4 ms·

Darwin Was a Slacker and You Should Be Too – Science Connected

eesmith 4y ago
It's easy to be a slacker when you're landed gentry. Setting that aside, Darwin worked himself sick. His walks, hiking mountains, etc. were part of his treatment program for overworking! Here are quotes from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_of_Charles_Darwin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_of_Charles_Darwin : > With the memories of Annie's death, Darwin did not want to return to Malvern. In 1856, he began writing for publication of his theory, and he pressed on, overworking, until by March 1857 illness was cutting his working day "ridiculously short". > As his illness progressed, she nursed him, restraining him from overworking and making him take holiday breaks, always helping him to continue with his work. > That October he wrote, "Of late anything which flurries me completely knocks me up afterwards, and brings on a violent palpitation of the heart."[7] In the spring of 1838 he was overworked, worried and suffering stomach upsets and headaches which caused him to be unable to work for days on end. These intensified and heart troubles returned, so in June he went "geologising" in Scotland and felt fully recuperated. Later that year however, bouts of illness returned—a pattern which would continue. The linked-to page says "The rest of the time, they were hiking mountains, taking naps, going on walks with friends, or just sitting and thinking.", which elides how some of that was treatment for his poor health! > Gully agreed with Darwin's self-diagnosis of nervous dyspepsia and set him a routine including being heated by a spirit lamp until dripping with perspiration, then vigorous rubbing with cold wet towels and cold foot baths, a strict diet, and walks. Darwin enjoyed the attention and the demanding regime which left him no time to feel guilty about not working. His health improved rapidly, and he felt that the water cure was "no quackery".[8][9] He had no faith in the homeopathic medicines Gully gave him three times a day but took them obediently.[10] They stayed on until 30 June, and back home at Down House, he continued with the diet and with the water treatment aided by his butler. He followed the rules about rising early and rationing his working time and had the Sandwalk constructed in the grounds for his walking exercise, setting a routine which he continued.[11] Plus, that "hiking mountains" doesn't mean he wasn't working. He was "geologising" - that was work! And his rounds of Sandwalk was famously where he did his "hard thinking" - also work!
- achenet 4y ago
  There are some people out there (including a former boss of mine), who actually sincerely believe that "hours spent pushing keyboard buttons and staring at a screen" will directly translate to professional success. I like this article because it shows clearly that this is NOT true - the path to success is more about having a lifestyle that enables consistent productivity. Futhermore, the article mentions a fair amount of other examples (Lubbock, Poincaré, the violinists) who also work shorter hours.
  - eesmith 4y ago
    You cannot use cherry-picked examples to conclude how to improve your chances of success. I don't know enough about the other people to comment. I do know the characterization of Darwin is distressingly wrong. I don't know how anyone with a reasonable understanding of Darwin's life can characterize him as a slacker. Even watching a documentary like https://youtu.be/MCOc7Xqj-kQ?list=PL7UadKoCkgW219C8ZH-Md9X_5Kn3Wugsx&t=4452 https://youtu.be/MCOc7Xqj-kQ?list=PL7UadKoCkgW219C8ZH-Md9X_5... ("Evolution - Part 1 of 7 - Darwin's Dangerous Idea (PBS Documentary)") shows Darwin worked hard. (Link to his brother asking "why must you work so hard at your horrid little mollusks", following a scene where Darwin starts coughing during a walk, and before the scene where he undergoes cold water treatment, prescribed by his doctor to help treat the consequences of "excessive mental exertion." Again, walks and hiking in the mountains were part of how Darwin worked. I'll cherry-pick the other end of the spectrum - Paul Erdős. "He devoted his waking hours to mathematics, even into his later years" (quoting Wikipedia) and used Ritalin and Benzedrine because not using them impacted his mathematical performance. He would be up at all hours of the day and night. Or Von Neumann, "The fact he was constantly working on all kinds of intellectual, academic and advisery affairs probably meant he could not be a very attentive husband. ... His work habits were rather methodical, after waking up and having breakfast at the Nassau Club, he would visit the Institute for Advanced Study and begin work for the day. He would continue working for the entirety of the day, including after going home at five. Even if he was entertaining guests or hosting a party he could still spend some time in his work room working away, still following the conversation in the other room where guests were. Although he went to bed at a reasonable time he would awaken late in the night, two or three in the morning by which time his brain had thought through problems he had in the previous day and begin working again and writing things down." (Again, quoting Wikipedia.) Or cherry-picking an example of getting a Nobel Prize without "having a lifestyle that enables consistent productivity" - Kary Mullis. Don't base your understanding on cherry-picking, because you can get almost any conclusion you want that way.
achenet 4y ago
Wonder how John Carmack fits into all this - I did hear him say in an interview that he had a "daily upper limit" for amount of working hours, but it was 13. :p

