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Don't Become the Machine

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Re: Don't Become the Machine

#121

Post by NeutralCrane »

ai-christianson wrote: post #101
BLKNSLVR wrote: post #72

I play tennis twice a week and I inline skate twice a week (weather pending) and yesterday I commuted to and from work on inlines (first time I've done it, won't be the last, but won't be often). Having such hobbies plus a couple of kids (now teenagers so they're somewhat less demanding of my time) means I just don't have the time to do extra hours if I'm going to get enough sleep. And if I don't get enough sleep the…

Having a hobby kind of like going shallow into one or more topics. Wouldn't the best way to spend a life be to go all in on one thing? It's not like a video game where we can just try again. If the main quest isn't right, better find a new one, not just add distracting side quests.

It’s entirely possible to spread yourself too thin across too many interests, but the solution to that isn’t to “go all in on one thing”.

Re: Don't Become the Machine

#122

Post by sidrag22 »

kibwen wrote: post #65
pests wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm currently the type of person that is always plugged into noise (music, podcast, YT). It is rare that I sit in silence. Not directed towards you, but this brings up a thought I often ponder. I have friends and people around me who are plugged in 24/7. I don't really think they spend any time, what so ever, on internal thought or introspection / reflection. I think it really affects them. The "default mode networ…

> I do accept people for who they are. If this is what they want, and they enjoy it, then whatever. You do you, but you're not obliged to accept someone for who they are if who they are is a brainless wastoid. I recommend minimizing the time wasted on zombies in favor of seeking out people who still value their brains.

Depending on how you categorize people into being a "brainless wastoid", that could potentially shrink some people's interactions with other humans to literal 0...

I see this type of sentiment reflected all over the internet as well, avoiding people because they don't fit whatever type of mold, I think this type of mentality is terrible. Not saying you gotta go out and find someone who has 14 hours of screen on time a day and hang out with them, but even just lumping people into the category of "brainless wastoid" feels to me very much like bordering on dehumanization.

Re: Don't Become the Machine

#124

Post by sidrag22 »

kibwen wrote: post #68
ge96 wrote: post #20

It seems so silly to say but I too have a dream of not wanting to work. Then I can just exist. I came across this YT video about enjoying boredom. It slows down time and you do things you really want to do. I'm currently the type of person that is always plugged into noise (music, podcast, YT). It is rare that I sit in silence. But yeah I'm hoping I can save, exit working, I'll still be making stuff that I enjoy at a…

> I too have a dream of not wanting to work. The OP isn't about not wanting to work. To labor in pursuit of your own personal purpose is a virtue and a privilege. But labor for the sake of labor is not a virtue, nor is labor for the sake of watching that bank account go up, and least of all labor for the sake of watching your billionaire CEO's bank account go up.

I can't imagine NOT working, just 100% pure leisure does not feel like a dream i have. If you can lump passion projects into leisure? then sure, i guess its my dream as well, because working on what I would prefer instead of having to stress about finances IS my dream.

But not working at all? sounds so boring, and not boring in the way that frees you up that others in this thread has mentioned as a good thing.

For example, I had two project ideas i kinda wanna pursue and was picking which to do first, one was very much almost no path to revenue, but way more fun and would be usable daily for me personally, the other? market aggregation stuff that i've done already and i know the exact structure, there is no mystery to it, its nothing special, just a helpful tool that might make me some money, and sadly THAT is the project i chose to pursue, over the personal project with no clear path to revenue.

I'll still enjoy making it, but I am positive if money wasn't a factor, i am deep into the other project instead.

Re: Don't Become the Machine

#126

Post by rityvkjivfgj »

BLKNSLVR wrote: post #72

I play tennis twice a week and I inline skate twice a week (weather pending) and yesterday I commuted to and from work on inlines (first time I've done it, won't be the last, but won't be often). Having such hobbies plus a couple of kids (now teenagers so they're somewhat less demanding of my time) means I just don't have the time to do extra hours if I'm going to get enough sleep. And if I don't get enough sleep the…

> I'll never be a rich man. But I will lead a rich life.

> I'm good enough at what I do to earn a living for the foreseeable future.

You are rich, then. You may not be a billionaire, but the simple fact that you don’t have to worry about money and employment makes you a rich person by default.

Having the work/life balance you so proudly proclaim to have is a result of owning wealth. Good on you.

Re: Don't Become the Machine

#128

Post by rityvkjivfgj »

askafriend wrote: post #15
roncesvalles wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think AI is completely optional for software development. There seems to be a new kind of anxiety wherein devs feel that they aren't leveraging AI to the fullest in order to make them more productive at developing software, and that since they aren't doing so, they should just give up writing software completely. This anxiety is unfounded. The difference between using AI vs not using AI is not like using a physical…

I think it’s exactly like going from paper spreadsheet to Excel in some very important aspects of engineering (but not all). I really encourage you to update your priors since capabilities are very different than even 6 months ago.

[dead]

Re: Don't Become the Machine

#129

Post by akomtu »

> Only a slave quantifies its existence through productivity

> If I can turn myself into a mechanism that takes input and consistently works towards some goal...

This is, in fact, a quasi-religion, if you think about it. Its central dogma is that humans are no different from machines, so we can be reduced to automatas with well-defined inputs, outputs, productivity and other measurable metrics.

    *Productivity is your heart,
     Corporation is your body and
     GDP is your god*
would be its motto.

Re: Don't Become the Machine

#130

Post by Terr_ »

HellDunkel wrote: post #90
uoaei wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's mostly about "don't let the structure of your cognition mirror the simplistic machines you create; they are meant to be augmentations so you can offload that kind of rote cognition and focus on the creative synthetic methods that humans are uniquely suited for."

Now if you could explain it to a 5 year old..

"It's okay to scrape crayons into stubs when making a picture, but don't scrape yourself away."
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