Relsqui comments on Break your habits: be more empirical - Less Wrong

95 Post author: Academian 02 October 2010 09:04PM

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Comment author: Relsqui 03 October 2010 07:27:30AM *  24 points [-]

Very well said. I might go so far as to point out that, roughly speaking, variety -> mental stimulation -> pleasure -> one source of utility. I would therefore anticipate that doing the same thing all the time is suboptimal for almost everybody, except in cases where the utility lost by the specific change obviously exceeds the potential gain from the mental stimulation. (I don't need to get shot in the stomach in order to make sure it's not more fun than what I normally do.)

I used to know someone who, when he was younger, had precisely this problem. He had learned that he liked cheeseburgers a lot, and therefore could see no reason to eat anything else when he had a choice. He went so far as to request them when he was at a restaurant where they weren't on the menu. He grew out of this, eventually, but I'm not sure he ever grew out of the mindset that led to it.

Also, this seems like a good place to recommend a specific technique along these lines. A while ago I made a list of activites and posted it on my wall with the heading "More Useful Things to Do Than Fucking Around on the Internet." (It's my bedroom and I can be profane on the wall if I want to.) Entries include chores (laundry), things I mean to do more often but don't get around to (call a friend), things I forget about when I'm looking for something to do (go to the library), skills I want to learn (knitting), projects I have in progress (clothes making/mending), etc. The point was to prevent myself from ever claiming that I don't have anything good to do. There's always something good to do. I just sometimes need to be reminded what it is.

Comment author: sixes_and_sevens 04 October 2010 09:20:22AM 15 points [-]

A while ago I made a list of activites and posted it on my wall with the heading "More Useful Things to Do Than Fucking Around on the Internet."

That can't be a short list.

Comment author: Zvi 07 October 2010 09:02:45PM 9 points [-]

I suspect it's still far shorter than the list with the heading "Less Useful Things to Do Than Fucking Around on the Internet."

Comment author: pnrjulius 05 July 2012 02:04:25AM 0 points [-]

Yes, think about how none of us would ever have discovered Less Wrong if we never fucked around on the Internet.

This is not to say that we don't fuck around on the Internet more than we should, which I think I probably do and I wouldn't be surprised if most of you do as well.

Comment author: Relsqui 04 October 2010 06:06:49PM 1 point [-]

Well. It's limited to the intersection of those things and things I want to do, and does not even contain all of those. ;)

Comment author: [deleted] 03 October 2010 07:31:45PM *  4 points [-]

Upvoted. I am going to use this. Important, I think, is that it's not a to-do list (which I have already, and don't always want to tackle); it's a fully optional good idea list.

Comment author: Relsqui 03 October 2010 10:43:41PM 4 points [-]

Important, I think, is that it's not a to-do list

Yes, exactly. It's not a plan for my productive time; it's alternatives to wasting my unproductive time on stuff that I don't enjoy as much.

Comment author: ChristianKl 07 October 2010 11:52:26AM 3 points [-]

The mental stimulation through variety doesn't only produce pleasure. It also keeps our brains healthy.

Comment author: Relsqui 07 October 2010 09:10:36PM 0 points [-]

I certainly believe that, although I didn't mention it because I couldn't have cited it. :)