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De-Brainrot Vacations

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Re: De-Brainrot Vacations

#21

Post by thor-rodrigues »

friendly_chap wrote: post #19
FinnLobsien wrote: post #18

I think the „my brain isn’t the same anymore“ sensation is pretty universal. Between addictive online media in our personal lives and AI at work, I think we’ve made mental effort largely optional. That must be a horrible thing. One of my favorite theories is the physical activity transition. In my grandparents‘ generation, physical movement became more optional as work shifted from manual labor to knowledge work or o…

I have bad news for you: for the majority of the population mental effort was always a foreign concept. That's exactly what got us in this mess in the first place.

I mean, I’d argue that the overwhelming majority of the populous is not doing physical activity as they should. Even in a future with gym “for the mind”, I also assume attendance to be low.

Re: De-Brainrot Vacations

#22

Post by Cthulhu_ »

technotarek wrote: post #7

I spend a big chunk of my summers in nowhere cow-ville France (la Creuse). No Michelin star restaurants, no art galleries, no shopping worth note. Just landscapes, hiking, lakes and slower life. BUT what surprises me most is how often I describe this to people, even the French, and they’re like “why / pourquoi ?!” Is it not obvious? There’s a reason people say they need a vacation after their vacation. I think it’s t…

Sounds like there's two kinds of vacations, the one to relax, decompress, slow down and go offline for a bit, and the one where you explore the world and experience new things. Both are valid, and combining the two is great.

I'm now thinking of USAmericans taking a eurotrip and visiting a different city every day. I hope some of them mix it up and stay in cowville, France for a few days.

Re: De-Brainrot Vacations

#23

Post by mceachen »

FinnLobsien wrote: post #18

I think the „my brain isn’t the same anymore“ sensation is pretty universal. Between addictive online media in our personal lives and AI at work, I think we’ve made mental effort largely optional. That must be a horrible thing. One of my favorite theories is the physical activity transition. In my grandparents‘ generation, physical movement became more optional as work shifted from manual labor to knowledge work or o…

The neurologists and neurotherapists for a family member who is a stroke survivor have been pretty consistent in saying that cardiovascular exercise and regular social engagement seem to be the most promising activities to stem cognitive decline.

Re: De-Brainrot Vacations

#24

Post by thisoneisreal »

holden_nelson wrote: post #11

A number of years ago I had a period of my life where I decided to shut my laptop for a while. I was working as a line cook and trying to find time and energy to code study so I could land a role in software (no degree). I was really struggling with my mental health and was having issues making or maintaining progress in pretty much any area of my life. I got a new job, cooking breakfast in a small mountain town at a…

Lots of thinkers throughout history have pointed this out (David Hume and Seneca are the first 2 that spring to mind, but I'm sure there are hundreds more). Our mind doesn't work correctly when it's constantly focused, and as much as we think scrolling is not focusing, it is. The part of your brain that lights up and pays attention is active when you're zooming through content. There's nothing wrong with it, but like everything the dose makes the poison. You have to take breaks and balance it against other mental modes.

One formulation I like is the Kethledge and Erwin definition of solitude. They say that solitude is not so much physical isolation as it is a lack of input from other minds. What electronic media do (among many other effects) is flood your consciousness with the presence of other minds. Even if that mind is deranged, anti-social, or even pleasant, your own thought gets crowded out. I'm a huge reader, and I realize even books do this, although less oppressively than electronic media, which is why I think people imagine them as antidotes to this problem. But I think maybe the most important thing is to take a rest and don't let anyone else talk to you for a time, either in person or via media.

Re: De-Brainrot Vacations

#25

Post by Cthulhu_ »

Last year I took my parents' caravan and put it in bumfuck retirement home nowhere, spent a week just riding my motorcycle through that section of the country, reading, listening to music, and painting Warhammer figurines. Little human contact. It was boring and unstimulating, but also almost the opposite of my usual daily grind.

Re: De-Brainrot Vacations

#26

Post by DanielVZ »

cube00 wrote: post #16
Andr2Andr wrote: post #2

This is the first time I see webmention used anywhere. Idea seems to be good, but it is not used for some reason https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webmention

> not used for some reason Spam https://www.miriamsuzanne.com/2022/06/09/the-spam/

And also readers not using it. So far I’ve gotten no legit webmention on any post. But I keep it hoping that some day someone will make a reply post and it will be magical

Re: De-Brainrot Vacations

#27

Post by mystifyingpoi »

technotarek wrote: post #7

I spend a big chunk of my summers in nowhere cow-ville France (la Creuse). No Michelin star restaurants, no art galleries, no shopping worth note. Just landscapes, hiking, lakes and slower life. BUT what surprises me most is how often I describe this to people, even the French, and they’re like “why / pourquoi ?!” Is it not obvious? There’s a reason people say they need a vacation after their vacation. I think it’s t…

> vacation after their vacation

Having a family, the best rest for me is the 2-3 days when I'm back at work after vacation. No kids running around, no need to plan anything, just slowly going through hundreds of already irrelevant emails, pretending to do something productive, sipping coffee while telling everyone that I'm "catching up, sorry, can't help ya".

Re: De-Brainrot Vacations

#28

Post by woogle »

Leaving the phone charging out of the bedroom (or unreachable without getting up) during night and having a kindle in bed did the 80% Pareto De-Brainroting me every day and changed my life

Re: De-Brainrot Vacations

#29

Post by serf »

FinnLobsien wrote: post #18

I think the „my brain isn’t the same anymore“ sensation is pretty universal. Between addictive online media in our personal lives and AI at work, I think we’ve made mental effort largely optional. That must be a horrible thing. One of my favorite theories is the physical activity transition. In my grandparents‘ generation, physical movement became more optional as work shifted from manual labor to knowledge work or o…

>I think the „my brain isn’t the same anymore“ sensation is pretty universal.

I disagree with the premise that you're propping up with the exercise example; I disagree that humans are thinking less because of mechanisms available in society.

if anything I think people are thinking more than they ever have, and that has triggered a lot of people into overthinking themselves into a quagmire of inaction , judgement, and group-think.

Re: De-Brainrot Vacations

#30

Post by traviswingo »

I think it’s great that we’re discussing this more often as time goes on. This is not the first post I’ve read this month about this topic, and that’s a good sign.

I also think it takes a certain level of intelligence to be able to _notice_ these shifts in mental load.

A lot of people are going through this same thing, but their response isn’t “i need to unplug, slow down, and let my mind reset,” it’s quite literally the opposite - they scroll more, binge more, swipe more. Mostly because they aren’t aware of why they feel the way they do.

The more we discuss this issue, openly, the more likely it is we’ll bring attention to it to those people who are currently unaware of why they feel so empty all the time, despite never being more occupied.

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