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Protecting my attention at the dopamine carnival

amirsharif.com

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Re: Protecting my attention at the dopamine carnival

#81

Post by aorloff »

Dr_Birdbrain wrote: post #47
jampa wrote: post #11

> Having your phone in the same room while doing cognitive work reliably drops your memory, attention, and overall cognitive performance. That is my biggest problem with most Multifactor authentication. I try to leave my phone in another room to focus, but needing the phone authenticator for something always happens within two hours. I still don't know why apps think a device I carry in the streets is safer than one…

What would your employer say if you said “I don’t own a smartphone. What alternatives exist?” My current employer has a little nub on my laptop that I touch, but my previous employer was big on making me check my smartphone.

> My current employer has a little nub on my laptop that I touch

This is for authentication ?

Re: Protecting my attention at the dopamine carnival

#82

Post by Scarblac »

Dr_Birdbrain wrote: post #47
jampa wrote: post #11

> Having your phone in the same room while doing cognitive work reliably drops your memory, attention, and overall cognitive performance. That is my biggest problem with most Multifactor authentication. I try to leave my phone in another room to focus, but needing the phone authenticator for something always happens within two hours. I still don't know why apps think a device I carry in the streets is safer than one…

What would your employer say if you said “I don’t own a smartphone. What alternatives exist?” My current employer has a little nub on my laptop that I touch, but my previous employer was big on making me check my smartphone.

They'd give me a conpany smartphone.

Re: Protecting my attention at the dopamine carnival

#83

Post by djtango »

vineyardmike wrote: post #70
llmthrow103 wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree that it's not a great study, but I also don't want to find out too late that it wasn't a good idea to outsource my thinking to ChatGPT.

The study wasn't great but don't outsource your thinking. The study (if we assume it was good) told students the objective of their task was to generate a factual essay about topic X. The study then measured how much they learned about the topic at the end, but the students who used ChatGPT "learned" less and remembered their own essay less despite an equally passable essay. I want the alternative version of the stud…

Speaking about not outsourcing practice reminds me of the physical analogue...

I have heard about people talk about "farmer's strength" to reference a very natural functional strength that is earned by the gruelling and diverse physical demands of doing farm labour for a lifetime.

Now people have invented various training regimes to try to reproduce that kind of strength outside of the original farming environment.

Edit - As an aside, it just occurred to me that I am both a functional strength and functional programming proponent (facepalm). Perhaps in the future after people seeking to strengthen their minds through via mental gymnastics, FP will see a renaissance

Re: Protecting my attention at the dopamine carnival

#84

Post by senko »

wzdd wrote: post #78

The "surprising results" are a bit factoid-ey and if taken at face value are far more shocking than they turned out to be (I very much appreciate the references so I could check this): "You can reverse up to 10 years of age-related cognitive decline simply by blocking mobile data on your phone for 2 weeks": the linked study says that it's attention span that is improved equivalent to being 10 years younger, as measur…

> Basically your brain doesn't have to work as hard at the task if you're using an LLM

That's kind of the point of most tech. Consider:

"In another eye-opening study, researchers have conclusively shown that your muscles atrophy if you're using a forklift instead of your back!"

Re: Protecting my attention at the dopamine carnival

#85

Post by ykonstant »

fnord77 wrote: post #4

> Developers actually take up to 19% longer when coding with AI than without it, but self-report that they were able to complete tasks 20% faster. this contradicts thought leaders in the field like Andrew Ng

Please don't say "thought leader" unironically.

Re: Protecting my attention at the dopamine carnival

#86

Post by notTooFarGone »

o11c wrote: post #46
jampa wrote: post #11

> Having your phone in the same room while doing cognitive work reliably drops your memory, attention, and overall cognitive performance. That is my biggest problem with most Multifactor authentication. I try to leave my phone in another room to focus, but needing the phone authenticator for something always happens within two hours. I still don't know why apps think a device I carry in the streets is safer than one…

> I still don't know why apps think a device I carry in the streets is safer [...] Because MFA requirements have never been about security, only security theater. It's the modern version of the "you must change your password every 30 days" rule.

wild take here.

MFA is like infinitely more secure than your username/pw that Tim from accounting writes on his notes and reuses the same password everywhere.

How is that not common knowledge?

Re: Protecting my attention at the dopamine carnival

#87

Post by blotfaba »

> Using ChatGPT on cognitive tasks can reduce your brain connectivity by up to 50% and reduce your ability to recall information about the task by 8x.

I hate this thing. I don't think it added anything to this article to conflate this "study" - did no one stop to think your brain isn't firing on all cylinders when the AI is doing the work because that's what the whole point of AI is?

It's supposed to free up your mind to attend to other matters.

We're not building muscles like we used to when we use tractors and heavy machinery instead of building houses brick by brick by hand either. So what?? Attend a gym and read something technical and dense.

Re: Protecting my attention at the dopamine carnival

#88

Post by joules77 »

p0sixlang wrote: post #55
joules77 wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't use apps. The only apps on my phone are for communication. Nothing else. It's quite possible to live with websites.

How are you delineating websites and apps, and can you elaborate what exactly your hypothesis is here?

I mean anything you have to "install" from an app store tied to a phone OS. Sometimes if there is no other option I install the app/complete the task and uninstall.

The app guys have normalized the idea that every "bright" idea they get about how to exploit my data or waste my attention, they have a right to push it out to my phone, if I have installed their app.

So the stupid apps keep updating with new shit everyday whether I need it or not.

Re: Protecting my attention at the dopamine carnival

#89

Post by tonyedgecombe »

normie3000 wrote: post #67
tonyedgecombe wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Monzo (UK) lets you set a limit on withdrawals when you are away from home.

Does it also let you unset the limit?

When you are at home. Also you can print a QR code which you can use when away from home.

Re: Protecting my attention at the dopamine carnival

#90

Post by YuukiRey »

mortsnort wrote: post #61

Tik Tok is obvious brain rot, but what if one's time at the dopamine carnival is spent consuming "brain-growth" content? Phones essentially put all human knowledge at our fingertips, where is the line of diminishing or negative returns when trying to consume it?

99% of the time it is consumption without ever utilizing the knowledge for any creative endeavor . And without application the knowledge will quickly fade and you’ll find yourself watching the same 10min video on statistics 101 for the 3rd time, because you keep forgetting.

It’s still mindless consumption if you don’t interact with the material in any meaningful way (follow up questions, application, try to refute it, evaluate a hypothesis you had before watching it, …)

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