day. I've been doing this for two months now, and I've already found some benefits--both in gaining equilibrium and dialing up key details in sequence when necessary (i.e., when exactly did I start that home renovation project?). I'm lucky to be…

My wife and I have been keeping a daily journal since our first child was born in 2014 - about 100 - 200 words a day. (And before that i’d been doing it just for myself since 2006.) Besides just having it to go back to and read, something I’m really excited about is llm context windows getting large enough that I can feed the whole thing in (it’s about 1.5 million words) and ask questions. grep only goes so far.

You can already do that now. Run a sliding window over it, collecting anything relevant to your question. Then, summarize the summaries. (Or run vector search. But everybody does that, so it’s boring. :))

Re: Ten years of remembering every day that passes (2022)

#65

Post by passion__desire »

paganel wrote: post #13

I couldn't honestly do that, the nostalgia would be too much for me, even for only 10 years ago, even 5. And then how do you process past relationships and marriages? Or the death of loved ones? Or other such traumatic experiences?

Time heals (i.e. dampens) not just extreme sadness but also irrational exuberance.

Re: Ten years of remembering every day that passes (2022)

#66

Post by passion__desire »

bombcar wrote: post #41
dmd wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My wife and I have been keeping a daily journal since our first child was born in 2014 - about 100 - 200 words a day. (And before that i’d been doing it just for myself since 2006.) Besides just having it to go back to and read, something I’m really excited about is llm context windows getting large enough that I can feed the whole thing in (it’s about 1.5 million words) and ask questions. grep only goes so far.

The best part will be the LLM hallucinations of things that never happened, and then it gaslighting you. ;)

I think you will like this short story by Ted Chaing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Truth_of_Fact,_the_Truth_o...

Re: Ten years of remembering every day that passes (2022)

#67

Post by nequo »

em-bee wrote: post #22
tmountain wrote: post #4

I just moved to a new country for the first time, and I've been doing a micro journal every day. Basically, I write 3-5 sentences capturing the most meaningful moments of the day. I've been doing this for two months now, and I've already found some benefits--both in gaining equilibrium and dialing up key details in sequence when necessary (i.e., when exactly did I start that home renovation project?). I'm lucky to be…

when i got my first portable laptop (a sony picturebook) i started a travel diary in a similar manner. initially only when i was away from home, but when i moved countries being away from home became a permanent state, so i kept writing almost every day. until it became a habit. i don't review past entries, but like you i sometimes use the diary to research certain facts. interestingly, when i write i always have som…

Other than it helping you as a source when you need to recall facts, have you noticed this habit changing you or how you experience going through your day?

Re: Ten years of remembering every day that passes (2022)

#68

Post by kredd »

bradley13 wrote: post #56

I'm not sure. Maybe it's because I have a poor memory to begin with, but I just don't see the reason for this. It reminds me of older people (mind, I'm over 60 myself) who spend all their time reminiscing. Isn't it better to look forward rather than back? Approaching retirement, my pressing question is: what do I want to do next ?

I'm on the younger side, but my parents are in their 70s, and I recall them saying something along the lines of "what is life, if not a collection of memories", and it kinda stuck with me. Most likely it's just some quote they've read in the past, and were just reiterating it, but still.

I generally agree with you. There might not be a good reason to look back into the past constantly, but the author ends the post with a personal note about how their mom is going through Alzheimer's. And I can somewhat relate to that, as my grandma used to live with us in the last 10 years of her life, and it was devastating to watch how feeble her memories were getting every day. At some point, when you're just sitting at a dinner table on a Thursday night with people whom you've known for ages, recollecting some memories from the past is just... nice. There really isn't a good reason, or benefit for the future and what not; it just feels good. Thus I can see why someone would want to cherish those times, trying their best to not forget them.

Re: Ten years of remembering every day that passes (2022)

#69

Post by booleandilemma »

bradley13 wrote: post #56

I'm not sure. Maybe it's because I have a poor memory to begin with, but I just don't see the reason for this. It reminds me of older people (mind, I'm over 60 myself) who spend all their time reminiscing. Isn't it better to look forward rather than back? Approaching retirement, my pressing question is: what do I want to do next ?

This is basically my dad. He almost routinely asks me about things that happened 10 or 15 years ago.

Re: Ten years of remembering every day that passes (2022)

#70

Post by paganel »

em-bee wrote: post #23
paganel wrote: post #13

I couldn't honestly do that, the nostalgia would be too much for me, even for only 10 years ago, even 5. And then how do you process past relationships and marriages? Or the death of loved ones? Or other such traumatic experiences?

i note them with a simple entry. or i describe the details of the wedding or funeral, and other relevant facts, but i don't write about my feelings. for one, i consider the diary as something others may read some day, i don't necessarily want share my feelings. but also, at least from my experience so far, reading about the facts of a traumatic experience helps me remember the feelings i had at the time. so rereading…

Honest props to you for managing to do that, you're a much stronger person than I am.
Post reply on HN