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That's a viewpoint I haven't encountered before. May you share more about it? From my POV, it would seem that emotions are logical, or the thought of us being l

That's a viewpoint I haven't encountered before. May you share more about it? From my POV, it would seem that emotions are logical, or the thought of us being logical itself soothes some emotions and validates others. What would you say makes feeling logical a more rounded approach to certain types of people?

cpncrunch 11y ago
Here is an example: someone submits an email to your customer support. The email starts with "your software is full of bugs". They go on to list all the problems they've had. The natural response of the human brain is to get angry at the person reporting the bug. Obviously this isn't very useful or logical. A better solution is to think about the problems reported, and decide whether it is a valid complaint or not. Many people automatically feel anger in situations like this, but you can train yourself out of it. It's essentially a kind of mindfulness: you just look at the situation intellectually and watch your emotions, rather than letting your emotions take control. I would say the only logical time for feeling anger is when someone does something like raping or murdering a member of your family. Even then, anger is only useful in helping you formulate a plan of retaliation.
- asimuvPR 11y ago
  Oh yes, I understand. Sort of not being overly sensitive to assholes. Quite useful. I would add being kind and nice as a response to those sort of situations. It helps bring down emotions from the altered party.
- danieltillett 11y ago
  I love bug reports. I really hate when I find out months later that one of my customers knew about the bug and never bothered to report it. Every bug reported is one I can fix.
alsetmusic 11y ago
Not the person you replied to, but I (anecdotally) have had the same experience. This has ranged from negative working conditions to political atmosphere. When I deliberately alter my response from "this frustrates me" to "how can I improve it," I don't feel helpless about my state of mind. The best method for me was to reduce, as much as possible, my use of the words, "I hate XYZ."
- cpncrunch 11y ago
  Yes, definitely. I think the main problematic emotions are hate and anger. Also, long-term frustration and resentment can build up and lead to burnout. None of these emotions are very useful except maybe in the very short term until a more useful response is formulated.
  - zepto 11y ago
    Hate and anger are only problematic if you act on them in destructive ways or are in a culture that stigmatizes them. For most of us, it's latter that causes the problem.
    - cpncrunch 11y ago
      >Hate and anger are only problematic if you act on them in destructive ways or are in a culture that stigmatizes them. That is certainly a problem, but it isn't what I was referring to. I meant that hate and anger can lead to burnout (primarily fatigue and depression), if they are experienced excessively. Acting out the anger may in fact lead to reduced chance of burnout, as it prevents the emotions from building up inside.
      - zepto 11y ago
        I didn't make reference to acting out anger - I talked about acting on it destructively. Acting on it constructively is a different matter. The side effects of a culture that stigmatizes anger or of acting on anger destructively, are that you experience it more.

cpncrunch 11y ago

Here is an example: someone submits an email to your customer support. The email starts with "your software is full of bugs". They go on to list all the problems they've had. The natural response of the human brain is to get angry at the person reporting the bug. Obviously this isn't very useful or logical. A better solution is to think about the problems reported, and decide whether it is a valid complaint or not. Many people automatically feel anger in situations like this, but you can train yourself out of it. It's essentially a kind of mindfulness: you just look at the situation intellectually and watch your emotions, rather than letting your emotions take control. I would say the only logical time for feeling anger is when someone does something like raping or murdering a member of your family. Even then, anger is only useful in helping you formulate a plan of retaliation.

asimuvPR 11y ago
Oh yes, I understand. Sort of not being overly sensitive to assholes. Quite useful. I would add being kind and nice as a response to those sort of situations. It helps bring down emotions from the altered party.
danieltillett 11y ago
I love bug reports. I really hate when I find out months later that one of my customers knew about the bug and never bothered to report it. Every bug reported is one I can fix.

alsetmusic 11y ago

Not the person you replied to, but I (anecdotally) have had the same experience. This has ranged from negative working conditions to political atmosphere. When I deliberately alter my response from "this frustrates me" to "how can I improve it," I don't feel helpless about my state of mind. The best method for me was to reduce, as much as possible, my use of the words, "I hate XYZ."

cpncrunch 11y ago
Yes, definitely. I think the main problematic emotions are hate and anger. Also, long-term frustration and resentment can build up and lead to burnout. None of these emotions are very useful except maybe in the very short term until a more useful response is formulated.
- zepto 11y ago
  Hate and anger are only problematic if you act on them in destructive ways or are in a culture that stigmatizes them. For most of us, it's latter that causes the problem.
  - cpncrunch 11y ago
    >Hate and anger are only problematic if you act on them in destructive ways or are in a culture that stigmatizes them. That is certainly a problem, but it isn't what I was referring to. I meant that hate and anger can lead to burnout (primarily fatigue and depression), if they are experienced excessively. Acting out the anger may in fact lead to reduced chance of burnout, as it prevents the emotions from building up inside.
    - zepto 11y ago
      I didn't make reference to acting out anger - I talked about acting on it destructively. Acting on it constructively is a different matter. The side effects of a culture that stigmatizes anger or of acting on anger destructively, are that you experience it more.