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Focus has become more valuable than intelligence (2018)
- adamnemecek 7y agoI've had thought about this a lot as well, I'm really unsure I agree. The main problem is figuring out where exactly is the line. Like some of the best gains I've had in life were from things that others considered a distraction. I think I have a better solution. Watch your level of engagement, if you are hating something, it's a good signal you should do something else. Like say Leonardo da Vinci, Goethe and Alexander von Humboldt had a lot of things going on.
- incompleteness 7y agoI'm yet to become rich or fulfilled by way of admiring myself in the mirror all day. And binging Netflix didn't help either. Neither did masturbating. As a rule, addiction is a form of ability, but one that only bears fruit after you've stopped using it completely. Maybe focus without intelligence is not all that useful. You need quite a few brain cells to distinguish productive effort from addiction, especially if they overlap. It takes a lot of honest introspection to do so. Without focus the potential doesn't go, it lies unused and is not developed into ability. No potential ever goes, that's why it's called potential. If you say "this glass has X amount of potential energy" because it's on a Y meter high table, and then start calling the table the floor, nothing has actually changed about the glass. One of the points of life is to develop ones potential into abilities. It's a very personal choice which part of ones potential one chooses to develop, and one we each make from moment to moment. Saying "focus" is a currency we should be paying more attention to is dancing around the fact that there's a bunch of people who would do good to read Exodus again, or otherwise learn to recognize addiction in a culturally appropriate way.
- revertts 7y agoWhy specifically Exodus?
- incompleteness 7y agoBecause it describes how to leave slavery. Slavery is the external manifestation of the internal condition of addiction. In Dutch the words are "slavernij" for slavery, and "verslaving" for addiction.
- TheAlchemist 7y agoI can only agree on that. For people interested in the topic, I would recommend reading Cal Newport's blog too. Also, I intend to turn internet mostly off in 2020. By that I mean: - no 'checking' of any websites, no news. I will only use internet to search on specific topics I'm interested in - subscription to paper edition of Economist, to keep myself informed (albeit not in real time - what's the use of that anyway ?) - read interesting sites / blogs I subscribe to, once a week I've tried this for 2 weeks once, and the effects on my mind were amazing - besides the obvious effects on concentration and work quality, I've also noticed that I actually do have plenty of free time !
- gcp123 7y agoI'm interested in this. How are you planning to execute your plan for 2020? Will power? or will you combine that with some kind of service or application to set some guide rails for yourself? Would love to hear the specifics!
- TheAlchemist 7y agoNo need for technology here. It's an addiction that many of us have. And I feel it got to a point it messes way too much with my brain. So yeah, only 'will power'.
- tdaltonc 7y agoWill power does not have a great track record in the "will power v addiction" war.
- TheAlchemist 7y agoFair point. But it's an addiction that I think will be rather easy to get rid off (based on my previous experience) so I'm not planning anything very specific (other than the points I've listed).
- graeme 7y agoNot OP, but here’s what I did: * figured out the most valuable things I was reading: HN in moderation, 4-5 twitter accounts, the top posts on a few subreddits each week * siloed them. There are weekly top posts emails for hn (how I got here), tweetbot with an account following those 4-5, and a weekly email sent to myself with links for the top weekly posts on those subreddits * I check those periodically, usually at meals. I have a time tracker when doing so. * They’re blocked on my phone, with two levels of content blocking. Ios is bad at content blocking, but the two layers make it annoying enough I generally don’t use it. (Layers are: limit adult websites, which lets you block custom urls as well. 1blocker’s url blocking, which blocks in safari, my main browser. If either of those don’t work for you, Lockdown has url filtering at the vpn level) So I’m not going cold turkey: I’ve gotten immense value from HN over the years. Stuff with no value I can easily go cold turkey on. But these other things, I’m reading in a managed wya, leaving more time for focus. I had this sort of balance naturally when most of my internet was on a laptop. With the phone, I find the balance went out of wack and countermeasures were necessary. No phone is an option, but introduces a lot of frictions I’d rather not have. I also put in positive tracking, like things I have to check off if I met certain goals. So replacing empty surfing with positive action, which naturally reduces the desire to surf.
