6 ms·

A Society That Lost Focus

23 points by cdme 3y ago

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
ompogUe 3y ago
Fun Fact: Love that they ref Battle Chess, the apocryphal source of "just add a duck" to get around micro-managers who need to make a change to feel like they've done something: https://blog.codinghorror.com/new-programming-jargon/#5 https://blog.codinghorror.com/new-programming-jargon/#5
h2odragon 3y ago
Everything online has immediate feedback. not necessarily "reward," but we get some notion of "ok you're done now" even on things that involve a wait. The real world demands delayed gratification. I planted seeds last week, and then nothing happened for days and days. Now they're beginning to come up. The link between last week's focus on planting and today's seedlings is something that I have to consciously remember, not the immediate feeling of "click muse, see square change color." That lack of feedback makes the online fantasy worlds so much more tempting than the real.
- yamrzou 3y ago
  Well said!
- 037 3y ago
  > I planted seeds last week, and then nothing happened for days and days. Now they're beginning to come up. The link between last week's focus on planting and today's seedlings is something that I have to consciously remember, not the immediate feeling of "click muse, see square change color." I'm not sure if it's sad or not, but reading your comment made me realize I learned the same lesson by ordering from AliExpress.
h2odragon 3y ago
I thought i remembered something about the difficulty levels in some versions of Battle Chess being backwards: > They fixed the "Novice and Level 1 difficulties are functionally swapped" bug. https://www.speedrun.com/battle_chess/forums/43ks5 https://www.speedrun.com/battle_chess/forums/43ks5
Michelangelo11 3y ago
> We replaced documents with PowerPoints because it allowed lack of structure and emptiness to look professional Boy, that's good.
ideashower 3y ago
Link seems down for me. Anyone else?
- yamrzou 3y ago
  Source: https://git.sr.ht/~lioploum/ploum.net/blob/6fd54472047de8c2ece767fceaa43ba8a54d8d3b/en/2024-03-18-lost-focus.gmi https://git.sr.ht/~lioploum/ploum.net/blob/6fd54472047de8c2e...
leethomas 3y ago
If you enjoyed this post, you might also like these books that expand on the same concept: * _Hyperculture: The Human Cost of Speed_ by Stephen Bertman * _How to Do Nothing_ by Jenny Odell The first book more than the 2nd, but the 2nd book is still a lovely read that may help you figure out for yourself how to practically deal with the pacing of modern life.
- zingababba 3y ago
  "The Soul at Work" by Franco Berardi is excellent also.
yamrzou 3y ago
Alternative link (source): https://git.sr.ht/~lioploum/ploum.net/blob/6fd54472047de8c2ece767fceaa43ba8a54d8d3b/en/2024-03-18-lost-focus.gmi https://git.sr.ht/~lioploum/ploum.net/blob/6fd54472047de8c2e...
callwhendone 3y ago
I get that focus is important but I could do without the whole "a randomized algorithm could run a company as well as a CEO" rubbish.
maedayx 3y ago
> Funnily enough, it has been proved multiple times than every high-profile CEO is not better than a random decision algorithm. Does anyone know of a source for this? I don't doubt it's true, but I'd love to see the evidence
hyperluz 3y ago
Facebook owns Whatsapp and I feel compelled to use it.

23 points by cdme 3y ago

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

Fun Fact: Love that they ref Battle Chess, the apocryphal source of "just add a duck" to get around micro-managers who need to make a change to feel like they've done something: https://blog.codinghorror.com/new-programming-jargon/#5 https://blog.codinghorror.com/new-programming-jargon/#5

h2odragon 3y ago

Everything online has immediate feedback. not necessarily "reward," but we get some notion of "ok you're done now" even on things that involve a wait. The real world demands delayed gratification. I planted seeds last week, and then nothing happened for days and days. Now they're beginning to come up. The link between last week's focus on planting and today's seedlings is something that I have to consciously remember, not the immediate feeling of "click muse, see square change color." That lack of feedback makes the online fantasy worlds so much more tempting than the real.

yamrzou 3y ago
Well said!
037 3y ago
> I planted seeds last week, and then nothing happened for days and days. Now they're beginning to come up. The link between last week's focus on planting and today's seedlings is something that I have to consciously remember, not the immediate feeling of "click muse, see square change color." I'm not sure if it's sad or not, but reading your comment made me realize I learned the same lesson by ordering from AliExpress.

h2odragon 3y ago

I thought i remembered something about the difficulty levels in some versions of Battle Chess being backwards: > They fixed the "Novice and Level 1 difficulties are functionally swapped" bug. https://www.speedrun.com/battle_chess/forums/43ks5 https://www.speedrun.com/battle_chess/forums/43ks5

Michelangelo11 3y ago

> We replaced documents with PowerPoints because it allowed lack of structure and emptiness to look professional Boy, that's good.

ideashower 3y ago

Link seems down for me. Anyone else?

yamrzou 3y ago
Source: https://git.sr.ht/~lioploum/ploum.net/blob/6fd54472047de8c2ece767fceaa43ba8a54d8d3b/en/2024-03-18-lost-focus.gmi https://git.sr.ht/~lioploum/ploum.net/blob/6fd54472047de8c2e...

leethomas 3y ago

If you enjoyed this post, you might also like these books that expand on the same concept: * _Hyperculture: The Human Cost of Speed_ by Stephen Bertman * _How to Do Nothing_ by Jenny Odell The first book more than the 2nd, but the 2nd book is still a lovely read that may help you figure out for yourself how to practically deal with the pacing of modern life.

zingababba 3y ago
"The Soul at Work" by Franco Berardi is excellent also.

yamrzou 3y ago

Alternative link (source): https://git.sr.ht/~lioploum/ploum.net/blob/6fd54472047de8c2ece767fceaa43ba8a54d8d3b/en/2024-03-18-lost-focus.gmi https://git.sr.ht/~lioploum/ploum.net/blob/6fd54472047de8c2e...

callwhendone 3y ago

I get that focus is important but I could do without the whole "a randomized algorithm could run a company as well as a CEO" rubbish.

maedayx 3y ago

> Funnily enough, it has been proved multiple times than every high-profile CEO is not better than a random decision algorithm. Does anyone know of a source for this? I don't doubt it's true, but I'd love to see the evidence

hyperluz 3y ago

Facebook owns Whatsapp and I feel compelled to use it.