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Did You Hear We Got Osama?

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Re: Did You Hear We Got Osama?

#101

Post by planckscnst »

peterwwillis wrote: post #20

It is really, really, really, really, really hard for me to find a good temporary distraction nowadays. The noise is so monotonous, so repetitive, so completely devoid of intellectual stimulation that I go between four websites in a loop looking for something interesting to read. HN has maybe one article every two hours that pops up to the top that I find worth reading, and maybe half the time worth upvoting. And tha…

Make something. Make something, make something, make something! Make. Something. Now. I can't say this enough; the next time you go in a loop, just stop right then and there and make something. Your life will be 1000 times better.

Make something.

Now. Make!

Re: Did You Hear We Got Osama?

#102

Post by tgrass »

akamaka wrote: post #87
SonicSoul wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

lots of people are remembered for being well read. Take someone like Noam Chomsky. He has written many books based on facts he has read, remembered, and used to support his point of view. his opinion is included, but it is always supported by countless examples and recitation of facts. I have friends that read everything and know a lot on most subjects that intrest me. I admire that a lot, and it is always refreshing…

First of all Chomsky is still alive, and secondly, I'm almost certain that he won't be remembered for his poltical writings, but for his scientific contributions. People don't even read his very early political works much anymore. His new material is what gets most consumed and keeps his name in people's minds.

I just went to a free Chomsky lecture last week and of the dozens of people I've talked to who also went, all went for the political works, even the linguists.

Re: Did You Hear We Got Osama?

#104

Post by peterwwillis »

planckscnst wrote: post #101
peterwwillis wrote: post #20

It is really, really, really, really, really hard for me to find a good temporary distraction nowadays. The noise is so monotonous, so repetitive, so completely devoid of intellectual stimulation that I go between four websites in a loop looking for something interesting to read. HN has maybe one article every two hours that pops up to the top that I find worth reading, and maybe half the time worth upvoting. And tha…

Make something. Make something, make something, make something! Make. Something. Now. I can't say this enough; the next time you go in a loop, just stop right then and there and make something. Your life will be 1000 times better. Make something. Now. Make!

I make things when I have a reason to make something. I've done my time in OSS and bug killing and it's boring and a waste when you don't need the thing you're working on.

I did make something recently, but with my free time and not at work, because basically work didn't feel it was important enough to pay me to make it. So instead of making it at work I look for other noise to fill in the gap when i've been coding for 5 hours and need a break.

But making something for the sake of making? I'm sorry but i'll never be one of those people. (Well, anymore. I have a directory full of 1/4 finished projects as proof of how productive it is to just make stuff for no reason)

Re: Did You Hear We Got Osama?

#105

Post by gbhn »

mediaman wrote: post #27
peterwwillis wrote: post #20

It is really, really, really, really, really hard for me to find a good temporary distraction nowadays. The noise is so monotonous, so repetitive, so completely devoid of intellectual stimulation that I go between four websites in a loop looking for something interesting to read. HN has maybe one article every two hours that pops up to the top that I find worth reading, and maybe half the time worth upvoting. And tha…

Frequency and quality are negatively correlated when it comes to news. I would recommend Instapaper's curated list of articles, which tend to be long-form and more interesting than most, as well as The Browser ("Writing Worth Reading") for curated quality content. http://www.thebrowser.com But you're not going to find quality content many times a day, no matter where you look.

It almost makes you think creating a successful blog would be easy -- after all, there's so little worth reading. :-)

Creating writing that's thoughtful, attractive, linkable, rewarding, and current is, apparently, a hugely challenging activity that even a billion people only manage to pull off a few times a day.

Re: Did You Hear We Got Osama?

#106

Post by billpatrianakos »

I've been there, over consumed, then shut everything out for a while. The truth is, the author still has a bit to learn, I think. Seems like he went through a phase and is now on the complete opposite end of the spectrum he was once on. It's definitely a good idea not to get so engrossed by all the noise but I've actually gained a lot by reading news. I've tried and learned things I wouldn't have had I not chose to read a bit of news each morning. The real trick is to find balance in your life. The ancient Greeks had it right: life is all about balance. Going too far in one direction or the other is never good.

So I must disagree with this post. The trick is to strike a healthy balance between consumption and creation, not to cut one or the other out almost completely.

Re: Did You Hear We Got Osama?

#107

Post by nazgulnarsil »

ryanwaggoner wrote: post #86
epaga wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"the best argument against democracy is a ten minute conversation with the average voter" - reportedly Churchill as well

Yeah, that's the point. Democracy sucks. But what's the alternative?

Lichtenstein, Singapore. Consumer capitalism is not tied to democracy. And it is consumer capitalism that is raising the world's desperate out of subsistence.

Democracy is a luxury good that rich nations purchase.

Re: Did You Hear We Got Osama?

#108

Post by ryandvm »

peterwwillis wrote: post #94
ThaddeusQuay2 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"It is really, really, really, really, really hard for me to find a good temporary distraction nowadays." You sound like a typical bored teenager, with too much time on their hands, wearing their boredom as a nihilistic badge of honor, expecting everyone to entertain them, while simultaneously acting as if they know everything, thereby supposedly being superior to the entertainers. If you can't find anything good to…

Yes. I am 16. I stay home from school because learning civics and history and math and science are super boring, so in between sessions of wallhacking on legacy counter-strike servers I refresh a startup tech news site looking for intellectually stimulating articles. You're right. I do know everything. Everything except how best to use my time when I occasionally want to waste it broadening my horizon with unusual an…

Heh. Good stuff.

Re: Did You Hear We Got Osama?

#109

Post by ryandvm »

Tossrock wrote: post #57

Reminds me of the classic Sherlock Holmes quote: "His ignorance was as remarkable as his knowledge. Of contemporary literature, philosophy and politics he appeared to know next to nothing. Upon my quoting Thomas Carlyle, he inquired in the naivest way who he might be and what he had done. My surprise reached a climax, however, when I found incidentally that he was ignorant of the Copernican Theory and of the composit…

Great allegory except Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was not a neuroscientist, so there isn't actually any evidence to back up that theory.

Re: Did You Hear We Got Osama?

#110

Post by mthreat »

I would add that the media's job isn't only to entertain you, it's also to keep you worried. Read/watch the news, and ask yourself "what are they trying to make me worry about today?" You'll be surprised.
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