Energy, and How to Get It • Hacker News Board

Re: Energy, and How to Get It

#21

Post by orzig » Thu, Nov 04, 2021, 9:15 AM UTC

stormdennis wrote: post #17

My daughter has always needed her sleep, ever since she was a tot she'd get incredibly ratty and would be out of sorts the next day if she didn't get her full eight hours of undisturbed sleep. I on the other hand have always been able to get away with only a short night's sleep even staying up all night when necessary. My totally subjective opinion is that you only have so many awake hours in your life and I'm runnin…

That is an interesting analog to the stylized fact that all mammalian species get about the same number of heartbeats in their life. Mice have a high BPM and short life, whales the opposite

Re: Energy, and How to Get It

#22

Post by namenotrequired » Thu, Nov 04, 2021, 9:19 AM UTC

orzig wrote: post #20

FriedrichN wrote: post #19

Don't smoke, don't drink, don't use drugs, get enough sleep and exercise, eat enough fruits and veg and not too much junk and you've got like 90% covered, if not all. Most people (without serious medical issues) moaning about a lack of energy know exactly what's causing it but refuse to change their habits. Whether it's drinking, smoking, junk food, staying up late, etc. they've just become too attached to that way o…

That is an excellent list of lifestyle factors, but suggesting that genetics impacts 10% or less of biological outcome is pretty bold. Put another way: everything is nature, nurture and “random”. It’s rare to find an outcome where one of those three completely dominates the causal equation.

That doesn’t follow. Genetics very much influence the factors cited within the 90%.

Re: Energy, and How to Get It

#23

Post by rstuart4133 » Thu, Nov 04, 2021, 9:21 AM UTC

neuroma wrote: post #14

spekcular wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While we're bashing the style: Is 'scrip' really what they meant in "If a patient says, ‘I want more energy,’ maybe the doctor should just write a scrip for methamphetamine"? I just checked the dictionary to confirm, and 'scrip' is definitely a financial term; surely they meant 'script'? Or is this a situation where they flaunt common practice to be quirky, like their superfluous umlauts?

Scrip is probably a typo of Script, an abbreviation for Prescription. Script is a common word in the medical profession. Scrip I've never heard

Here you go: https://rt-wiki.bestpractical.com/wiki/Scrip

Re: Energy, and How to Get It

#24

Post by orzig » Thu, Nov 04, 2021, 9:23 AM UTC

yetihehe wrote: post #18

redisman wrote: post #4

The guidelines are easy on paper. Eat healthy, sleep a lot, work out multiple times a week and you’ll magically have a lot of energy.

It is the same kind of guidelines I've seen for fighting poverty. The problem: you need investment of energy/money to have more energy/money. If you don't have them in the first place, good luck. With energy it's even more insidious, because if you have the energy, at least you could spend some more time working for money.

Responding to the strawman version of your argument: the critical difference is that there are huge systems designed to extract your surplus money (addictive drugs/gambling at the immoral extreme, supply/demand dynamics for basic goods at the pedestrian extreme).

It is very important to remember that your energy is yours. Almost the essence of what you are. You will have the occasional good day, or just good hour, and that is the opportunity to build. Maybe with unhealthy amounts of coffee, to kickstart. Then two good hours the next day. Then four.

It will necessarily take many calendar weeks, but I implore any discouraged readers to understand that it is possible to bootstrap up to a better place.

Re: Energy, and How to Get It

#25

Post by orzig » Thu, Nov 04, 2021, 9:30 AM UTC

namenotrequired wrote: post #22

orzig wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is an excellent list of lifestyle factors, but suggesting that genetics impacts 10% or less of biological outcome is pretty bold. Put another way: everything is nature, nurture and “random”. It’s rare to find an outcome where one of those three completely dominates the causal equation.

That doesn’t follow. Genetics very much influence the factors cited within the 90%.

If I am understanding your argument correctly, certainly agree that e.g. "some people are more genetically inclined to drink". But I think It’s valuable to draw some boundaries between what we can and cannot control, even with genetically varying difficulty.

To state my original point in a potentially clearer way: I suspect there is significant genetic variation in energy, controlling for lifestyle habits. Evidence: 1) Personal observation over years of interest in this topic 2) the fact that there is extensive variation in most quantitative life outcomes, controlling for lifestyle habits

Re: Energy, and How to Get It

#26

Post by jstx1 » Thu, Nov 04, 2021, 10:02 AM UTC

mateo- wrote: post #5

> A lean Montrealer, with a gentle yet poised intensity that one might classify as medium-energy, Picard came at the question of vim and vigor from a near-cosmic vantage. His office, high above the Heights, had a commanding view down the Hudson, a receding sun-blanched shorescape of skyscrapers and tidal swirl that lent his pronouncements an oracular air. Did this assignment have a minimum word count? I know it's the…

Seriously, anyone looking for actual tips to increase energy can skip the article. It's self-indulgent rambling.

Re: Energy, and How to Get It

#27

Post by orzig » Thu, Nov 04, 2021, 10:10 AM UTC

The article itself is pretty mediocre, but it touches on some interesting stuff (before continuing to slippy-slide between various unstated definitions of what 'energy' means).

It doesn't have a conclusion, so I'll add one. The article supports it as supported much as any other conclusion (You get a Bayesian update! And you get a Bayesian update!) but it's the one I believe and this little box is /my/ journalistic output:

If you want better energy, you need to try a ton of things. Get ideas from the many gurus past and present, try to figure out a few measures that are not /completely/ subjective (but accept it's not physics) and just /keep trying/. The right answer will change over time, so it's a never-ending cycle. If you have an explanation for that, I'd love to hear it.

But please don't give up, and don't be afraid to feel silly because you're trying last year/decade's fad instead of this one. It's worth it.

Re: Energy, and How to Get It

#28

Post by FriedrichN » Thu, Nov 04, 2021, 10:12 AM UTC

orzig wrote: post #20

FriedrichN wrote: post #19

Don't smoke, don't drink, don't use drugs, get enough sleep and exercise, eat enough fruits and veg and not too much junk and you've got like 90% covered, if not all. Most people (without serious medical issues) moaning about a lack of energy know exactly what's causing it but refuse to change their habits. Whether it's drinking, smoking, junk food, staying up late, etc. they've just become too attached to that way o…

That is an excellent list of lifestyle factors, but suggesting that genetics impacts 10% or less of biological outcome is pretty bold. Put another way: everything is nature, nurture and “random”. It’s rare to find an outcome where one of those three completely dominates the causal equation.

That's why I said most people (within two standard deviations from the mean roughly), there will be people for which their genetic component will make up a larger part of why they seem to suffer from low energy.

Re: Energy, and How to Get It

#29

Post by jbverschoor » Thu, Nov 04, 2021, 10:31 AM UTC

Does anybody actually read these blobs of text which are basically a lazy rant from the writer to improve his wordcount?

Writers should always write for the reader.

Re: Energy, and How to Get It

#30

Post by another_poster » Thu, Nov 04, 2021, 10:50 AM UTC

jbverschoor wrote: post #29

Does anybody actually read these blobs of text which are basically a lazy rant from the writer to improve his wordcount? Writers should always write for the reader.

New Yorker writers are masters of their craft, so unless you have decades of experience professionally editing and writing, I recommend giving the piece at least a second chance.

That said, I also skipped over tons of passages, for example, the laundry list of energy supplements. I read for different reasons on my phone, compared to when I’m reading a physical copy of the New Yorker. On my phone, I’m rapidly skimming tons of articles searching for interesting facts, which just isn’t suited for reading the New Yorker’s beautiful long-form style.