101 rules? Too many. I vastly prefer not a rule but THE life challenge with thanks to Mary Oliver:
"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"
One hundred and one rules of effective living
21–30 of 118 posts
Re: One hundred and one rules of effective living
#22> In more than thirty years as a writer, editor, and publisher, I have, to my best reckoning, introduced, abridged, issued or reissued, and read nearly every major work of inspirational literature produced or translated into English.
I'm always wary of people who spend too much time in the world of inspirational books. It's healthy to read a little, and to "sharpen the ax" every so often, but reading too much of this stuff is mind-numbing outside of historiography reasons.
Re: One hundred and one rules of effective living
#23I've always like Ben Franklin's 13 virtues. It's a short list. TEMPERANCE. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation. SILENCE. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation. ORDER. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time. RESOLUTION. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve. FRUGALITY. Make no expense but to…
That sounds like a very boring and miserable way to live. To respond with one of my own:
---
When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other people’s gardens
And learn to spit.
Re: One hundred and one rules of effective living
#24> 8) Speak only of what you know well. OK, but that's going to wipe out 99%+ of Internet 'content', HN included.
I’ve thought about this before and concluded that it’s because HN/other sites are somewhat hostile to the approach of beginner’s mind, admitting you know nothing but want to learn more, etc. Asking basic questions tends to get you ridiculed or downvoted, and most subreddits have onerous lists of rules you have to follow before asking anything. YouTube and TikTok also incentivize acting like someone that has no doubts and is completely certain that they’re right.
I suppose that dynamic isn’t hugely different from a typical in-person social situation (e.g., a classroom where kids are afraid to look stupid by asking questions) but it would be cool if a social platform incentivized people to ask “dumb” questions they are curious about.
At this point though, ChatGPT is basically fulfilling this function for me, and its lack of judgement is refreshing compared to the typical Ask subreddit.
Re: One hundred and one rules of effective living
#25>1) Do your work—do it on time and fully, if not early and overabundantly.
I cannot overstate how absolutely hollow it must be that work is your #1 rule of living
The next saddest thing is that the only mention of love is a fucking Machiavelli quote
Re: One hundred and one rules of effective living
#26I always enjoy reading these.
Re: One hundred and one rules of effective living
#27I've always like Ben Franklin's 13 virtues. It's a short list. TEMPERANCE. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation. SILENCE. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation. ORDER. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time. RESOLUTION. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve. FRUGALITY. Make no expense but to…
Reminds me of the Core Principles from Severance.
Re: One hundred and one rules of effective living
#28At some point a committee ought to write a manual for life and living. Though by most accounts it might be easier to write a modern standard library for C.
Re: One hundred and one rules of effective living
#29Everybody's Free To Wear Sunscreen
Re: One hundred and one rules of effective living
#30> 8) Speak only of what you know well. OK, but that's going to wipe out 99%+ of Internet 'content', HN included.
I’ve thought about this before and concluded that it’s because HN/other sites are somewhat hostile to the approach of beginner’s mind, admitting you know nothing but want to learn more, etc. Asking basic questions tends to get you ridiculed or downvoted, and most subreddits have onerous lists of rules you have to follow before asking anything. YouTube and TikTok also incentivize acting like someone that has no doubts…
Agreed about questions, although I have seen people have positive results by starting their question with some humility.
However there is the opposite problem - usually known as 'the empty pot sounds loudest' - where those who respond or comment are often those with the confidence of their simplistic opinions. Those with a more nuanced or expert view are more hesitant, so are less likely to weigh in.
HN is a lot better than other places (youtube comments! reddit!) but of course falls into these traps as well.