Stop overstimulating your mind with digital entertainment

#1

Post by thomasjbevan » Wed, Jun 02, 2021, 1:30 PM UTC

Stop overstimulating your mind with digital entertainment
quintusertorius.com

Re: Stop overstimulating your mind with digital entertainment

#2

Post by meristohm » Wed, Jun 02, 2021, 4:09 PM UTC

Boredom is useful for creativity, I’ve found. How do you set yourself up to be creative?

Re: Stop overstimulating your mind with digital entertainment

#3

Post by okr » Wed, Jun 02, 2021, 4:20 PM UTC

meristohm wrote: post #2

Boredom is useful for creativity, I’ve found. How do you set yourself up to be creative?

I reqd articles how to set up myself for being creative. ;)

Re: Stop overstimulating your mind with digital entertainment

#4

Post by TheSpiceIsLife » Wed, Jun 02, 2021, 4:23 PM UTC

okr wrote: post #3

meristohm wrote: post #2

Boredom is useful for creativity, I’ve found. How do you set yourself up to be creative?

I reqd articles how to set up myself for being creative. ;)

I occasionally buy licenses for creativity software.

Kinda similar to how I use my gym membership ;)

Re: Stop overstimulating your mind with digital entertainment

#5

Post by blacktriangle » Wed, Jun 02, 2021, 4:28 PM UTC

meristohm wrote: post #2

Boredom is useful for creativity, I’ve found. How do you set yourself up to be creative?

For me, I'll unplug the internet, but that's because my creative outlet is programming and it's really really hard to have the discipline to program and not browser the web (case in point I'm writing this reply.)

As developers this is challenging since so many of our tools require network access. I've had minimal luck with various site blockers since you can always just disable them. So here's my plan:

1) Prepare. Download documentation you will want and invest in dead-tree copies of relevent books.

2) Have 2 desks, one with your computer, and one without. I physically move to the non-computer desk for design work and thinking, then get up and move to the computer desk to program. A comfy chair for more creative thinking is a nice addition to this setup.

3) Make it really hard to turn the internet back on. When I started this I would actually go and put the modem outside in my car to make it annoying enough to turn the internet back on. As I've gotten more comfortable with this practice I find it's enough to just go and turn off the modem, but I've found that simply turning off wifi on the computer is not enough distance.

Sounds extreme, but by seeing how much work I need to do to disconnect has taught me how much of an addict I really am and given the motivation to work on the problem.

Through this process I've gained a new level of respect for Emacs. The built-in documentation browser is amazing, both the tools for browsing and the quality of the documentation. I'm able to figure out everything I need to about Emacs without touching the network.

Re: Stop overstimulating your mind with digital entertainment

#6

Post by j_m_b » Wed, Jun 02, 2021, 4:30 PM UTC

There is no evidence dopamine fasting does anything. It's just the latest techie health fad.

Re: Stop overstimulating your mind with digital entertainment

#7

Post by the_local_host » Wed, Jun 02, 2021, 4:31 PM UTC

meristohm wrote: post #2

Boredom is useful for creativity, I’ve found. How do you set yourself up to be creative?

I find that boredom is death for creativity, but tedium is a goldmine. If I'm not doing anything, I don't think of anything. If I have a tedious but active chore, I need to bring a notepad along with me to capture all the ideas.

Re: Stop overstimulating your mind with digital entertainment

#8

Post by RootReducer » Wed, Jun 02, 2021, 4:32 PM UTC

This is ridiculously preachy. I do think the overall thesis is correct, in that boredom can be a powerful force for creativity and inspiration, but paragraphs like this make the article completely off-putting:

"If you want to let music inspire you and enjoy its real beauty, I have few very simple rules: Classical Music and no “skipping”. Then I will trust my appetite."

I do like sitting down and actually focusing on an album, but suggesting only that only classical music is worthy of appreciation is absurd. There is an amazing variety of wonderful modern music in a multitude of genres.

Re: Stop overstimulating your mind with digital entertainment

#9

Post by munchbunny » Wed, Jun 02, 2021, 4:33 PM UTC

meristohm wrote: post #2

Boredom is useful for creativity, I’ve found. How do you set yourself up to be creative?

My personal experience is that creativity, paradoxically, is a lot like exercise: it's often best done on a regular basis, on a schedule, and you need time to accumulate momentum, and you get better at it with repetition.

It's also best done without the pressure of "I must come up with something". Sometimes there really is pressure and I have to spend some time to trick myself to build up momentum.

I like to schedule time to go on a 30 minute walk with my phone in Do Not Disturb mode.

Re: Stop overstimulating your mind with digital entertainment

#10

Post by canadianfella » Wed, Jun 02, 2021, 4:36 PM UTC

> when I was visiting a deserted island in Brittany, to look at my friend directly streaming the video of the ocean. I started to feel a deep feeling of disgust.

This article disgusts me.