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Reversing the effects of long programming sessions

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Re: Reversing the effects of long programming sessions

#101

Post by wiml »

cimmanom wrote: post #77
specialist wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The light & vision story is still being discovered. "How is the idea of "outdoor time" used for myopia control? One of the big surprises of recent research is the importance of how increased time spent outdoors helps in preventing myopia. At the present time it appears that 14 hours a week or more outdoors are significantly effective in reducing myopia progression." http://www.myopiaprevention.org/outdoor_time.html

I thought the reason outdoor time is recommended for myopia is that it causes you to focus your eyes on objects at greater distances that aren’t available indoors.

It's also a lot brighter outdoors than it is indoors (we're really good at adapting to different light levels, so it doesn't seem like a large change, but it is). Recently I've read that simply being in a brighter environment has effects on the way your eyes develop when you're young.

Re: Reversing the effects of long programming sessions

#102

Post by smolder »

cimmanom wrote: post #77
specialist wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The light & vision story is still being discovered. "How is the idea of "outdoor time" used for myopia control? One of the big surprises of recent research is the importance of how increased time spent outdoors helps in preventing myopia. At the present time it appears that 14 hours a week or more outdoors are significantly effective in reducing myopia progression." http://www.myopiaprevention.org/outdoor_time.html

I thought the reason outdoor time is recommended for myopia is that it causes you to focus your eyes on objects at greater distances that aren’t available indoors.

That remains as a very plausible (IMO) hypothesis but is not rigorously proven, afaik. It's sort of a tough one to prove. So they're being conservative and not guessing here.

Re: Reversing the effects of long programming sessions

#103

Post by smolder »

smolder wrote: post #102
cimmanom wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought the reason outdoor time is recommended for myopia is that it causes you to focus your eyes on objects at greater distances that aren’t available indoors.

That remains as a very plausible (IMO) hypothesis but is not rigorously proven, afaik. It's sort of a tough one to prove. So they're being conservative and not guessing here.

To clarify WHY I think it's very plausible: There is of course a lot of data connecting indoor time and myopia. There is also a muscle which controls the curvature of the lenses in our eyes to adjust focus to different depths. Not using this mechanism in a "normal" way, across its full range and with regularity, stands out as the important factor of the indoor time link, since it's most directly related to focusing.

Re: Reversing the effects of long programming sessions

#104

Post by smolder »

kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #88
burke wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> blue light that damages your vision Can anyone explain to me how looking at a computer screen is not several times less harmful than spending time outside from a lifetime-blue-light-exposure perspective? The sky is blue and natural light has a blue component in probably about the same proportion as white light from a screen. Maybe I'm wrong — and I'd like to find out if I am — but this whole blue light scare really…

The original claim is that exposure after sunset upsets your circadian rhythms. Now it's been twisted into "OMG! blue light will blind you". The good news is that this will hopefully put the nail in the annoying blue indicator LED coffin. All the cool kids are using white and RGB LEDs now.

I think blue light causing gradual vision damage is actually a more recent and separate claim that just also happens to villify blue light.

Re: Reversing the effects of long programming sessions

#105

Post by pulkitsh1234 »

But how do I deal with the fact that I always feel that there are people out there who are a lot better than me and a lot younger. I feel I am already wasting time doing daily chores...I feel the act of 'eating' is complete waste of time. You are doing nothing..just eating..

There is this constant thing in the back of my mind, that I need to improve. I stopped watching movies, stopping playing Dota (had played it 2000+ hours in total), stopped playing any musical instruments...

Day in and day out, I feel like the time I am spending not learning anything is a going to waste. I need to be productive everytime (atleast feel like being productive).

Even on youtube, I try to only watch technical talks as much as possible. If I stray away, for instance watch a VICE documentary, then I feel miserable as I just spent 45 minutes doing nothing.

Technically, I can see that I am improving. But when will this stop ? There are 15 year old kids who know more than me currently, then I will ever learn/know.

One would assume that, with this kind of daily life, one would be lot better "intellectually" or in some other sense. But I can assure you, I might be only slightly above average, but thats it. There is this constant thing inside me, that I am only slightly above average, not the best in anything.

The more I know, the more I find what I don't know. I guess it stems from the Dunning–Kruger effect.

But how do I deal with this ?

