3 ms·
> One heuristic for distinguishing stuff that matters is to ask yourself whether you'll care about it in the future. Fake stuff that matters usually has a sharp
by vecter 6y ago
> One heuristic for distinguishing stuff that matters is to ask yourself whether you'll care about it in the future. Fake stuff that matters usually has a sharp peak of seeming to matter. That's how it tricks you. The area under the curve is small, but its shape jabs into your consciousness like a pin.
This is so concisely and beautifully put. It's a good mental model and test for me to apply to things in my life to see whether or not I should spend time on them.
- Waterluvian 6y ago“Oh my god he’s just shitting all over my code with his different linting settings” I started too many fights caring about the dumbest stuff. It absolutely was a sudden spike of mattering. But ultimately matters almost not at all: the area under the spike is nada. Another thing I do is rubber duck it with my wife. I explain what’s bothering me in terms she (A non coder) understands. And usually by the end I already have my answer.
- pmoriarty 6y agoIf someone who's been postponing living now with the aim of saving up for the distant future gets hit by a truck today, they'll never get what they saved and their life would have been in vain. There's something to be said for living in the present instead of delaying gratification to a time that you might never get to or not be able to enjoy much when you do get there, due to bodily or cognitive infirmities, or the friends or family you could have appreciated something with now being gone then.