5 ms·

do you actually do that? it sounds interesting in theory but i find it actually quite impossible to "remember" the satisfaction my favorite gives me so that i c

by cJ0th 12y ago

do you actually do that? it sounds interesting in theory but i find it actually quite impossible to "remember" the satisfaction my favorite gives me so that i can reference it against every other track.

jgrahamc 12y ago
Yes. This is my 'walking to and from the gym' strategy. But then again I'm a giant nerd.
- crusso 12y ago
  Automatically disqualified as a "giant nerd" by going to a gym.
  - jgrahamc 12y ago
    I reached an age where I was either going to join many of my peers in being weak and overweight, or I was going to do something about it. The something I did is... cycle to work (15 miles a day) and lift weights three days a week before work. I still think I'm pretty nerdy. For example, I made a light for my bike that flashes in Morse: https://github.com/jgrahamc/bikemorse https://github.com/jgrahamc/bikemorse
    - jacquesm 12y ago
      > https://github.com/jgrahamc/bikemorse https://github.com/jgrahamc/bikemorse Now why does that not surprise me at all :) I think you are in no danger whatsoever of losing your nerd card :)
  - skizm 12y ago
    No way. Going to the gym is one of the nerdiest things you can do if you approach it the right way. I mean it is basically the real life equivalent of grinding levels in an rpg: You choose a class (endurance, strength, or something in between). You have items and skills which you have to skill up individually (barbells, dumb bells, gymnastics equipment, running, cycling, etc.). The same dilemma exists for leveling up: skill points added to one category are skill points you can't add to another category. Thus if you split your time between strength and endurance you will never achieve as much as someone who exclusively trains one of the two. The skill curve is even similar to that of a well designed RPG: in the beginning you make a lot of gains quickly but eventually you slow to a halt and it takes months to even gain a few skill points in one item/skill. The gym in real life is like hardcore mode: If you don't play for a while, your skills degrade as a penalty. However, the skill lost as a penalty is easier to reattain then skill you never had. There are even boss fights and co-op mode if you decide to compete. There are too many parallels to list them all here, but I think you get the idea.
    - justathrow2k 12y ago
      Going to the gym in itself is still not a 'nerdy' activity. All you did was describe going to a gym in a very nerdy way by comparing it to an RPG - you could most likely apply this practice to just about any activity one could do. edit: I do disagree with that statement of the poster to whom you replied, you can still be a pretty big nerd and go to a gym.
      - skizm 12y ago
        > Going to the gym in itself is still not a 'nerdy' activity. Neither is moving pieces on a chess board until you start to obsess over it, read about it in your free time, track your progress as a player, and constantly try and improved yourself as a chess player. No activity is really "intrinsically nerdy" (whatever that means), that's why I said "if you approach it the right way".
        justathrow2k 12y ago
        Still, society generally views playing chess as being nerdy, no matter how involved you are with it. They don't make these distinctions you're making. Whether or not they're accurate in their description is another discussion entirely, but I think we can all understand this in the context of the conversation.
    - dexen 12y ago
      You seem to be mixing up [1] geeks and nerds. What you describe is geeky rather than nerdy. What would be a nerdy approach to gym/fitness? Perhaps doing 10 years of research into what's the most efficient way of maintaining fitness and publishing a paper. Or perhaps building your own gym -- on the orbit, and commuting by a rocket of your own design. [1] http://slackprop.wordpress.com/2013/06/03/on-geek-versus-nerd/ http://slackprop.wordpress.com/2013/06/03/on-geek-versus-ner...
      - skizm 12y ago
        The article says nerds are achievement oriented. That is textbook RPG player. All they care about is the next level, getting a sub 4 minute mile, the 100kg snatch, etc. Going to the gym is entirely achievement oriented. Side note: I think we're arguing semantics. If you draw a venn diagram of nerds and geek there would be so much overlap it is hardly practical to differentiate except in the rare instance when an activity falls into one category and not the other (which I don't think is the case here).
  - arrrg 12y ago
    Exclusionism sucks. Please don’t do it ever.
  - angersock 12y ago
    What? No. You start as a giant nerd going to the gym. Over time, you probably become a smaller nerd, or at least a denser one.
  - deathhand 12y ago
    "To keep the body in good health is a duty... otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear." Buddha
nmjohn 12y ago
I've never thought of it as an optimization problem at all, until now, but I do a form of this all the time when I'm listening to a playlist with a wide variety and nothing better going on (For instance when running or driving.) The thing is for something trivial like that, it doesn't actually matter if you remember the satisfaction or not, all that really matters is if you are more satisfied than you think you were with the previous song, accuracy be damned.

