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The old meaning of the word "deprecate" meant to "pray against," or "to pray for deliverance from". As a software developer, I have always found this fact amusing. Software becomes deprecated not when it is actually limited or removed, but when the developers and maintainers begin to pray that God will deliver them from it.

Thanks, that's interesting. I never thought to look it up before.

Though most people I've worked with for some reason insist on pronouncing and sometimes spelling it as 'depreciated', which I guess makes a little sense if they're thinking of it as 'valueless.'

It's an interesting idea but doesn't really sync up with my experience.

If recurring communal activity has a positive psychological effect then why do people (myself included) seem to have such a disdain for meetings.

"Check in" meetings really are the worst. They're often a very cut-and-dry "here's what I did last week, here's what I'm doing this week" kind of thing and I get the sense that almost everyone hates them.

Maybe the difference here is that in the monasteries the "meetings" are not personal. Nobody is going to a chapel to talk about themselves, or be put on display. It's very much a low-pressure communal environment which IMO makes all the difference.

I think it is possible to confuse a positive psychological effect in the sense of bringing you joy as opposed to a positive psychological effect that results in improved communal activity. I mean to say, not all benefits to a community are coincident with benefits to the individual. In fact, that would be a pretty Christian idea, that the sacrifice you make as an individual (to your enjoyment) results in a benefit for the community.

That is what I meant about me feeling selfish. It may be the case I am prioritizing my comfort over the needs of the community. Rituals are a public display of a willingness to sacrifice, one that is shared amongst a community. The monks see themselves sacrificing for the sake of each other when they show up for the unpleasant 5am prayers.

Monasteries are notoriously ridiculously productive?

If you view the products as prayer, worship and reflection... yeah, probably ridiculously productive.

Also, depending on the Order, some really good wine or beer.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trappist_beer

Also beer.

If you don't pay taxes and get a bunch of donations, I guess is hard not to be productive.

Some of them make great beer.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trappist_beer

One documentary I watched claimed that they tend to accumulate significant wealth so much so that their effects can be seen on the communities that surround them.

There are probably a lot of reasons for this. Much of the profit from the work done by the monks is often captured by the institution and used to purchase land and buildings. Large monasteries might have dozens or even hundreds of able bodied men engaged in light agriculture, bee keeping, beer production, etc. and that adds up over decades and centuries.

I think when we consider productivity you might be thinking of Silicon Valley hustle culture rather than the effect a community has over centuries.

I was reading about the Order of Cistercians the other day, and I am reminded of this passage from wikipedia:

Relaxations were gradually introduced into Cistercian life with regard to diet and simplicity of life. Also, they began accepting the traditional sources of income that monks in comparable orders used: like rents, tolls, and benefices. The agricultural operations were blessed by success. Wealth and splendour characterized the monasteries, so that by 1300, the standard of living in most abbeys was comparable, if not higher, than the standards middling nobles enjoyed.[59]

[59] Jaritz, Gerhard (1985). "The Standard of Living in German and Austrian Cistercian Monasteries of the Late Middle Ages". In Elder, E. Rozanne (ed.). Goad and Nail. Studies in medieval Cistercian history. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Cistercian Publications. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-87907-984-0. "A study [Watzl 1978] done for the Lower-Austrian abbey of Heiligenkreuz demonstrates that in the first half of the fifteenth century, no fewer than 201-207 days of the year saw extra food."

It's ok, we remote workers still partake in the rituals at the appointed times.

Boxers on with a Tshirt for the cam

Communal prayers is kinda what they do though. It is core to their thing.

I think the programmer equivalent social endouver would be whining about something with comrades over a coke or beer after a 5h DnD session.

Not an agile meeting...