4 ms·

It Pays to Be a Space Case

33 points by dnetesn 6y ago

tapvt 6y ago
This article resonates with me. As a developer, I find I solve some of my more challenging technical problems while "zoning-out" in the shower.
- hirundo 6y ago
  https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/sk1-59243d839128e__605.jpg https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/0...
- kyuudou 6y ago
  My theory is I offload computation to a larger compute node, e.g. subconscious. Something I picked up from my 7th grade english teacher, once feeling blocked or otherwise done all you can, go do other stuff and let the subconscious work on it. He meant it in context with creative writing but I think it applies for any other profession that requires problem solving. Sleep, particularly - I often wake up the next day after struggling with a problem with the obvious solution gleaming in my mind's eye.
  - refactor_master 6y ago
    I’m still not sure. Was I unable to solve the task because I was on hour 10 that day, and I could easily have solved it had I done it in the morning, or did my subconsciousness really tackle the rest of the problem overnight for me?
    - saluki 6y ago
      I definitely come up with solutions to hard problems while spacing out in the shower and while sleeping, I've even woke up from a dream about a solution to a problem I was working on during the day and have dreamed new features and business idea. So I definitely think your brain is working out problems coming up with ideas even when you're not conscious of it.
  - egypturnash 6y ago
    Pretty sure this applies to anything, I sure did find myself thinking about how to animate scenes when I was trying to go to bed after a long day in the cartoon mines. I don't get it much in my current art practice, I dunno if it's because I've been doing this professionally for a couple decades, or if I've structured my work to not need too much of this kind of thinking. So my mind wanders to other stuff in my life instead.
- harlanji 6y ago
  Imagine water is the seat of memory and each time one showers they are blasted with the collective memories absorbed from everywhere that the water has been. Same idea would extend to fresh air, nature and anywhere that there’s immersion in waters from outside. Organ transplants, the phenomena there. Everything is vibration, and through that lense it’s plausible but ofc. one would need very sensitive instruments to verify it.
baking 6y ago
For anyone who is confused as I was, that is not Kieran Fox in the photo as the caption seems to imply.
chrisweekly 6y ago
"Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind" is a book worth reading in this space.
stevebmark 6y ago
I am now seriously concerned that nautil.us is running a HN upvote ring. If this comment is against the rules I will remove it. There are repeated issues with articles from nautilus on HN: - they are posted by people who submit a lot of nautilus articles - the authors of these articles are often freelance writers (as is the case here) whose job is to write income generating content - nautilus articles are often low quality with little insight, like the article here - nautilus articles seem to frontpage on a regular cadence around weekends - nautilus articles have relatively lower engagement in the comments than other articles
- mitchtbaum 6y ago
  I liked it. If you didn't like it, as Ice-T said, "don't have the player hate the game". Voting rings work now and I could sure use one. If you really want to change the game, take a look at my comments; they're well worth your votes.
- notafraudster 6y ago
  You're probably literally right -- this probably is a case of people promoting stuff -- but I personally like Nautilus as a sort of non-technical general science-focused publication. This article isn't one I'm head over heels for, but on the whole I click on the Nautilus stuff that gets posted and it meets my expectations. (Quanta Magazine also has a pretty similar pattern, though their material tends to be more technical)
- DrAwdeOccarim 6y ago
  I enjoy Nautilus and subscribe to their paper magazines. The articles are aimed at more general audiences that also want some meat. Sure, they self promote and try to drive traffic but I have never felt they are gaming the system.

33 points by dnetesn 6y ago

This article resonates with me. As a developer, I find I solve some of my more challenging technical problems while "zoning-out" in the shower.

hirundo 6y ago
https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/sk1-59243d839128e__605.jpg https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/0...
kyuudou 6y ago
My theory is I offload computation to a larger compute node, e.g. subconscious. Something I picked up from my 7th grade english teacher, once feeling blocked or otherwise done all you can, go do other stuff and let the subconscious work on it. He meant it in context with creative writing but I think it applies for any other profession that requires problem solving. Sleep, particularly - I often wake up the next day after struggling with a problem with the obvious solution gleaming in my mind's eye.
- refactor_master 6y ago
  I’m still not sure. Was I unable to solve the task because I was on hour 10 that day, and I could easily have solved it had I done it in the morning, or did my subconsciousness really tackle the rest of the problem overnight for me?
  - saluki 6y ago
    I definitely come up with solutions to hard problems while spacing out in the shower and while sleeping, I've even woke up from a dream about a solution to a problem I was working on during the day and have dreamed new features and business idea. So I definitely think your brain is working out problems coming up with ideas even when you're not conscious of it.
- egypturnash 6y ago
  Pretty sure this applies to anything, I sure did find myself thinking about how to animate scenes when I was trying to go to bed after a long day in the cartoon mines. I don't get it much in my current art practice, I dunno if it's because I've been doing this professionally for a couple decades, or if I've structured my work to not need too much of this kind of thinking. So my mind wanders to other stuff in my life instead.
harlanji 6y ago
Imagine water is the seat of memory and each time one showers they are blasted with the collective memories absorbed from everywhere that the water has been. Same idea would extend to fresh air, nature and anywhere that there’s immersion in waters from outside. Organ transplants, the phenomena there. Everything is vibration, and through that lense it’s plausible but ofc. one would need very sensitive instruments to verify it.

baking 6y ago

For anyone who is confused as I was, that is not Kieran Fox in the photo as the caption seems to imply.

chrisweekly 6y ago

"Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind" is a book worth reading in this space.

stevebmark 6y ago

I am now seriously concerned that nautil.us is running a HN upvote ring. If this comment is against the rules I will remove it. There are repeated issues with articles from nautilus on HN: - they are posted by people who submit a lot of nautilus articles - the authors of these articles are often freelance writers (as is the case here) whose job is to write income generating content - nautilus articles are often low quality with little insight, like the article here - nautilus articles seem to frontpage on a regular cadence around weekends - nautilus articles have relatively lower engagement in the comments than other articles

mitchtbaum 6y ago
I liked it. If you didn't like it, as Ice-T said, "don't have the player hate the game". Voting rings work now and I could sure use one. If you really want to change the game, take a look at my comments; they're well worth your votes.
notafraudster 6y ago
You're probably literally right -- this probably is a case of people promoting stuff -- but I personally like Nautilus as a sort of non-technical general science-focused publication. This article isn't one I'm head over heels for, but on the whole I click on the Nautilus stuff that gets posted and it meets my expectations. (Quanta Magazine also has a pretty similar pattern, though their material tends to be more technical)
DrAwdeOccarim 6y ago
I enjoy Nautilus and subscribe to their paper magazines. The articles are aimed at more general audiences that also want some meat. Sure, they self promote and try to drive traffic but I have never felt they are gaming the system.