Things you're allowed to do (2020)
milan.cvitkovic.net
milan.cvitkovic.net
I know some people bark about the non-technical stuff on HN, but a post about darning changed my life. When I get a hole in my jeans these days I will actually fix them rather than just buy a new pair. It’s frankly saved me thousands of dollars and is pretty relaxing and satisfying to do.
Took some digging, it’s apparently not up anymore
https://web.archive.org/web/20190321220452/https://dieworkwe...
I finally got around to trying darning, and I succeeded, and it's incredibly satisfying to look at and wear those socks. It makes me happy that I managed to turn them from trash into something that'll last another couple of years, and every time I look at them I'm reminded of that.
I even chose some bright colorful yarn for the darning, and it just improves the experience even more for me.
It's good for one's mental health.
https://aboderie.co.uk/blog/how-to-mend-clothes-with-japanes...
She was a sand digger so the knees worn out in no time.
I found a nice rainbow colored thread and a long needle on etsy. Looked like one of the mends in that article just a row of straight lines.
PS Loved the photo with King Charles.
Lots of people seem to have a thing against Going to the Movies, Eating at a restaurant or attending an event/concert/museum without a friend/partner.
Trust me it's not unusual and everybody is not staring at you.
I’ve encouraged many programmers to start dancing as they are naturally gravitating toward Argentinian Tango which is flourishing with good programming of steps combined with improvisation.
I know quite a few people who literally can't just go on their own. They will bundle up with dubious people and go to subpar vacation they will hate afterwards, but its simply a mental block too big to overcome.
I think the implication is that on an individual level neither matters, and that suggesting, on social media, people stop traveling to prevent climate change is both ridiculous and harmful to anyone working to actually improve carbon emissions.
I have 2 small kids, life is often a daily struggle in one way or another, I couldn't care less about current carbon footprint just like I don't care about another non-urgent bottom 500 priority stuff. Vote in politicians that will take care of that instead of focusing on smooth corporate profits if you want to send positive message and change, and motivate folks to do the same to increase impact.
That’s the thing: these narcissists on LinkedIn don’t care about their “carbon footprint” either. It’s all virtue signaling performance act targeting the Very Concerned people who eat these platitudes up. That’s what makes these statements so irritating.
If I had just one advice to give, that would be the one.
Talking about lists, I love this one:
“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”
― Robert A. Heinlein
Now I can eat by myself wherever, whenever, no issues.
It's strange how being forced to do something can make you change your perspective so completely.
Before being forced to, the narratives you probably had about someone eating by themselves were all about being loners or at least something negative. Now you know more reasons and the new reasons feel positive or socially acceptable, so you're willing to do the activity.
I suspect there's a step in the middle of this which is rationally coming to the reason vs experiencing it which also makes a difference. IE I can do some uncomfortable activity because I believe some reason that it's ok, but haven't experienced it, vs I've experienced an activity and now know it's fine, so now it's comfortable or easier.
I also love driving or wandering around in the middle of the night when there's almost nothing going on.
Completely different perspective of the area.
Someone asked me how to get used to it the other day, and I suggested that hotel restaurants are a good place to practice, because there are always a lot of people eating alone at hotels. Same for hotel bars.
As an example, I have no issue eating alone in a restaurant if it’s needed and I can even appreciate the loneliness when it happens but I can’t see the interest to go out alone on my own.
But I can acknowledge that maybe I’m missing something.
Maybe a community curated list of places that are friendly to solo diners would be helpful? I have a few that I visit often.
However, my club in London is the Oxford & Cambridge club which is typically very easy to get into if you have matriculated at either of the universities.
I picked and learnt pre modern C++ to build NNets as my first CS project in 2002 and I had never coded in my life. It took me 3 months to just learn the damn MS Visual Studio c++ toolchain. But I did it anyway. I taught myself full stack development and found JS functional programming refreshing in 2006 when modern js frameworks were still young and no one around me took JS seriously(everyone was learning Enterprise java for web).
Then I became more picky about what to take up because of constraints. Somewhere along the way programming became about making a living. Things changed, I found learning had slowed to a crawl.
I don't think I have peaked in my ability to learn as much as peaked in making learning sustainable. But lately that is changing.
