6 ms·

Better food, more exercise, more relaxation... but I also wonder if it would have made any difference. Yes. I'm only half OP's age but working out and eating w

by blfr 5y ago

Better food, more exercise, more relaxation... but I also wonder if it would have made any difference. Yes. I'm only half OP's age but working out and eating well (well for me means much more) has made all the little aches I started to have in my 20s go away and made me much calmer, I can also sleep pretty much anywhere and at any time. More interestingly though, Me, and the animal I live inside. there is no animal you live inside, this is not a meat vehicle for something else, your body is you, it's not some machine you merely inhabit. Its/your gut will affect your mood, its limitations are your limitations, being physically strong will make you feel strong and keep anxieties at bay.

Ensorceled 5y ago
> there is no animal you live inside, this is not a meat vehicle for something else, your body is you, it's not some machine you merely inhabit. It always drives me crazy when people take the work of a poet or author literally and then pedantically hound any joy or meaning out of the words. The point is that humans are animals, treat your animal well.
- earthboundkid 5y ago
  You can make that point better if you cut the "inside" part and have the big reveal at the end be that you are the animal. Having the big reveal be that you're in the animal sets up a false distinction which doesn't help make the point.
  - Ensorceled 5y ago
    You are totally entitled to that opinion and critique. I disagree completely. Also, that would be a different essay that you wanted Robb to write, not the one that she did. There are many people who disassociate themselves, the inner "person", from their body. I have a friend with MS who practices this explicitly. This article reminds those people that they must still take care of their animal.
- joeberon 5y ago
  It drives me crazy when people get so upset over any kind of comment too. Why not take it literally? That's a totally valid interpretation of the writing. Also, it's entirely your perception that it is "hounding any joy and meaning out of the words". For me, the idea of myself and my body being inseparable is much more joyful than the original post, which paints the mind more like a mental prisoner trapped inside of an animals body. I'll take the interpretation of the comment you replied to, thanks!
  - Ensorceled 5y ago
    > Why not take it literally? That's a totally valid interpretation of the writing. She's a fantasy writer. Do you take her fantasy novels literally as well? Do you think she is actually riding around in her "animal" body like that alien in "Men in Black"? > Also, it's entirely your perception that it is "hounding any joy and meaning out of the words". Ummm, yes, of course it is. > For me, the idea of myself and my body being inseparable is much more joyful than the original post I also feel my body and mind are inseparable. But I don't think that Robb is proposing mind/body disassociation because I didn't read her literally. And, for all I know, maybe Robb does have mind/body disassociation and this is how she copes. In fact, because I didn't read her literally, I think she may actually be in agreement with you. Feel free to express your opinion! > I'll take the interpretation of the comment you replied to, thanks! Ok. I'm glad for you.
polishdude20 5y ago
Yes! Weightlifting is probably the number one best thing you can do for your body.
- steve_adams_86 5y ago
  Every time I stop, my quality of life drops like a lead weight. I have a sort of internal battle over this, but I love watching the numbers go up. They can’t forever and they won’t, but for the time being I find slipping another 2.5-5lb onto the bar incredibly gratifying. At the same time I know the numbers mean nothing and arriving, effort, and consistency are everything. Regardless, apart from god sleep, pushing myself with barbell training is the single thing I can point to that dramatically improves my mental and physical health.
  - hedberg10 5y ago
    Don't get hung up on the numbers. What's gratifying now also has the power to be very demotivating later. Fall back to 75% or 50% every now and then and be conscious that it's not bad at all, but still progress. I don't know where you are in your lifting career, but it pays 5x later on, when numbers don't matter anymore. You'll be amazed how quickly you can build strength back up after a break or injury or how much muscle is still "just there".
    - blfr 5y ago
      You start lifting to look better, to attract women. You keep lifting for yourself, to get these numbers up. Finally, you lift for no reason whatsoever, because you cannot imagine not doing it. Every one of these steps is great.
      - steve_adams_86 5y ago
        Absolutely! That's my story right there. In my mind this is sort of the process of acquiring any kind of wisdom. We inadvertently discover so many good things, and eventually stick with it because it becomes a sort of intrinsic knowledge that it needs to be done in order to live a good life. I don't think lifting weights would popularly fall into the category of being a wise thing to do, but I'm sticking to it. Conditioning your body is key to living your best life, and being healthy enough to help those around you live theirs.
Tade0 5y ago
But at the same time our minds are something sort of built on top of our monkey brains. So-called "feral children" - people who didn't receive the appropriate attention in their early years to develop, among other things, language, are frighteningly less intelligent than their peers. We're animals, but we're also something more, held up only through an unbroken chain of socialization.
sneak 5y ago
> there is no animal you live inside, this is not a meat vehicle for something else, your body is you, it's not some machine you merely inhabit. I wonder how history will view such statements once we manage the ability to uncouple our humanity from our meat prisons.
- danenania 5y ago
  I suspect we will find that those things are not as neatly separable as some would like to think.
- Sargos 5y ago
  Much of our humanity and ability to reason comes from our gut flora and various other parts of our body. Every year we learn a bit more about this complex relationship and how the brain is just one part of our consciousness and not the "CPU" as we used to believe so I become less convinced that we will achieve some kind of Matrix style integration within my lifetime. For what it's worth it seems most likely that we will figure out AGI before we lift consciousness into the digital realm and at that point it might be too late to go through the effort.
  - joeberon 5y ago
    And since our gut flora influences our mind so much, and since our mind influences our body so much (see the physical effects of stress), we can't really consider what _happens_ to our body to be separate from our mind either. If our body and mind are intimately linked, so are our minds and the food we eat. Personally I think that the distinction between those things is just some conventional idea we have that enables our interaction with the world. Does nature itself imply an inherent separation and cutoff point between the body and mind, and thus the mind and the entire universe?
- joeberon 5y ago
  Do you have any evidence to suspect such a thing will happen? I think it is much more likely that the "ghost in the shell" kind of idea will be seen as much more antiquated, and that it will be widely accepted that the body, mind, and indeed wider world are not really separate. Just because you read it in a science fiction book doesn't mean it reflects what will actually happen. > once we manage the ability to uncouple our humanity from our meat prisons. I wonder how history will view such statements once we realise that our humanity and our "meat prisons" are not two different things.

