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Seeking the productive life: Some details of my personal infrastructure (2019)

writings.stephenwolfram.com

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Re: Seeking the productive life: Some details of my personal infrastructure (2019)

#91

Post by Simon_O_Rourke »

rytis wrote: post #90
jessewmc wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What does this mean? Is there a list of approved conversation allowed on trails? What difference does it make if they are talking to someone virtually or physically present on the trail?

I guess it depends. When you're talking to a person directly, most likely your ears aren't blocked. So you get the feedback of your voice levels, and adjust accordingly. This is really difficult to do when you have earphones in, blocking everything. Usually people with both earphones in tend to raise their voices nearly to a shouting level. I don't know if OP does that or not though.

It's more that their full attention isn't on the meeting at hand - how can it be when they're wandering some nature trail taking it all in? If I spent a week busting my ass to get some feature shipped, and in a sprint re-cap meeting all I see is my boss wandering a forest trail going "Uh-hu, uh-hu, wow there's a red-breasted warbler..." I'd become very upset.

Re: Seeking the productive life: Some details of my personal infrastructure (2019)

#92

Post by iancmceachern »

dmje wrote: post #35

My intuition is that all of the benefit you get being outside and walking is probably lost by strapping a laptop to yourself and being on calls the whole time. Call me old fashioned but I'm outside to look at the sea, hear the birds and be very definitely away from my tech.

Exactly, that picture of him in the woods with the laptop strapped to him is the image of a truly lost man in my opinion.

Re: Seeking the productive life: Some details of my personal infrastructure (2019)

#93

Post by iancmceachern »

Simon_O_Rourke wrote: post #91
rytis wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess it depends. When you're talking to a person directly, most likely your ears aren't blocked. So you get the feedback of your voice levels, and adjust accordingly. This is really difficult to do when you have earphones in, blocking everything. Usually people with both earphones in tend to raise their voices nearly to a shouting level. I don't know if OP does that or not though.

It's more that their full attention isn't on the meeting at hand - how can it be when they're wandering some nature trail taking it all in? If I spent a week busting my ass to get some feature shipped, and in a sprint re-cap meeting all I see is my boss wandering a forest trail going "Uh-hu, uh-hu, wow there's a red-breasted warbler..." I'd become very upset.

Exactly, I don't this gives either thing the respect it deserves. Just do both things, on their own, properly.

Re: Seeking the productive life: Some details of my personal infrastructure (2019)

#94

Post by froh »

zorrolovsky wrote: post #25

That was a great read. It got me smiling!. It's not often that you find fellow control freaks in the wild. Stephen Wolfram's personal infrastructure sounds overall great, but it crumbles in the sound department. If you're going to be on calls for hours every day, for everything that is holy please get a hands-free set up. The most ergonomic object is no object at all. I use a Scarlett 212 mic and sound card paired wi…

which mic do you use with the lovely scarlet interface?

Re: Seeking the productive life: Some details of my personal infrastructure (2019)

#95

Post by rongopo »

Right after a pandemic that disrupted to a degree multiple aspects of our life, I say this is not the right time to seek productivity. It is time to reconnect with yourself, your motivations, and your ability to build self enforcing social relations. If you have all these, congratulations, go for optimizing productivity!

Re: Seeking the productive life: Some details of my personal infrastructure (2019)

#96

Post by steve1977 »

Simon_O_Rourke wrote: post #91
rytis wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess it depends. When you're talking to a person directly, most likely your ears aren't blocked. So you get the feedback of your voice levels, and adjust accordingly. This is really difficult to do when you have earphones in, blocking everything. Usually people with both earphones in tend to raise their voices nearly to a shouting level. I don't know if OP does that or not though.

It's more that their full attention isn't on the meeting at hand - how can it be when they're wandering some nature trail taking it all in? If I spent a week busting my ass to get some feature shipped, and in a sprint re-cap meeting all I see is my boss wandering a forest trail going "Uh-hu, uh-hu, wow there's a red-breasted warbler..." I'd become very upset.

As if you would have the full attention of others in a physical meeting…

Re: Seeking the productive life: Some details of my personal infrastructure (2019)

#97

Post by rongopo »

ninotheopsguy wrote: post #61

An important point not to forget is that he runs an 800 employee profitable company with no outside investments (not to mention his academic work)

As a person that is always thinking on the public interest, and what that means for open code, I cannot help it thinking "how long until open source overcomes his work"? A decade? 50y?

Re: Seeking the productive life: Some details of my personal infrastructure (2019)

#98

Post by elric »

iancmceachern wrote: post #93
Simon_O_Rourke wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's more that their full attention isn't on the meeting at hand - how can it be when they're wandering some nature trail taking it all in? If I spent a week busting my ass to get some feature shipped, and in a sprint re-cap meeting all I see is my boss wandering a forest trail going "Uh-hu, uh-hu, wow there's a red-breasted warbler..." I'd become very upset.

Exactly, I don't this gives either thing the respect it deserves. Just do both things, on their own, properly.

Are we gatekeeping walks and meetings now? You can walk and talk and not annoy other people -- if other people are even around. You can also walk and talk and give enough attention to your meeting. Use your judgement.

Re: Seeking the productive life: Some details of my personal infrastructure (2019)

#99

Post by BrentLabasan »

rongopo wrote: post #95

Right after a pandemic that disrupted to a degree multiple aspects of our life, I say this is not the right time to seek productivity. It is time to reconnect with yourself, your motivations, and your ability to build self enforcing social relations. If you have all these, congratulations, go for optimizing productivity!

Can you please elaborate more on the "self enforcing social relations" part?

Re: Seeking the productive life: Some details of my personal infrastructure (2019)

#100

Post by harperlee »

justinlloyd wrote: post #80
timdavila wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Curious why you do this and what you feel like it adds to your life?

Why does it have to add anything to my life? Why be the third person to climb a mountain? I hear tell of a 19th century English gentleman who manually recorded the level of rain water and the barometric pressure in his garden, a dozen times a day, including the wee hours of the morning, waking up several times a night as though afflicted with the worst UTI possible, through all weathers, all seasons, all ills, all tr…

Feels weird that you have to defend this take on hobbies on a forum called “Hacker News”.

My father is building a small sailboat model (the Santísima Trinidad), and if someone asked “What does that add to his life?” I personally would pity that person, for its lack of empathy and views on a successful life.

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