All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014) • Hacker News Board

Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#331

Post by loufe » Sun, Dec 20, 2020, 3:51 PM UTC

Mulpze15 wrote: post #189

What helps me is to walk, instead of sitting in a room. When I walk, my fidgety body is kept busy, and leaves my brain in peace, not even costing any brain-cpu cycles. Then, it is a lot harder to reach to your cellphone when you walk. So it helps me get rid of 2 major distractions, body and phone, with very little effort. Now I can think.

I completely agree here. In "Think Fast and Slow" the author talks about how much more productive and clear his time was when he took his thinking time and walked for it.

Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#332

Post by tectonicfury » Sun, Dec 20, 2020, 3:53 PM UTC

state_less wrote: post #324

tectonicfury wrote: post #312

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have to die one day in your paradise, and the Paradise I am talking about, you don't die after entering it.

I think it’s okay to die. As Stevenson once put it: Under the wide and starry sky, Dig the grave and let me lie. Glad did I live and gladly die, And I laid me down with a will. This be the verse you grave for me: Here he lies where he longed to be; Home is the sailor, home from sea, And the hunter home from the hill. - Robert Louis Stevenson

But there’s Judgment Day after it.

Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#333

Post by SyzygistSix » Sun, Dec 20, 2020, 3:54 PM UTC

gambiting wrote: post #246

MaxBarraclough wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> clearly upvote/downvote system didn't happen by an accident, it's there for a reason It encourages and prominently displays good quality comments, and discourages and buries poor quality comments. It's not a perfect system as a lot of people vote based on whether they happen to agree rather than based on a comment's quality, but it's much better than nothing.

The same effect would be achieved without showing the numbers though. That's where the addiction comes in.

I don't see the numbers on HN? Which is why it is less addictive to me than Reddit. I also lurked for nearly 2 years, as I was concerned about diluting conversations with low quality, unnecessary posts, which are far less frequent on HN than Reddit.

edit: Now I see the numbers. The quality of posts is still far better than Reddit and the interactions less addictive, at least in my experience.

Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#334

Post by cactus2093 » Sun, Dec 20, 2020, 3:55 PM UTC

wpietri wrote: post #228

maggotbrain wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you are commenting here, you haven't really quit "social media".

How helpful to have a person who knows nothing about my situation police my behaviors because of a vague congruence and an apparent desire to score internet points. No, for the purposes of what I'm doing, HN was not included in that. From my perspective, HN isn't really designed for addiction in the same way. No personalized, UAM-optimized algorithmic feed, no infinite river of small content bites, no rich mechanisms…

So let me get this straight, you 1. Come in bragging about how self-disciplined you are for not using social media on a social media platform and then 2. Get very defensive when someone points it out to you and 3. Assume the only possible reason anyone could disagree with you is that they’re trying to get internet points?

I think you may need to add a few more months to this social media cleanse...

Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#335

Post by pbhjpbhj » Sun, Dec 20, 2020, 3:57 PM UTC

simias wrote: post #278

gambiting wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"From my perspective, HN isn't really designed for addiction in the same way." I mean, it's fine that you feel this way, and you are probably correct - it wasn't designed for it. But I suspect for a lot of us , me included, it serves that exact purpose. I post so that strangers on the internet read it and give me likes. I compulsively check my comments section on my account to see how many upvotes my comments have. E…

>And clearly upvote/downvote system didn't happen by an accident, it's there for a reason. This system has been corrupted on websites like reddit to become a "like" system, but outside of very divisive political topics it still works mostly as intended on HN: they moderate bad contributions, not stuff people disagree with. You can actually observe this in this very thread so far: while people express opposite viewpoi…

>This system has been corrupted on websites like reddit to become a "like" system, but outside of very divisive political topics it still works mostly as intended on HN: they moderate bad contributions, not stuff people disagree with. //

Disagree, a lot.

I've railed against it, but pg (the site owner) noted that voting as a proxy for like/dislike was not improper use on HN, much to my chagrin. In the early days (of my use, back on my first HN account) voting seemed mostly to be done to move a comment to it's "proper place".

Nowadays very good comments get greyed to non-readability. I find myself so often vouching for things I disagree with because comments that add well structured, logical, or interesting thoughts get voted out of view because they go against the group norms.

Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#336

Post by arnejenssen » Sun, Dec 20, 2020, 3:59 PM UTC

My favourite Christmas activity is a 7-day digital detox. A weeklong solo offline retreat in a cabin. I do it during the holidays because it is the easiest to block off the calendar.

The retreat it self is not very "exciting", but the effect on mental clarity around the 4th day is profound.

Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#337

Post by nprateem » Sun, Dec 20, 2020, 4:01 PM UTC

reasonabl_human wrote: post #325

nprateem wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ecstasy. This dude knew how to meditate. A lot of people think meditation is just an exercise in patience and self discipline to stop the chatter of the mind, and that that is the end in itself. They are unaware of where meditation can lead. When the central channel (referred to as sushumna in yoga) is open and energy flows freely, you can feel ecstatic sensations in the centre of the brain as the upper centres becom…

Do you have suggested reading for how to learn about this effort? Most meditation and yoga related content I find is geared toward the woke soccer mom, not those looking for acutely reflective time

The 2 best resources I've found are the free lessons and (not free) books on aypsite.org, and taking KAP level 1 on kundaliniawakeningprocess.com

Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#338

Post by godelzilla » Sun, Dec 20, 2020, 4:09 PM UTC

All problems stem from unsubstantiated absolutes.

Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#339

Post by Zelphyr » Sun, Dec 20, 2020, 4:10 PM UTC

I’ve seen mention elsewhere in the comments how this article is flawed because, in essence, if distraction is endemic to humans, how can it be bad? I think the intent of the article is to highlight just how much we are distracting ourselves and in this we’re missing out on a very valuable facet of our lives which is our own thoughts. Taking a distracted, nonjudgmental view of our own thoughts can be powerful.

Distraction from time to time is fine but that’s not what we’re doing. We’re in a constant state of distraction. We’re missing out on one of the greatest resources available to us: our own minds.

Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)

#340

Post by SyzygistSix » Sun, Dec 20, 2020, 4:10 PM UTC

throw0101a wrote: post #297

wpietri wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That has a lot of resonance for me. In this modern age, we are all kings, and there are vast industries to save us from ever being alone from our thoughts. For December, I quit sugar, social media, and video games. It's been really interesting to notice what state I'm in when I go to reach for those things. Sometimes it's just habit, but often it's because I'm uncomfortable or in distress and want to avoid those feel…

> In this modern age, we are all kings, and there are vast industries to save us from ever being alone from our thoughts. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuit religious order, set up a daily ritual to help keep himself (and those in the order) centred: > To help me remember the five steps, I like to use a 5-Rs mnemonic: > Relish the moments that went well and all of the gifts I have today. > Request the Spirit to l…

Thank you. I have had friends, none Buddhist, attend Vipassana retreats that are similar. No phone, computer, media, or conversation for a week or a weekend, just a focus on silent meditation. And an absence of religious trappings, so suitable for both devout Christians and atheists. They all told me it is very challenging and a good look at themselves and their cravings for interaction. I don't doubt it.