Homework for Life \ stacker news ~mostly

Homework for Life www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7p329Z8MD0&t=933s

3917 sats \ 14 comments \ @elvismercury 23 Jan mostly_harmless

H4l is the idea, in a nutshell, of finding something in your life, every day, to make a story out of. On the surface level you might think cool I guess, then you'd have a bunch of dumb stories about the crap that happens in your life, for whatever that's worth.

But what you really get from the practice is not only a bunch of stories, but a new way of seeing the world, an increased power to notice. If you've ever gotten really good at something like a musical instrument, or a sport, and then afterward you find that you can see the world in terms of that thing, or you can observe the thing and pick out elements that an untrained observer can't even detect? H4l sort of helps you do that with the actual world, and your actual life.

At least that's what I've found. And the author (in the link I shared) makes the same claim, so I'm guessing it's broadly true. I was reminded of how special this is by this post. @ekzyis, I think this will really resonate with you.

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128 sats \ 10 replies \ @Undisciplined 23 Jan

If you've ever gotten really good at something like a musical instrument, or a sport, and then afterward you find that you can see the world in terms of that thing

This happens to me when I play too much Civilization.

434 sats \ 9 replies \ @elvismercury OP 24 Jan

Dunno if you're joking, but one of the infinitely-long list of my intentions is to learn how to play Factorio, bc I think it would probably lead to a deep understanding of a bunch of important things that would be hard to understand from my current life context. Seems like there's a lot of games that could be valuable that way.

148 sats \ 5 replies \ @ek 24 Jan

Factorio is one of the games I don't start because I'm too afraid I would enjoy it too much and get sucked in. It's also one of those games where you kind of have to invest a decent amount of time to really start to appreciate it, I think.

@k00b mentioned something similar on the SNL episode with @Satlantis about Minecraft iirc.

1082 sats \ 4 replies \ @k00b 24 Jan

@jason is a big fan of factorio. He got me to play a round or two with him at one point.

Playing a video game usually feels like programming to me, especially with world/process-building games, so I always feel silly not programming instead. But, there's a lot to learn from video games about how to structure real world challenges for yourself: incremental, escalating stakes, retry-able on failure, visible and visceral signs of progress and non-progress etc.

513 sats \ 1 reply \ @elvismercury OP 24 Jan

I think the connection btwn programming and life is deep and subtle, and there's a reason why so many engineers are so highly effective in the real world, and have such a different take. Understanding the nature of complexity, and how to somehow create something functional within in, and the forces of entropy, and just how maddeningly hard communication and coordination is -- these are felt more concretely and acutely by programmers than anyone. It's like the purest possible training for things like civics, government, public policy, etc.

If the degree requirement for all those fields was to spend two years in a standard computer science curriculum the world would be much improved. Which isn't to say those other things don't matter, they do crucially matter. But getting your hands dirty by playing god with code is a competitive advantage that nothing else can accomplish with nearly the same efficiency. At least, that is a deeply held commitment of mine.

In summary: Factorio!

1027 sats \ 0 replies \ @k00b 24 Jan

But getting your hands dirty by playing god with code is a competitive advantage that nothing else can accomplish with nearly the same efficiency.

A woman I met (through one of my little machines), who made their own degree in Computational Biology, said something similar and I never forgot it. It's one of those things you feel is true but can't tell as a programmer if you're just tooting your own horn. Programming generically trains us to make things efficient and so much of being effective is being efficient.

Skill training does this generally I think. A friend went through law school and his wife (herself observant as a writer) says it changed the way he thinks. Not the way he thinks about the world and laws, but the way he thinks about anything and everything.

It reminds me of how LLMs in learning to predict the next string of tokens learn - as a side effect! - a model of the world.

1027 sats \ 1 reply \ @ek 24 Jan

so I always feel silly not programming instead

lol, I think you're a pathological programmer

But, there's a lot to learn from video games about how to structure real world challenges for yourself: incremental, escalating stakes, retry-able on failure, visible and visceral signs of progress and non-progress etc.

Mhh, I think what I learned from video games is this:

I'm quite good at clicking on pixels
history of war is very interesting
difference between strategy and tactics
people can be toxic about anything

48 sats \ 0 replies \ @k00b 24 Jan

I am a junkie. I like to see little machines I've made with my own hands do things. Then there's that 100% pure, uncut heaven of other people getting value from your little machines.

0 sats \ 2 replies \ @Undisciplined 24 Jan

I'm not sure if it's a joke either. It's more of a silly example of what you were talking about, I think.

27 sats \ 1 reply \ @ek 24 Jan

When was the last time you played Civilization? Maybe we can determine based on your answer how much of a joke it was :)

100 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undisciplined 24 Jan

I fired it up a couple of months ago when I was bored. Before I found Stacker News, I would have a game going during the workday.

1021 sats \ 1 reply \ @ek 23 Jan

But what you really get from the practice is not only a bunch of stories, but a new way of seeing the world, an increased power to notice.

Mhh, sounds like this post is your reply to this post from me since it was also about different perspectives and increased awareness.

Would be funny if we would just reply to each other via posts now :)

If you've ever gotten really good at something like a musical instrument

Funny, I just came back from picking up playing piano again. Want to learn how to play Californication. I intend to play a little bit at the end of each day now¹. It seems to be a very good way to "switch off". Maybe I'll even record the audio and post my progress in the @saloon? Let's see.

I was reminded of how special this is by this post.

Oh lol, you linked to my post! Should have read until the end first before I start writing my reply. Guess I like writing too much already :)

Thanks for the recommendation and I will start now. I wanted to start with journaling anyway and you reminded me. I can incorporate this into it. My Z2Z posts have become basically this: a journal.

Or read a book. Having options in general (with every option being a good option) feels like a good idea. I also want to do this with exercising again. Having a lot of options to pick from so I at least pick some option instead of doing nothing. ↩

380 sats \ 0 replies \ @elvismercury OP 23 Jan

Would be funny if we would just reply to each other via posts now :)

Haha, originally I was looking it up as a reply on your post, and then I thought this is actually a genuinely useful thing that other people could benefit from so I made it its own post. But it is basically it's a reply to you that I wanted more people to potentially see :)

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei 24 Jan

Oh I might have stumbled upon H4I. It started out as me wanting to say something useful for myself in the Stacker Saloon. So I reflected on my day and thought of an anecdote to share. Been doing so several times this year.

I think doing so helps me feel grateful for the mundane life I’m living because I’m still fighting the good fight on many fronts

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