Letting go of the idea of keeping up • Hacker News Board

Re: Letting go of the idea of keeping up

#91

Post by dhfbshfbu4u3 » Fri, Apr 05, 2024, 9:00 AM UTC

geuis wrote: post #14

I'm in a weird position. Can anyone provide a summary of this article? I have all the time in the world to read things that are interesting (to me) and really absorb the content. But I've increasingly been noticing a "recipe article" trend with blog posts. People throw 100 words in when 10 will do. This article is an example. I've even gotten to the point with certain important blog posts where I copy paste the conte…

“ In a reflective and deeply personal essay, the author navigates the evolving landscape of reading, from a childhood adorned with gold stars for fairy tale conquests to an adulthood grappling with the digital age's quantification of literary consumption. Amidst New York's vibrant book scene, a place of lit gossip and subway commutes, the author encounters the double-edged sword of being part of a community that both enriches and, at times, imposes unwelcome pressures. With a critique as much of Goodreads' role in transforming reading into a competitive sport as of the social media-induced urge to keep up, the piece eloquently argues for a return to reading as an unquantifiable, personal journey, a haven from the public eye and a refuge in the joy of books for their own sake.”

Re: Letting go of the idea of keeping up

#92

Post by namaria » Fri, Apr 05, 2024, 9:14 AM UTC

SeriousM wrote: post #57

Reading is part of my daily job, my education path, and in my free time. Even here on HN (ignoring the fact that the internet is no book). I have so many open tabs in my browser with articles I want to read because I see value in reading them eventually, but I can't keep up with all the new content that gets produced. Then I read the article with different eyes, the eyes of a youtube consumer. I have a huuuuge list o…

Stop looking for content that might be interesting. There's simply way too much content that might interest you.

Start pulling content instead of pushing. Why are you looking for something to read? Boredom, research? Then go for the kill: what is the best option here? What is the most fun to you or the most important data you need? Prioritize mercilessly.

And filter aggressively. There is very little original and high quality content out there. Most of what is available is derivative and there's a long tail of very low quality content. Even if the topic or title seems interesting, for each 100 articles or books that sound interesting, there's likely 1 or 2 that are miles ahead of the crowd in terms of quality. Time is a great filter. Books on a given topic that are decades or centuries older than average are likely to be the source of much rehashing in a given field.

Re: Letting go of the idea of keeping up

#93

Post by amonith » Fri, Apr 05, 2024, 9:22 AM UTC

resource_waste wrote: post #90

NalNezumi wrote: post #48

When I saw the title I thought the article would be about the dreadful stress of keeping up with new tech or research .. But it's about spare time reading? Granted the problem seems similar, but only because the author is in the field of reading (working in books related profession). I'm not sure how much it can be applied to just hobby reading. Stress of keeping up with tech/research comes from a sense of profession…

Thanks for starting the discussion. > Stress of keeping up with tech/research comes from a sense of professional obligations (you'll fall behind to your professional peers) Okay, I'm literally terrified about not being in the top 1% or top 10% of everything I do. Scared. I have built my life around me with people that perform at those levels, so everyone from my wife to my best friends may disappear if I'm not perfor…

> so everyone from my wife to my best friends may disappear if I'm not performing at those levels

Excuse me, what the flask. You don't have a wife and friends then at all. You've built a non-profit organization, not a family.

> look at nature: The best do what they can and the weak suffer

What kind of nature are you even watching? It's the sickly bottom 1% that's suffering which is an unfortunate reality, not the 90%. You completely inverted that.

Not only that, members of the same intelligent species usually help weaker members of their "packs". And people are supposed to be even better than that.

Re: Letting go of the idea of keeping up

#94

Post by kwhitefoot » Fri, Apr 05, 2024, 9:26 AM UTC

resource_waste wrote: post #90

NalNezumi wrote: post #48

When I saw the title I thought the article would be about the dreadful stress of keeping up with new tech or research .. But it's about spare time reading? Granted the problem seems similar, but only because the author is in the field of reading (working in books related profession). I'm not sure how much it can be applied to just hobby reading. Stress of keeping up with tech/research comes from a sense of profession…

Thanks for starting the discussion. > Stress of keeping up with tech/research comes from a sense of professional obligations (you'll fall behind to your professional peers) Okay, I'm literally terrified about not being in the top 1% or top 10% of everything I do. Scared. I have built my life around me with people that perform at those levels, so everyone from my wife to my best friends may disappear if I'm not perfor…

How is Stoicism Kool-Aid?

Re: Letting go of the idea of keeping up

#95

Post by kwhitefoot » Fri, Apr 05, 2024, 9:28 AM UTC

starkparker wrote: post #51

At one of my jobs the entire team read at least a book a week, often more and seemingly non-stop. Every standup started with every person talking about what we'd read that week. I'd never been a huge longform reader (more like a book a month, at best) and rarely had anything to contribute. Sometimes I'd say "our documentation" because that's what I'd been working on, and when I wasn't working _I wasn't reading_ becau…

> My manager raised my non-participation as an example of how my attitude was turning too negative for the team. I'd find out from recorded team meetings when I was out sick or on vacation that they'd crack jokes about it when I wasn't around.