Re: Reversing the effects of long programming sessions

#106

Post by natalyarostova »

pulkitsh1234 wrote: post #105

But how do I deal with the fact that I always feel that there are people out there who are a lot better than me and a lot younger. I feel I am already wasting time doing daily chores...I feel the act of 'eating' is complete waste of time. You are doing nothing..just eating.. There is this constant thing in the back of my mind, that I need to improve. I stopped watching movies, stopping playing Dota (had played it 200…

imo there is nothing wrong with working hard and pushing yourself, I do the same. The challenging part is pushing yourself to be the best "you" you can be, while practicing acceptance that there will always exist someone, perhaps far younger than yourself, who makes what you do look trivial.

That's life m8. I spent tonight studying calculus after work in order to learn enough to use some models that interest me. There is a 15 year old out there who could pick this up overnight, while I push myself to do easy problems after work. What can you do? Either give up or push forward.

Re: Reversing the effects of long programming sessions

#107

Post by kondov »

pulkitsh1234 wrote: post #105

But how do I deal with the fact that I always feel that there are people out there who are a lot better than me and a lot younger. I feel I am already wasting time doing daily chores...I feel the act of 'eating' is complete waste of time. You are doing nothing..just eating.. There is this constant thing in the back of my mind, that I need to improve. I stopped watching movies, stopping playing Dota (had played it 200…

I've been struggling with the same problem for quite some time now, so I thought I'd share how I've been coping with it. The most important thing is to realize that becoming the best in something should not be the motivation pushing you in this industry. In competitive games like Dota, there is a clear winner and loser when the match is over. The real competition in programming, however, is being better than you were before, expanding your mindset and solving more complex problems.

There will always be someone better, smarter or a faster learner but that doesn't diminish the progress you've already made. There are people who have talents for certain things, there are people who learn certain things faster. I've found that competing with myself is the only healthy way to move forward or I would always feel that I'm not good enough compared to others.

As it was already mentioned in the comments, there is nothing wrong in pushing yourself when you want to improve, but don't take it to the extreme. We operate on work/rest cycles and as you need discipline in work you also need discipline in rest. I try to look at the process of improvement like a marathon rather than a sprint. The journey is going to be a long one, so don't lose the joy of it by pushing too hard. Think about how long you can go like this and consider if this would take the fun of programming away. Think of unproductive activities as a way to get your mind some rest, much like sleep.

Re: Reversing the effects of long programming sessions

#108

Post by DEADBEEFC0FFEE »

mariopt wrote: post #4

We need to restrict the amount of hours we spend in front of computers per day and take weekends completely off. There are so many downsides: blue light that damages your vision, lack of exercise, depression and other disorders, missing out on social life, etc. There is a direct relation between productivity and having a life put together. Not taking care of ourselves (programmers) could have lead to disaster: mental…

What does ripping your soul mean?

Re: Reversing the effects of long programming sessions

#109

Post by Rapzid »

TACIXAT wrote: post #95
hyperpallium wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Though you don't stare at the sky for hours.

I did on shrooms once. It had some nice patterns because my pupils were so dilated. Thankfully not blind.

Shrooms don't cause blindness; the sky causes blindness.

Re: Reversing the effects of long programming sessions

#110

Post by jdietrich »

TACIXAT wrote: post #41
burke wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> blue light that damages your vision Can anyone explain to me how looking at a computer screen is not several times less harmful than spending time outside from a lifetime-blue-light-exposure perspective? The sky is blue and natural light has a blue component in probably about the same proportion as white light from a screen. Maybe I'm wrong — and I'd like to find out if I am — but this whole blue light scare really…

I think you're right. There was just an article about blue light speeding blindness, but the flux author chimed in and said screens are less than 5% of the hazard weighted irradiance of the sky. [1] I'm not totally sure what that means honestly, but I think we're OK. 1. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17726716

It's kind of obvious to anyone who has used a photographic light meter. My computer screen has a peak luminance of about 300cd/m2. A super bright HDR display can achieve peak luminance of about 800cd/m2, which most people find uncomfortably bright in normal viewing conditions. An overcast sky is about 2,000cd/m2 and a clear sky is about 7,000cd/m2.

UV is vastly more damaging than blue light and monitors produce negligible amounts of UV.

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