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"There is an actual neurological basis to what I am talking about...You can make a pretty good evolutionary argument that this was how we were designed to absor

"There is an actual neurological basis to what I am talking about...You can make a pretty good evolutionary argument that this was how we were designed to absorb information at about 5km an hour (3mph)" For me walking is more conducive to careful thinking than any other activity, and taking a walk has frequently proven to be the best way to work on my hardest problems, deepest mysteries, and most stressful situations. Do others walk to think? Having worked with several startups over the past 16 years, I'll make the observation that I've been in a tiny minority on this count, and I find myself wondering what kind of situational & cultural biases in the startup world work against walking as a way of thinking. Keyboards, cars, commutes, an obsession with faster-is-better, craving novelty, fear of "missing the window." What else?

IsaacL 14y ago
I saw that same quote, and thought about my walk a few years back, across the breadth of the UK (Wales to London). I do feel like I have a better intuitive grasp of the size of it now -- much better than you get from driving or taking the train.
- krutulis 14y ago
  Serious walking definitely changes one's perspective. I don't feel comfortable in a place until I've learned to get around on foot.
saljam 14y ago
That's true for me as well. When I was a student, revising (and memorising bits that needed to be memorised) was almost always a form of holding a book and walking in circles. Or around the house. I now spend as much time walking around the office as I do cranking code or writing on my desk. Over the years, I started recognising other habitual pacers in the department. We joke about forming a society and lobbying for a pacing room.
- krutulis 14y ago
  Sign me up -- though the hardest problems require the space out in the Big Blue Room. Perhaps the new research on how sitting can undermine our health will restore some clout to moving about.
mattchew 14y ago
Sometimes I walk to think, though usually it's more mental mumbling than anything focused. I do think my daily walk is good for my mental health. I feel the difference if I go without one for very long. If you are a busy/frantic person, walking isn't a very intense way of exercising, and doesn't translate to an achievement game as easily as running, lifting weights, etc. If you don't have a nice area to walk in, I can see not ever really understanding the appeal. I would probably still walk now if I moved to a metro area, but I might not have picked up the habit in the first place.
Swizec 14y ago
For me the best activity for thinking is running on a closed track. The boredom of running in circles and the need to avoid thinking about how many more circles I have to go and how much my legs are starting to hurt is a really good motivator to get absorbed in your mind and work through stuff. Driving a car at night comes as a close second, but without the added benefits of exercise. Long train journeys are also surprisingly effective, as I've recently found out.
discreteevent 14y ago
Solvitur ambulare - It is solved by walking.
- orofino 14y ago
  Solvitur ambulando http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solvitur_ambulando http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solvitur_ambulando I don't know latin, but I'm assuming ambulare is an infinitive where adding 'ando' (if this is like Spanish) is equivalent to 'ing'. edit: thanks for sharing the saying, I quite like it
dguaraglia 14y ago
I take an evening stroll of at least one hour every single day, even if it's drizzling (I don't go out if it's raining, I'm not that crazy.) It's my moment for thinking about where I'm at with my life, make a sanity check (working crazy hours on a startup requires frequent sanity checks), ponder what should be my next steps and occasionally, even think about some work-related stuff. I don't know whether it's the walking, the solitude (not many people walking around where I live and I only have to cross about 5 roads in a 4mi walk), the soft music I walk to, or what, but it works wonders. As you your point: I'm definitely in a minority here. Unfortunately the other guys have mostly forgotten how to use their legs and complain even when having to walk a couple blocks down the road to fetch food. It's quite sad, actually :/
pm90 14y ago
Yes! I usually run on a closed track on the local gym, but recently I've tried trail-walking through a forest. It's incredibly calming to be amongst trees and away from civilization... and later, when you come back home to a warm dinner, you realize why you want civilization in the first place :) (i.e it makes you aware of things you usually take for granted)
dkarl 14y ago
I occasionally walk a few blocks when I'm mentally stuck on something. Usually that's all it takes. I find that going for a walk minimizes external demands and maximizes the mental resources that can be turned inward. It also provides a nominal purpose that allows my mind to abandon its direction and wander out of whatever cul-de-sac it was stuck in. When I was in high school and college, though, I used to drive to think. It was partly to do with growing up in Texas (a big, spread-out state with lots of straight, empty highways) and also partly to do with privacy. If I wanted privacy, I would go out on the highway and drive. Living with parents, and later with roommates, a car was the only place where I knew that I wouldn't be bothered. In a small town, walking means making yourself conspicuous, which isn't conducive to contemplation. You have to be in a dense city or a rural area to achieve solitude through walking. Given that driving used to serve the same purpose for me, I wonder if the physical effects of walking are important. For me, the most important factor was suspending the constant vigilance of being around other people. Always knowing you could be interrupted, knowing you might need to put on a mask at a moment's notice, how can you really think? Walking and driving require a very low level of engagement with the outside world, but some engagement, which intermittently rises and falls as you encounter interesting sights or an occasional challenge such as a puddle to walk around, another car on the road that must be paid attention to, or a choice of going right or left. (Driving in the city usually doesn't work. Safety demands too much attention.) If I were to name the most important factors, I would include solitude, freedom from vigilance, and occasional non-threatening interruptions of one's train of thought.