- robomartin 7y agoI finally pulled myself away from Facebook a while back and could not be happier with the results and perspective I gained. I removed all “friends” and kept about a dozen family members just to keep in touch. I had to keep the account due to my businesses using it for marketing purposes. The change in quality of life (due to the negativity on FB) and productivity was instantaneous.
- claar 7y agoI agree that focus is rare and critical, but I take issue with the closing paragraphs that suggest prioritizing focus over relationships. What good is it to gain the whole world but have no one to enjoy it with? Of course this is simply another form of focus - choose which relationships to focus on. But putting intellectual pursuits above relationships is a lonely and foolish path, even if you achieve your dreams. If someone close to you suggests spending more time with them, you would be better served to listen to them than to cut them out of your life.
- gallegojaime 7y agoI think it's more nuanced than focus over relationships. After all, in each case, you can decide whether to invest more on this person or not. It's healthy to know we're only human, and we should strive to build a few quality relationships that don't interfere with our life, and knowing when to say no otherwise!
- circlefavshape 7y ago> we should strive to build a few quality relationships that don't interfere with our life Our relationships are our life. Our goals are just stories we've made up about ourselves
- gallegojaime 7y agoAre they? People are incredibly important, crucial to the life puzzle, but I'd disagree on it being the ultimate key. Even though it's good to value friends and family (not arguing against this at all!), me time is needed too. Hobbies and other work you like. Personally I believe there's a good amount of engaging with your acquaintances, and an excessive amount where you're just shuffling around between them, getting lost in those dynamics. In that case, there's probably a way to keep relationships growing naturally, with almost the same returns and much less time sunk.
- TeMPOraL 7y agoThat's one point of view. Perhaps the most common one, if literature is to believed. But it's just one; not everyone ticks like that. I don't. And I'm guessing the author of the article and their target audience doesn't either.
- baxtr 7y agoI employ these techniques with mixed but promising results: - I block relevant news and social media sites on my phone and laptop (phone rules are more restrictive) - I force myself to note everything I want to research/read down as a todo. This alone helps me to avoid many irrelevant things I would have otherwise read/researched - Every month I set priorities, how I want to spend my time. Then every day I go through the list of items I have written down to select and prioritize what I want to do. Then I start working my way from the top item down This article has helped me shape my thinking: https://medium.com/swlh/theres-no-such-thing-as-motivation-e02edd7de30 https://medium.com/swlh/theres-no-such-thing-as-motivation-e...
- playing_colours 7y ago“Anathem” by Neal Stephenson describes monastic communities dedicated to studying mathematics. I sometimes entertain an idea, if a similar monastic community can work in our world - assuming they would be less strict than in the book. Such isolated retreats would be beneficial for rebuilding focus, finding calm and comfort, without noisy distractions, so one could focus most of their time on studying mathematics. Definitely, nowadays isolated monasteries would not be convenient for doing actual research, as the access to Internet is a must.
- internet_user 7y agoWe already have such a concept, ever been to a remote research university grad school campus?
- playing_colours 7y agoI have not, but it sounds like it can be a good option :)
- iNate2000 7y agoI have not. Can you name a few?
- TeMPOraL 7y agoIsn't that tied to being a grad student or an academic teacher? I wish there was something like this for random adults. I hate the structural assumption in our society that only people on the academic track are capable of doing deep intellectual work. Being in academia, or even in orbit of academia, comes with a lot of irrelevant responsibilities and spatial constraints, making it not cost-effective for someone who already ended up in the private sector.
- iudqnolq 7y agoI've heard the Recurse Center is like that. > What we do. The Recurse Center is a self-directed, community-driven educational retreat for programmers in New York City. https://www.recurse.com/ https://www.recurse.com/
- wallflower 7y agoIf you find yourself spending too much time on social media-type or even general information consumption applications (like Redfin) on your phone, one simple step is to remove the native application from your phone. The mobile web for most of these are just janky enough to snap you out of your reverie. Second, you can try changing your phone to grayscale. Lack of color may make use of your phone less appealing. iOS makes it relatively easy. https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/grayscale-iphone-266894 https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/grayscale-iphone-266894
- ChrisMarshallNY 7y agoGreat suggestion!