by blfr 5y ago

Ensorceled 5y ago

> there is no animal you live inside, this is not a meat vehicle for something else, your body is you, it's not some machine you merely inhabit. It always drives me crazy when people take the work of a poet or author literally and then pedantically hound any joy or meaning out of the words. The point is that humans are animals, treat your animal well.

earthboundkid 5y ago
You can make that point better if you cut the "inside" part and have the big reveal at the end be that you are the animal. Having the big reveal be that you're in the animal sets up a false distinction which doesn't help make the point.
- Ensorceled 5y ago
  You are totally entitled to that opinion and critique. I disagree completely. Also, that would be a different essay that you wanted Robb to write, not the one that she did. There are many people who disassociate themselves, the inner "person", from their body. I have a friend with MS who practices this explicitly. This article reminds those people that they must still take care of their animal.
joeberon 5y ago
It drives me crazy when people get so upset over any kind of comment too. Why not take it literally? That's a totally valid interpretation of the writing. Also, it's entirely your perception that it is "hounding any joy and meaning out of the words". For me, the idea of myself and my body being inseparable is much more joyful than the original post, which paints the mind more like a mental prisoner trapped inside of an animals body. I'll take the interpretation of the comment you replied to, thanks!
- Ensorceled 5y ago
  > Why not take it literally? That's a totally valid interpretation of the writing. She's a fantasy writer. Do you take her fantasy novels literally as well? Do you think she is actually riding around in her "animal" body like that alien in "Men in Black"? > Also, it's entirely your perception that it is "hounding any joy and meaning out of the words". Ummm, yes, of course it is. > For me, the idea of myself and my body being inseparable is much more joyful than the original post I also feel my body and mind are inseparable. But I don't think that Robb is proposing mind/body disassociation because I didn't read her literally. And, for all I know, maybe Robb does have mind/body disassociation and this is how she copes. In fact, because I didn't read her literally, I think she may actually be in agreement with you. Feel free to express your opinion! > I'll take the interpretation of the comment you replied to, thanks! Ok. I'm glad for you.