I felt renewed reading the words from Atul Gawande. Music and surgery have, it seems many similarities to software development. I have to keep upping my skill, develop patience, manage my mental health to pull off modest feats. I think coaches are important(though I could do better with seeking better career advice on choosing good problems to solve )
Completely coincidentally and serendipitously I have hired or used life coaches and therapists to help me and they have no experience on programming. they have made me look at aspects of my learning process, my beliefs and what I value and that is helping me make my learning sustainable; even though they are not programmers.
I think focusing on getting a good learning rhythm first was important for me to attain first in what I hope is my second wind in my programming career.
Things you're allowed to do (2020) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31705542 - June 2022 (171 comments)
Things You're Allowed to Do - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25513713 - Dec 2020 (416 comments)
- Ask questions.
You get so much information, so many services and favours, and access to so many things if you are willing to put yourself in a potentially uncomfortable position of asking. I thought that when I ask questions that make me uncomfortable I would regret most of them, but it turns out I only regret like one out of every 30 uncomfortable questions I ask.
I strive to ask more until I reach 10 % regretted, but I don't see it happening any time soon.
----
Something else not on this list is:
- Make your own everyday small-stakes insurance by betting with acquiantances.
This takes a willing counterparty, but you can insure a lot of things. Pay a friend $10 on the condition that they will pay you $100
- if the flight departure is canceled, or
- if it's raining on your picnic date, or
- if you get sick on the day of an important meeting.
It won't fix the problem, but it will be a band-aid on the wound.
You may have to adjust the odds based on the probabilities involved, of course. The goal is to offer odds such that your friends just about make money off of you in the long run, meaning there's something in it for them also.
For the insured: It's not going to take the sting out of bad news if the payout comes from a loved one anyway. Why would I want to transfer my misfortune to Grandma?
But I guess there might exist someone somewhere that enjoys being around this sort of behavior??
◦ Ask people out on dates
◦ Ask your friends to set you up
◦ Hire a matchmaker
◦ Buy premium versions of dating apps
◦ Get couples therapy> Treat fines like payments
While true, this is literally "if the punishment is a fine, it's only illegal for poor people".
> Be a nomad
Having spoken with true nomads (i.e. not expats just remote work-cationing in one popular location like Thailand) this is actually exceptionally complicated and expensive, especially if you don't want to pay double taxes. And of course you still need to be able to get a visa for each country in the first place. If you have the requisite money however you can effectively bypass most taxes this way though as long as you don't settle down.
Learn how to decorate/style/design your interior spaces. Making the space you spend most time in unreal, is a great use of time. Or i guess as the article states - pay someone to do it? :)
Interior designers are miracle workers. Like many things, the difference between “the DIYer tried hard” and “this was done professionally” is night/day. It’s an option, anyway!
think about colour co-ordination - you may want to consult the free adobe kuler online app...or grab a colour theory book.
Next - think about materials: plastics, metals, stone, wood, ceramic, glass, terracotta, plant material. These should all/will all be in your living space. The mark of some SERIOUSLY impressive interior design - at least in minimal design styles is the "bringing of the outdoors indoors".
Next is the "style" - generally you're going for a design style, minimal, japanese, maximalist, art deco, etc etc (look these up) but then layering modern things within the chosen style, and antiques. This is the part which takes practise/skill.
Next - your character: what do you like to read, listen to, admire - litter that within your space. If you like to eat/drink - fill your kitchen with coffee making tools...like a fine italian coffee machine, a baeletti, a gooseneck kettle. A carrafe for wine. Matching ceramic tea, sugar and coffee containers. A fine knife set.
A "hacky" and "not that good" - but still...better than 90% of people is just..going to ikea....picking out a rug, some plants, a few pieces of furniture, cushions, throws, some striking hifi, lighting (and outside of ikea - getting paintings, artwork, sculpture and antiques), large, medium and small plants, aquariums (tanks by fluval are particularly awesome)
Write on a post-it note affixed to a greeting card rather than on the greeting card itself, so the recipient can throw away the post-it and reuse your card
I...what? Why are you giving cards to someone who'd throw away the note? Stop giving meaningless cards.
Let the credit cards on recurring bills expire
You can try this but I've had at least one service (Xbox Live) manage to miraculously get my new card information without me giving it to them. Cancelling the card will cancel any service but just letting it expire and getting a new card with the same number and different expiration date might not.
Hotels where you can sleep comfortably
Should add this to the list: you can bring your own sheets and pillows to a hotel.