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- prirun 7y agoI tend to be a focused person, and like being focused. A couple of years ago I upgraded to a smart phone, mainly to get the larger screen (easier to read) and the speech-to-text feature (I hate pecking out a reply to a text). I don't have WiFi enabled on the phone, have Cellular Data disabled, have never signed into my Google account (it's an Android phone), have Bluetooth and Location disabled, and have never downloaded any apps. It's a phone, period. I can't imagine having something in my pocket beeping and dinging at me all day long. It would drive me nuts and I'd never get anything done. If I'm in the car and lost, I have a $100 Garmin GPS that works fine without having to load a bunch of crapps on my phone. Or someone is in the car with me and is quick to start navigating, which is even better. Try disabling WiFi and Cell Data for part of the day. You might really like it!
- bluedino 7y agoFocus, and persistence can be a double-edged sword. I've seen C and D-level developers create working systems-despite the fact that they are using the wrong tools, creating un-maintainable code, etc. The key is only letting things go sad far before the right people are brought in to "fix" things.
- coldtea 7y agoIf it's stupid and works, it ain't stupid.
- chaboud 7y agoThat depends on your definition of "works". In a team environment something that is stupid and is barely coughing blood is a tar pit of wasted effort that will ensnare team member after team member, like a repeating land mine. Odd dependencies, bad repeated patterns, and strange process/architectural workarounds will leave a team inefficient, entrenched, and broken. It's why I'd rather have lazy stupid people than energetic stupid people. Energetic stupid people destroy organizational output. Lazy stupid people just keep a chair warm.
- rzzzt 7y ago"I distinguish four types. There are clever, hardworking, stupid, and lazy officers. Usually two characteristics are combined. Some are clever and hardworking; their place is the General Staff. The next ones are stupid and lazy; they make up 90 percent of every army and are suited to routine duties. Anyone who is both clever and lazy is qualified for the highest leadership duties, because he possesses the mental clarity and strength of nerve necessary for difficult decisions. One must beware of anyone who is both stupid and hardworking; he must not be entrusted with any responsibility because he will always only cause damage." https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kurt_von_Hammerstein-Equord https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kurt_von_Hammerstein-Equord
- matwood 7y agoWelcome to how many startups go from 0 -> 1. Whenever I have been the 1+ person, I always keep in mind that the original code was just trying to get the first dollar in the door. Those dollars eventually led to me to have the luxury to be able to come back and fix things.
- ChrisMarshallNY 7y agoAs someone that is "on the spectrum," I can report that focus can be pretty awesome. I generate vast amounts of code, in relatively short time, and am an insanely obsessive debugger. However, it don't come for free. If I get "roused" from my "fugue" (what I call "the zone"), I can be cranky. This has not always been helpful in my marriage. Also, I find that I can be "vocabularily challenged" for a few minutes after I break out, sounding like a complete moron; struggling for the most basic terminology. "Whatchacallit" is one of my most-uttered phrases.
- andrepd 7y agoRe: your last paragraph. It's great to speak in a language that has a ubiquitous "whatchacallit" word. Not only can I use it as a noun, ("pass me the thing"), but even as a verb ("thing me the salt") or both ("thing me the thing")! Or indeed an adjective, adverb, or almost any grammatical function.
- edejong 7y agoI've noticed the same things! The same happens when I improvise piano. In addition, I cannot attach emotionally (empathy) to others for close to an hour.
- 300bps 7y agoI’ve said for years that one of the 20th century’s large problems was humans having to learn to live in a world of unlimited sugar, fat and salt. One of the 21st century’s large problems is humans having to learn to live in a world of unlimited information. Both problems involve overcoming our evolutionary programming to scarf up as much of what used be a limited resource as possible.