polishdude20 5y ago

Yes! Weightlifting is probably the number one best thing you can do for your body.

steve_adams_86 5y ago
Every time I stop, my quality of life drops like a lead weight. I have a sort of internal battle over this, but I love watching the numbers go up. They can’t forever and they won’t, but for the time being I find slipping another 2.5-5lb onto the bar incredibly gratifying. At the same time I know the numbers mean nothing and arriving, effort, and consistency are everything. Regardless, apart from god sleep, pushing myself with barbell training is the single thing I can point to that dramatically improves my mental and physical health.
- hedberg10 5y ago
  Don't get hung up on the numbers. What's gratifying now also has the power to be very demotivating later. Fall back to 75% or 50% every now and then and be conscious that it's not bad at all, but still progress. I don't know where you are in your lifting career, but it pays 5x later on, when numbers don't matter anymore. You'll be amazed how quickly you can build strength back up after a break or injury or how much muscle is still "just there".
  - blfr 5y ago
    You start lifting to look better, to attract women. You keep lifting for yourself, to get these numbers up. Finally, you lift for no reason whatsoever, because you cannot imagine not doing it. Every one of these steps is great.
    - steve_adams_86 5y ago
      Absolutely! That's my story right there. In my mind this is sort of the process of acquiring any kind of wisdom. We inadvertently discover so many good things, and eventually stick with it because it becomes a sort of intrinsic knowledge that it needs to be done in order to live a good life. I don't think lifting weights would popularly fall into the category of being a wise thing to do, but I'm sticking to it. Conditioning your body is key to living your best life, and being healthy enough to help those around you live theirs.

Tade0 5y ago

But at the same time our minds are something sort of built on top of our monkey brains. So-called "feral children" - people who didn't receive the appropriate attention in their early years to develop, among other things, language, are frighteningly less intelligent than their peers. We're animals, but we're also something more, held up only through an unbroken chain of socialization.

sneak 5y ago

> there is no animal you live inside, this is not a meat vehicle for something else, your body is you, it's not some machine you merely inhabit. I wonder how history will view such statements once we manage the ability to uncouple our humanity from our meat prisons.

danenania 5y ago
I suspect we will find that those things are not as neatly separable as some would like to think.
Sargos 5y ago
Much of our humanity and ability to reason comes from our gut flora and various other parts of our body. Every year we learn a bit more about this complex relationship and how the brain is just one part of our consciousness and not the "CPU" as we used to believe so I become less convinced that we will achieve some kind of Matrix style integration within my lifetime. For what it's worth it seems most likely that we will figure out AGI before we lift consciousness into the digital realm and at that point it might be too late to go through the effort.
- joeberon 5y ago
  And since our gut flora influences our mind so much, and since our mind influences our body so much (see the physical effects of stress), we can't really consider what _happens_ to our body to be separate from our mind either. If our body and mind are intimately linked, so are our minds and the food we eat. Personally I think that the distinction between those things is just some conventional idea we have that enables our interaction with the world. Does nature itself imply an inherent separation and cutoff point between the body and mind, and thus the mind and the entire universe?
joeberon 5y ago
Do you have any evidence to suspect such a thing will happen? I think it is much more likely that the "ghost in the shell" kind of idea will be seen as much more antiquated, and that it will be widely accepted that the body, mind, and indeed wider world are not really separate. Just because you read it in a science fiction book doesn't mean it reflects what will actually happen. > once we manage the ability to uncouple our humanity from our meat prisons. I wonder how history will view such statements once we realise that our humanity and our "meat prisons" are not two different things.