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Quoting from a past comment[1]. This is from the late Mihály Csíkszentmihályi (of "flow" fame): "The ultimate test for the ability to control the quality of e

Quoting from a past comment[1]. This is from the late Mihály Csíkszentmihályi (of "flow" fame): "The ultimate test for the ability to control the quality of experience is what a person does in solitude, with no external demands to give structure to attention. It is relatively easy to become involved with a job, to enjoy the company of friends, to be entertained in a theater or at a concert. But what happens when we are left to our own devices? Alone, when the dark night of the soul descends, are we forced into frantic attempts to distract the mind from its coming? Or are we able to take on activities that are not only enjoyable, but make the self grow?" [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28942369 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28942369

dinvlad 4y ago
Very profound, thanks for sharing!
danadannecy 4y ago
Would you recommend reading Flow if I've already engaged with the concept of flow itself outside of the book?
- hasbot 4y ago
  No. It's been decades since I read the book but the concept is simple and quickly in understood and doesn't need a book-length treatment. He doesn't give any guidance on how to achieve the flow state which is what I was looking for.
  - kashyapc 4y ago
    The topic certainly deserves a book-length treatment (it's only some 300 pages). He explores the idea with great rigour. I've read it 7 years ago, and just went through some of my Kindle notes. There's ample guidance. But the reader must put in some work to extract the value. If you're in a hurry, you won't get much out of it (or any book).
- kashyapc 4y ago
  I definitely recommend it. He studied the topic of "optimal experience" for 40 years, and explores it in various settings. The book has plenty of guidance on understanding how do people get into flow states. There might not be highly precise "instructions", but the book absolutely provides valuable insights. The patient reader will be rewarded. (Also, the bibliography at the end of the book is quite valuable. Good writers share their sources generously.)

dinvlad 4y ago

Very profound, thanks for sharing!

danadannecy 4y ago

Would you recommend reading Flow if I've already engaged with the concept of flow itself outside of the book?

hasbot 4y ago
No. It's been decades since I read the book but the concept is simple and quickly in understood and doesn't need a book-length treatment. He doesn't give any guidance on how to achieve the flow state which is what I was looking for.
- kashyapc 4y ago
  The topic certainly deserves a book-length treatment (it's only some 300 pages). He explores the idea with great rigour. I've read it 7 years ago, and just went through some of my Kindle notes. There's ample guidance. But the reader must put in some work to extract the value. If you're in a hurry, you won't get much out of it (or any book).
kashyapc 4y ago
I definitely recommend it. He studied the topic of "optimal experience" for 40 years, and explores it in various settings. The book has plenty of guidance on understanding how do people get into flow states. There might not be highly precise "instructions", but the book absolutely provides valuable insights. The patient reader will be rewarded. (Also, the bibliography at the end of the book is quite valuable. Good writers share their sources generously.)