- mannymanman 7y agoSolid observations. Do you have any suggestions/resources on how to live well with unlimited information? How do you decide what to absorb and what to ignore?
- redis_mlc 7y ago"Focus is the new IQ" is the best expression I've seen of this. I'm lucky to have the gift of focus, and to know other people who also have it. I know I'm on the right track when I'm asked: * "You did that yourself?" * "How did you do that?" * "How is that possible?" One person with deep focus can change everything. Nikolai Tesla is the ultimate example of this - he made the modern world. My secrets? My only social media is HN, and I use a stick phone.
- s3tz 7y agoA simple test for people is to get used to working 3 hours straight without any distractions. Give it a try. You can get a whole day's work done this way.
- asjw 7y agoThis! It's what I've been doing in the past few years, nobody noticed that I stay at work a lot less than the others and the quality of my work has improved
- bsanr 7y agoThis would be nice, if most workplaces valued efficiency. They don't, especially at the low end. Instead, they'd rather have face-time, regardless of how productive that time is. It's literally in the nature of the pay structure.
- TeMPOraL 7y agoDepending on the specifics of the work, in our industry, demand for butt-in-seat time + high focus = work done + a lot of time to do your own private stuff. Devil is in the details, but this is implicitly accepted in a lot of places as long as you complete your actual work on time, because part of the reason companies want your butt in your seat for fixed amount of time per day is availability - if something suddenly happens, they want you to be there to take care of it. They do derive value from just having you in the office.
- spectramax 7y agoI deeply resonate with this - there are just too many things to do, and too little time. This is a boon and a curse. One cannot realize all things we can do in our lifetime, but if we can fixate on one particular thing, we can compound our efforts. What a great article! A reminder that stop dicking around on multiple things in the shallow waters, instead take a deep dive into depths that no one in the world has explored. You're at the forefront of combining pieces of past knowledge, adding your own intellect into an amalgamation that is truly unique. Build it with all you've got, take as much oxygen as you can with you and stay calm as you dive deep. There is a new world out there. I feel like I need to print this article out and stick it across from my desk to be reminded of this every day.
- arez 7y agoOne aspect nobody mentioned so far is, why do I have to focus so much on my dreams and "work on the next rocket to mars"? Why isn't it okay anymore to just do my job, have friends and watch movies? Why does everyone has to be an entrepreneur and do a successful side-project? Why can't I just have a hobby that doesn't pay off at all, like playing an instrument alone in my room, without any pursue to ever play a concert?
- asdfasgasdgasdg 7y agoThe answer of course is that it's fine for you to do that. Just don't expect plaudits for your lifestyle. People are mostly inspired by the great, not the typical. If your lifestyle makes you happy, great, but external validation is one thing it's not likely to earn.
- icelancer 7y agoRight. There is nothing wrong with having a simple life that runs counter to all the pressure one feels from the media (disclaimer: I don't feel that pressure at all; I feel the opposite, that we don't have enough driven people in society). But there's no reason there are going to be advertisements and awards handed out to the most balanced life liver somewhere in an affordable city in America.
- save_ferris 7y agoBecause our society has an unhealthy obsession with wealth and status, and we’ve convinced ourselves that the only way to be happy in life is to amass both. The irony is that some of the wealthiest people I’ve met seem the least happy and settled. It’s so strange. The concept of having “enough” is fundamentally incompatible with the hyper-growth startup, social-media driven society that we’re creating. Because having enough means that you’re giving up on the rat race, at least to a degree.
- wiz21c 7y agoAt my age, for me, >>> giving up on the rat race means I end up in a tough position. Either I leave the race, knowing that I'll have hard time to finance another race (kids, etc.); either I stay in, but then it means doing things I don't like. middle class man's dilemma.