by cJ0th 12y ago

jgrahamc 12y ago

Yes. This is my 'walking to and from the gym' strategy. But then again I'm a giant nerd.

crusso 12y ago
Automatically disqualified as a "giant nerd" by going to a gym.
- jgrahamc 12y ago
  I reached an age where I was either going to join many of my peers in being weak and overweight, or I was going to do something about it. The something I did is... cycle to work (15 miles a day) and lift weights three days a week before work. I still think I'm pretty nerdy. For example, I made a light for my bike that flashes in Morse: https://github.com/jgrahamc/bikemorse https://github.com/jgrahamc/bikemorse
  - jacquesm 12y ago
    > https://github.com/jgrahamc/bikemorse https://github.com/jgrahamc/bikemorse Now why does that not surprise me at all :) I think you are in no danger whatsoever of losing your nerd card :)
- skizm 12y ago
  No way. Going to the gym is one of the nerdiest things you can do if you approach it the right way. I mean it is basically the real life equivalent of grinding levels in an rpg: You choose a class (endurance, strength, or something in between). You have items and skills which you have to skill up individually (barbells, dumb bells, gymnastics equipment, running, cycling, etc.). The same dilemma exists for leveling up: skill points added to one category are skill points you can't add to another category. Thus if you split your time between strength and endurance you will never achieve as much as someone who exclusively trains one of the two. The skill curve is even similar to that of a well designed RPG: in the beginning you make a lot of gains quickly but eventually you slow to a halt and it takes months to even gain a few skill points in one item/skill. The gym in real life is like hardcore mode: If you don't play for a while, your skills degrade as a penalty. However, the skill lost as a penalty is easier to reattain then skill you never had. There are even boss fights and co-op mode if you decide to compete. There are too many parallels to list them all here, but I think you get the idea.
  - justathrow2k 12y ago
    Going to the gym in itself is still not a 'nerdy' activity. All you did was describe going to a gym in a very nerdy way by comparing it to an RPG - you could most likely apply this practice to just about any activity one could do. edit: I do disagree with that statement of the poster to whom you replied, you can still be a pretty big nerd and go to a gym.
    - skizm 12y ago
      > Going to the gym in itself is still not a 'nerdy' activity. Neither is moving pieces on a chess board until you start to obsess over it, read about it in your free time, track your progress as a player, and constantly try and improved yourself as a chess player. No activity is really "intrinsically nerdy" (whatever that means), that's why I said "if you approach it the right way".
      - justathrow2k 12y ago
        Still, society generally views playing chess as being nerdy, no matter how involved you are with it. They don't make these distinctions you're making. Whether or not they're accurate in their description is another discussion entirely, but I think we can all understand this in the context of the conversation.
  - dexen 12y ago
    You seem to be mixing up [1] geeks and nerds. What you describe is geeky rather than nerdy. What would be a nerdy approach to gym/fitness? Perhaps doing 10 years of research into what's the most efficient way of maintaining fitness and publishing a paper. Or perhaps building your own gym -- on the orbit, and commuting by a rocket of your own design. [1] http://slackprop.wordpress.com/2013/06/03/on-geek-versus-nerd/ http://slackprop.wordpress.com/2013/06/03/on-geek-versus-ner...
    - skizm 12y ago
      The article says nerds are achievement oriented. That is textbook RPG player. All they care about is the next level, getting a sub 4 minute mile, the 100kg snatch, etc. Going to the gym is entirely achievement oriented. Side note: I think we're arguing semantics. If you draw a venn diagram of nerds and geek there would be so much overlap it is hardly practical to differentiate except in the rare instance when an activity falls into one category and not the other (which I don't think is the case here).
- arrrg 12y ago
  Exclusionism sucks. Please don’t do it ever.
- angersock 12y ago
  What? No. You start as a giant nerd going to the gym. Over time, you probably become a smaller nerd, or at least a denser one.
- deathhand 12y ago
  "To keep the body in good health is a duty... otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear." Buddha

nmjohn 12y ago

I've never thought of it as an optimization problem at all, until now, but I do a form of this all the time when I'm listening to a playlist with a wide variety and nothing better going on (For instance when running or driving.) The thing is for something trivial like that, it doesn't actually matter if you remember the satisfaction or not, all that really matters is if you are more satisfied than you think you were with the previous song, accuracy be damned.