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I get it's just an example, but are we really this far gone? Just watch a random movie and if you don't like it, pick another. This is such an extreme micro-opt

I get it's just an example, but are we really this far gone? Just watch a random movie and if you don't like it, pick another. This is such an extreme micro-optimization of a small experience.

crazygringo 2y ago
You don't often know if a movie is good until you've finished it, because it all depends on how the story came together in the end. You can spend 2 hours watching a moving, emotional story that teaches you something new about the human condition and the choices we make in our lives. Or you can spend 2 hours that turns out to be full of plot holes and inconsistent characters, where nothing makes sense in the end and you've utterly wasted your time. In what universe would you not want to have that information before watching? Especially if you're generally a busy person and only get to watch 10-20 movies a year. I truly don't understand the attitude of "just pick one", whether it's for movies or other things. That reviews are "micro-optimization". Like, do you just not value your time? Do you not care about quality? It's not like reviews are always right. But one film with 98% on Rotten Tomatoes vs. one with 45%... that's a really strong signal. Why on earth would you choose to ignore that?
- johannes1234321 2y ago
  Better bring your tablet or similar device with your choice of content. Airplane screen quality is bad and movies are edited in weird ways (for being acceptable for all ages and cultures on loss of anything else)
- wfme 2y ago
  Life is about more than optimizing the movies you watch. Watching a bad movie is not going to harm you. Maybe you'll take something away, maybe you won't. Much like having a bad day is unlikely to ruin your life - it'll just give some nice context to the good days. And we're talking about watching them on the plane, so the "busy person" argument really doesn't apply here.
  - crazygringo 2y ago
    > Life is about more than optimizing the movies you watch. Where did I say it wasn't? That's a straw man. But if you're going to watch a movie for the next two hours, then yeah -- your life is going to be about that movie. So why not choose wisely? > Watching a bad movie is not going to harm you. Maybe you'll take something away, maybe you won't. Straw man again. And again -- why not choose quality instead of choosing ignorance and rolling the dice? > Much like having a bad day is unlikely to ruin your life - it'll just give some nice context to the good days. Again, straw man. Nobody's talking about ruining your life. But why intentionally choose a bad movie...? > And we're talking about watching them on the plane, so the "busy person" argument really doesn't apply here. To the contrary. For a lot of busy people, the plane is one of the few moments they have time to watch a movie. So it sure does apply. You're arguing in favor of choosing bad things, because it's not going to ruin your life. Huh? Shouldn't we have a higher bar for the things we try to choose to spend our time on? You're describing standards that are the lowest of the low -- as long as it doesn't harm you, it's fine. Don't seek anything better. Yikes. I've rarely come across a life philosophy more depressing.
    - wfme 2y ago
      > Where did I say it wasn't? That's a straw man. This isn't a straw man - I'm not claiming you think life is all about movie optimization. I'm making the point that the effort of optimization might not be worth it in the broader context. > Straw man again. And again -- why not choose quality instead of choosing ignorance and rolling the dice? Also not a straw man. I'm illustrating that the downside of a bad movie is so minimal that extensive optimization might not be justified. This directly addresses your argument about opportunity cost by suggesting the cost is actually quite small. > Again, straw man. Nobody's talking about ruining your life. But why intentionally choose a bad movie...? Again, not a straw man. I'm making a proportionality argument about how much a sub-optimal movie experience actually matters in practice. > To the contrary. For a lot of busy people, the plane is one of the few moments they have time to watch a movie. So it sure does apply. Even on a plane, the stakes just aren't that high. A less-than-perfect movie isn't going to meaningfully impact your life regardless of how busy you are. > You're arguing in favor of choosing bad things, because it's not going to ruin your life. Huh? You're interpreting my position as "arguing in favor of choosing bad things," but that's just not accurate. I'm suggesting that the effort of optimization might outweigh the minimal downside of occasionally watching something mediocre. There's a middle ground between actively choosing bad things and obsessing over choosing only the very best.
- zeroonetwothree 2y ago
  If you aren’t enjoying it then stop watching. And if you did enjoy it for 2 hours who cares what the review says.
  - crazygringo 2y ago
    I think you missed the very first sentence of my comment.
- jazzyjackson 2y ago
  To me, unanimous positivity means a boring movie that takes no risks. I'd rather watch a people-love-it-or-hate-it film. Usually tho I just watch trailers and judge the actors' chemistry to decide if I would enjoy watching those characters. What other people thought of it is not especially relevant. Particularly on flights I've watched some amazing foreign content that I just would not have stumbled upon if I was just watching whatever topped rotten tomatoes.
- d0gsg0w00f 2y ago
  Because life just isn't perfect. If you go seeking this perfect optimization in every aspect of your life then the world is going to be a continual disappointment.
  - crazygringo 2y ago
    Who said anything about perfection? About life being perfect, or about perfect optimization? Or about expecting perfection? You can just pick a better movie and make life better. What is your objection to that?
- mostertoaster 2y ago
  The valuable time we save in not watching bad movies gives us more time to argue on hacker news, so a good optimization.
lxgr 2y ago
Why should I spend two or so hours watching a mediocre movie if I can also watch a great one, or do something else? Reading a movie review or just asking a friend that’s seen it if they liked it has been a thing… always.
etherealG 2y ago
Why do you try to mandate how others experience the world?

