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Why Life Can’t Be Simpler

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Re: Why Life Can’t Be Simpler

#141

Post by krebs_liebhaber »

rational_indian wrote: post #135

> Removing functionality doesn’t make something simpler, because it removes options. Simple tools have a limited ability to simplify processes. Trying to do something complex with a simple tool is more complex than doing the same thing with a more complex tool. I agree with the quote but I am not able to reconcile it with the following observations... 1. The Unix philosophy insists on making simple tools which focus…

> Come to think of it, simple tools can simplify a complex process if you can compose them into a complex tool to do the job.

  unrar l "$1" | tail -n +9 | head -n -3 | awk '{$1=$2=$3=$4=""; print $0}'

Re: Why Life Can’t Be Simpler

#142

Post by TeMPOraL »

collyw wrote: post #139
TeMPOraL wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a ceiling to happiness, though, that's predicated on your tolerance of death and suffering around you. You can't punch through it without advanced technology. But I guess people could instead live their lives stoned on their local mushrooms to achieve the same feelings of happiness.

You could try some ancient Buddhist technology - meditation. A ten day retreat feels very similar to psychedelics but you can function normally.

On the one hand, it sounds interesting. On the other hand, it sounds like ten days of opportunity cost.

I feel that psychedelics and spending all the time in meditation are just low-tech versions of wireheading.

Re: Why Life Can’t Be Simpler

#143

Post by faichai »

topkai22 wrote: post #30

Interesting that this article talks entirely to the complexity of technological systems and business processes. Largely, those aren't the things that make my life complex, it's other people. Being the middleman between two people who you love but hate each other is complex. Telling someone who is smart enough to do a job but hasn't been performing that they aren't getting their contact renewed is complex. Figuring ou…

This reminds me of scene in Mr Robot, where a non-hacker has been tasked with hacking into FBI network. All she needs to do is plug in a pre-prepared access point and type a few commands.

It’s human factors i.e. being caught by FBI and associated anxiety that add complexity to the situation.

Darlene has to remind her of the simplicity of the task.

This had a big impact on me, as someone who has struggled with anxiety in the past.

Re: Why Life Can’t Be Simpler

#144

Post by AndrewKemendo »

cyberdrunk wrote: post #96
draugadrotten wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are certain parts of the world where this type of thinking is common. If you can eat today and the sun is shining, why work harder? Then next year, a draught and famine strikes, killing thousands or even hundreds of thousands. Is it a problem? Is it harmful? Depends on your philosphy.

Worrying about and preparing for ever more elusive contingencies can be poison in itself. Kafka's short story "The bunker" pictures this state of mind very well.

Perhaps you're referring to "The Burrow?"

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Burrow_(short_story)

Re: Why Life Can’t Be Simpler

#145

Post by QuadrupleA »

This article seems to be using abstract academic hand waving to say "it's impossible to simplify anything".

But it seems so obviously false. A "hello world" program could fetch every character from a separate database; same output but enormously more complex process.

A small car could have 16 wheels, 2 engines, and be controlled by typing commands on a keypad ("steer left 3 degrees").

Don't tell me these examples are just exposing some complexity that was already there, or that complexity is a conserved constant, etc.

It's amazing what can be made to sound plausible with an erudite wiring style.

Re: Why Life Can’t Be Simpler

#146

Post by adwn »

rpastuszak wrote: post #94
kortilla wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Lazyness is a big driver for invention What? I can’t see it being a good invention driver for anything other than the category of “tools for lazy people”. How was the invention of the OLED driven by laziness? How about the high bypass turbofan?

> What? I can’t see it being a good invention driver for anything other than the category of “tools for lazy people”. How was the invention of the OLED driven by laziness? How about the high bypass turbofan? It's proven that "doing nothing" helps with creative thinking. The inventions you are talking about are a product of both hard work and laziness. You can't solve a problem by staring at your screen and thinking r…

> It's proven that "doing nothing" helps with creative thinking. The inventions you are talking about are a product of both hard work and laziness.

The kind of "doing nothing" that helps with creative thinking is very different from the kind of "doing nothing" that results from laziness.

> On a less serious note, I'd say that 90% of my programming work is driven by laziness. For instance, I test things in advance or design them in a certain way so I don't need to worry about them in the future.

That's not being lazy, that's long-term thinking and defering gratification – which is the opposite of what people typically mean by the term "laziness". In your post, you're conflating two concepts:

1) Defering productive work until a later time to free time for near-term non-productive activities ("being lazy").

2) Spending more resources (time, energy) near-term to be more efficient overall ("being inventive").

Re: Why Life Can’t Be Simpler

#148

Post by np_tedious »

sgillen wrote: post #91
kortilla wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Lazyness is a big driver for invention What? I can’t see it being a good invention driver for anything other than the category of “tools for lazy people”. How was the invention of the OLED driven by laziness? How about the high bypass turbofan?

So many tools take a job that was possible without the tool and make it much easier, and in that sense many tools are “for lazy people”. Examples include: autocomplete, spell check, version control, undo, in-house running water, washing machines, Zoom. Just to name a few random examples, the list is obviously gigantic.

Plows and tractors

Re: Why Life Can’t Be Simpler

#149

Post by praptak »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #142
collyw wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could try some ancient Buddhist technology - meditation. A ten day retreat feels very similar to psychedelics but you can function normally.

On the one hand, it sounds interesting. On the other hand, it sounds like ten days of opportunity cost. I feel that psychedelics and spending all the time in meditation are just low-tech versions of wireheading.

Practical wireheading does not look achievable anytime near: https://qualiacomputing.com/2016/08/20/wireheading_done_righ...

I'd say that meditation is the best version of wireheading currently known to humanity. I admit that due to obvious problems with measuring happiness, this hypothesis is hard to test.

Re: Why Life Can’t Be Simpler

#150

Post by vangelis »

pwinnski wrote: post #2

There are many things in life that cannot be simpler without losing some level of choice that we value, I'll grant that. Nobody who has ever dealt with the United States Government, or any US State government, can tell me with a straight face that the principle is absolute. Or, put another way, I'll gladly give up all the choices that lead to misery every time I deal with the IRS or DMV in exchange for things to be a…

The IRS could absolutely be simpler though, but then people might not grumble about paying our taxes and who wants that.
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