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I think there might be a correlation between being lazy and being creative. I've seen this pattern in many other greats (and in my not so great self :) Aaron S

by mhomde 12y ago

I think there might be a correlation between being lazy and being creative. I've seen this pattern in many other greats (and in my not so great self :) Aaron Sorkin talks about procrastinating a lot between writing sessions. Lots of painters and artists procrastinate as well. I think its a matter of digestion, your mind is focused on a "task" and churning in the background, but you don't actively work on it except when you "feel like it". I saw some scientific article to this affect that the downtime is actually very valuable for the brain to form creative thought.

drcomputer 12y ago
Laziness is relatively defined to other people's minds. Your mind works the best when it does, and it works best with the minds it works best with, which is actually really complicated to think about. Also, persistently evaluating your mind for whether it is lazy or not has side effects on how your mind works. Just because it doesn't fit someone else's mold doesn't make your mind lazy, and just because a bunch of minds fit together perfectly to propel one person skyward doesn't make them a genius. A bunch of geniuses arguing about progress doesn't create progress. We aren't very good at mapping our minds while using our minds to do it, but maybe we are. I hope science one day recognizes that we can spend centuries churning our wheels without actually getting anywhere - we create the same problem we begin with by convincing ourselves we found the solution.
NamTaf 12y ago
I think it's actually more causal than you first give it credit for. I think creativity cultures a certain laziness for that person. From observing my friends and I, my anecdata suggests that the most creative are on average more lazy because they can use their creativity as a clutch to make up for a relative lack of hard work. The other intelligent but less creative individuals must suppliment that with grinding away more time on the problems. The creative lazy people also tend to be more 'hot and cold' than consistent, because if they rely on creativity but it doesn't fire then they end up falling short. Consistent hard work is more reliable, but takes more effort and doesn't necessarily produce as high peaks (though in doing so, avoids as low troughs)
- _red 12y ago
  I was going to say that: More often than not in life we find our greatest strengths are enablers for our greatest weaknesses.
- Retra 12y ago
  Hard work can also just be mentally exhausting, and it's much easier to just wait for a proper creative mood than to struggle for who-knows-how-long trying to do something you know you can easily do with far less effort at a later time.
  - ryan-allen 12y ago
    I read the book end to end, reviewed in this post (which was on HN ages ago): http://www.brainpickings.org/2013/04/23/daily-rituals-mason-currey/ http://www.brainpickings.org/2013/04/23/daily-rituals-mason-... It's about great people and how they structured their days. What seems to be fairly consistent was that they were often 'on and off' as well, but to try to ensure that they did actually get work done consistently was to work a) every day and b) not for too long. So each day wasn't a slog like the usual 9 to 5 treadmill, but each day gave them enough space to get some of their best work done and have enough rest to be able to do it every day of the week, every day of the year.
    - fenomas 12y ago
      Raymond Chandler had an interesting take on this. Basically he set aside four or five hours each day, during which he did not have to write, but he was not allowed to do anything else constructive. He could lay around or stare out the window, but no reading or paying bills - it was write or do nothing. Everything else, he said, came of itself.
chubot 12y ago
Paul Graham wrote about procrastination: http://www.paulgraham.com/procrastination.html http://www.paulgraham.com/procrastination.html I think it's commonly assumed that people procrastinate because they are lazy. Even procrastinators will berate themselves for being undisciplined and lazy. But it's not that simple; I think there is value in being "lazy", or what is perceived as lazy.
- V-2 12y ago
  As Larry Wall (creator of Perl) put it once, there are three great virtues of a programmer - laziness, impatience and hubris. Of course it doesn't have to be true only in case of programmers. Good laziness is when you strive to reduce your energy expenditure while still being determined to accomplish something.
smacktoward 12y ago
There's a good quote from one of the German generals involved in the plot to kill Hitler, Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_von_Hammerstein-Equord http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_von_Hammerstein-Equord), on that subject: I divide my officers into four groups. There are clever, diligent, stupid, and lazy officers. Usually two characteristics are combined. Some are clever and diligent -- their place is the General Staff. The next lot are stupid and lazy -- they make up 90 percent of every army and are suited to routine duties. Anyone who is both clever and lazy is qualified for the highest leadership duties, because he possesses the intellectual clarity and the composure necessary for difficult decisions. One must beware of anyone who is stupid and diligent -- he must not be entrusted with any responsibility because he will always cause only mischief.
- lightyrs 12y ago
  I enjoyed this quote. Thank you for exposing me to this man.
- siglesias 12y ago
  How did this work out for him?
  - FatalLogic 12y ago
    He warned against the rise of Hitler, actively conspired against the Nazis at great personal risk, and helped Jews avoid deportation or arrest. He died of natural causes in 1943. You could say that he tried to do the right thing.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
alejoriveralara 12y ago
Well, it's like that Bill Gates quote: "“I choose a lazy person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.”

