Comment by nwallin | Hacker News Reader

Comment by nwallin | Hacker News Reader

> The first thing he did was host a long-weekend work party to fix it up. I flew up from my home in Oakland, California. With a group of friends, we tore out exposed nails, cladded interior walls, built a deck and an outhouse, and hung shingles. At night, covered in sawdust and grime, we drank too much and huddled around a propane stove to keep warm, eventually falling asleep and breathing in noxious fumes all night until we staggered awake in the morning. >>>It was awful—and one of the best weekends I’d had in recent memory.<<<

There's a word for this: Type II Fun. Type I Fun is when you're having fun and you know you're having fun while you're doing it. Type II Fun is when you're absolutely fucking miserable the whole time, but afterwards you and any of your friends that were with you say it was the best time ever.

Lots of outdoor activities that are supposed to be Type I Fun end up being Type II Fun. Lots of activities that aren't supposed to be fun at all end up being Type II Fun. (basic training is a common example) I've heard Dwarf Fortress is Type II Fun, but I could never get into it.

This whole process of building the cabin sounds like a class example of Type II Fun to me.

I agree but I wouldn't even call it fun per se. I like to camp. The camping trips I remember most are the ones that rained the whole time or had some other disaster happen. All the other trips were fun and great and relaxing but they all blend together eventually. It is the shit shows you still talk about 20 years later. This is so important to the human condition to try, to learn, to expand, to explore, to grow, to empathize, to commiserate, to laugh

Amen ... I've started building a shed (10x10) 1.5 months ago with 0 woodworking experience.

It's the most fun I've had in a decade .. my joints are swollen, I've got bruises and scrapes on my hands and feet, skin on my hand is actually rough.

I work from home nine-to-five, software. I can't wait to finish work to actually go outside and work on the shed.

I've actually considered quitting my job and doing this full time .. but it won't pay nearly enough as I'm making in software and my financial commitments won't let me.

Ultra running is definitely Type II fun. It’s not that enjoyable at the time but somehow in that suffering you find pleasure afterwards

The worse it feels, the better if feels when you stop.

Type II fun is just fine, as long as it doesn't veer into type III fun.

I want details.

I don't know, but my guess would be Type III Fun is where you are having fun while you're doing it, but afterwards you realize it was miserable and would never do it again.

I'll propose that type III fun is when you're having fun while you're doing it but afterward you're absolutely miserable as a result, such as after a night of hard drinking, or a weekend of nonstop sleepless gaming.

Actually, there's already a definition for type III fun: it's not fun and you'll never think it was fun.

The fun type system comes from the climbing world. Climbing offwidths is commonly cited as a type of type III fun. This is a classic example:

https://vimeo.com/13831211

My brother always says "It's either good, or a good story." I guess Type II Fun is the good story. I imagine this guy's friends and probably he himself will consider this Type II with time!

600Km / day on a motorbike through Africa is definitely Type II fun. Love the expression!

This is a mountaineering / rock climbing expression that is slowly finding its way into popular recreation lexicon, by way of Instagram/vanlife culture. Sort of like "just send it"

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