Live data from Hacker News

How I regained concentration and focus

innoq.com

411–420 of 429 posts

Re: How I regained concentration and focus

#411
post #233

may sound stupid... I recently started to test around with vitamin B supplements, inspired by some NMN interview, refined Vitamin B seemingly turns back age #inmice. Decided to play around with the real thing first... B3 itself helps me sleep better, Yeast tablets feel like coffee, a full vitamin B complex seems to aleviate focus issues. For the first time in a while I'm able to actually work on something without get…

can you introduce me to that NMN iceberg? what the heck do these people using that experience, this undoubtedly can't be 100% legit

If you check out youtube, there are a few nmn experiences. They report some benefits without trying to sell anything.

One critic warns though. Nmn if overdosed might suppress methylation which then can lead to shitty outcomes after a few weeks.

Nmn is just refined vitamin b3, thiamine I think?

That's why I decided to try b-complex first (no overdose ). I found it works fine, back pain diminished, mood feels stable.

Re: How I regained concentration and focus

#412
I realise I'm responding to this far too late for anyone to actually take notice, but I'm gonna do it anyway because there is a major criticism I have of the article: that all news is bad.

I think the issue here is not the problem with news in itself but rather the consumption of news. I think what is problematic is that people are consuming news like they would consume posts on a social media platform in that they're endlessly scrolling few news stories, and keep checking the app to make sure they're on top of everything that is happening. And I completely understand how problematic this is. However, that is not to say that news itself is bad.

There are several reasons that lead me to come to this conclusion. While I'm sure not everything in the news might not be directly relevant to you, I think it helps you make better life choices when you know the state of the economy, and issues others are facing. But, I think, most importantly: it is democratically empowering to be aware of the news. Let's take the UK system of government as an example. Some things are obvious: we vote for our representatives (MPs) every 5 years at the most, and this is one opportunity to influence government but its not the only one. We can: write letters to our MPs; create, and sign petitions; join pressure groups; protest; take industrial action etc. But we can only do this effectively when we have a good awareness of current affairs. Additionally, in the UK we also vote for our local government as well. This can include councillors, and (if your area voted for it) directly elected mayors. I hear many people complain about what their local council are doing, but a lot of these people don't even vote for any councillors. I once went for a coffee, and told the person at the till that I was volunteering at the council election. His response? "I didn't even know there was an election on today." Many of us are fortunate to live in countries with the right to vote amongst other civil liberties. We ought to use them effectively in order to improve living standards for us all.

On the topic of how we consume news, if we feel it is unhealthy to scroll through a constantly updated app, we can turn to bulletins instead. In the UK, the BBC produce half-hour bulletins on weekdays at 1, 6, and 10 o'clock (shorter bulletins also exist at similar times on the weekend). You could watch, say, the 6 o'clock news in the evening, and then be done with news for the day. You could also read a newspaper. This doesn't have to be in print as some newspaper websites are either not updated frequently (e.g. The London Times/Sunday Times which is only updated for major breaking news, or in the evening to give articles for tomorrow's paper), or provide a webpage that just shows you what was printed in that day's edition of the print newspaper (e.g. The Guardian/Observer).

Re: How I regained concentration and focus

#413

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let's assume that's the case. Then without having witnessed the propaganda, I'd not have proper context to what you just told me. I'd have to go with somebody (you) claiming what had been the propaganda back in the day. And that sounds pretty unbelievable, so it's good that I witnessed it, then I can appreciate the point that you are making. Either way, better to have had open eyes and ears than not.

Not sure you needed to experience Nazi propaganda back in Nazi Germany to understand the dangers of that propaganda or why it was wrong. Of course you'll miss some nuance but I'm not really sure how important that really is.

There are not many people around anymore who have witnessed it and can tell the difference.

And it's a good example of my point. Once thing that's for sure is that the relative importance of "western allies" vs. USSR in their role of ending WW2 does not match reality, or what you'd have perceived on the ground. USSR had over 10 million dead soldiers (and the same in addition in civilian deaths). That's about a factor of 1 compared to the western allies in the European theatre. The eastern front was huge, bloody, deadly, and USSRs role in fighting back and steamrolling over German troops into Berlin was crucial in ending all that. The popular narrative nowadays is that the US ended the war, most movies and war documentaries are about the western front, etc.

Of course Stalin was a dictator and what happened during the cold war on the eastern side of the iron curtain and what's happening now in and from Russia is terrible and unacceptable. But without having witnessed events as they unfolded, it's much easier to be buy into today's narrative of the situation back then, which is heavily skewed.

Re: How I regained concentration and focus

#414

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hadn’t seen that post before. This paragraph hit me as a tragic irony: ‘This seems to be true, but the curious thing is that I’m never involved. The government commits a crime, the New York Times prints it on the front page, the people on the cable chat shows foam at the mouth about it, the government apologizes and commits the crime more subtly. It’s a valuable system — I certainly support the government being mor…

The bit his argument is missing is about how the news gets funded. Me, currently I pay for a Guardian subscription, because I think it plays an important role in our democracy - although I don't actually read it.

