An Unreasonable Amount of Time
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An Unreasonable Amount of Time
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Re: An Unreasonable Amount of Time
#2This was a pleasant surprise and a pleasant read. Its message reminds me of the words of Shunryu Suzuki:
> As to progress -- we don’t know how much progress we made, actually, but if you practice it you will realize -- some day you will realize that our progress is not -- it is not possible to make rapid, extraordinary progress. Even though you try very hard, you cannot actually make progress. The progress you make is always little by little. It is like -- to go through fog. You don’t know when you get wet, but if you just walk through fog you will be wet, little by little, even though you don’t know -- it is not like a shower.
> When you go out when it is showering you will feel, ‘Oh, that’s terrible!”. It is not so bad but when you get wet by fog it is very difficult to dry yourself. This is how we make progress. So actually there is not need to worry about your progress. Just to do it is the way. It is, maybe, like to study language. Just repeating, you will master it. You cannot do it all of a sudden. This is how we practice, especially Soto way, is to do it little by little. To make progress little by little. Or we do not even mind, we do not expect to make progress, just to do it is our way. The point is to do it with sincerity in each moment. That is the point. There should not be Nirvana besides our practice.
Re: An Unreasonable Amount of Time
#3This was a pleasant surprise and a pleasant read. Its message reminds me of the words of Shunryu Suzuki: > As to progress -- we don’t know how much progress we made, actually, but if you practice it you will realize -- some day you will realize that our progress is not -- it is not possible to make rapid, extraordinary progress. Even though you try very hard, you cannot actually make progress. The progress you make i…
Practice now, realize later, feels deeply dualistic to me.
Re: An Unreasonable Amount of Time
#4I have invested quite an unreasonable-amount-of-time rendering fractals, (just on 1 node so far) myself, mostly only at 2k (square) pixels but really quite a few at 16k (16384x16384 pixels) and I'm also hoping to figure out how to do some magic with these images one day!
Re: An Unreasonable Amount of Time
#5Along a similar theme, Jacob Kaplan-Moss wrote an essay in 2021 entitled "Embrace the Grind," also quoting Penn & Teller:
> I often have people newer to the tech industry ask me for secrets to success. There aren’t many, really, but this secret — being willing to do something so terrifically tedious that it appears to be magic — works in tech too.
https://jacobian.org/2021/apr/7/embrace-the-grind/ Discussed at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26747305
Re: An Unreasonable Amount of Time
#6The magic lies not just in the effort itself but in how it is directed. Teller’s months of work burying boxes weren’t random. Sustaining long-term effort toward an uncertain payoff requires more than discipline—it demands resilience and a reimagining of gratification. The real magic, perhaps, lies not in the final trick, but in cultivating a mindset where the process itself becomes fulfilling, where the act of burying boxes is embraced as a craft, not just a means to an end.
Re: An Unreasonable Amount of Time
#7The magic lies not just in the effort itself but in how it is directed. Teller’s months of work burying boxes weren’t random. Sustaining long-term effort toward an uncertain payoff requires more than discipline—it demands resilience and a reimagining of gratification. The real magic, perhaps, lies not in the final trick, but in cultivating a mindset where the process itself becomes fulfilling, where the act of buryin…
Though, would the burrying have any meaning without the reveal? Its only purpose was to be used in the end. I have a hard time seeing the meaning of the burrying itself.
Re: An Unreasonable Amount of Time
#8Great, useful article. Remember: the same principle holds in the world of the psyche. Those people walking around, seeming effortlessly happy? Unless if they're little children, a horrendous amount of effort has been invested to their inner peace. It took me years to realize that. Being envious is much easier than being humble and diligent with getting one's shit together.
My wish for 2025 is for massive, decentralized, slow yet steady psychological magic. HNY, HN.
Re: An Unreasonable Amount of Time
#9The magic lies not just in the effort itself but in how it is directed. Teller’s months of work burying boxes weren’t random. Sustaining long-term effort toward an uncertain payoff requires more than discipline—it demands resilience and a reimagining of gratification. The real magic, perhaps, lies not in the final trick, but in cultivating a mindset where the process itself becomes fulfilling, where the act of buryin…
Steve Martin has said similar things about making creating and delivering his work his goal rather than getting laughs. Interesting to think about.
Re: An Unreasonable Amount of Time
#10Good quote from the article:
“Eventually, years in, this will culminate in overnight success.”