- bearer_token 7y agoOne tactic I've learned is to set aside time to focus on relaxation. Ambitious people assume intention should be applied towards productivity, but relaxation is required for us to function at high capacity. Do not assume idle or distracted time is rejuvenating. Plan it. I've found that you can't rush relaxation, but you can enjoy higher quality relaxation. Watching youtube videos, reading reddit, or playing a videogame will relax me in a sort of listless, not-quite-satisfied way. Similar to eating chips as an entire meal leaves you feeling full but not nourished. Meanwhile, a long walk with the dog and a podcast leaves me eager to jump into the next thing. But it requires focus, thought, and effort to get into - a higher activation potential than scrolling on a phone.
- 300bps 7y agoOne tactic I've learned is to set aside time to focus on relaxation. I got the exact opposite advice from "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1319.The_War_of_Art https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1319.The_War_of_Art The entire book is how to overcome what he calls "resistance" which is what prevents you from getting creative work done. He says the belief that you need relaxation is false and just another way your mind keeps you from what you need to get done.
- bearer_token 7y agoInteresting. I tend to structure my day around goals and work so much that I don't leave enough time for relaxation. I likely mistakenly assume most HNers are overly ambitious, perfectionist, neurotic types like myself. I have no trouble getting started, I have trouble stopping.
- TeMPOraL 7y agoN=1, but this HNer seems almost opposite from you. My biggest problem is getting started, and maintaining focus for the initial period of 15 minutes to one hour (for some reasons I get really anxious; despite a decade of trying, I still haven't learn how to manage it). But once I get past that hurdle, I can get a lot of high-quality work in short time. I'd trade my issues for yours in a heartbeat ;).
- matwood 7y agoUnderlying focus is discipline. People hate discipline because it is hard. Not eating that donut, exercising daily, turning off your phone, and actually working for multiple hours straight has become rare. Jocko Willink has written multiple books on the topic of discipline and coined the phrase "Discipline Equals Freedom".
- proverbialbunny 7y agoDiscipline is hard because of two primary things: 1) not enough mindfulness and 2) saying no to things is difficult, but replacing a bad habit with a good habit is easy. With mindfulness, one is aware before the bad habits starts. The earlier the habit is caught, the easier it is to change. It's the difference between struggling to replace a habit for months vs noticing it once, changing it once, and then reaping the rewards. The mind when given a situation needs to respond to it. Habits are born and then they stick. Saying no to a habit is almost impossible. Instead an alternative habit needs to be made to replace the old habit. Every time that trigger pops up, the new habit fires instead. Once those two criteria are met, it becomes easy to self-program.
- matwood 7y agoGreat point. What you describe is how I improved my procrastination. Anytime I noticed I was procrastinating I had to immediately do the item I was pushing off. The awareness you mention in the moment is the key to making changes.
- bearer_token 7y ago> A wasted day may lead to a wasted life This smacks of anxiety and FOMO. Thinking like this would drive me absolutely paranoid. Life is much more stochastic than this. Yes, it is likely that in retrospect a few select hours of work may have unlocked huge value. You don't know which hours in advance. It is highly unlikely that one missed day will derail your life. It's highly more likely that a wasted day was necessary to recover from a lingering illness, fatigue, or stress. It's OK to have an impromptu sabbath.
- TeMPOraL 7y agoIt's not the one wasted day that will derail your life. It's one wasted day after another, after another, after another...
- feanaro 7y agoYes, but it doesn't help to fear that one wasted day will lead to this chain.
- rckoepke 7y agoFor a year or two I had a mantra: "A day is a length of time that no man is rich enough to waste". It wasn't grammatically/syntactically valid, but it worked well as a token for a concept that helped me immensely those years.
- feanaro 7y agoI guess it depends on your personality. Fear-based tactics don't usually work well on me, they just make me anxious about what I am supposedly going to lose. Once I realize that there is in fact nothing to lose, I can relax and handle things effortlessly.
- proverbialbunny 7y agoYou can be paranoid about it, or you can do something about it. ;)
- 1take 7y agoNo it hasn't. Focus isn't more valuable than the ability to improvise or memorize. People are just realizing what's been true all along: IQ is a bunk measurement that points to nothing of note in the brain.