That's workplace bullying.

Re: Letting go of the idea of keeping up

#96

Post by xcv123 » Fri, Apr 05, 2024, 9:36 AM UTC

anal_reactor wrote: post #78

starkparker wrote: post #51

At one of my jobs the entire team read at least a book a week, often more and seemingly non-stop. Every standup started with every person talking about what we'd read that week. I'd never been a huge longform reader (more like a book a month, at best) and rarely had anything to contribute. Sometimes I'd say "our documentation" because that's what I'd been working on, and when I wasn't working _I wasn't reading_ becau…

I can really understand how it feels from their perspective. Work feels much better when we do stuff that makes us connect as humans, and quarterly corporate events don't cut it. They created a culture where they did something fun together and had a conversation topic other than work, and there's this one guy who just refuses to participate and doesn't even try to find a way to include himself in the group. Sure, rea…

[flagged]

Re: Letting go of the idea of keeping up

#97

Post by elzbardico » Fri, Apr 05, 2024, 9:42 AM UTC

starkparker wrote: post #51

At one of my jobs the entire team read at least a book a week, often more and seemingly non-stop. Every standup started with every person talking about what we'd read that week. I'd never been a huge longform reader (more like a book a month, at best) and rarely had anything to contribute. Sometimes I'd say "our documentation" because that's what I'd been working on, and when I wasn't working _I wasn't reading_ becau…

This place was toxic, and those folks a bunch of pseudo-intelectual idiots.

Re: Letting go of the idea of keeping up

#98

Post by WJW » Fri, Apr 05, 2024, 9:52 AM UTC

resource_waste wrote: post #90

NalNezumi wrote: post #48

When I saw the title I thought the article would be about the dreadful stress of keeping up with new tech or research .. But it's about spare time reading? Granted the problem seems similar, but only because the author is in the field of reading (working in books related profession). I'm not sure how much it can be applied to just hobby reading. Stress of keeping up with tech/research comes from a sense of profession…

Thanks for starting the discussion. > Stress of keeping up with tech/research comes from a sense of professional obligations (you'll fall behind to your professional peers) Okay, I'm literally terrified about not being in the top 1% or top 10% of everything I do. Scared. I have built my life around me with people that perform at those levels, so everyone from my wife to my best friends may disappear if I'm not perfor…

If you are constantly afraid of being abandoned if you show the slightest sign of weakness, you may not be as strong as you imagine tbh. Such fears are easily exploited, too. You should really discuss this with your wife and/or friends, chances are that they have similar fears. You might support each other to achieve true strength and the confidence that comes with it.

Re: Letting go of the idea of keeping up

#99

Post by resource_waste » Fri, Apr 05, 2024, 9:58 AM UTC

amonith wrote: post #93

resource_waste wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for starting the discussion. > Stress of keeping up with tech/research comes from a sense of professional obligations (you'll fall behind to your professional peers) Okay, I'm literally terrified about not being in the top 1% or top 10% of everything I do. Scared. I have built my life around me with people that perform at those levels, so everyone from my wife to my best friends may disappear if I'm not perfor…

> so everyone from my wife to my best friends may disappear if I'm not performing at those levels Excuse me, what the flask. You don't have a wife and friends then at all. You've built a non-profit organization, not a family. > look at nature: The best do what they can and the weak suffer What kind of nature are you even watching? It's the sickly bottom 1% that's suffering which is an unfortunate reality, not the 90%…

>You don't have a wife and friends then at all. You've built a non-profit organization, not a family.

:( Yeah I know

>What kind of nature are you even watching

From the highest levels to the lowest levels, power dynamics decide how things are. I will admit that you can intellectual insanity your way to enjoying/handling suffering, I was a Stoic for 3 years. Whatever the case, maybe I've personally experienced more of this power dynamic problem. Its literally traumatic.

Re: Letting go of the idea of keeping up

#100

Post by Tade0 » Fri, Apr 05, 2024, 9:59 AM UTC

resource_waste wrote: post #90

NalNezumi wrote: post #48

When I saw the title I thought the article would be about the dreadful stress of keeping up with new tech or research .. But it's about spare time reading? Granted the problem seems similar, but only because the author is in the field of reading (working in books related profession). I'm not sure how much it can be applied to just hobby reading. Stress of keeping up with tech/research comes from a sense of profession…

Thanks for starting the discussion. > Stress of keeping up with tech/research comes from a sense of professional obligations (you'll fall behind to your professional peers) Okay, I'm literally terrified about not being in the top 1% or top 10% of everything I do. Scared. I have built my life around me with people that perform at those levels, so everyone from my wife to my best friends may disappear if I'm not perfor…

> I have built my life around me with people that perform at those levels, so everyone from my wife to my best friends may disappear if I'm not performing at those levels.

Are you positive that this is what is going to happen?