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> My goal was to do nothing for 24 hours. Like everyone in the modern world, I’m hopelessly addicted to little dopamine bursts provided by algorithmically optim

> My goal was to do nothing for 24 hours. Like everyone in the modern world, I’m hopelessly addicted to little dopamine bursts provided by algorithmically optimized technology (in my case – Reddit, video games, phone messages, and having music or tv shows in the background), so I wanted to see if I had the willpower to cut off all stimulation for an extended period of time. This dopamine bro-science is a menace.

pfannkuchen 4y ago
Actual science tends to be quite slow though. It is not always practical to wait for robust science to happen before taking any action, especially individual action. Unless, of course, existing actual science refutes the bro science. In this case I’m not sure it does though?
- avgcorrection 4y ago
  See [1] and the parent comment. People who talk about neurotransmitters in phenomenological terms are philosophically confused. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28855296 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28855296
  - pfannkuchen 4y ago
    Oh I agree with this. I always read the casual use of the term “dopamine” as simply “happy chemicals”. If we ignore the technical terminology confusion, is the bro science about the human behavioral control system (which uses happy chemicals to steer behavior) still refuted in some way? Genuinely interested.
    - avgcorrection 4y ago
      I was using the casual sense of the term “bro science” to mean “sloppy thinking”.
      - pfannkuchen 4y ago
        I don't think it necessarily is sloppy thinking though. To me it's more like - layman reasoning based on everyday experience without formal studies or detailed knowledge of past work. The lack of formal studies means it lacks rigor and shouldn't be treated as factual, but if the area of study is otherwise a vacuum it can be better than nothing. I think the real big issue with it is that its lack of rigor makes it easy to use it to manipulate people, and it's hard to tell whether a given instance is based on good faith or not.
jayavanth 4y ago
Bro-science aside, the stimulations that OP mentioned do have a tendency to grab your attention and make you come back for more Even a 30-60 min. do-nothing challenge can do a lot to help you get your attention back
- avgcorrection 4y ago
  Yes. And that can be explained as habitual pleasure-seeking.

pfannkuchen 4y ago

Actual science tends to be quite slow though. It is not always practical to wait for robust science to happen before taking any action, especially individual action. Unless, of course, existing actual science refutes the bro science. In this case I’m not sure it does though?

avgcorrection 4y ago
See [1] and the parent comment. People who talk about neurotransmitters in phenomenological terms are philosophically confused. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28855296 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28855296
- pfannkuchen 4y ago
  Oh I agree with this. I always read the casual use of the term “dopamine” as simply “happy chemicals”. If we ignore the technical terminology confusion, is the bro science about the human behavioral control system (which uses happy chemicals to steer behavior) still refuted in some way? Genuinely interested.
  - avgcorrection 4y ago
    I was using the casual sense of the term “bro science” to mean “sloppy thinking”.
    - pfannkuchen 4y ago
      I don't think it necessarily is sloppy thinking though. To me it's more like - layman reasoning based on everyday experience without formal studies or detailed knowledge of past work. The lack of formal studies means it lacks rigor and shouldn't be treated as factual, but if the area of study is otherwise a vacuum it can be better than nothing. I think the real big issue with it is that its lack of rigor makes it easy to use it to manipulate people, and it's hard to tell whether a given instance is based on good faith or not.

jayavanth 4y ago

Bro-science aside, the stimulations that OP mentioned do have a tendency to grab your attention and make you come back for more Even a 30-60 min. do-nothing challenge can do a lot to help you get your attention back

avgcorrection 4y ago
Yes. And that can be explained as habitual pleasure-seeking.