IsaacL 14y ago

I saw that same quote, and thought about my walk a few years back, across the breadth of the UK (Wales to London). I do feel like I have a better intuitive grasp of the size of it now -- much better than you get from driving or taking the train.

krutulis 14y ago
Serious walking definitely changes one's perspective. I don't feel comfortable in a place until I've learned to get around on foot.

saljam 14y ago

That's true for me as well. When I was a student, revising (and memorising bits that needed to be memorised) was almost always a form of holding a book and walking in circles. Or around the house. I now spend as much time walking around the office as I do cranking code or writing on my desk. Over the years, I started recognising other habitual pacers in the department. We joke about forming a society and lobbying for a pacing room.

krutulis 14y ago
Sign me up -- though the hardest problems require the space out in the Big Blue Room. Perhaps the new research on how sitting can undermine our health will restore some clout to moving about.

mattchew 14y ago

Sometimes I walk to think, though usually it's more mental mumbling than anything focused. I do think my daily walk is good for my mental health. I feel the difference if I go without one for very long. If you are a busy/frantic person, walking isn't a very intense way of exercising, and doesn't translate to an achievement game as easily as running, lifting weights, etc. If you don't have a nice area to walk in, I can see not ever really understanding the appeal. I would probably still walk now if I moved to a metro area, but I might not have picked up the habit in the first place.

Swizec 14y ago

For me the best activity for thinking is running on a closed track. The boredom of running in circles and the need to avoid thinking about how many more circles I have to go and how much my legs are starting to hurt is a really good motivator to get absorbed in your mind and work through stuff. Driving a car at night comes as a close second, but without the added benefits of exercise. Long train journeys are also surprisingly effective, as I've recently found out.

discreteevent 14y ago

Solvitur ambulare - It is solved by walking.

orofino 14y ago
Solvitur ambulando http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solvitur_ambulando http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solvitur_ambulando I don't know latin, but I'm assuming ambulare is an infinitive where adding 'ando' (if this is like Spanish) is equivalent to 'ing'. edit: thanks for sharing the saying, I quite like it

dguaraglia 14y ago

I take an evening stroll of at least one hour every single day, even if it's drizzling (I don't go out if it's raining, I'm not that crazy.) It's my moment for thinking about where I'm at with my life, make a sanity check (working crazy hours on a startup requires frequent sanity checks), ponder what should be my next steps and occasionally, even think about some work-related stuff. I don't know whether it's the walking, the solitude (not many people walking around where I live and I only have to cross about 5 roads in a 4mi walk), the soft music I walk to, or what, but it works wonders. As you your point: I'm definitely in a minority here. Unfortunately the other guys have mostly forgotten how to use their legs and complain even when having to walk a couple blocks down the road to fetch food. It's quite sad, actually :/

pm90 14y ago

Yes! I usually run on a closed track on the local gym, but recently I've tried trail-walking through a forest. It's incredibly calming to be amongst trees and away from civilization... and later, when you come back home to a warm dinner, you realize why you want civilization in the first place :) (i.e it makes you aware of things you usually take for granted)

dkarl 14y ago

I occasionally walk a few blocks when I'm mentally stuck on something. Usually that's all it takes. I find that going for a walk minimizes external demands and maximizes the mental resources that can be turned inward. It also provides a nominal purpose that allows my mind to abandon its direction and wander out of whatever cul-de-sac it was stuck in. When I was in high school and college, though, I used to drive to think. It was partly to do with growing up in Texas (a big, spread-out state with lots of straight, empty highways) and also partly to do with privacy. If I wanted privacy, I would go out on the highway and drive. Living with parents, and later with roommates, a car was the only place where I knew that I wouldn't be bothered. In a small town, walking means making yourself conspicuous, which isn't conducive to contemplation. You have to be in a dense city or a rural area to achieve solitude through walking. Given that driving used to serve the same purpose for me, I wonder if the physical effects of walking are important. For me, the most important factor was suspending the constant vigilance of being around other people. Always knowing you could be interrupted, knowing you might need to put on a mask at a moment's notice, how can you really think? Walking and driving require a very low level of engagement with the outside world, but some engagement, which intermittently rises and falls as you encounter interesting sights or an occasional challenge such as a puddle to walk around, another car on the road that must be paid attention to, or a choice of going right or left. (Driving in the city usually doesn't work. Safety demands too much attention.) If I were to name the most important factors, I would include solitude, freedom from vigilance, and occasional non-threatening interruptions of one's train of thought.