Depending on where you are, companies can get updated payment information from your financial institution. I use revolut virtual/disposable cards for many things for this reason. I think privacy.com is the US equivalent.
As someone with firsthand experience at this, I'd recommend not doing this. What will happen is your post will be auto-spammed/filtered, or be downvoted if it does show. I have had even good, relevant questions on Math Exchange be downvoted for not being specific enough or good enough. Tread carefully. This is not 2008-2014. The standards for participation have risen, algos and mods are way more strict.
But as a newbie, you never know beforehand whether your question is novel or trite. Give it a try!
Somewhat related and equally important is to recognize that "there's no speed limit" and you are allowed to go faster:
It was also posted on Hacker News:
[I don’t mind the repost(s). I haven’t seen it before]
I do take notes, but always on separate sheets that I keep in the book. Just no way I'll write on the book itself.
My own approach is to write my impressions on a slim notebook, and to keep it besides the book on the shelf.
Books aren't for gathering dust, they are for engaging with. Margin notes and underlines is part of that. It's actually pretty great, you often discover different things on rereads.
The notion that books must be kept pristine is from libraries, does not apply to private books.
Greeting cards are looked at once, then usually gathering dust somwhere, and eventually thrown out. Different wheelhouse.
How is taking notes less interactive than writing on the book itself? Both happen at the same time.
the sacred part is often tied into the history of the book , the edition, the tradition, the binding options, in some instances the rarity of the documented text, whatever.
I have many books that are heirloom items from generations before me, I would never write in them. They are a testament to their point in history, and altering them would be akin to defacing art in my eyes, depriving future generations from the beauty that I got to behold unsullied.
If we're talking about "Do you write in the margins for "C++ for Dummies 69th Edition", sure.
I just took a picture highlighting how I do now. Of course, room for improvement.
- blocking a sightline that pedestrians need to safely cross the road
- blocking a dropped curb that wheelchair/pram users need in order to mount and dismount the curb
- parking on the pavement so that wheelchair/pram users can't fit between the car and the wall, forcing them to go around on the street and putting them at greater risk
- damaging/cracking the surface because it is designed for foot traffic, not heavy vehicle loads
- intruding into a bus lane or bus stop, thereby causing delay for public transport passengers
If you only ever drive places, you tend not to think about the consequences of bad parking, because you don't suffer them yourself. But I don't drive, so I notice this antisocial ruining of the public commons all the time. Motorists are not good judges of which rules "really matter".
Isn't there also usually a good reason why the penalty is a small fine?
i've also started illustrating books by printing pics from wikimedia relevant to the topic im reading. i just glue them in. its more 'destructive' than the pencil underlining but it can be fun to come back to such a book later or after many years.
It means that overall the list is quite pointless and low quality.
You've just given a few reasons why people don't just quit their jobs, but they are obviously aware that they can just quit their jobs.
Also this is clearly written from the perspective of an overpaid programmer. Most people can't just quit their jobs because they need to pay rent/mortgages and don't have huge savings pots.
For many years the Rhaetian Railways/Canton of Graubunden in Switzerland had high quality helmet-cam videos of a 30+ hour walk from Thusis to Tirano with many stops along the way. These were part of a beautifully done Flash website where one could "walk along" in real time. Unfortunately, when Flash went away so did the site. I wrote to them several times pleading for them to preserve it or at least make the videos available. They finally replied and said no, there was no interest let alone budget.
Wayback has the landing pages but not the videos which were served from elsewhere.
https://web.archive.org/web/20140704073418/http://www.webwan...
They'll take these selfies in front of any damn building - a brick-clad concrete lawyer's office built in the 90s, even a souvenir shop-window. If you're determined to be a tourist, at least look.
You are allowed to do anything, until the law forbids it or stuff is regulated in a certain way.
Looking at it from this point of view, the world immediately opens up for you.
A really big and normalized one is tax evasion in the form of paying for items or services in cash without administration. Most if not all people you can hire for jobs around the house - gardeners, cleaners, handimen, plumbers, construction, painting, etc - will take cash instead of going on record.
The challenge there is that this takes trust, because you take a risk as well / there are no assurances if they do half a job. Make sure you get an address so you can torch their house or business if they mess you about.
If something is criminal is decided in court. A lawyer advises on how likely the court is to decide that way.
In what country is your recourse against a business determined by whether or not the business is paying its due tax?
