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> You know, I remember meeting someone at a conference once. Within maybe 10 minutes of meeting, he showed me this terrifying — to him it was probably wonderful
by tqi 3y ago
> You know, I remember meeting someone at a conference once. Within maybe 10 minutes of meeting, he showed me this terrifying — to him it was probably wonderful — spreadsheet of how he accounted for every hour of the day for the last couple of years... I don’t know if he secretly feels punished by his own system or if he feels empowered by it. There’s not really any way for me to know... I think that person has the potential to use that way of thinking very self-punitively.
As a society we seem to lack the ability to say "this is not for me" without passing judgement on people for who it is. I think it's great that the person being interviewed has a point of view, but I also think there are few things more personal than how one manages their time, so to make a value judgement so casually feels deeply un-empathetic.
- giraffe_lady 3y agoI think that quote shows a fair bit of the uncertainty and curiosity about the experience of being a different person that is a core part of empathy. They are offering some conjectures and sharing concerns about what that experience could be like, but not actually passing judgement in that passage.
- tqi 3y agoDefinitely agree that uncertainty and curiosity are key components of empathy. I realize that my reaction is probably informed by a part of the question that I didn't include in my quote: ... there’s also a type of person, whom you write about in the book — you call them “productivity bros” — who seems to want to micromanage time and thinks about it in terms of return on investment. I think people tend to use "[BLANK] bros" derisively.
- HellDunkel 3y agoI think the term productivity bros refers to individuals making a bussiness out of „time management/optimization“ rather than people managing their own time. And most of these deserve to be mocked.
- tqi 3y agoIs that meaningfully different than an author selling a book about how to do the inverse?
- HellDunkel 3y agoMaybe if you have been influenced by the productivity bunch (guess we all have been to some degree) and looking for an antidote of sone sort? Doesnt have to be meaningfully different to provide help.
- staleStatefile 3y agoYou know for any other observer it would not be unreasonable language that you’re just being a casual critic of the quote you pasted. “Deeply un-empathic” could be seen as a casual ad hominem about the speakers state of mind. I don’t care or think you’re being that; I get your point without thinking you’re casually critical. I just don’t think your point is any more interesting or nuanced. It’s very same-y. As if you translated what you read rather than expressed a novel emotional context.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]