= 27d567bc2d48d9f40e9ccc20ea370b15)
roland comments on Simultaneously Right and Wrong - Less Wrong
You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.
= 783df68a0f980790206b9ea87794c5b6)
Loading…= b715d02e85f7b3b4ae65ca3d3e450868)
Subscribe to RSS Feed
Powered by Reddit
= f037147d6e6c911a85753b9abdedda8d)
You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.
Comments (52)
This reminded me of Carol Dweck's study: http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2007/february7/dweck-020707.html
It is about having a fixed vs. growth theory of intelligence. If you think that your intelligence is fixed, you will avoid challenging tasks in order to preserve your self-image, whereas people with growth mentality will embrace it in order to improve. Important: never tell a child that it is intelligent.
I think it's more like "never praise a child for being intelligent". You can tell them they're smart if they are, just don't do it often or put any importance on it.
While it was well-intentioned, this is by far the worst thing my parents did while raising me. Even now that I'm aware of the problem, it's a constant struggle to convince myself to approach difficult problems, even though I find working on them very satisfying. Does anyone know if there's been discussion here (or elsewhere, I suppose) about individual causes of akrasia? Childhood indoctrination into a particular theory of intelligence certainly seems to be one.
Not a direct answer, but your post reminds me of This Is Why I'll Never Be an Adult.
Note that the downward spiral starts with self-congratulation, which seems to be a part of my pattern.
Great link. I follow that pattern almost precisely, unfortunately. I'll have to spend some time analyzing my self-congratulatory habits and see what can be done.
I don't have a cite, but I've read an article (a book? The Now Habit?) which claimed that procrastination is driven by the belief that getting things done is a reflection on your value as a person.
And why is akrasia a common problem among LessWrongians rather than, say, high-energy impulsiveness?
I imagine akrasia is a more natural fit for a tendency to overthink things.