- barry-cotter 7y agoIQ positively correlates with income, educational attainment, age of death and socioeconomic status, and negatively with criminality, STI infection rates and likelihood of having a child out of wedlock so bunk it is not. Regarding IQ and the brain there are positive relations between brain volume, white matter volume and IQ and between hippocampal volume and verbal IQ so
- moneywoes 7y agoWhat does HN think of the pomodoro technique?
- grzm 7y agoAs a participant on HN, what do you think of the pomodoro technique?
- aduitsis 7y agoI unknowingly used it many years ago to study for the entrance exams for the University. It was just some cute way to keep track of studying that some high school professor described, I didn't even know it had a name. Just tried it for fun. Definitely works and can help with focus very much, but don't know if it works equally well to types of personality different than mine.
- proverbialbunny 7y agoIt's a good 101 technique and worth trying, but I prefer a 102 alternative. If have enough mindfulness, you start to notice this tension feeling that happens when learning. (I'm not talking about trying to get a project done, getting stuck with a compiler error, then "learning" how to solve it on Stackoverflow. The tension I'm talking about is usually subtle and happens when there isn't some sort of pressing other end goal, just learning to learn for learning and enjoyment.) This tension is correlated to how well the unconscious mind is digesting what was learned and converting it into long term memory. If I learn a lot and it is a difficult subject, I might get very tense within 5 minutes of reading. This means I need to take a break to let the mind digest what I just learned. In the other direction, I can be reading a book and most of it is review, so I feel bored. My initial instinct was to skim to go over it faster, but that only reduces learning. Instead, I can dive into deeper levels of detail, focusing on how the author sees the world, why s/he is demonstrating their findings that particular way, and so on. Basically, diving in more aids learning. Anyways, sometimes I can go for 2 hours of study straight and be in a happy middle ground of tension where my mind isn't overworked or underworked. This is the ideal state, sometimes called flow. By being mindful of this, my study sessions dynamically adapt to it, into an optimal state of learning. Also, if it's too tense, I may not be getting it, because there is too much prerequisite material I don't know well. I might turn to wikipedia or other text books at that point. A detour can be fun, and is far better than not understanding the material. I once had to spend 3 full days learning over 20 new concepts (due to recursive prerequisites) just to read a paragraph in a book.
- gallegojaime 7y agoA strategy that kept me pretty productive is to have a "primary task" for the day, scaled appropriately, and a secondary one. Just those two. Say: Primary task: write outline on all areas of X presentation. Secondary task: replace light bulb of car. It's just that simple. Two tasks that I'll struggle to finish in a day. From there some properties emerge beautifully. It naturally forms chunks of focus. The "flow". Yet, it's flexible because the execution details are not agreed beforehand, they're made up as you go. "2h on the main task at least, now that I've done some stuff and have enough free time for a chunk!" I can still deal with any blow as it comes. Stuff happens. But at least one can be more mindful about priorities, having the easy to remember two tasks in mind. loose systems (good ones) often work better and can handle failures without crashing down. PS for the author: i live & study in Madrid as well! these kind of deliberations are an important part of my self-improvement. I really like trying things out, and bouncing ideas off another person in a good discussion. You can consider this an invitation, open at any time, about things that we both value :)
- cutler 7y agoThere's so much middle-class context assumed in this piece I don't know where to begin. What if, for starters, you have a family and the responsibilities that come with it? "I'm only going to focus on my passion from now on" will probably lead to homelessness in pretty quick time unless you have a nest-egg to burn through while you reach profitability. What if you're in your 50s and stuck in a low paid job with a wife to take care of? What if you have a disability? The point I'm making is that a lot of life's time-sinks/distractions are non-negotiable and one life varies drastically from another in terms of how much freedom one has to pursue one's passion. Those who shout loudest that money doesn't matter are usually the ones who have plenty. In the author's middle-class world there are always other options to what you're doing at any point in time. Unfortunately this isn't a universal given. A lot of people are stuck with massive amounts of debt just trying to survive and live from one paycheck to the next. In this context pursuing one's passion is sadly not an option if you want to be able to keep up your rent payments.
