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The Exhausting History of Fatigue

29 points by mitchbob 4y ago

mitchbob 4y ago
Archived: https://archive.ph/ocs5l https://archive.ph/ocs5l
leobg 4y ago
From “Skinner As A Self-Manager”: > Skinner (1983b) refers to a memorandum describing a standing order in Hitler’s army. When officers were observed to suffer any of 18 different signs of mental fatigue, they were obligated to take an immediate vacation. (Skinner adds, ‘‘Fortunately for the world, [Hitler] did not apply the order to himself,’’ p. 241.) He suggested that we review the actual memo one day, and we found that I was suffering from 17 of the 18 signs of fatigue. Notably, Fred wasn’t suffering from a single one.
leobg 4y ago
Skinner, “Intellectual self-management in old age”: > You can be fully rested in a physical sense yet tired of what you are doing intellectually. To take appropriate steps one needs some measure of fatigue. Curiously enough, Adolf Hitler can be of help. In a report to the Nieman Foundation, William Lederer has called attention to relevant documents in the Harvard library. Toward the end of the Second World War, Hitler asked the few social scientists left in Germany to find out why people made bad decisions. When they reported that it was when they were mentally exhausted, he asked them for a list of the signs 'of mental fatigue. Then he issued an order: Any officer showing signs of mental fatigue should immediately be sent on vacation. Fortunately for the world, he did not apply the order to himself. Among the signs on Hitler's list are several I find helpful. One is an unusual use of profanity or blasphemy. According to that principle, at least two of our recent presidents must have been mentally exhausted. When I find myself saying "damn," I know it is time to relax. (That mild expletive is a sign of my age as well as of my fatigue; I have never felt right about the scatological language of young people.) Other signs on Hitler's list include an inclination to blame others for mistakes, procrastinating on making decisions, an inclination to work longer hours than normally, an inclination to feel sorry for oneself, a reluctance to take exercise and relax, and dietary extremes—-either gluttonous appetite or almost none at all. Clues not on Hitler's list that I have found useful are especially bad handwriting and mistakes in playing the piano.
- mock-possum 4y ago
  Wonder what scatological language we’re talking about here… is it just ‘shit?’
iamsanteri 4y ago
What an interestingly written text. Feels like New Yorker has something special just like nautil.us sometimes and some others. Rare articulate ponderings of and around important topics. Makes me think and also makes for an interesting reading. A journey.
RugnirViking 4y ago
some interesting stuff here but a little frustratingly sparse, and ends with no real conclusion.

29 points by mitchbob 4y ago

Archived: https://archive.ph/ocs5l https://archive.ph/ocs5l

From “Skinner As A Self-Manager”: > Skinner (1983b) refers to a memorandum describing a standing order in Hitler’s army. When officers were observed to suffer any of 18 different signs of mental fatigue, they were obligated to take an immediate vacation. (Skinner adds, ‘‘Fortunately for the world, [Hitler] did not apply the order to himself,’’ p. 241.) He suggested that we review the actual memo one day, and we found that I was suffering from 17 of the 18 signs of fatigue. Notably, Fred wasn’t suffering from a single one.

leobg 4y ago

Skinner, “Intellectual self-management in old age”: > You can be fully rested in a physical sense yet tired of what you are doing intellectually. To take appropriate steps one needs some measure of fatigue. Curiously enough, Adolf Hitler can be of help. In a report to the Nieman Foundation, William Lederer has called attention to relevant documents in the Harvard library. Toward the end of the Second World War, Hitler asked the few social scientists left in Germany to find out why people made bad decisions. When they reported that it was when they were mentally exhausted, he asked them for a list of the signs 'of mental fatigue. Then he issued an order: Any officer showing signs of mental fatigue should immediately be sent on vacation. Fortunately for the world, he did not apply the order to himself. Among the signs on Hitler's list are several I find helpful. One is an unusual use of profanity or blasphemy. According to that principle, at least two of our recent presidents must have been mentally exhausted. When I find myself saying "damn," I know it is time to relax. (That mild expletive is a sign of my age as well as of my fatigue; I have never felt right about the scatological language of young people.) Other signs on Hitler's list include an inclination to blame others for mistakes, procrastinating on making decisions, an inclination to work longer hours than normally, an inclination to feel sorry for oneself, a reluctance to take exercise and relax, and dietary extremes—-either gluttonous appetite or almost none at all. Clues not on Hitler's list that I have found useful are especially bad handwriting and mistakes in playing the piano.

mock-possum 4y ago
Wonder what scatological language we’re talking about here… is it just ‘shit?’

iamsanteri 4y ago

What an interestingly written text. Feels like New Yorker has something special just like nautil.us sometimes and some others. Rare articulate ponderings of and around important topics. Makes me think and also makes for an interesting reading. A journey.

RugnirViking 4y ago

some interesting stuff here but a little frustratingly sparse, and ends with no real conclusion.