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Answered quite literally in the article: >“People say, ya know, ‘Get a life,’ and ‘This is a waste of time,’” Sae continues. “They have to understand that I on

Answered quite literally in the article: >“People say, ya know, ‘Get a life,’ and ‘This is a waste of time,’” Sae continues. “They have to understand that I only did this for an hour and a half each day just to unwind after work. I wasn’t killing myself doing this.”

da_chicken 7y ago
I mean, if it's that or reality television....
- iamnotacrook 7y ago
  It's that or reading/chess/charity work though. Each to their own but objectively this is not going to appear as anything other than extremely sad and lonely to most people, even those who spend a lot of time playing computer games.
  - Apocryphon 7y ago
    Most people probably waste far more time than 90 minutes a day after work, HN posters included.
    - galaxyLogic 7y ago
      I think the point is that this was a very determined effort. If she had been as determined to achieve something in real life she would have made it surely and might now be happier and have more skills (and other forms of capital) that are useful in real life.
      - Apocryphon 7y ago
        Debatable. You’re projecting your own needs, interests, and worldview onto someone else.
JasonFruit 7y ago
It's true that there's an answer in the article, but it's not a really satisfying one. This is 1½ hours each day for ten years; that's about 5500 hours. Think what you could do with that time! In a thousand hours, you could build a high-performance airplane. Ten years of practicing a musical instrument 1½ hours a day, you could be performing on a very high level. You could be fluent in a foreign language, learn advanced math, become a skilled gunsmith, have written several books, or have read a couple thousand books. Or you could have poked around a video game. To me, and a lot of other people, there's a real opportunity cost this person has been willing to assume, and I'm not about to pretend I think it was worth it.
- leetcrew 7y ago
  if you're able to actually spend 1.5 hours every day working on an airplane, practicing guitar, or learning math, that's great! but for a lot of people (or just me at least), by the time they've worked eight hours, gone to the gym, and eaten dinner, they don't have a lot of energy left for practicing a skill or working on a side project. some people (possibly you) are still brimming with energy and curiosity and will keep working on stuff until late in the night. what I'm trying to say is, not all hours are interchangeable in terms of opportunity cost. it should be okay to just be totally unproductive for one or two hours out of the days. not everyone can accomplish something meaningful in every single hour.
  - JasonFruit 7y ago
    That's certainly true, and I waste time, too. Everyone does. To me, if obviously not to everyone, doing some of these other things has been rejuvenating and energizing. It is okay to waste time, or fritter it away doing something you value and nobody else does; I felt it important to say, though, that I don't think this was a laudable achievement.
- marcinzm 7y ago
  >You could be fluent in a foreign language, learn advanced math, become a skilled gunsmith, have written several books, or have read a couple thousand books. Why? Why are any of those things worth doing or learning? Because you say they are?

da_chicken 7y ago

I mean, if it's that or reality television....

iamnotacrook 7y ago
It's that or reading/chess/charity work though. Each to their own but objectively this is not going to appear as anything other than extremely sad and lonely to most people, even those who spend a lot of time playing computer games.
- Apocryphon 7y ago
  Most people probably waste far more time than 90 minutes a day after work, HN posters included.
  - galaxyLogic 7y ago
    I think the point is that this was a very determined effort. If she had been as determined to achieve something in real life she would have made it surely and might now be happier and have more skills (and other forms of capital) that are useful in real life.
    - Apocryphon 7y ago
      Debatable. You’re projecting your own needs, interests, and worldview onto someone else.

JasonFruit 7y ago

It's true that there's an answer in the article, but it's not a really satisfying one. This is 1½ hours each day for ten years; that's about 5500 hours. Think what you could do with that time! In a thousand hours, you could build a high-performance airplane. Ten years of practicing a musical instrument 1½ hours a day, you could be performing on a very high level. You could be fluent in a foreign language, learn advanced math, become a skilled gunsmith, have written several books, or have read a couple thousand books. Or you could have poked around a video game. To me, and a lot of other people, there's a real opportunity cost this person has been willing to assume, and I'm not about to pretend I think it was worth it.

leetcrew 7y ago
if you're able to actually spend 1.5 hours every day working on an airplane, practicing guitar, or learning math, that's great! but for a lot of people (or just me at least), by the time they've worked eight hours, gone to the gym, and eaten dinner, they don't have a lot of energy left for practicing a skill or working on a side project. some people (possibly you) are still brimming with energy and curiosity and will keep working on stuff until late in the night. what I'm trying to say is, not all hours are interchangeable in terms of opportunity cost. it should be okay to just be totally unproductive for one or two hours out of the days. not everyone can accomplish something meaningful in every single hour.
- JasonFruit 7y ago
  That's certainly true, and I waste time, too. Everyone does. To me, if obviously not to everyone, doing some of these other things has been rejuvenating and energizing. It is okay to waste time, or fritter it away doing something you value and nobody else does; I felt it important to say, though, that I don't think this was a laudable achievement.
marcinzm 7y ago
>You could be fluent in a foreign language, learn advanced math, become a skilled gunsmith, have written several books, or have read a couple thousand books. Why? Why are any of those things worth doing or learning? Because you say they are?