I get it's just an example, but are we really this far gone? Just watch a random movie and if you don't like it, pick another. This is such an extreme micro-optimization of a small experience.

crazygringo 2y ago

You don't often know if a movie is good until you've finished it, because it all depends on how the story came together in the end. You can spend 2 hours watching a moving, emotional story that teaches you something new about the human condition and the choices we make in our lives. Or you can spend 2 hours that turns out to be full of plot holes and inconsistent characters, where nothing makes sense in the end and you've utterly wasted your time. In what universe would you not want to have that information before watching? Especially if you're generally a busy person and only get to watch 10-20 movies a year. I truly don't understand the attitude of "just pick one", whether it's for movies or other things. That reviews are "micro-optimization". Like, do you just not value your time? Do you not care about quality? It's not like reviews are always right. But one film with 98% on Rotten Tomatoes vs. one with 45%... that's a really strong signal. Why on earth would you choose to ignore that?

johannes1234321 2y ago
Better bring your tablet or similar device with your choice of content. Airplane screen quality is bad and movies are edited in weird ways (for being acceptable for all ages and cultures on loss of anything else)
wfme 2y ago
Life is about more than optimizing the movies you watch. Watching a bad movie is not going to harm you. Maybe you'll take something away, maybe you won't. Much like having a bad day is unlikely to ruin your life - it'll just give some nice context to the good days. And we're talking about watching them on the plane, so the "busy person" argument really doesn't apply here.
- crazygringo 2y ago
  > Life is about more than optimizing the movies you watch. Where did I say it wasn't? That's a straw man. But if you're going to watch a movie for the next two hours, then yeah -- your life is going to be about that movie. So why not choose wisely? > Watching a bad movie is not going to harm you. Maybe you'll take something away, maybe you won't. Straw man again. And again -- why not choose quality instead of choosing ignorance and rolling the dice? > Much like having a bad day is unlikely to ruin your life - it'll just give some nice context to the good days. Again, straw man. Nobody's talking about ruining your life. But why intentionally choose a bad movie...? > And we're talking about watching them on the plane, so the "busy person" argument really doesn't apply here. To the contrary. For a lot of busy people, the plane is one of the few moments they have time to watch a movie. So it sure does apply. You're arguing in favor of choosing bad things, because it's not going to ruin your life. Huh? Shouldn't we have a higher bar for the things we try to choose to spend our time on? You're describing standards that are the lowest of the low -- as long as it doesn't harm you, it's fine. Don't seek anything better. Yikes. I've rarely come across a life philosophy more depressing.
  - wfme 2y ago
    > Where did I say it wasn't? That's a straw man. This isn't a straw man - I'm not claiming you think life is all about movie optimization. I'm making the point that the effort of optimization might not be worth it in the broader context. > Straw man again. And again -- why not choose quality instead of choosing ignorance and rolling the dice? Also not a straw man. I'm illustrating that the downside of a bad movie is so minimal that extensive optimization might not be justified. This directly addresses your argument about opportunity cost by suggesting the cost is actually quite small. > Again, straw man. Nobody's talking about ruining your life. But why intentionally choose a bad movie...? Again, not a straw man. I'm making a proportionality argument about how much a sub-optimal movie experience actually matters in practice. > To the contrary. For a lot of busy people, the plane is one of the few moments they have time to watch a movie. So it sure does apply. Even on a plane, the stakes just aren't that high. A less-than-perfect movie isn't going to meaningfully impact your life regardless of how busy you are. > You're arguing in favor of choosing bad things, because it's not going to ruin your life. Huh? You're interpreting my position as "arguing in favor of choosing bad things," but that's just not accurate. I'm suggesting that the effort of optimization might outweigh the minimal downside of occasionally watching something mediocre. There's a middle ground between actively choosing bad things and obsessing over choosing only the very best.
zeroonetwothree 2y ago
If you aren’t enjoying it then stop watching. And if you did enjoy it for 2 hours who cares what the review says.
- crazygringo 2y ago
  I think you missed the very first sentence of my comment.
jazzyjackson 2y ago
To me, unanimous positivity means a boring movie that takes no risks. I'd rather watch a people-love-it-or-hate-it film. Usually tho I just watch trailers and judge the actors' chemistry to decide if I would enjoy watching those characters. What other people thought of it is not especially relevant. Particularly on flights I've watched some amazing foreign content that I just would not have stumbled upon if I was just watching whatever topped rotten tomatoes.
d0gsg0w00f 2y ago
Because life just isn't perfect. If you go seeking this perfect optimization in every aspect of your life then the world is going to be a continual disappointment.
- crazygringo 2y ago
  Who said anything about perfection? About life being perfect, or about perfect optimization? Or about expecting perfection? You can just pick a better movie and make life better. What is your objection to that?
mostertoaster 2y ago
The valuable time we save in not watching bad movies gives us more time to argue on hacker news, so a good optimization.

lxgr 2y ago

Why should I spend two or so hours watching a mediocre movie if I can also watch a great one, or do something else? Reading a movie review or just asking a friend that’s seen it if they liked it has been a thing… always.

etherealG 2y ago

Why do you try to mandate how others experience the world?