samh748

Hmm I don't think I'm dopamining, but not writing it off entirely either. I've definitely wondered if I had ADHD, but so far it's not checking enough boxes.

I usually have a big "passion" that I keep for at leaste a few years. Right now I'm doing lots of music, and it's not that I want to do something else, it's that sometimes there's just natural dip in activity.

Interesting! I wonder if it's saying one is better than the other? Maybe I should take up more things. I guess I've had the fear of overwhelming myself, but perhaps it'll help!

The latter, which is the more difficult feature to find

Oh right! I see! Sorry I couldn't check it myself as I don't have access to a Windows device yet. Thanks so much!

Hmm these all require command lines. The one I'm looking for is for "non-hackers" with a simple user interface.

I think this is it! Thank you!!

EDIT WAIT no maybe not. They all look the same! hmmm This looks like a download manager, doesn't seem like it can actually extract files from a webpage??

I'm the exact same. Tried grad school and dropped out after a year, for a messy mix of reasons.

Well hello Taylor Town! Email sent, can't wait to read it!

Thanks! Now the question is how to find such a niche!

Transcribed interviews would work! Do you think there's a niche for that, as compared to podcasts or videos?

Personally I actually prefer reading text interviews but it seems the "people" prefer the passive form of audio/visual instead.

Thank you all for the recs! This is already plenty to get me started. Really appreciate it!

Agreed!

Curious, what areas/topics are these spaces? I myself have been hoping to find them but don't know where to look.

Thanks for the recommendations and the tips! Very helpful :)

Thanks so much for this!

With fiction, especially classic literature, it can often feel like I'm "ought to" read XYZ, which was quite demotivating. But I love your point on finding what I like reading and relate to; makes a ton of sense!

That's such an important and clarifying point!

Houellebecq's works look fascinating! Will def look into all these! :)

Thanks for the recommendations! This is really helpful!

What do you mean exactly by serious literature/"Literature"?

Very good point and a lovely analogy. Thanks for this :)

Thank you so much for this!!

The bit on "avoid ambiguity, or introduce useful ambiguity" is especially fascinating.

That's really really great advice! One I actually haven't heard of or thought of before. Thank you so much :)

Discovering new worlds... That's just my kind of thing. I try my best to align my endeavours with that in mind. :)

Thanks so much for the thorough and helpful response! especially the note on the classics being more difficult. A lot to chew on and explore, that's for sure!

And thanks for the article on Einstein and music; coincidentally I've been trying to appreciate music more as well. hmmm

:)

I'm able to formulate some ideas and arguments while doing something else, but after time, I end up with piles of notes that feel very... fragmented. Any tips on stringing them together into something more coherent?

It can be a bit of a complex process. But basically, what can happen often when we seem to struggle in a particular aspect of life, the "solution" can be somewhere else.

What's important to do often is to assess the various aspects of your life to see whether things are going well. Many things can seem "fine" on the surface, but maybe they are not really giving you what you need. Depending on what kind of person you are, you may need something meaningful to invest in, or maybe you benefit greatly from having supportive relationships, or maybe your job is draining you, or all of the above, etc etc.

Once you got some of those important things sorted, you can evaluate your FOMO tendency more "objectively". For me, eventually I realized I didn't really care much for the stuff I was collecting as compared to other aspects of life. At least, it wasn't worth the effort and the time/attention it took away from the other things.

Always ready to talk more about this and other related things. My email's in my profile if you're interested. Good luck!

I used to be like this, rooted in a subconscious desire to take control of my life in whatever way that seems to make sense, eg being "up to date on XYZ because it'll be useful/important" etc.

While there may be some practical solutions to your issue, I think it'll help to examine the roots, see whether you have unmet needs in other areas. Maybe not enough excitement in life, maybe having a close friend or two, etc.

I have lots to say about these things but will keep it brief in case it doesn't apply.

Best of luck!

What exactly do you mean by "low level"?

And by "smaller community that focuses purely on what I enjoy", do you mean programming being the only topic of concern? No other tech, no business, no personal life stuff?

I don't know how feasible this will be but I love the idea. Very cool.

Thank you so much for your critical feedback! I have been hoping no one would find out but you're totally on point. I have been realizing these things in myself and have been trying to figure out a better way forward. I actually really appreciate that you (and a couple of other HN users in the past) have pointed out stuff like this (it wasn't at all my intention to draw out such responses, I am just positively surprised by them and have benefited a lot from them).

That said, regarding the questions I ask, they are genuinely questions I have trouble sorting out. But I guess most of them don't have easy answers. I have benefitted greatly from responses in the past, as many of you have insights that I myself never would've thought about. Though I have to admit, the questions are getting excessive. I apologize for such behaviours and will definitely keep it in check going forward.

I guess my personal issue is that I often doubt my own interests, wondering if it's still worthwhile. Like, sure I enjoy it, but how much do I have to love it to keep going in face of difficulties? I guess it's pretty rhetorical, but it's definitely questions that I struggle with.

That's interesting. I've never thought of being good at something as helping it become more relevant. But I can see what you mean because then it'll reach more people and such?

Truth if you want to isolate.

OP's point is clearly to stay connected with his friends etc. So simply stopping isn't solving the problem.