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Productivity

blog.samaltman.com

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Re: Productivity

#371

Post by eddieroger »

theli0nheart wrote: post #41
whalesalad wrote: post #22

> I very rarely eat breakfast, so I get about 15 hours of fasting most days (except an espresso when I wake up). I know this is contrary to most advice, and I suspect it’s not optimal for most people, but it definitely works well for me. Coffee isn't going to interrupt your fast, assuming it's black. I too skip breakfast and try to fast as long as possible. Fasting is tremendously helpful to productivity. Nothing wil…

> Fasting is tremendously helpful to productivity. Nothing will hinder your performance like a huge meal in the morning (especially one high in carbohydrates) This seems to be really getting popular. What's the science behind it? I'm curious if this is mainly anecdotal or if you did some research before jumping in. My 2 cents: as an endurance athlete and student of nutrition, skipping breakfast seems like a bad idea.…

I am not an endurance athlete, and I wouldn't even consider myself a health nut, but I know that i wake up hungry, and if I don't eat something (usually a fruit and greens smoothie with protein power and almond milk), I get too hungry to focus on work. I've also noticed that since I got more rigorous about eating (drinking) breakfast, I don't get as hungry late at night. It's almost, anecdotally, like my body know it can expect fuel in the morning and doesn't spend the evening stockpiling.

Re: Productivity

#372

Post by gianpaj »

I vouch for intermittent fasting. I'm doing it for 16-hours a day for 5/6 days a week. Only for 2 weeks now. I can feel a lot less tired and able to work on the computer (coding) with more energy and feel a higher threshold to giving up on simple coding errors or issues. Sometimes I get too focused on a problem that's not worth fixing, like some shadow or something wrong by few pixels in the UI. So Sam's first tip on focusing on the right thing is essential.

Re: Productivity

#373

Post by internetman55 »

wastedhours wrote: post #369
internetman55 wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really makes you wonder why people don't value themselves. Does society systematically strip the underclass of their self-esteem? Every single job I've had I knew that the purpose was either 1) to make me money 2) to help me develop skills or career experience. Idgaf about my employer making money (except as it relates to my goals); that's his problem to care about. I'm contracted to provide labor, not make his busin…

> Idgaf about my employer making money Whilst I applaud the sentiment, it's worth remembering that's pretty much the only reason you have a job and can make money. You have a job because you provide the employer with more value than you take - if that equation shifts against you, then you're bang out of luck. If you have easily transferable skills, then maybe you can get away with not caring and jump from place to pl…

That's very true!

Re: Productivity

#374

Post by vlehto »

not_a_moth wrote: post #50

Anyone have an opinion on his recommended mattress, as I nervously consider a 4k purchase this morning?

I would recommend stacking two foam mattresses from Ikea. Then try what works.

Spring constant is just spring constant no matter how much you spend money on it.

Re: Productivity

#375

Post by gregpilling »

white-flame wrote: post #342
gideon_b wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IQ can be raised by a full standard deviation with a few months of training [1]. IQ is only stable over time because most people don't work continuously to improve it. IQ can be learned, just like everything else. [1] Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S104160801...

I certainly studied for a major IQ test, over the course of a week. Basically, I went online and did every free IQ test I could find. You start to learn the various tricks and patterns they search for, and my overall range of scores increased over time (though there was wild variance from test to test). Ostensibly, given all the nebulous argumentation of what "intelligence" is, the only thing an individual IQ test co…

when I got my first home PC in 1993 there was IQ test software on it. I took the test tired, drunk, happy, caffeinated, all sorts of ways. I had huge swings in the score . +- 40 points for me personally.

I came to the same conclusion as you - that it only ranks how well I can take an IQ test.

Re: Productivity

#376

Post by sudosteph »

ck_one wrote: post #360

Serious question: what's his source of motivation? I am a young student, so my source of motivation to be more produtive is a mix of money, status, girls and also build cool shit. But for him money, status and girls are out. Make the world a better place can't be it.

I can't speak for Sam, but I can give perpective as someone who can't relate to any of those really.

I'm not goal oriented. I don't plan a lot for how what I do impacts my future. I'm just driven to solve or fix things. I get external rewards from doing so, but I would do it in some form regardless because I have to.

It's like chasing a high for me. Money and status are nice, but honestly, much of what gets me going isn't to strive for any of those, but rather to prove that people who do have those things aren't necessarily correct. Witnessing incompetence or blatant inefficiency makes me angry. Injustice makes me angry too. When I know I can do something much better than how it's being done, and I have time and means of doing so, I just do it and it feels great. To steal a quote from American Gods, "Angry gets shit done".

Re: Productivity

#377

Post by tpxl »

eric24234 wrote: post #326
fao_ wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a deep misunderstanding of IQ. As the product of two MENSA-ns, I can say with good faith: While high-IQ people do seem to have more varied interests than average people, IQ doesn't so much as govern interest as govern processing speed. One of the original purposes of IQ was selecting for fighter pilots -- fighter pilots with higher IQs means that you have fewer deaths, because they are able to process and rea…

Also could you please tell if it is possible to maintain friendship with high IQ people by a normal IQ people (say 120). Do the high IQ people find boring to maintain the thought process and conversation with low IQ people and hence can not enjoy company? What's your observation from your high IQ parents friendship circle ? Please provide honest feedback.

It's entirely possible. Much about friendship is not about smarts but how fun the person is to be around, their interests...

Source: My dad was in MENSA and maintained such friendships.

Re: Productivity

#378

Post by loup-vaillant »

eric24234 wrote: post #326
fao_ wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a deep misunderstanding of IQ. As the product of two MENSA-ns, I can say with good faith: While high-IQ people do seem to have more varied interests than average people, IQ doesn't so much as govern interest as govern processing speed. One of the original purposes of IQ was selecting for fighter pilots -- fighter pilots with higher IQs means that you have fewer deaths, because they are able to process and rea…

Also could you please tell if it is possible to maintain friendship with high IQ people by a normal IQ people (say 120). Do the high IQ people find boring to maintain the thought process and conversation with low IQ people and hence can not enjoy company? What's your observation from your high IQ parents friendship circle ? Please provide honest feedback.

Wait a minute, 98 is low, and 120 is normal?!? Did I read wrong, or did something happened to the mean of 100 and the standard deviation of 15?

Re: Productivity

#379

Post by OrganicMSG »

>This is likely to be controversial, but I take a low dose of sleeping pills (like a third of a normal dose) or a very low dose of cannabis whenever I can’t sleep.

While I agree with this advice, it is amusing to see it coming from someone lauded as a captain of industry, after growing up with all the propaganda about how cannabis will destroy your life and get you started on heroin, etc.

Mind you, the whole "Winners don't take drugs!" line took quite a beating after Michael Phelps got photographed pulling bong hits.

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