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Walking, showering, sleeping, and riding a bike are great ways to debug code. It's very cool to go to sleep and wake up knowing what the solution to the proble
by __mharrison__ 5mo ago
Walking, showering, sleeping, and riding a bike are great ways to debug code.
It's very cool to go to sleep and wake up knowing what the solution to the problem is.
The key for incubation for me is to make sure my brain can churn without distractions (that means no listening to podcasts, music, etc while performing said action).
- calmbonsai 5mo agoTruth. Nothing is a greater spurn to creativity (cyclic mental exertion) than time away focusing on cyclic bodily exertion.
- criddell 5mo agoThe hard part for me is stepping away when I'm grinding on some problem. It always feels like I'm sooo close and this next idea could be the one that lets me walk away victorious. Usually I'm wrong though and taking a break would be a much better use of my time. Walking, biking, noodling on my guitar, or even going for a drive all seem to work for me.
- calmbonsai 5mo agoSame. When you're grooving/flowing it's different than when you're "just on the cusp". My only reliable "hack" is to have a workout/exercise partner and/or trainer so it becomes a mutual shared commitment.
- Gigachad 5mo agoWalking with no music + not using your phone. Leaves you plenty of space to think.
- parpfish 5mo agobut sometimes I need a little burst of the phone/music to serve as a distraction and force me to unplug from the hard problem that i'm fixated on. once i've successfully started thinking about something else, phone/music off and let the productive mind wandering begin
- Aerroon 5mo agoI find that even if I use my phone while walking I will eventually stop paying attention to the phone.
- thesuitonym 5mo agoAnd sometimes to not think. Taking a walk is a great way to clear ones head.
- efskap 5mo agoYup, that's the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Default_mode_network https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Default_mode_network It's the daydreaming/mind-wandering state that occurs when you're not focused on an external task. With all the stimuli of the modern world, I feel like we're being starved of crucial DMN time if we don't engineer conditions like the ones you describe.
- aswegs8 5mo agoQuite the interesting but unapproachable topic. Doesn't help that neurology logic on brain-level is dynamic and general rules are hard to extract.
- matsemann 5mo agoI remember during covid, cyclists were the ones in my town in a poll answering they missed their commute. It's such a nice way of thinking things through and then clearing your mind, then arriving home not thinking more about work.
- pduggishetti 5mo agoAI coding has killed this, I should reduce the AI dependacy. The dopamine hit was different when I would wake up to a solution.
- crucialfelix 5mo agoI find that I have more time to be a dreamer and let more interesting solutions unfold in my mind. After that the planning and execution is much faster.
- crucialfelix 5mo agoEvery time after I take a shower I write down all those brilliant Shower Thoughts.