visakanv

44 ms·

421.
by visakanv 12y ago
Yep. I remember a nice TED talk about this lady who would go out of her way to send physical letters to people now that communications is so simple, effortless and instantaneous. This is a recurring thing– whenever things get faster, there
422.
by visakanv 12y ago
I think on HN it depends on how quickly you get a few strong responses. (which can be largely random, less you're super-deliberate about it.) If you want to work the social media sauce, the best way is to get a few people having an act
423.
by visakanv 12y ago
Well... why not simulate alien superintelligences in the Matrix? Would it be that the superintelligence running the simulation isn't sufficiently intelligent to simulate itself?
424.
by visakanv 12y ago
The same reason why music on the radio is so dang loud– excessive compression. See: The Loudness War (just 1:54 mins long): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Gmex_4hreQ
425.
by visakanv 12y ago
Most proud of? I think the fact that I'm married to a person who loves me and is happy to be with me. Accomplishments I've enjoyed on hindsight– getting my band on a pretty established local stage, doing standup comedy and getting
426.
by visakanv 12y ago
Check out Everything Is A Remix for a powerful exploration of these ideas and more, in 40 minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9ryPC8bxqE Everybody borrows from everybody!
427.
by visakanv 12y ago
One of the most interesting things I've ever read was about this guy who was homeless and living in the forest for a really long time. [1] He talked about how for certain periods of time, he completely forgot that he existed. Without h
428.
by visakanv 12y ago
Okay but seriously then, why can we not doubt the fact that we are doubting?
429.
by visakanv 12y ago
> "What one cannot doubt is the fact they are doubting" Are you sure about that? trollface.jpg
430.
by visakanv 12y ago
To be fair, there's always room for better UX.
431.
by visakanv 12y ago
I think the challenge is to ask people questions in a way that isn't condescending, where you're not necessarily trying to corner them into some preconceived position. My boss has a great way of asking questions– he precedes them
432.
by visakanv 12y ago
^That is true. So I think the reality of OP's predicament is a little more subtle. It's probably "the desire to be/become ambitious" rather than overt, naked ambition. The two aren't mutually exclusive, too. Th
433.
by visakanv 12y ago
Bunch of thoughts about that, which you are free to disagree with– 1. "You are failing (at what you say you want to do)" != "You are a failure." 2. I disagree (but this is a matter of intepretation) that a novelist'
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by visakanv 12y ago
I do realize that line by itself looks a little nasty, I'm sorry. I meant it to be taken together with "And we're all frauds to some degree, because we all tell ourselves stories about ourselves that feel good." How abou
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by visakanv 12y ago
I appreciate this comment very much. More like this, please. This is how we should respond to things. Incredibly constructive, very nice.
436.
by visakanv 12y ago
The thing about unwritten rules that govern social behaviour is– even if you write down a set of rules, a new set of unwritten rules will emerge.
437.
by visakanv 12y ago
^Yes. You don't describe yourself as ambitious, you reveal it through your actions. How you prioritize. How you manage your limited time and resources. It's weird to say "I am ambitious and I waste time vegging out watching T
438.
by visakanv 12y ago
Take a break, spend some time somewhere nice and quiet– like a faraway beach, and sit for hours and see what comes to your mind. You're bound to be curious about something, interested in something. Day to day life has a way of wearing
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by visakanv 12y ago
+1. For anybody who struggles with this, I highly recommend reading Stephen Pressfield's The War Of Art.
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by visakanv 12y ago
> as long as they would persist in history and influence other people. This used to be my main motivator– the idea that you can transcend death through legacy– until I learned about the heat death of the Universe. Turns out that nothing
441.
by visakanv 12y ago
OP– I'm about your age, and I haven't completely solved this problem for myself either, but I've thought about it really hard for a really long time. Let me address your issues / statements / concerns one by one. &g
442.
by visakanv 12y ago
> Our society frowns on people who set out to do really good work. You're not supposed to; luck is supposed to descend on you and you do great things by chance. This is so true. It's odd that we celebrate butterflies and crush
443.
by visakanv 12y ago
So the interesting problem/challenge is– there will always be advancements and shocks and changes that we can't predict, that will completely invalidate the assumptions that we build our predictions on. It might be helpful for pre
444.
by visakanv 12y ago
It's always interesting to look at old predictions– there was that Newsweek article that predicted the Internet was never going to be a big deal [1] (amusing because now Newsweek is online-only), and there were all the negative comment
445.
by visakanv 12y ago
A colleague of mine is really passionate about Cialdini's work, and he actually put together over 50+ examples of the principles of Persuasion used in marketing, sorted by category. [1] I personally found it quite useful to peg the pri
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by visakanv 12y ago
"Seems difficult" – You bet! Also, the trick is to go beyond reading. Most people read once or twice, go "ah, that makes sense", and then forget about it except when it's pointed out to them a little too late. Benja
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by visakanv 12y ago
I once read an article extensively discussing the distinction between eating spaghetti with a spoon to assist vs without. Apparently those who use spoons are treacherous heathens, utterly uncivilized.
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by visakanv 12y ago
> to bind their spirit by breaking their bodies is something I can't stand for. It's cruel and inhumane. I agree. That said, I think it's worth reminding ourselves that there are a lot of cruel and inhumane things that we
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by visakanv 12y ago
Agreed re: new market + health & fitness. It's worth remembering that our phones aren't really phones– they're really computers with "phone" as one of the apps on it. And there wasn't really a big market fo
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by visakanv 12y ago
I'm not going to be getting one, but I'd still be very careful with the "there's nothing compelling about an X that a Y doesn't already do" argument.

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