It's easy to be a slacker when you're landed gentry. Setting that aside, Darwin worked himself sick. His walks, hiking mountains, etc. were part of his treatment program for overworking! Here are quotes from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_of_Charles_Darwin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_of_Charles_Darwin : > With the memories of Annie's death, Darwin did not want to return to Malvern. In 1856, he began writing for publication of his theory, and he pressed on, overworking, until by March 1857 illness was cutting his working day "ridiculously short". > As his illness progressed, she nursed him, restraining him from overworking and making him take holiday breaks, always helping him to continue with his work. > That October he wrote, "Of late anything which flurries me completely knocks me up afterwards, and brings on a violent palpitation of the heart."[7] In the spring of 1838 he was overworked, worried and suffering stomach upsets and headaches which caused him to be unable to work for days on end. These intensified and heart troubles returned, so in June he went "geologising" in Scotland and felt fully recuperated. Later that year however, bouts of illness returned—a pattern which would continue. The linked-to page says "The rest of the time, they were hiking mountains, taking naps, going on walks with friends, or just sitting and thinking.", which elides how some of that was treatment for his poor health! > Gully agreed with Darwin's self-diagnosis of nervous dyspepsia and set him a routine including being heated by a spirit lamp until dripping with perspiration, then vigorous rubbing with cold wet towels and cold foot baths, a strict diet, and walks. Darwin enjoyed the attention and the demanding regime which left him no time to feel guilty about not working. His health improved rapidly, and he felt that the water cure was "no quackery".[8][9] He had no faith in the homeopathic medicines Gully gave him three times a day but took them obediently.[10] They stayed on until 30 June, and back home at Down House, he continued with the diet and with the water treatment aided by his butler. He followed the rules about rising early and rationing his working time and had the Sandwalk constructed in the grounds for his walking exercise, setting a routine which he continued.[11] Plus, that "hiking mountains" doesn't mean he wasn't working. He was "geologising" - that was work! And his rounds of Sandwalk was famously where he did his "hard thinking" - also work!

achenet 4y ago
There are some people out there (including a former boss of mine), who actually sincerely believe that "hours spent pushing keyboard buttons and staring at a screen" will directly translate to professional success. I like this article because it shows clearly that this is NOT true - the path to success is more about having a lifestyle that enables consistent productivity. Futhermore, the article mentions a fair amount of other examples (Lubbock, Poincaré, the violinists) who also work shorter hours.
- eesmith 4y ago
  You cannot use cherry-picked examples to conclude how to improve your chances of success. I don't know enough about the other people to comment. I do know the characterization of Darwin is distressingly wrong. I don't know how anyone with a reasonable understanding of Darwin's life can characterize him as a slacker. Even watching a documentary like https://youtu.be/MCOc7Xqj-kQ?list=PL7UadKoCkgW219C8ZH-Md9X_5Kn3Wugsx&t=4452 https://youtu.be/MCOc7Xqj-kQ?list=PL7UadKoCkgW219C8ZH-Md9X_5... ("Evolution - Part 1 of 7 - Darwin's Dangerous Idea (PBS Documentary)") shows Darwin worked hard. (Link to his brother asking "why must you work so hard at your horrid little mollusks", following a scene where Darwin starts coughing during a walk, and before the scene where he undergoes cold water treatment, prescribed by his doctor to help treat the consequences of "excessive mental exertion." Again, walks and hiking in the mountains were part of how Darwin worked. I'll cherry-pick the other end of the spectrum - Paul Erdős. "He devoted his waking hours to mathematics, even into his later years" (quoting Wikipedia) and used Ritalin and Benzedrine because not using them impacted his mathematical performance. He would be up at all hours of the day and night. Or Von Neumann, "The fact he was constantly working on all kinds of intellectual, academic and advisery affairs probably meant he could not be a very attentive husband. ... His work habits were rather methodical, after waking up and having breakfast at the Nassau Club, he would visit the Institute for Advanced Study and begin work for the day. He would continue working for the entirety of the day, including after going home at five. Even if he was entertaining guests or hosting a party he could still spend some time in his work room working away, still following the conversation in the other room where guests were. Although he went to bed at a reasonable time he would awaken late in the night, two or three in the morning by which time his brain had thought through problems he had in the previous day and begin working again and writing things down." (Again, quoting Wikipedia.) Or cherry-picking an example of getting a Nobel Prize without "having a lifestyle that enables consistent productivity" - Kary Mullis. Don't base your understanding on cherry-picking, because you can get almost any conclusion you want that way.

achenet 4y ago

Wonder how John Carmack fits into all this - I did hear him say in an interview that he had a "daily upper limit" for amount of working hours, but it was 13. :p