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Regaining control of your attention

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Re: Regaining control of your attention

#51

Post by RAB1138 »

graeme wrote: post #44
tdaltonc wrote: post #43

We just finished making an app for people looking to use apps less and in a more intentional way. http://YouJustNeedSpace.com We had to launch it as a web app because Apple said an app that encourages you to use other apps or your phone less is not appropriate for the app store.

>We had to launch it as a web app because Apple said an app that encourages you to use other apps or your phone less is not appropriate for the app store. Really? That's the sort of app I'd pay for. Ideally, I'd spend less time on my phone, and more time on my (apple) computer. Pretty shortsighted of apple. Product feedback: I don't really know what it does, or how it does it. I accessed this on a computer, so I coul…

Thanks! We're working on the chrome extension too.

Re: Regaining control of your attention

#52

Post by RAB1138 »

hrayr wrote: post #46
tdaltonc wrote: post #43

We just finished making an app for people looking to use apps less and in a more intentional way. http://YouJustNeedSpace.com We had to launch it as a web app because Apple said an app that encourages you to use other apps or your phone less is not appropriate for the app store.

> Space only runs in iOS Safari. What is it about this web app that requires iOS Safari?

Space works by giving you a set of new app icons to use instead of the normal ones. The process of creating new app icons from a webpage is very streamlined in Safari. As it turns out, most iPhone users who aren't the HN crowd use Safari as their default browser. We're working on Android native, Chrome support, and chrome extensions!

Re: Regaining control of your attention

#53

Post by michaelchisari »

johnchristopher wrote: post #47
michaelchisari wrote: post #23

Mario is finite, bounded. The edges are clear. You pay once, and there’s no other way for Nintendo to extract money from you. No single player is a mark. There are no whales. In Mario you can not only see the end but get there. My favorite games to play on my phone are those made by Square Enix. Final fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Dragon Quest, lots of classic remakes. They range from $6.99 to $20.99, which made people ba…

> Once again, cheap is better than free. Pay a few dollars and never get bothered again by ads or pay-to-play, but most importantly, you don't feel like you're being manipulated by a never-ending game that starts to feel much more like work than play. But old school/classical ff games always have that grinding and levelling part where it also feels more like work than play. Games from before were also designed to be…

Sure, there's points where you grind experience, but it's towards the goal of finishing the game. Grinding experience and leveling up aren't the game itself.

Re: Regaining control of your attention

#54

Post by westoncb »

ue_ wrote: post #31
canadian_voter wrote: post #25

“We believe that we live in the ‘age of information'. That there has been an information ‘explosion,’ an information ‘revolution.’ While in a certain narrow sense this is the case, in many important ways just the opposite is true. We also live at a moment of deep ignorance, when vital knowledge that humans have always possessed about who we are and where we live seems beyond our reach. An Unenlightenment. An age of m…

I'm a little bothered by the "fulfill their economic roles quietly and efficiently" part. I don't know if it was your intention, but from my point of view this seems like you're saying to effectively shut up and get on with the job. I do not agree with this line of thinking; often people have valid problems with what they're doing. I think that if there is injustice, one should speak up about it, rather than "fulfill…

I'm almost certain the parent's comment is tongue in cheek. The last sentence, "It's all relative isn't it?" seems clearly mocking. Of course if I'm mistaken, then I totally agree!

Re: Regaining control of your attention

#55

Post by hrayr »

Regaining control presumes you had control to begin with.

I'd wager having little control over attention has been the default mode for couple generations. The world is full of distractions that start from childhood. Gaining control over attention requires awareness and a more deliberate effort, through meditation or the like.

Re: Regaining control of your attention

#56

Post by AngrySkillzz »

vorotato wrote: post #22
AngrySkillzz wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interestingly, that is the opposite of what I've seen in the scientific literature. Trait self-control seems to better relate to removing temptations from our lives via planning rather than having a high threshold for resistance. People who identify as "having good self-control" tend to have fewer strong desires and weaker resistance. Tellingly, trait self-control also doesn't seem to change the relationship between…

There is a very critical flaw in that though, people who identify as having good self-control don't necessarily actually have good self-control. Just like people who identify at being good at basketball aren't necessarily good at basketball. That doesn't imply one can't get better at playing basketball through practice.

I was not quite precise saying it is self-reported; it was measured through a 10 item questionnaire that is self reported. Still, it's not watertight (as is often the case in psychology research). I'm just encouraging you to consider that your view may be flawed or incomplete, that's all.

Re: Regaining control of your attention

#57

Post by jbscpa »

rwc wrote: post #8

Admittedly off-topic, but why add unnecessarily ignorant asides (in the first sentence to boot): "...I lived on the grounds of an old estate down in central Virginia, next to a town called — terrifyingly — Lynchburg..." ...when a 10-second Google search reveals the less-than-terrifying reality: First settled in 1757, Lynchburg was named for its founder, John Lynch, who at the age of 17 started a ferry service at a fo…

This. Yes.

"but why add unnecessarily ignorant asides"

Re: Regaining control of your attention

#58

Post by endorphone »

rwc wrote: post #8

Admittedly off-topic, but why add unnecessarily ignorant asides (in the first sentence to boot): "...I lived on the grounds of an old estate down in central Virginia, next to a town called — terrifyingly — Lynchburg..." ...when a 10-second Google search reveals the less-than-terrifying reality: First settled in 1757, Lynchburg was named for its founder, John Lynch, who at the age of 17 started a ferry service at a fo…

The name can still carry terrifying connotations given the history of the area, regardless of its origin. And of course in this case the practice of lynching was named for one of the founder's relatives.

I happened to see your comment almost directly after reading the submission "The Sound of Silence", as they sat as siblings on the front page, and it seemed oddly appropriate. A benign bit of narrative prose somehow distracted a reader enough to make outrage their primary response.

Re: Regaining control of your attention

#59

Post by tdaltonc »

graeme wrote: post #44
tdaltonc wrote: post #43

We just finished making an app for people looking to use apps less and in a more intentional way. http://YouJustNeedSpace.com We had to launch it as a web app because Apple said an app that encourages you to use other apps or your phone less is not appropriate for the app store.

>We had to launch it as a web app because Apple said an app that encourages you to use other apps or your phone less is not appropriate for the app store. Really? That's the sort of app I'd pay for. Ideally, I'd spend less time on my phone, and more time on my (apple) computer. Pretty shortsighted of apple. Product feedback: I don't really know what it does, or how it does it. I accessed this on a computer, so I coul…

> That's the sort of app I'd pay for.

Good new! You can! We use Stripe. I'm sure our conversion rate is a lot lower than if we were in the app store. But it's still possible for people who love it to help us keep working on it.

Re: Regaining control of your attention

#60

Post by abakker »

michaelchisari wrote: post #53
johnchristopher wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Once again, cheap is better than free. Pay a few dollars and never get bothered again by ads or pay-to-play, but most importantly, you don't feel like you're being manipulated by a never-ending game that starts to feel much more like work than play. But old school/classical ff games always have that grinding and levelling part where it also feels more like work than play. Games from before were also designed to be…

Sure, there's points where you grind experience, but it's towards the goal of finishing the game. Grinding experience and leveling up aren't the game itself.

That is true, kind of, but grinding efficiently was probably the very first time I learned the lesson "work smart, not hard". There is a microcosm of reality in grinding which I think is why some of those games ultimately felt more rewarding than ones that omit it. I don't want the time I spent playing Diablo II back, it was worth it. I can't say the same for some other titles I've played.
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