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Viliam comments on Open Thread, May 4 - May 10, 2015 - Less Wrong Discussion

3 Post author: Gondolinian 04 May 2015 12:06AM

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Comment author: Elo 04 May 2015 02:05:49PM 4 points [-]

I noticed a thing that I do. When I rush; I have a tendency to do clumsier versions of actions I know really well. I have now trained myself to notice moments of rush, and purposefully "slow down to normal speed" on tasks to allow them to happen in the efficient most possible time.

Simple example, searching for a key in a bundle. Where rushing causes fumbling which takes longer, slowing down to "normal speed" makes the finding the right key happen sooner.

Is there a name for this process? Has anyone recorded it before? Is this a suggestion that other rationalists can practically take on to improve their "rushing to do things" process?

Second example; trying to cut food while under pressure. third example; trying to put on a shirt. fourth: (occasionally) typing passwords. 5th: trying to retrieve something from the bottom of a bag, (or otherwise pass an object through a small opening) 6th: running down stairs ... I think you get the idea.

TL;DR. Idea: notice when you "rush"; actively do things at "normal speed" to avoid mistakes because this gets things done faster.

Comment author: Viliam 04 May 2015 10:42:57PM 1 point [-]

I think this is a commonly known thing, and the common advice is to calm down and breathe deeply,

Comment author: Elo 04 May 2015 11:08:31PM 0 points [-]

I am not talking about "big rush" situations; but rather "small rush" situations.

not sure where to find more about it. Surely a rational brain would have concluded the inefficiency and stopped doing "small rushing" (not that we are rational or anything - but maybe someone documented it before me)

Comment author: ZacHirschman 06 May 2015 12:22:43AM 0 points [-]

Do you have a heuristic for differentiating big rushes from small rushes? I think any time you are trying to perform a task, and some epsilon greater than zero of your conscious capacity is focusing on the ticking clock, then that represents a deficit from maximal focus. I think the deep breathing advice is good for any rush.

https://intelligence.org/files/CognitiveBiases.pdf in part 8 has a note on time pressure increasing the effect of the affect heuristic, but it doesn't quite fit with what you are talking about (fumbling for keys).