- nine_k 7y agoPursuing one's passion can indeed lead you to ruin, and did so to many people. But concentrating on something you're good at, and not spreading yourself too thin, is a pretty solid advice, middle class or not. It is by doing 100 things and not becoming good at any of them you end up in poor state without viable options.
- proverbialbunny 7y agoIt may be better to say the ability to concentrate is of benefit. If you have a higher level of focus, you'll take a step back when someone says or does something harmful, and be able to communicate effectively in a mature and kind way. This can improve your relationship. The benefits are not just work. If you have concentration, you can setup a 1 hour block a day first thing in the morning, and work on a goal every day, instead of futzing around. You can go to bed on time easier too, because mental habits are more malleable with focus and awareness. I can keep going on. The benefits seep into your every day life, regardless if you're on the street or a billionaire. This is why mindfulness meditation has become so popular, and in late why lsd was so popular, because both increase focus and concentration, as well as increase awareness into what is important so you can better achieve your goals even if it is only working towards it 5 minutes a day. It's no secret you need a minimum amount of focus to succeed in life. Sure, it's only an ingredient, not the whole dish, but it, like oil, is an important base ingredient.
- zackmorris 7y agoI was voted most spaced out in my high school yearbook. My creativity and problem solving skills at one point were pretty much off the charts. Got a computer engineering degree, had a few years working at great companies solving important problems. I have to be honest though, I no longer believe in the startup world. I'm so disillusioned now that I honestly don't know if I can write code anymore. There are so many bad indicators about where all this is going, how it's causing wealth inequality and the destruction of the natural world, that I just don't know if my heart is in any of this anymore. I'm mostly coping now and coming to terms with the fact that I may have to choose tech or my life. All I ever wanted to do was invent stuff, but as far as I can tell, the whole system is rigged so that that can never happen. Without hope, there can't be focus. I don't even know what to call the limbo I'm in. It's not really depression, it's not burnout, it's not even apathy because I care very much. It's more a sense that, the best thing to do rather than invent something is to wait a year for someone else to do it. Or more realistically, for 10 other people to try with 9 of them failing. Soon that will be 100 attempts with 99 failures, going up an order of magnitude with each passing decade. If a true next-gen solution that comes after the internet arrives soon, then it could replace the soul-sucking work-life imbalance that we've all recreated. It could replace late-stage capitalism. But it's looking like tech's going to keep crushing down harder and harder until there is no profit in anything and we're all just running the rat race until we die. How did it come to this? Am I alone in feeling this way? Seriously, I don't really even know what to do to make my next $100 to survive tomorrow. I don't know if I can eat the $#!@ sandwich and work for someone again and lose however many more years of my life. Why can't I just go help somewhere and contribute in positive ways and make a modest income? Why is it so cutthroat and all-or-nothing? Blah. Just blah.
- mklarmann 7y agoI feel you. But I don’t things have to be looked at so narrow. There are hardly any people on this planet that have your opportunity to fix things for the better. There are enough challenges to put your heart into and find fresh energy if you start looking. You just need to fall in love again with something that you really consider worthwhile your time. I am sure there will be something.
- willart4food 7y agoadd resilience to the mix: focus without resilience when things go wrong, can be counterproductive.
- proverbialbunny 7y agoI'm surprised meditation hasn't been mentioned yet. Meditation drastically boosts focus and increases awareness, which then accelerates learning of whatever is being observed / studied. Because of this, focus is a prerequisite for learning, and learning is a prerequisite for intelligence, so focus is very important and more beneficial than many realize.
- starpilot 7y agoMeditation is awesome, though I don't do it enough. It's like push-ups for your brain. You just focus on your breath, and if you can do that, you can focus on anything regardless of how boring it is.
- yahwrong 7y agoFuck that. I live once. One chance to understand as much as I can about the universe I live in. Fuck chasing human value, that's fleeting, anxiety inducing, and utterly insignificant within probably 20 years of your death.