"You are allowed to do anything, until the law forbids it or stuff is regulated in a certain way. Looking at it from this point of view, the world immediately opens up for you."
You're speaking on the subject of allowable behavior and you describe your thoughts as a "point of view." That's not strictly matter of fact and it can be interpreted as a prescription. "Allowable behavior" is not the same thing as "behavior which isn't explicitly forbidden by law."
I don't remember hearing Americans talking about that style of childcare, and was wondering if it exists over there, because it's a good compromise between a nanny and a massive childcare centre. Maximum 7 kids at a time, 4 if they're under school age, usually looked after by a stay-at-home mum[1]. Ours were all nice.
[0] https://www.familydaycare.com.au/about
[1] I assume it's not always mums, but they make up the vast majority
Consider that anecdata at best, though.
Multnomah County (Portland OR) is rolling out preschool for all with an emphasis on home-based providers.
One of the major questions about that approach is how well it scales compared to expanding something like head start or funding the schools to add preschool services.
https://www.opb.org/article/2022/05/02/multnomah-county-pres...
I have a very bad memory for things I have to do but since reminders I set up never appear right when I can do the task I still forget about it.
I have "buy new shoes", or "go to the ophtalmologist" in my phone since 4 months for example.
Are there people here that have a personal assistant and can share their experience ?
Side note : that's one of the reason I think I may have ADHD, I still have the reminder to take an appointment with a psychologist on my phone....
I was just wondering if it would be a good idea.
Taking some inspiration from GTD, you can have different reminders, or rather task lists, for each different environment/moment. You can have one for “on-the-go” which are things you want to do when you are out of the house doing errands (“buy new shoes” would go here probably).
At least where I’m from, you have to schedule a doctor’s appointment before going there, so I’d replace “go to the ophthalmologist” with “schedule ophthalmologist appointment”. You can do that over the phone in less than 2min in your free time so I’d put it in a “free time” list. After that it’s no longer a task/problem, all you have to do is show up.
Set many alarms, right now, to book that appointment. If you don't have ADHD or another disorder then you're only out a chunk of money, but if you do and can get medication then it can be life-changing.
"You can dissect a cadaver" was genuinely unexpected.
Nothing against specific professional help, like personal trainer, but I think "Hire a coach" belongs more in the "Things to not waste your money on" list.
And last, but not least: "Follow up many times. You won’t make people mad if you’re polite" is just wrong, I'm usually mentally cursing persistent recruiters by the time they follow up for the third (and, thankfully, usually, last) time. I'll report as spam in every conceivable way anyone that goes further than that.
I actually don't think that's a good idea. I have observed so many friendships break this way that I think it is not worth it. I also have bad experiences personally.
Why would you want buy/sell services with your friends? To get a better deal? If you are getting a better deal out of this, you are likely to cause your friend to think they are getting bad deal and are exploited in this relationship. If you don't want to get a better deal than the market rate, just go and buy from anybody else in the market.
Even if you buy/sell with the friend at a market rate, he or you might be pressed into thinking you or them are expected to provide a better service. And this might come with the resentment ("I am being paid the same but expected to do more/better job")
If you provide services at a market rate to a friend, they might think they should be getting a better deal from you for the fact you are their friend. So for example, if you are a car mechanic and you are fixing their car, you might be doing a more thorough job but still charging them the same and at the same time they might not be able to appreciate that they are already getting a good deal and be unhappy with what they are getting.
As I work with computers / do software development, I simply refuse when friends ask me if I can do a website for them or fix their computer. I certainly could do this, but I am also certain that nobody is going to be happy with this relationship. My real hourly rate is so enormous and my website making skills so poor that they are 100x better just going to fiverr which is what I try to steer them to.
So my personal rule is to try to stay away from doing business with my friends unless they are friends that became my friends because I was doing business with them in the first place and we have healthy business relationship. I call them business friends/acquaintances. These people actually understand the business and understand the services I provide and can appreciate when they are getting a good service. I can charge them more than market rate and they will still be happy because they are getting much better service with much less risk.
No, as the article says, to support artists and the like. Maybe you have a friend who paints, or makes jewelry, or has a band that sells CDs of their music. The point is to support these endeavors (and hopefully you enjoy the results).
But my experience is that these types of transactions are a drop in the ocean. Probably less than 1%. Most transactions is when somebody needs something and the just happen to have a friend that does this and they think they can get a better deal.
