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I personally wonder what has the modern world come to, that an individual cannot take a leisurely walk without distraction, and thus feels like they must be wor

I personally wonder what has the modern world come to, that an individual cannot take a leisurely walk without distraction, and thus feels like they must be working on a computer while getting in some basic movement for their body.

SZJX 8y ago
I don't think he ever meant it that way. It's not that he "cannot take a leisurely walk without distraction", but that he wants to get some walking while working, i.e. the priority is reversed. He claims to walk for "a couple of hours" which is too long to not be doing anything for him. You seem to be generalizing a lot from this one person's preference. Also, a lot of people listen to podcasts/audiobooks while walking/jogging. Is that a "distraction"? I'd say it's actually even a plus and those two activities are complementary to each other: Being in the wild helps you concentrate on the audiobook, and being able to read something uninterrupted motivates you to go out and do some exercise every day.
bufferoverflow 8y ago
He is walking while working on a computer, not vice versa.
alexpetralia 8y ago
It's a world that increasingly values cognitive output over physical output. Doesn't seem that dystopian to me.
- nabnob 8y ago
  I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not.
karmelapple 8y ago
I see him walking while working as a way to keep his physical self exercising alongside his mind, not because he can’t handle being alone with his thoughts. He even mentions that if there’s a stressful meeting, he can walk off some of the stress. He also works remotely, and it’s important to take the opportunities to move around while remote. It’s easy to stay in the house all day, especially in a snowy winter, but getting some movement in is important for many people to have a happy and healthy life.
magicbuzz 8y ago
Different strokes for different folks - and he is certainly different. I have fantasised for years about doing my dev work away from a desk. So maybe it’s just me but I find his ‘walking desk’ fascinating and thought provoking.
cma 8y ago
He may take regular walks also and find it weird that you can't work without sitting in a chair.
Kluny 8y ago
To be fair, he's a very weird individual, and pretty old too (not all that modern).
TeMPOraL 8y ago
Depends whether this is really "work" for him. He strikes me as a type who found his calling.
jnty 8y ago
Given the alternative would be working while being sedentary, I think it's probably a fairly good (if odd) setup? I'm assuming he doesn't take the laptop like that when we he wants to walk to the shops at the weekend.
- cowsandmilk 8y ago
  > Given the alternative would be working while being sedentary I would say the alternative is to not work 18 hours a day, but obviously that is his choice. > I'm assuming he doesn't take the laptop like that when we he wants to walk to the shops at the weekend. I wouldn't put my bet on that. He has said in the past that he uses his weekends to grid down his e-mail backlog. Rather, his graphs in past posts show him not talking on the phone on weekends, but still pretty constantly emailing.
VBprogrammer 8y ago
One thing that had me wondering about is how on earth he deals with reflections on the screen. Any attempt I've ever made to work outside in the sun (usually when it's too nice to be indoors) has resulted in me frustrated and giving up when I can't see a bloody thing on the screen. Maybe I'll give it a go on the Macbook Pro I've just gotten at work.
- jedberg 8y ago
  Polarized sunglasses help me a lot. As long as they aren't polarized in the same direction as your screen, it should work pretty well.
  - VBprogrammer 8y ago
    Ha! That's a really good idea. I guess most sunglasses are vertically polarized to avoid reflections off of water / wet ground so as long as the screen is polarized differently that should work.
anoncake 8y ago
Jack and Max are walking from religious service. Jack wonders whether it would be all right to smoke while praying. Max replies, "Why don't you ask the Priest?" So Jack goes up to the Priest and asks, " Father, may I smoke while I pray?" The Priest replies, "No, my son, you may not! That's utter disrespect to our religion." Jack goes back to his friend and tells him what the good Priest told him. Max says, "I'm not surprised. You asked the wrong question. Let me try." And so Max goes up to the Priest and asks, "Father, may I pray while I smoke ?" To which the Priest eagerly replies, "By all means, my son. By all means. You can always pray whenever you want to."

SZJX 8y ago

I don't think he ever meant it that way. It's not that he "cannot take a leisurely walk without distraction", but that he wants to get some walking while working, i.e. the priority is reversed. He claims to walk for "a couple of hours" which is too long to not be doing anything for him. You seem to be generalizing a lot from this one person's preference. Also, a lot of people listen to podcasts/audiobooks while walking/jogging. Is that a "distraction"? I'd say it's actually even a plus and those two activities are complementary to each other: Being in the wild helps you concentrate on the audiobook, and being able to read something uninterrupted motivates you to go out and do some exercise every day.

bufferoverflow 8y ago

He is walking while working on a computer, not vice versa.

alexpetralia 8y ago

It's a world that increasingly values cognitive output over physical output. Doesn't seem that dystopian to me.

nabnob 8y ago
I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not.

karmelapple 8y ago

I see him walking while working as a way to keep his physical self exercising alongside his mind, not because he can’t handle being alone with his thoughts. He even mentions that if there’s a stressful meeting, he can walk off some of the stress. He also works remotely, and it’s important to take the opportunities to move around while remote. It’s easy to stay in the house all day, especially in a snowy winter, but getting some movement in is important for many people to have a happy and healthy life.

magicbuzz 8y ago

Different strokes for different folks - and he is certainly different. I have fantasised for years about doing my dev work away from a desk. So maybe it’s just me but I find his ‘walking desk’ fascinating and thought provoking.

cma 8y ago

He may take regular walks also and find it weird that you can't work without sitting in a chair.

Kluny 8y ago

To be fair, he's a very weird individual, and pretty old too (not all that modern).

TeMPOraL 8y ago

Depends whether this is really "work" for him. He strikes me as a type who found his calling.

jnty 8y ago

Given the alternative would be working while being sedentary, I think it's probably a fairly good (if odd) setup? I'm assuming he doesn't take the laptop like that when we he wants to walk to the shops at the weekend.

cowsandmilk 8y ago
> Given the alternative would be working while being sedentary I would say the alternative is to not work 18 hours a day, but obviously that is his choice. > I'm assuming he doesn't take the laptop like that when we he wants to walk to the shops at the weekend. I wouldn't put my bet on that. He has said in the past that he uses his weekends to grid down his e-mail backlog. Rather, his graphs in past posts show him not talking on the phone on weekends, but still pretty constantly emailing.

VBprogrammer 8y ago

One thing that had me wondering about is how on earth he deals with reflections on the screen. Any attempt I've ever made to work outside in the sun (usually when it's too nice to be indoors) has resulted in me frustrated and giving up when I can't see a bloody thing on the screen. Maybe I'll give it a go on the Macbook Pro I've just gotten at work.

jedberg 8y ago
Polarized sunglasses help me a lot. As long as they aren't polarized in the same direction as your screen, it should work pretty well.
- VBprogrammer 8y ago
  Ha! That's a really good idea. I guess most sunglasses are vertically polarized to avoid reflections off of water / wet ground so as long as the screen is polarized differently that should work.

anoncake 8y ago

Jack and Max are walking from religious service. Jack wonders whether it would be all right to smoke while praying. Max replies, "Why don't you ask the Priest?" So Jack goes up to the Priest and asks, " Father, may I smoke while I pray?" The Priest replies, "No, my son, you may not! That's utter disrespect to our religion." Jack goes back to his friend and tells him what the good Priest told him. Max says, "I'm not surprised. You asked the wrong question. Let me try." And so Max goes up to the Priest and asks, "Father, may I pray while I smoke ?" To which the Priest eagerly replies, "By all means, my son. By all means. You can always pray whenever you want to."