Hacker News Reader

Comment by 39896880 | Hacker News Reader

>The more time passes, the less I can shake the feeling that the world would be better if we tuned out of our environment less.

Depends on what environment that is. I mean, is there some value in hearing an ambulance siren at full volume while I'm walking down the street? Or the sound of people trying to get my attention to hand me some flyer? Or the sound of the BART?

View on HN

I think there might be some psychological benefit just in experiencing life and being in the moment, even though it isn't all pleasant.

I listen to books or music during a lot of my daily walks, but I've noticed that when I don't, I sometimes experience life differently.

i agree but i think what the parent and other folks up thread are saying makes sense. It's nice to have the choice to tune in or tune out but no one wants that decision made for them. No one wants to be forced to engage with 100+ random people in very close proximity with really no option to standup let alone leave like on a plane. Another way to look at it is imagine the person to your left and to your right are super fans of the political party opposite to yours. That wouldn't be very fun unless you like to fight for 3hrs.

I wasn't arguing (and didn't really see others arguing) for compulsory mindfulness, which I don't think is even a thing.

I like to be able to ear any siren around me, to be honest. They're the way they are for a reason.

This is kind of why I like living near highways and train tracks. Most people live in suburbs and they don’t hear the noise of the city. They just miss out on so much environment. Sadly, my wife hates this (she is not in tune with her environment) and so we moved from a place where there were crazy people screaming to a place which is relatively quiet.

Sometimes I’m at home and there aren’t any sirens or bells or people screaming and I just think about how out of touch we are with the environment.

This has spread to everyone. Paul Graham has lost his connection to the environment and instead writes about silence. What a fool! If only he was more in touch with his environment.

> Sometimes I’m at home and there aren’t any sirens or bells or people screaming and I just think about how out of touch we are with the environment.

at least in the suburbs you can engage with and experience the leaf blowers.

Anecdotally, I heard way more leaf blowers while living in the city than in the suburbs. Lots of times in the suburbs people just leave them on the ground. But it gets to be a gross mess pretty fast in an urban environment so they are cleaned up relentlessly through the fall.

I genuinely can't tell if this comment is serious or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe%27s_law .

They are designed to be heard at a distance and through automobile glass, not walking beside it on a sidewalk. Besides, the siren is not a meaningful signal to me: I’m not on the road.

"at full volume"

Yes, it would be wonderful to be able to tune out the wretched poor people. Maybe a future headset will include a forcefield to actively repel potential muggers or oncoming vehicles.

This is an astoundingly uncharitable attempt to make my otherwise personal assertion classist. Am I to meet my overstimulating environment head on, further exasperating my anxiety and mental exhaustion simply to please others who think my condition is actually a signal of wealth? I am not able to do so, and I am not apologetic about it.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com