All real people sleep. It's robots that don't, but I think they could easily fake it.
Data has an "off switch," and he powers down sometimes (I forget why). Not sure if he dreams of electric sheep or not.
Real Men Go to Sleep
51–60 of 191 posts
Re: Real Men Go to Sleep
#52This article argues that the 'American idea' of regarding sleep as weak/unecessary stems from the early industrial days with men like Thomas Edison. Hmmm ... it seems that the American industrial age and beyond has had a lot more productivity than at any other time in history. And you know who else didn't consider sleep of very high importance? Isaac Newton. Oh, but some guy writing a random article with nearly zero…
I agree here - there's no universally "good" sleep pattern. Some people thrive on pushing their minds and bodies to the limit, while others thrive on the downtime that allows their minds to reflect on their own thoughts.
Personally, I get a much greater sense of accomplishment when I can look back at a marathon 27 hour work session and see that, through it all, I did good work. But, more often than not, my work is riddled with errors that I don't see until later. So, I take naps and rest when I can, and try to get work done on an even, if not boring, timeline.
Re: Real Men Go to Sleep
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm sick of seeing comments about how someone didn't even read the freakin' article because they didn't like "X" on the page.
And I'm sick of going back in time ten years when ads would pop up or under the page you were viewing. Then ad blockers were invented. Then popups were re-invented in the form of modal dialogs.
So let's reinvent the pop-up blocker. Nuke the model dialogs and "click to continue to article" pages.
Re: Real Men Go to Sleep
#54At our offices in China almost everyone naps during the lunch break. Lights gets turned off and fold out beds dominate the floor space. Took a bit to get used to when I first got here but it's actually quite nice to get a short nap in the middle of the day.
Re: Real Men Go to Sleep
#55My schedule is really weird. Because I work in America for a company in Scandinavia there is a pretty wide time difference. When I first started they asked if I could be "at work" around 8 or 9 my time, which is very reasonable considering that is 2 or 3 their time. I often volunteer to wake up early when there's something important that's going to happen, and I often work late into the night if I'm trying to get som…
What kind of work do you do?
Re: Real Men Go to Sleep
#56While studying for the bar, I used to take 2 hour 'naps' in the middle of the day. My schedule was 4 hours on, some food and nap, 4 hours on. Probably most productive 3 months of my life. I got to say, those siesta embracing countries might be on to something.
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Re: Real Men Go to Sleep
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not a Google employee, but I once visited their Zürich office and was shown the nap room. Not only was it really cool, but there were several people using it (just after lunch).
There's definitely a significant difference in attitudes towards sleep and work between Europe and the US. Perhaps someone who has experience working in both can comment.
The attitudes vary wildly within Europe, too. It's a big place.
Re: Real Men Go to Sleep
#58It was my understanding that while Google has nap rooms in some offices, they are seldom used. The culture is geared around long hours and if you are seen to be napping that is seen as a potential sign of weakness. Of course I could be completely wrong (I'm just pulling this idea out of a vague memory of reading about it here on HN) so I hope a Google employee will correct me. However, it seems reasonable that a comp…
I interned at Google's Mountain View HQ in 2009 - I don't remember there being an actual nap room, they just had a few nap pods (like this http://www.hammacher.com/Product/12199) scattered around the office.
Re: Real Men Go to Sleep
#59It was my understanding that while Google has nap rooms in some offices, they are seldom used. The culture is geared around long hours and if you are seen to be napping that is seen as a potential sign of weakness. Of course I could be completely wrong (I'm just pulling this idea out of a vague memory of reading about it here on HN) so I hope a Google employee will correct me. However, it seems reasonable that a comp…
Culture is what you make it. I'm a big believer in power naps, and I used to work at Google. This was a while ago and there were no nap rooms in my building, so I just lay down on a couch and zonked for twenty minutes every afternoon. This was in a hallway with dozens of people going by. Never any problem. (Of course, this only worked because I didn't mind the noise, but with more effort I could have found a quieter location.)
Obviously, there are plenty of more traditional workplaces where this wouldn't fly. But at most tech companies, the problem is not that you wouldn't be allowed to nap, it's people not realizing the value or feeling too silly about it.
Re: Real Men Go to Sleep
#60While studying for the bar, I used to take 2 hour 'naps' in the middle of the day. My schedule was 4 hours on, some food and nap, 4 hours on. Probably most productive 3 months of my life. I got to say, those siesta embracing countries might be on to something.
I usually feel groggy after naps and it would be hard for me to go back to studying or working.