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Interesting to see Ali Abdaal's content on HN. I regularly watch and enjoy his videos, but I've come to view them as light entertainment rather than anything ge

Interesting to see Ali Abdaal's content on HN. I regularly watch and enjoy his videos, but I've come to view them as light entertainment rather than anything genuinely insightful or actionable. They're well-produced and they talk about topics I'm interested in, but they don't say a lot. They're definitely algorithm-bait, and it's something that Ali openly admits, but I still (willingly) fall for the bait - there's something nice about procrastinating by watching videos on productivity and systems rather than Tik-toks or anything else. Ultimately, it's just as much of a waste of time, but you can more easily console yourself that the time is better spend "in case there's any life-changing insights here". There never is, but best click the next video just in case.

suketk 6y ago
It's great that you're conscious of it, but many people aren't. This entire genre (I call it productivity porn) is problematic because it creates the illusion of progress. People wonder why the algorithms have so much grip over us - it's because all we do is consume and don't act.
- 600frogs 6y ago
  Productivity porn is a great name for it. For me, it's akin to a trashy gossip magazine - you know it's kind of trash, but enjoy it for what it is. It always makes me smirk when the videos themselves call out your last point, and say "you can't just think about it, you need to act on it, go out there and Carpe Diem!" and we all smile and nod and click the next video without moving from our chairs. I hope I'm not coming off as too negative though, as I think they are marginally better than most types of content on YouTube. Especially the more popular channels such as Ali's may appear on people's feeds that have never once even thought about _having_ any sort of system, and for them it's a big win. Once you're past surface level though, they generally don't have much more to offer, but are kind of fun to watch regardless.

suketk 6y ago

It's great that you're conscious of it, but many people aren't. This entire genre (I call it productivity porn) is problematic because it creates the illusion of progress. People wonder why the algorithms have so much grip over us - it's because all we do is consume and don't act.

600frogs 6y ago
Productivity porn is a great name for it. For me, it's akin to a trashy gossip magazine - you know it's kind of trash, but enjoy it for what it is. It always makes me smirk when the videos themselves call out your last point, and say "you can't just think about it, you need to act on it, go out there and Carpe Diem!" and we all smile and nod and click the next video without moving from our chairs. I hope I'm not coming off as too negative though, as I think they are marginally better than most types of content on YouTube. Especially the more popular channels such as Ali's may appear on people's feeds that have never once even thought about _having_ any sort of system, and for them it's a big win. Once you're past surface level though, they generally don't have much more to offer, but are kind of fun to watch regardless.