The Problem of Thinking Too Much (2002) | Hacker News Reader

The Problem of Thinking Too Much (2002)

jstor.org

50 pointslermontov15 comments

The end paragraph:

>A Psychological Tip

Whenever you're called on to make up your mind, and you're hampered by not having any, the best way to solve the dilemma, you'll find, is simply by spinning a penny.

No—not so that chance shall decide the affair while you're passively standing there moping; but the moment the penny is up in the air, you suddenly know what you're hoping.

I heard this one, paraphrased, a while back (probably around 2002 I guess). I apply it to others as well by actually spinning a penny when someone can't decide, then watch their reaction. It's shocking how fast people make up their mind when they feel like the decision making power is taken away from them.

Scene from Board Walk Empire Season 2 that uses the coin flip trick.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6WYsM1nIbKs&t=55s&pp=2AE3kAIB

Wow, been doing this for twenty years—didn't know it was "a thing"!

For a PDF created in 2002, it's incredibly easy to read on a smartphone.

Wile E. Coyote is my hero, he has so much fun building his Roadrunner traps, so it is not the result the most important thing but the process which is more or equally important never less

"It's not the destination of going headfirst into a desert mesa, but the journey along the repainted yellow lines to it." -W. Ethelbert Coyote

As you set out for Ithaka / hope your road is a long one -- Ithaka, C.P. Cavafy

“Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment. Full effort is full victory.”

Mahatma Gandhi

some people has no inner dialogue

source: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/intersections/202304...

Where did you read that?

any brain waves are thoughts

if a brain waves, who waves back?

That tracks. I’m surprised even 20% of people have an inner monologue. I assumed most people have the agency of a microbe and only respond to physical stimuli. The only “thoughts” that flash through their minds are visuals of cheeseburgers and tits.

Maybe if I read this article, it will fix it!

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