That was certainly an interesting link to follow.
> The BIO848NV Cadaver Dissection class will no longer be a fee-based course. It will be converted into a for-credit class, to be offered Fall 2024.
Given that his comment is apparently only a month old and he defended offering this fee-based course because it helped preparing cadavers for other for-credit classes, it seems this change happened within the past month. I wonder what motivated this change given the tone of his comment.
My interpretation of the author's intent is that it was more to show how much we limit ourselves needlessly due to our own perceptions (however we got them) that such things are "not normal and shouldn't be done."
If I had read this article 10 years ago, it would not have resonated with me as it does today, but I was in a much different mental state 10 years ago. As I got to a better mental state I also started to eschew a lot of the limitations I placed on myself on what I can or cannot do -- don't interpret this too drastically, as many of the limitations I would put on myself were quite strict about absolutely benign and minor things, for example (and also from the article), "ask obvious questions". I was so afraid of looking stupid for not knowing something and also did not handle when I got dismissive responses to my questions at work, which meant I would stress myself out trying to research something I didn't understand well and conceptually had difficulties even starting to grasp, so even though I'd usually get it _eventually_, it was only after a lot of mental and emotional stress and lots of really dumb or bad mistakes (which garnered further dismissive statements/comments). What changed was I stopped being embarrassed that I don't know something completely unfamiliar to me, and instead practiced how to express:
- Here's what I understand so far
- Here's what I'm not certain about and would like clarification on
- Here are the questions I have that I don't even know how to start finding the answer to
- Here's why the questions/clarifications are important for my thought process
When I started framing it like this, I began to realize that the dismissive response _typically_ (not always naturally) came from one of two reasons:
1. The responder themselves didn't get why I was so lost on the subject before and thought I was dumb/lazy, but now they could see my train of logic and understand how I got to these questions/concerns
2. The responders were dismissive because they themselves did not know how to answer these questions and did not want to admit this, and instead decided to be dismissive.
It really opens up your own world and is great for your mental and emotional well-being when you stop limiting yourself needlessly on very basic things in life. Even physically and financially you can improve just by not limiting yourself needlessly, for example, talking about salaries with your coworkers, making counter-offers to unsatisfactory salary offers, asking for counter offers from your current employer if you get a job offer with a better salary.
This isn't to say that you will always be successful in these items, but my experience is the successes tend to outnumber the failures, and even when there are failures, often there's a silver lining from them. (e.g., using salary discussions again, a vitriolic reaction from a current employer I was considering leaving due to low salary/high stress job was scary and hurtful at first, but it made the decision to leave much easier as I saw plainly that not only was it possible for me to have a better paying/less stressful job, my request for counter-offer showed that my current employer really did not care how unhappy I was with my job -- the decision to leave became way easier)
Even just think of a few "out of the box" things you've done in life that worked well for you, I bet you could make a pretty decent list also.
- hire a car
- not eat regular meals
- wander around aimlessly
- walk up and down the same street many times
- own more than one of something people normally only have one of
- buy stuff in bulk
Ok but if you meet people, do something for the smell and take 10 seconds to check that you don’t have spinach between the teeth :)
Oh, I just realized instant cargo is possible. Call a taxi and tell them to bring this thing to location X.
I mean, I'm sure that if you'd really want to, you'd come with a creative solution that would be beneficial for everyone. People with skin in the game that feel a particular need so strong as if they need to breathe oxygen, they usually have a shot at making stuff like this work, others don't.
That's my experience at least. I've heard quite a few times that what I'd do is impossible. Then they saw me do it and then I heard "oh but if you do it that way, then yea, with a lot of effort is is possible."
It's a mindset thingy, and the mindset that I see written in your comment feels like "I can't realistically." I get that, but IMO it's not the most helpful mindset if you want to do things that are slightly (or completely) off the beaten path. Martin Seligman's book helped in this aspect (Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life).
I don't think the list is meant to be a "you must do these things" list, it's more to say "yes, you can absolutely do this if you want to, there is no cosmic force that stops you if _this is what you want_. I get your comment was incredulous towards an idea which isn't want you would want for yourself and your family, but my understanding is that the author's intent was to share their own realization that just because the things on their list are sometimes considered unusual or not normal doesn't mean you're forbidden from doing them. I think the author's point is more "you should not needlessly exclude valid options" as you're finding out what you really want to do in any element of life.
