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Obviously. But can this possibly be turnt off? Maximizing reliability of perception/judgement and minimizing energy efficiency (burn as much calories as possibl

Obviously. But can this possibly be turnt off? Maximizing reliability of perception/judgement and minimizing energy efficiency (burn as much calories as possible without moving or any feelable effort) seems right what we need nowadays.

throwaway984393 5y ago
That would imply binary controls over both cognitive and metabolic function, so I'm gonna say no. "Maximizing reliability of perception" is also not really a thing, because perception is pretty subjective. And I don't think you actually want to minimize energy efficiency, unless sprinting while doing calculus after 72 hours of no sleep is your hobby?
- qwerty456127 5y ago
  > And I don't think you actually want to minimize energy efficiency, unless sprinting while doing calculus after 72 hours of no sleep is your hobby? No, my "hobby" is laying flat and loosing fat (which is done mostly by the brain burning calories AFAIK). I once gained sixpack abs this way. Unfortunately I don't have enough time to lay flat these days so I don't have the six pack any more. I also am very aware of the tricks my brain plays on me all the time and hate that. Humans don't need to save energy any more. Energy-saving and accumulating features of a human body are an atavism doing obvious harm (e.g. inclining us towards wrong judgement) and no good in today world. We have infinite amount of calories readily available 24x7 all year round. Sugar is dirt-cheap, almost everyone has at least some fat deposits they don't need, don't want and occasionally torture themselves to get rid of. It would certainly be great if our brains could expend as much energy as physically possible to actually power our perception and thinking rather than save it.
  - throwaway984393 5y ago
    > laying flat and loosing fat [..] I once gained sixpack abs this way > It would certainly be great if our brains could expend as much energy as physically possible That's... not how the body works. You should really talk to a med student so you don't make any dangerous health decisions.
    - qwerty456127 5y ago
      Would you give some clue on what do you mean? I didn't use any meth for that if that's what you guessed.
leobg 5y ago
Oh sure it can. Get plenty of sleep. Minimize your ambitions and responsibilities. Eat well. Take walks and naps. Do not rush anything. Do everything “consciously” and being “present”, as the New Age gurus would say. Basically, if your RAM is clear and your CPU is idle, you’ll be more perceptive. I suspect that’s why some of the self help stuff actually works. It has nothing to do with “the law of attraction” or anything supernatural like that. It’s just that your own state is the biggest filter that determines which “frequencies” out of the spectrum of reality you perceive and which you do not. The problem is, of course, that the world is wildly interesting. There are so many things we can see and learn and do today. You’d have to say no to all of that to keep your system clean. The very fact that you’re here on Hacker News shows that you’re probably not that kind of person. :) (Me neither.)
hairofadog 5y ago
My partner and I strive to at least be aware of it, so we sometimes have exchanges like “Ok, stop getting on my case about it.” “What? I didn’t say anything at all!” “Oh… well, the you in my head was getting on my case about it.” Awareness helps a lot.

throwaway984393 5y ago

That would imply binary controls over both cognitive and metabolic function, so I'm gonna say no. "Maximizing reliability of perception" is also not really a thing, because perception is pretty subjective. And I don't think you actually want to minimize energy efficiency, unless sprinting while doing calculus after 72 hours of no sleep is your hobby?

qwerty456127 5y ago
> And I don't think you actually want to minimize energy efficiency, unless sprinting while doing calculus after 72 hours of no sleep is your hobby? No, my "hobby" is laying flat and loosing fat (which is done mostly by the brain burning calories AFAIK). I once gained sixpack abs this way. Unfortunately I don't have enough time to lay flat these days so I don't have the six pack any more. I also am very aware of the tricks my brain plays on me all the time and hate that. Humans don't need to save energy any more. Energy-saving and accumulating features of a human body are an atavism doing obvious harm (e.g. inclining us towards wrong judgement) and no good in today world. We have infinite amount of calories readily available 24x7 all year round. Sugar is dirt-cheap, almost everyone has at least some fat deposits they don't need, don't want and occasionally torture themselves to get rid of. It would certainly be great if our brains could expend as much energy as physically possible to actually power our perception and thinking rather than save it.
- throwaway984393 5y ago
  > laying flat and loosing fat [..] I once gained sixpack abs this way > It would certainly be great if our brains could expend as much energy as physically possible That's... not how the body works. You should really talk to a med student so you don't make any dangerous health decisions.
  - qwerty456127 5y ago
    Would you give some clue on what do you mean? I didn't use any meth for that if that's what you guessed.

leobg 5y ago

Oh sure it can. Get plenty of sleep. Minimize your ambitions and responsibilities. Eat well. Take walks and naps. Do not rush anything. Do everything “consciously” and being “present”, as the New Age gurus would say. Basically, if your RAM is clear and your CPU is idle, you’ll be more perceptive. I suspect that’s why some of the self help stuff actually works. It has nothing to do with “the law of attraction” or anything supernatural like that. It’s just that your own state is the biggest filter that determines which “frequencies” out of the spectrum of reality you perceive and which you do not. The problem is, of course, that the world is wildly interesting. There are so many things we can see and learn and do today. You’d have to say no to all of that to keep your system clean. The very fact that you’re here on Hacker News shows that you’re probably not that kind of person. :) (Me neither.)

hairofadog 5y ago

My partner and I strive to at least be aware of it, so we sometimes have exchanges like “Ok, stop getting on my case about it.” “What? I didn’t say anything at all!” “Oh… well, the you in my head was getting on my case about it.” Awareness helps a lot.