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Where's the line? Watching self-help content is described in the article as productivity porn. What about reading a self-help book? A (let's say good quality) n
by the__alchemist 4y ago
Where's the line? Watching self-help content is described in the article as productivity porn. What about reading a self-help book? A (let's say good quality) non-fiction book? A scientific paper? A text book? Taking a class? Working on a project that is likely to fail? Writing code? Writing an article? Writing a book?
> When I look for solutions to this problem I only come up with half-baked ideas and more questions.
It sounds like the author's talking about science.
- Ensorceled 4y agoIf you are spending all your time "sharpening your saw" and no time "cutting wood" ... you are probable over the line.
- the__alchemist 4y agoLove that comparison. It also makes the distinction that this is a matter of degree; not kind.
- satisfice 4y agoWhy? Maybe I appreciate beautifully sharp knives. There is no line. Simply live an examined life. If you want to change something, change it. If not, that’s okay. This post by the OP is his own musing. It has little bearing on the rest of us, and personally I just think his analysis is wrong.
- Ensorceled 4y agoI completely and totally disagree with you! Wait, what are a we all feeling strongly about? Ah, a quip on hacker news.
- satisfice 4y agoI added something to the conversation. I made an actual point. If your point is that disagreement for its own sake is wasteful, I agree. But that has nothing to do with me.
- californical 4y agoThis is an excellent analogy! If you want to cut wood more effectively and so you watch a few videos about technique, then you try it for a while, watch a few more, improve, find a tool that’ll help, try it and see if it helps — you’re doing it right! If you go buy a bunch of tools and learn techniques of all of the professional woodcutters, before you’ve even gotten any wood, then you’re probably doing it wrong.
- sdoering 4y agoI think in the end the question is what the result is. Does the self help content prompt action, ideally sustainable action. Or is it porn as described. Like porn could be a tool for people to engage in (re)productive action. Or just porn.
- ketzo 4y agoI think the easy rule of thumb is “do you ever actually do the thing you read about?”
- cpach 4y agoI like to read about lots of things. Urban planning, manufacturing, arts, culture, movies, politics, etc etc. Am I a manufacturer? Do I make oil paintings? Do I direct movies? Am I an elected officiel? No. I’m in tech, doing programming and sysadmin things. I’m a small cog in the whole scheme of things. Still interesting to read about what’s going on in other fields. Nothing wrong with that IMHO.
- ketzo 4y agoAgreed - but by the same token, I don’t think you would call any of that reading “productivity-related,” right? Whereas if I, a software engineer, read 100 articles about micro services and make a bunch of grand plans without ever actually implementing anything… pornography.