So your statement of incredulity is understood, sure -- you wouldn't want this right for yourself and your family at this time. The point is that if it is something you and your family wanted to do and could do, then the fact that it's not common for families to be nomadic shouldn't be a reason why you don't do it.
Has that worked out for anyone?
I put “allowed” in scare quotes because this is yet another article that projects onto others what is so obviously just self-doubt and worries about convention and norms. It’s a real thing, it happens to most of us, but when you realize that there is no spotlight, things get easier.
I'm mean, sure, you can propose it, but nobody's going to actually take you up on your proposal.
Eh what? That's definitely not allowed in most of the world. Other than that many of these are just you are allowed to pay other to do stuff for you, which is more a question of wealth than about if one dares to do it. The thing about treating fines like payment is peak clueless upper-middle-class-plus to me.
Everyone, and I mean _everyone_, used SciHub to download papers. I can assure you that most of the academic world _does_ use SciHub.
I'm not saying I've done everything in the list, but have done many of those things without thinking twice.
And the rest of them, I likely would not think twice about either.
Do people really feel like they can't do these things for some reason?
No, but it might change the nature of the relationship, which is a risk. If the goods/services don't work out then you risk ruining the friendship. Appreciating the risks involved is important.
For example, people hate realists. About the only taboo left today, besides the supernatural, is being a Debbie Downer
Anyone who isn’t toxically optimistic is considered to be violent and dangerous today
For appearance this is a bad choice. Not only does it not solve the root cause, it also is shortterm thinking.
If it is just for cosmetics you are not doing yourself a service. Most of the time people do it because they have a low self esteem.
Hits home for me. Many of those things are also actually cheaper in the long run.
p.s., Biologists have another skill, but distinguishing bugs still funny.
Huh? Depends on your friends, I guess. I have taken and given loans to friends several times, and it never was a problem.
And I'd strongly recommend against renting an apartment or house from family. At best, it adds unwanted dimensions to relationships. At worst, it turns times in life when you would've merely tripped into times when you trip and fall into a snarled briar of family problems.
It will generally tell you those things which are known to someone who has neither done detailed research, nor gained specific insights into that topic. (Together with made-up stuff.)
It's still a good idea to do some physio for learning some exercises that help on the long run. You'll have to do them yourself from time to time and they relate to exercising the muscles that sustain the spine. Don't think "hit the gym and workout the dumbbells for 30 minutes" type of exercise, that's out of the door forever if you value whatever spine remains you have left. Essentially just the act of walking around and doing some light workout of the muscles, don't allow them to atrophy. Stupid muscles, they atrophy the moment you allow them two bits of rest and you can't afford to do that because it's them that hold everything into place.
And not all physiotherapists are born the same. Some do stupid things and may damage your injury so always exercise judgement on what they put you to do. Like I had a work colleague that suffered a knee injury while skiing and had surgery then psysio. There was this machine / apparatus that you'd strap your leg to and it would "gently" rotate it in a bicycle like pattern. Said colleague refused to be strapped to it and some time later at a demonstration the machine got out of control and started spinning "the opposite of gently" and uncontrollably. Even a regular knee would have been damaged, can't imagine what an injured one would have endured.
Generally no machines, especially when your freedom of movement is restricted and controlled by someone or worse, something else. And if it hurts, abort, abort! You're not Arnold Schwarzenegger training, it's not supposed to hurt.
Yes. I absolutely detest people who tell me "pain is weakness leaving the body" as if I solicited their advice.
I also learned things from physios on YouTube (e.g. Bob and Brad) that made a difference especially with the RSI in my hands.
My anecdotal experience doesn’t scaling with your claim. Of course, each pain is different and some just require good ol rest like you said. But that’s why you should spend the money to hire the professionals at the top of their game to tell you what is what.
This strongly depends. Some post-surgery physiotherapy at least is quite painful, and it's necessary to push through it to get the best results. Not always, of course, and your physiotherapist should be aware of what their exercises should feel like.
A legal wrong, generally, as in most cases it's not under criminal law.
It tells a lot about what's wrong with... everything.
I’ve worked with foreign students and they have to be reminded that they can’t Uber or DoorDash or consult or basically do anything other than explicitly permitted work-study for income while they are here.
It only becomes a problem when the entity paying tries to enter it as an expense.
All the usual disclaimers apply. I anal. I am definitely not YOUR lawyer.