In my life there are certain crystal clear memories I formed. Most of them come from human experience, but a few of them are digital memories that exist across the spectrum of people who experienced them. Those are really valuable too, did they come from chasing short dopamine highs? I don't remember how or why I ended up there. I just know they have formed a pattern I often reference.
I strongly resonate with the "i don't remember how or why I ended up here".
I remember my first handheld with a dopamine rush being a Nintendo DS. I clearly remember when I started bringing it to bed with me (I think I was 7, 24 now).
It wasn't clear what was do different, I just remember feeling very numb. It was a great dopamine rush, being able to game while being comfortable in bed.
Fast-forward to now and I'm wondering if I have wasted all these nights on a digital screen. Would I have ended up happier, had I instead chosen not to bring a digital device to bed?
Yeah I remember sitting in a school lab watching memes for the first time and just laughing so much and for so long, but everytime after the laughing was just a little bit less, that first peak never happened again. I'm much older than you, currently I'm resisting with my own children the pull of having their devices nonstop until they can learn self control, but it's so difficult to explain why I am so mean and won't let them game endlessly. Occasionally I do give in and they experience the numbness I think.
I'm not up to a dumb phone, I try to just set restraints for myself with phone use, but it's really hard.
Yet, in the tech industry, we treat trends like a race we are constantly losing. Instead of trying so hard to "stay in the loop," why not view new technologies as seasonal arrivals? You don't have to master every single one. You are living in "Technical Nature" just as much as you are living in real nature. If a new AI model drops, it’s like the first bamboo shoots of spring — interesting, worth trying, but not something to stress over.
You can learn anything when it becomes necessary for your craft. By shifting from "chasing" to "appreciating," you replace FOMO with curiosity.
This is a good mentality to cultivate. Don't take what others say too seriously without thinking, Don't get carried away with tech. news/media but just be curious w.r.t. any/all subjects/technologies.
Browse a lot, Read a subset and Study a even smaller subset, all without stress and as needed. Focus on the big picture (eg. Neurocomputing as a whole) before diving into details (eg. specific Neural Networks algorithms). The former is mandatory while the latter is driven by interests/needs. Energy and Time are finite and hence must be properly husbanded. In this age of information overload and rapid change, "missing the forest for trees" will be detrimental to actual assimilation of knowledge.
In my life there are certain crystal clear memories I formed. Most of them come from human experience, but a few of them are digital memories that exist across the spectrum of people who experienced them. Those are really valuable too, did they come from chasing short dopamine highs? I don't remember how or why I ended up there. I just know they have formed a pattern I often reference.
I strongly resonate with the "i don't remember how or why I ended up here".
I remember my first handheld with a dopamine rush being a Nintendo DS. I clearly remember when I started bringing it to bed with me (I think I was 7, 24 now).
It wasn't clear what was do different, I just remember feeling very numb. It was a great dopamine rush, being able to game while being comfortable in bed.
Fast-forward to now and I'm wondering if I have wasted all these nights on a digital screen. Would I have ended up happier, had I instead chosen not to bring a digital device to bed?
I'm buying a dumb-phone soon, so we'll see.
Yeah I remember sitting in a school lab watching memes for the first time and just laughing so much and for so long, but everytime after the laughing was just a little bit less, that first peak never happened again. I'm much older than you, currently I'm resisting with my own children the pull of having their devices nonstop until they can learn self control, but it's so difficult to explain why I am so mean and won't let them game endlessly. Occasionally I do give in and they experience the numbness I think.
I'm not up to a dumb phone, I try to just set restraints for myself with phone use, but it's really hard.
Well written article;
Yet, in the tech industry, we treat trends like a race we are constantly losing. Instead of trying so hard to "stay in the loop," why not view new technologies as seasonal arrivals? You don't have to master every single one. You are living in "Technical Nature" just as much as you are living in real nature. If a new AI model drops, it’s like the first bamboo shoots of spring — interesting, worth trying, but not something to stress over.
You can learn anything when it becomes necessary for your craft. By shifting from "chasing" to "appreciating," you replace FOMO with curiosity.
This is a good mentality to cultivate. Don't take what others say too seriously without thinking, Don't get carried away with tech. news/media but just be curious w.r.t. any/all subjects/technologies.
Browse a lot, Read a subset and Study a even smaller subset, all without stress and as needed. Focus on the big picture (eg. Neurocomputing as a whole) before diving into details (eg. specific Neural Networks algorithms). The former is mandatory while the latter is driven by interests/needs. Energy and Time are finite and hence must be properly husbanded. In this age of information overload and rapid change, "missing the forest for trees" will be detrimental to actual assimilation of knowledge.
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