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Time is the only real currency we have

blog.theboringtech.io

141–150 of 313 posts

Re: Time is the only real currency we have

#141
post #134
post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are no baggers in Sweden though.

As a Swede the mere concept of a bagger boggles my mind. Talk about wasteful.

That's generally not that person's only job in the market though. These same people generally have mild janitorial duties, keeping the front-end stocked with supplies, and act as general go-fers (helping people find things, putting things back on shelves, price checks, etc.) This sort of role can make things way more efficient.

Re: Time is the only real currency we have

#142

I’ve often wondered what society would look like if optimized for saving people time. Just some quick thoughts: - Crosswalks and traffic lights would become non-existent and replaced with more pedestrian overpasses, turning/merging lanes, and other designs. Waiting for the light to change is a huge waste of time for both pedestrians and drivers. It seems like we might get this eventually with self-driving cars. - Min…

The pedestrian signal is a time set aside to meditate on one's humility and patience.

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Re: Time is the only real currency we have

#143

Parameters of the universe are currency. Time is one of them, space (or area on earth’s surface) is another, and energy is a third. How these three things are used is what generates value to human beings. Each of the fundamental items can be traded individually, but money is used as a proxy for value . The most common trade is when a person can trade their time and their body’s energy. They produce some level of valu…

that’s kind of (not as eloquently) how i came to land on the labor theory of value needing to be more prominent in economic policy.

our application of energy (both physical and mental) transforms matter and collects/redirects ambient energy to productive use. that’s what generates value—gold in the ground is essentially worthless until we use labor to extract it. that it’s rare and has other interesting properties that make people trade more for it should be reflected in the labor value rather than some coercive capital value.

Re: Time is the only real currency we have

#144
That is what I have been saying to my friends for a long time. It is one of the most important things to learn. You can get back anything but time.

So be very conscious about who you go give your time. No-one is 'offering you a job'. They are 'buying a piece of your lifetime'.

Re: Time is the only real currency we have

#145
post #104

If you want to stop wasting your time, and want to learn something thoroughly and once, I would recommend learning how to use Anki effectively. It has reduced the amount of time it takes to learn new things, while simultaneously allowing me to remember them for far longer periods of time. I can currently stop an online course for months, and return to the same point when I come back, with far more knowledge of the su…

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Re: Time is the only real currency we have

#146

I have a hard time empathizing with people’s desire for saving time or being efficient. I feel like all I have is time and I don’t mind helping others out when they need help, filling out useless forms, or waiting in line. Everything sort of have its own beauty. I’m not sure how I got here, but to me time just feels infinite.

I really would love to believe that this mindset is possible, but I run into the following problem:

If time really seems infinite to you, and you see the beauty in every "overly time-consuming" procedure, you must draw the line somewhere.

If you wait in line, and every minute, the next in line is served, and you are standing in 5th place, you might think "ok, we've got to wait..give or take 5mins"

Now imagine that every 50 seconds, someone cuts into the line ahead of you, with some plausible excuse (health-related, or "in a rush" or whatever else you'd accept).

How many people do you allow to push you back before you decide to no longer allow people to cut ahead of you? I think that's where you draw the value of your time.

Re: Time is the only real currency we have

#147
post #78
post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only currency you're born with is time. The rest are acquired by the application of time.

Energy - or rather, the ability to convert it between various forms, like food > kinetic energy - is also a currency that we are born with. If you have grown very old, even having a week on hand will not help you lift a sledge hammer.

Well, even that is not quite right. The amount of energy we can actually use is small relative to the total amount of available energy.

We're born with a relative lack of entropy, which is the only thing that allows us to do anything. Eventually we inevitably return to equilibrium.

Re: Time is the only real currency we have

#148
post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Make sure to stop and smell the roses. Research shows people on their death bed always regret working too much and not enough time with loved ones (if you’re a data driven sort of person).

Thanks for the comment. I do have a large family I take care of them as single source of income. I found I have to make a conscious effort to ensure I spend time with them. Since I have done that my quality of life improved greatly while still maintaining a hefty work schedule. A couple years back I audited how much time I was spending with my family/kids. It was embarrassing. Besides our normal routines I made the e…

I think you’re doing great, for what it’s worth.

Re: Time is the only real currency we have

#150

Unfortunately, in essentially all big corporations, the incentives encourage developers to waste as much time as possible - Mostly by focusing their attention on creating elaborate and ever-changing development processes and constantly adding unnecessary software complexity at the same time. This doesn't work well at all when you also allow individuals to detach themselves from any responsibility over the code that t…

While I understand and agree that a lot of time is wasted on purpose in large organisations, I don't think that argument can serve as a basis for what is effectively "it's difficult/impossible to measure, therefore its value doesn't exist".
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