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Doing things merely to stimulate pleasurable brain chemistry is fine unless all you do is play games or watch formulaic media that have no lasting effect or ach

Doing things merely to stimulate pleasurable brain chemistry is fine unless all you do is play games or watch formulaic media that have no lasting effect or achievement.

mediumsmart 2y ago
whats wrong with headshots on the PC while doomscrolling on the phone in the age of monsters and idiots?
- jll29 2y ago
  If you, like me, would have had to watch people play Candy Crush on the Tube [= the London subway] on the way to work every morning for seven years, you would not ask. I felt terribly sorry for that loss of GDP and decline in mean global IQ.
  - Trasmatta 2y ago
    Why would playing Candy Crush on the subway have any impact on GDP or IQ? Sounds like a non sequitur.
    - Toorkit 2y ago
      The plebians should be doing business during their commute, never stop hustling! /s
      - deleted 2y ago
        [deleted]
bee_rider 2y ago
Formulaic or novel media doesn’t make a huge difference, it’s just passive consumption either way. Coincidentally I’ve been listening to Divers a bunch recently (which is a really great album, although I am just passively consuming just like everything else… I don’t know if it falls under formulaic for you, but it is a good formula if so). A lot of it is about death and time, and she ends one of the songs with a sort of gentle sing-songy “Look, and despair.” I always read the “Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” in Ozymandias as a giant “fuck your hopes and achievements” from that ancient king. Anyway, Joanna Newsom’s delivery is a lot more gentle, so maybe the fact that all of our effects and achievements will ground to dust is not so bad. Mattering would be very stressful.
skummetmaelk 2y ago
Which thing can you do that does not serve the purpose of generating desirable brain activity?
- HKH2 2y ago
  You missed 'merely'. The answer is: anything that involves delayed gratification.

Doing things merely to stimulate pleasurable brain chemistry is fine unless all you do is play games or watch formulaic media that have no lasting effect or achievement.

mediumsmart 2y ago

whats wrong with headshots on the PC while doomscrolling on the phone in the age of monsters and idiots?

jll29 2y ago
If you, like me, would have had to watch people play Candy Crush on the Tube [= the London subway] on the way to work every morning for seven years, you would not ask. I felt terribly sorry for that loss of GDP and decline in mean global IQ.
- Trasmatta 2y ago
  Why would playing Candy Crush on the subway have any impact on GDP or IQ? Sounds like a non sequitur.
  - Toorkit 2y ago
    The plebians should be doing business during their commute, never stop hustling! /s
    - deleted 2y ago
      [deleted]

bee_rider 2y ago

Formulaic or novel media doesn’t make a huge difference, it’s just passive consumption either way. Coincidentally I’ve been listening to Divers a bunch recently (which is a really great album, although I am just passively consuming just like everything else… I don’t know if it falls under formulaic for you, but it is a good formula if so). A lot of it is about death and time, and she ends one of the songs with a sort of gentle sing-songy “Look, and despair.” I always read the “Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” in Ozymandias as a giant “fuck your hopes and achievements” from that ancient king. Anyway, Joanna Newsom’s delivery is a lot more gentle, so maybe the fact that all of our effects and achievements will ground to dust is not so bad. Mattering would be very stressful.

skummetmaelk 2y ago

Which thing can you do that does not serve the purpose of generating desirable brain activity?

HKH2 2y ago
You missed 'merely'. The answer is: anything that involves delayed gratification.