handoflixue comments on The Cognitive Costs to Doing Things - Less Wrong

39 Post author: lionhearted 02 May 2011 09:13AM

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Comment author: wilkox 04 May 2011 11:00:26AM 0 points [-]

The difference between activation energy and inertia is that you can want to do something, but be having a hard time getting started - that's activation energy. Whereas inertia suggests you'll keep doing what you've been doing, and largely turn your mind off. Breaking out of inertia takes serious energy and tends to make people uncomfortable.

I don't mean to nitpick, but this distinction isn't obvious to me. It seems like inertia is just a component of activation energy.

Great post regardless.

Comment author: handoflixue 06 May 2011 07:48:25PM 0 points [-]

Activation energy: It takes me about 15 minutes to get ready for exercise: I need to close down what I'm doing, change in to exercise clothes, and find a good spot for it.

Inertia: Once I'm jogging, it's really easy to keep jogging. Especially when jogging is the fastest way to get back home =)

End result: I find it much easier to do a single 30 minute jog, compared to three 10 minute jogs. If there were just activation costs, I'd probably want to do a single 10 minute jog. If there was just inertia, I'd probably want to do three 30 minute jogs.

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