Tell HN: Its analog sunday...get off the computer. | Hacker News Reader

Tell HN: Its analog sunday...get off the computer.

analogsunday.com

32 pointsamarcus32 comments

I've never understood the view that computers and technology are some how "outside" what it means to be human and the human condition, that there is some kind of artificialness to the experiences you have when you are using them to communicate (email, blog, chat, which doesn't necessarily mean typing these days) that makes it less than the experience you have "in person" and "outside in the real world".

I guess it's okay to say "no TV" when "going analog" now because television is now digital?

It’s not so much about computers being outside natural lifestyle as it is about taking a break from your usual routine. I work with computers day in and day out, through out the week. Taking a complete break once in a while is a nice aberration.

I think balance is good. As a jewish person, not really religious but raised by a religious mother, I really cherish Yom Kippur. A day where I do literally nothing. You're supposed to just think and be sorry.

A day that is different from routine makes you think about things differently, makes you consider different things.

Should I dare to suggest that mindless routine is bad?

Don't think it was intended as a judgment on a particular lifestyle; or I didn't read it that way anyway.

Taking a day every week out helps me a lot - recharges the batteries for sure. Might be different for you, but it's the case for most people I know.

Both this, and kailashbadu's, are good points. But so much of this rings of my mom telling me to "get off the computer and go play outside" (nevermind that my friends and I biked all over the city regularly, ran cross country in high school, was in the Boy Scouts, worked at the city library, worked at day camps, and participated in my community's summer youth programs--so it was more stereotypical mother complaining than legitimate concern) and the view that "computers isolate us because there's less interpersonal interaction", a view I know my parents and grandparents generations have had (and most likely continue to have). And of course, that was back before the Internet, where the majority of time using a computer was largely isolating. Today, not so much. I mean, we're having this conversation right now.

Moderation is the key.

awesome! i coincidentally self-imposed a no computer saturday yesterday. it was amazing. i highly recommend it; you'll know when you need it.

i'd been behind on a project and working long hours (self-imposed startup). the last three nights my eyeballs felt like they were going to explode--you know how you can get so tired that trying to sleep is perversely miserable?

i finally got to a stopping point--too tired to celebrate even emotionally--so when i woke up saturday i read, played piano, played frisbee and swam, and then went over to a friend's house for dinner. came home, played harmonica in bed, and was out like a lamp on lights-out day. the last thing i remember is mumbling how comfortable tired stretched out i was.

there's no point talking about, tho. you have to try it. i usually work through weekends, still taking break for frisbee and such, but sometimes i need more of a break to engage with the world and rejuvenate creative thinking.

btw, my inspiration was a recent discussion on hn regarding laptops v computer labs. i'd noticed my productivity/happiness parabola correlates with time-on-laptop, and then i need to get my brain out of a laptop usage rut. so great!

btbtw, i used laptop for piano sheet music, and while i checked email to make sure nothing critical had happened, after noting all was well i never looked back. the main goal was to restore balance after the extremes of the week, not impose an unrelenting extreme.

I took yesterday off as well. Went out for lunch with friends, walked around, smoked some pot, napped.. good day.

Today I actually need to get some work done and finish this new product so I can launch it in the next couple weeks.

Dude, it is like 34 and sleet here. Not going outside.

Dude, it's like 75 and sunny where I am. Not going outside, hacking to be done :)

Out of curiosity, where are you located?

Chicago area.

Won't do.

Your loss.

Here are we again.

appears to be april 20th... 4/20... hmmm

Spending the day with Mary Jane can count towards the "Spend the day outside with someone you love" bullet point.

Yeah, I was just going to say, that's already a holiday in my personal theology... (and one dedicated to the celebration of analog pleasures, to be sure!)

I think every sunday is supposed to be Analog Sunday. Not just on 4/20 (which is a Monday this year).

Do you mean to spread the idea of Analog Sunday so we'll know about it when it actually happens? Or do you mean to say that some Sunday (tomorrow?) is going to be Analog Sunday?

Also, 4/20 is a Monday this year.

Where does reading a book on a Kindle fall? Its a computer-like device, but focused on books and reading.

Where does reading a book on a Kindle fall? Its a computer-like device, but focused on books and reading.

Who cares? You don't need to do whatever some guy with a blog tells you to do. Tomorrow is a normal Sunday. Do whatever you want, it's your life.

Oh I know. I'm not nearly submissive or meek enough to not do something simply because a picture online said not to. It was just a bit of sarcasm (poorly expressed) mixed with idle curiosity over the two things clashing.

I assume people with analog TVs are exempt.

If they are from the US, isn't the FCC trying to find them? :)

I would say that the world's privileged have a digital addiction problem and that many people should unplug themselves and go out for a walk more often than they do. But if I go analog tomorrow it will be a self-directed decision not because I feel some need to imitate a diarist who hopes to coin a holiday.

my book is an amazon kindle... that's a computer with internet access that can read "blogs". what do i do now?

Turn it off?

My computer went into the shop 5 days ago. Relying on Uni comp labs has sufficed, barely, to get my work done, but it's also been incredibly relaxing to not have the thing in my spare time.

I love the idea, and i'm already working on a prototype!

aren't there bears "outside"?

But it's cold outside.

Sorry, I've got dollars to make. I read daily (not out of habit, but it's the best entertainment) so no drama there.

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