by mhomde 12y ago

drcomputer 12y ago

Laziness is relatively defined to other people's minds. Your mind works the best when it does, and it works best with the minds it works best with, which is actually really complicated to think about. Also, persistently evaluating your mind for whether it is lazy or not has side effects on how your mind works. Just because it doesn't fit someone else's mold doesn't make your mind lazy, and just because a bunch of minds fit together perfectly to propel one person skyward doesn't make them a genius. A bunch of geniuses arguing about progress doesn't create progress. We aren't very good at mapping our minds while using our minds to do it, but maybe we are. I hope science one day recognizes that we can spend centuries churning our wheels without actually getting anywhere - we create the same problem we begin with by convincing ourselves we found the solution.

NamTaf 12y ago

I think it's actually more causal than you first give it credit for. I think creativity cultures a certain laziness for that person. From observing my friends and I, my anecdata suggests that the most creative are on average more lazy because they can use their creativity as a clutch to make up for a relative lack of hard work. The other intelligent but less creative individuals must suppliment that with grinding away more time on the problems. The creative lazy people also tend to be more 'hot and cold' than consistent, because if they rely on creativity but it doesn't fire then they end up falling short. Consistent hard work is more reliable, but takes more effort and doesn't necessarily produce as high peaks (though in doing so, avoids as low troughs)

_red 12y ago
I was going to say that: More often than not in life we find our greatest strengths are enablers for our greatest weaknesses.
Retra 12y ago
Hard work can also just be mentally exhausting, and it's much easier to just wait for a proper creative mood than to struggle for who-knows-how-long trying to do something you know you can easily do with far less effort at a later time.
- ryan-allen 12y ago
  I read the book end to end, reviewed in this post (which was on HN ages ago): http://www.brainpickings.org/2013/04/23/daily-rituals-mason-currey/ http://www.brainpickings.org/2013/04/23/daily-rituals-mason-... It's about great people and how they structured their days. What seems to be fairly consistent was that they were often 'on and off' as well, but to try to ensure that they did actually get work done consistently was to work a) every day and b) not for too long. So each day wasn't a slog like the usual 9 to 5 treadmill, but each day gave them enough space to get some of their best work done and have enough rest to be able to do it every day of the week, every day of the year.
  - fenomas 12y ago
    Raymond Chandler had an interesting take on this. Basically he set aside four or five hours each day, during which he did not have to write, but he was not allowed to do anything else constructive. He could lay around or stare out the window, but no reading or paying bills - it was write or do nothing. Everything else, he said, came of itself.

chubot 12y ago

Paul Graham wrote about procrastination: http://www.paulgraham.com/procrastination.html http://www.paulgraham.com/procrastination.html I think it's commonly assumed that people procrastinate because they are lazy. Even procrastinators will berate themselves for being undisciplined and lazy. But it's not that simple; I think there is value in being "lazy", or what is perceived as lazy.

V-2 12y ago
As Larry Wall (creator of Perl) put it once, there are three great virtues of a programmer - laziness, impatience and hubris. Of course it doesn't have to be true only in case of programmers. Good laziness is when you strive to reduce your energy expenditure while still being determined to accomplish something.

smacktoward 12y ago

There's a good quote from one of the German generals involved in the plot to kill Hitler, Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_von_Hammerstein-Equord http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_von_Hammerstein-Equord), on that subject: I divide my officers into four groups. There are clever, diligent, stupid, and lazy officers. Usually two characteristics are combined. Some are clever and diligent -- their place is the General Staff. The next lot are stupid and lazy -- they make up 90 percent of every army and are suited to routine duties. Anyone who is both clever and lazy is qualified for the highest leadership duties, because he possesses the intellectual clarity and the composure necessary for difficult decisions. One must beware of anyone who is stupid and diligent -- he must not be entrusted with any responsibility because he will always cause only mischief.

lightyrs 12y ago
I enjoyed this quote. Thank you for exposing me to this man.
siglesias 12y ago
How did this work out for him?
- FatalLogic 12y ago
  He warned against the rise of Hitler, actively conspired against the Nazis at great personal risk, and helped Jews avoid deportation or arrest. He died of natural causes in 1943. You could say that he tried to do the right thing.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]

alejoriveralara 12y ago

Well, it's like that Bill Gates quote: "“I choose a lazy person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.”