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I'd like to think I have some level of willpower and self control, but incremental games like Kittens Game are my kryptonite. There's something so compelling to

I'd like to think I have some level of willpower and self control, but incremental games like Kittens Game are my kryptonite. There's something so compelling to me about seeing the numbers go up and I don't even fully understand why. If you enjoy that type of game, I highly recommend Kittens Game as the pinnacle of the genre—especially since it doesn't feature any microtransactions or dark patterns, but be warned: it can be incredibly addicting.

IIAOPSW 4y ago
Skinners box my dude. A probabilistic reward is a greater dopamine spike than straight up cocaine use.
- aliencat 4y ago
  Very interesting idea! I think I've heard something like this before on giving reward randomly yielding to addictive behaviours, like gambling. Do you have any recommended reference on this idea?
  - mattkrause 4y ago
    The keywords you might be looking for are "partial/intermittent reinforcement" and "variable ratio schedule." The original descriptions are in a 1957 book by Ferster and Skinner, but any psychology textbook should have a description of them in the chapter on conditioning.
  - IIAOPSW 4y ago
    Stanford Neuroscience Lectures. Dr. Spoolansky. Free online on Youtube. Forgot which lecture covered it. The whole class is worth a watch. Including the forbidden lecture if you can find it (lets just say it ruffles some feathers by noting some commonalities between OCD and spiritual ritualistic behavior).
    - sitkack 4y ago
      > Stanford professor Robert Sapolsky gave the opening lecture of the course entitled Human Behavioral Biology and explains the basic premise of the course and how he aims to avoid categorical thinking. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNnIGh9g6fA&list=PL848F2368C90DDC3D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNnIGh9g6fA&list=PL848F2368C...
- JonChesterfield 4y ago
  Works much better in dog training. Pretty sure it works better for training me too.
bombcar 4y ago
I love that it doesn’t make me feel punished if I ignore it for a few days.
smabie 4y ago
That's why I like quant trading: you get to see real $ numbers go up (hopefully).
Schroedingersat 4y ago
The cure to the skinner box addiction is to cheat. It's kinda like that stuff that smokers use to remove the satisfied feeling. Take all the ones you can find that aren't DRM'd. Put them on a list to open when you get the itch and open up ye olde javascript console after playing one for a day or two.
- uoaei 4y ago
  I did this but with nonogram puzzles. I built a solver to alleviate my addiction to solving them myself.

IIAOPSW 4y ago

Skinners box my dude. A probabilistic reward is a greater dopamine spike than straight up cocaine use.

aliencat 4y ago
Very interesting idea! I think I've heard something like this before on giving reward randomly yielding to addictive behaviours, like gambling. Do you have any recommended reference on this idea?
- mattkrause 4y ago
  The keywords you might be looking for are "partial/intermittent reinforcement" and "variable ratio schedule." The original descriptions are in a 1957 book by Ferster and Skinner, but any psychology textbook should have a description of them in the chapter on conditioning.
- IIAOPSW 4y ago
  Stanford Neuroscience Lectures. Dr. Spoolansky. Free online on Youtube. Forgot which lecture covered it. The whole class is worth a watch. Including the forbidden lecture if you can find it (lets just say it ruffles some feathers by noting some commonalities between OCD and spiritual ritualistic behavior).
  - sitkack 4y ago
    > Stanford professor Robert Sapolsky gave the opening lecture of the course entitled Human Behavioral Biology and explains the basic premise of the course and how he aims to avoid categorical thinking. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNnIGh9g6fA&list=PL848F2368C90DDC3D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNnIGh9g6fA&list=PL848F2368C...
JonChesterfield 4y ago
Works much better in dog training. Pretty sure it works better for training me too.

bombcar 4y ago

I love that it doesn’t make me feel punished if I ignore it for a few days.

smabie 4y ago

That's why I like quant trading: you get to see real $ numbers go up (hopefully).

Schroedingersat 4y ago

The cure to the skinner box addiction is to cheat. It's kinda like that stuff that smokers use to remove the satisfied feeling. Take all the ones you can find that aren't DRM'd. Put them on a list to open when you get the itch and open up ye olde javascript console after playing one for a day or two.

uoaei 4y ago
I did this but with nonogram puzzles. I built a solver to alleviate my addiction to solving them myself.