I occasionally do, so thank you!

Re: How I regained concentration and focus

#415
post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m really struggling with this right now. I’m turning 33 next month and really want children. I have endless memories of my dad and grandfathers teaching me amazing lessons and being best/strongest men I have ever been around. I want to fulfill that role that for someone! We didn’t have much money but camping or diy building is something fondly reminisce on and made me who I am. My partner is 25 and is not decided o…

> I’m considering an ultimatum but I love her so much. Dictating, forcing things is not the way to go for such things. You cant force children onto an unwilling mother. Its best if such things are handled amicably and with consensus.

It's a binary choice. Either who you're with will want kids, or not, and if you're determined to have them but they simply refuse despite all appeals of any kind then what consensus are you talking about? In other words, there has to be a point where you say you're leaving someone unless they also want kids. This is an ultimatum whether you want to call it that or not. Beating around the bush politely about it doesn't change or resolve anything.

Re: How I regained concentration and focus

#416

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having kids in the house is like being in a damn WWI trench with shells exploding over your head constantly. Ok, maybe not that bad, but it's horrible for your ability to get anything meaningful done. And then by the time they hit the sack and you finally have a few moments peace, you are worn out and ready to hit the sack yourself. My ability to burn the midnight oil has gone to zero basically.

Wow…extremely relatable. Sometimes I only want to price compare something online and order it, which should be a 5-10 minute process. It’ll take me 30 minutes spread over 10 3-minute bursts. In between I need to end fights, clean faces, fetch out of reach toys, lift them out of a chair, lift them into a chair, no the other chair, hand them a stuffed animal, pick the stuffed animal up from the ground, clean food from…

It definitely put many things in perspective for me. As a young single guy you look at suburbia, minivans, one click ordering, children's museums, etc. with a bit of skepticism or incredulity. Then once I got married and had kids I could instantly understand those things, even if I didn’t necessarily like them.

Re: How I regained concentration and focus

#417
post #277

I did not see it listed here, so I will mention Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport, who, among other things, discusses news in particular, but digital distractions in general and proposes a way to deal with it by changing our relationship with technology. I am currently going through the steps proposed by him and while not easy, it generally supports the point of the article. That said, it is not just news. edit: Just…

I really like his message but I feel each of his books could be a blog post. Good blog posts, but nevertheless something you could read in a few minutes. Instead you have to buy/borrow a $10 book, then he rubs it in by talking about how productive he as he has written so many books.

I think you have a point here and brevity matters. At the same time, would his advice be more credible if he was struggling the way I was with various distractions ( and I am still in a lot better place than an average internet user these days )? Alternatively, would a blogpost take away from his point about digital distraction?

Amusingly, as a result of all this re-arranging I did as a result of the book, I restarted writing a book for my kid. Not a lot, but a little bit each day should an inspiration strike.

It helps to allow mind wander a little.

TLDR: I don't disagree with your point, but I think it may have been a conscious decision beyond fiscal considerations.

Re: How I regained concentration and focus

#418

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure you needed to experience Nazi propaganda back in Nazi Germany to understand the dangers of that propaganda or why it was wrong. Of course you'll miss some nuance but I'm not really sure how important that really is.

There are not many people around anymore who have witnessed it and can tell the difference. And it's a good example of my point. Once thing that's for sure is that the relative importance of "western allies" vs. USSR in their role of ending WW2 does not match reality, or what you'd have perceived on the ground. USSR had over 10 million dead soldiers (and the same in addition in civilian deaths). That's about a factor…

No doubt the bloody eastern front had a big role, but it's hard to argue that it wouldn't have ended soon anyway with the atomic bomb. Would anything less have convinced Japan to surrender?

Re: How I regained concentration and focus

#419
post #30

I think routers should have more fine grained settings, so I can block social media during weekdays, HN on weekdays except lunchtime and evening, and allow my children only to access their 5 websites that they need for homework/study during a few hours in the afternoon. This would help me a lot.

My German router (FritzBox) has some of these options. Blacklist, whitelist, limited time and scheduling.

Re: How I regained concentration and focus

#420

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are not many people around anymore who have witnessed it and can tell the difference. And it's a good example of my point. Once thing that's for sure is that the relative importance of "western allies" vs. USSR in their role of ending WW2 does not match reality, or what you'd have perceived on the ground. USSR had over 10 million dead soldiers (and the same in addition in civilian deaths). That's about a factor…

No doubt the bloody eastern front had a big role, but it's hard to argue that it wouldn't have ended soon anyway with the atomic bomb. Would anything less have convinced Japan to surrender?

Hm? The nukes dropped in august 1945. Nazi Germany had long surrendered by then. In part because the Red Army had come all the way to Berlin.
Post reply on HN