Information Addiction

[Drareg]

This is an interesting study on a topic becoming more obvious with the "Information Age".
Addiction can be caused by underlying issues,suppressing memories or using the addiction to avoid the real problem,with time the layers build up and it gets worse.
It's an issue when it interferes with normal life,addiction is poorly defined but you could say you know when you see it.

It doesn't always have to be heavy drugs or alcohol,in alcohols case it becomes the reward,get alcohol cover suppression.
Same applies to information seeking,getting information becomes the reward,cover suppression.
The problem with this is those who desire control over others can abuse this,they can use "information authoritarianism" so to speak, here is a lot of information I'm telling you is right,this takes time and energy to look through and makes people feel helpless and that they should just go along imo.
The creation of new words also adds to the already complex topic,think financial system and then medical establishment semantics.
Information in this case makes you think a reward will come so you keep seeking,how do you discern what is right information and wrong,thing is if you invest years into a view you thought was right,built a career on it in some cases to find out it was wrong,the importance here is to maintain energy to change at any age imo.
This study is worth a quick look.
Midbrain dopamine neurons signal preference for advance information about upcoming rewards. - PubMed - NCBI

"Abstract
The desire to know what the future holds is a powerful motivator in everyday life, but it is unknown how this desire is created by neurons in the brain. Here we show that when macaque monkeys are offered a water reward of variable magnitude, they seek advance information about its size. Furthermore, the same midbrain dopamine neurons that signal the expected amount of water also signal the expectation of information, in a manner that is correlated with the strength of the animal's preference. Our data show that single dopamine neurons process both primitive and cognitive rewards, and suggest that current theories of reward-seeking must be revised to include information-seeking".

It's good too to keep in mind that poor dopamine boosting agents could in some cases start this effect,potent nootropics like fat burning dopamine boosters would send someone potentially into a psychotic information seeking state,said person believes they are acting intelligently but it's the equivalent of a jack Russell terrier digging wholes in your back garden,the information being the dirt pile up yet the hole bottomless.
Jack Russell terrier runs out of energy and appears depressed only to pop up a few days later to do the same thing again.
In Mr Russell's intensive endeavour the owner initially believes there is something under the ground,maybe gold coins or oil,he leaves Mr Russell continue,10 holes later the owner realises he does not satisfy the dogs emotional needs and this is whats caused the digging. Taking the dog for walks an allowing for doggy social interaction stopped the dog mining in the back garden.
The above an example of how a poor environment can cause it,if Mr Russell had access to pubmed,Internet or alcohol it could go either way.

 

[Prosper]

I spend 8-10 hours online every day shitposting and refreshing various sites and forums because I don't feel like doing much of anything, and at this point I'm not sure whether life sucks due to spending so much time on the internet or whether I spend so much time on the internet because life sucks. I don't even care whether or not what I read is factual, but how novel or stimulating it is. All kinds of obscure conspiracy theories are like porn.

My non-essential basic needs are definitely not satisfied. I feel alone, empty and a lack of purpose and connection to the world around me. Which one is the cause and which one the effect, no idea.

 

[Drareg]

I spend 8-10 hours online every day shitposting and refreshing various sites and forums because I don't feel like doing much of anything, and at this point I'm not sure whether life sucks due to spending so much time on the internet or whether I spend so much time on the internet because life sucks. I don't even care whether or not what I read is factual, but how novel or stimulating it is. All kinds of obscure conspiracy theories are like porn.

My non-essential basic needs are definitely not satisfied. I feel alone, empty and a lack of purpose and connection to the world around me. Which one is the cause and which one the effect, no idea.

At least you have the courage to view it as it may be,vison and acceptance.

You could reword what you said but with a justifying slant to it,you would still have the same underlying feelings of needs not being satisfied but your suppressing it then.
Some people will take the conspiracy theory and use the fuel from the suppression (sensed lack of purpose) and spend years trying to expose lizard people in the center of the earth.

The fact your acknowledging it means you will change it imo.

 

[Prosper]

The fact your acknowledging it means you will change it imo.

Ha, well, it's not necessarily so straightforward. Self-awareness and honesty is easy. But so is rationalizing misery and procrastination. You can change your perspective on a whim in order to justify laziness and staying inside your comfort zone. That is so effortless that it can happen almost subconsciously. The real effort is adapting and maintaining a perspective that encourages you to take action. Especially when you're not sure what to do in the first place.

It's one thing to be aware of your flaws and another to find a convincing reason to start fixing them. One can sink very deep before "well it's not that bad" becomes an ineffective counterargument.

 

[Richiebogie]

Theory is interesting, but putting it into practice gives it meaning.

With Ray Peat you can vary your diet and supplements to see if your health improves, or try it on family, friends or people willing to give it a go.

If you can improve others' health then you have purpose.

Maybe@prosper you could make entertaining youtube summaries of your conspiracy theories to share your findings.

More people are using robotic voices and text to make their informative youtube content. I much prefer seeing and hearing a presenter with an occasional picture to help the explanation.

 

[Constatine]

I'm sure that many of us on this forum have information addiction. I know I used to have it until recently. Then I realized experience is the ultimate form of learning. Still it's a difficult struggle, especially if you convince yourself that more information will better your life in some way.

 

[redlight]

forums would fall in to the TED talk

 

[redlight]

The smartest most successful people don't spend much time on online forums.... I can't break the addiction myself.

 

[Prosper]

Maybe@prosper you could make entertaining youtube summaries of your conspiracy theories to share your findings.

More people are using robotic voices and text to make their informative youtube content. I much prefer seeing and hearing a presenter with an occasional picture to help the explanation.

The bizarre thing is that I don't even care about those theories in the first place. They're merely ways to feed the information addiction by reading about novel and easily digestable concepts without having to think too much. I get categorized as a predominantly analytical thinker in all personality tests I do, yet paradoxically sitting down and taking the time to intentionally think about something feels uncomfortable, difficult and unsustainable. It's so much easier to let someone else do the thinking and just consume the outcome of their brainstorming.

I'm like the stereotypical fat & zombified low-class American who sits on the sofa and let's the TV dictate what to think and feel at any given time. It's disgusting, yet stopping it makes me even more miserable.

It's escapism in its purest form.

The smartest most successful people don't spend much time on online forums.... I can't break the addiction myself.

Definitely. Internet is such a timesink that if the average user spent even half of that time on any hobby, they would become an expert of it in just a few years.

 

[zztr]

“Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.”

― Albert Einstein

 

[Drareg]

Ha, well, it's not necessarily so straightforward. Self-awareness and honesty is easy. But so is rationalizing misery and procrastination. You can change your perspective on a whim in order to justify laziness and staying inside your comfort zone. That is so effortless that it can happen almost subconsciously. The real effort is adapting and maintaining a perspective that encourages you to take action. Especially when you're not sure what to do in the first place.

It's one thing to be aware of your flaws and another to find a convincing reason to start fixing them. One can sink very deep before "well it's not that bad" becomes an ineffective counterargument.

Well said.
on top of that opportunity has been sucked away since the 2008 "financial crisis", nobody is sure what to do because they could be replaced by robots in 5-10 years.

 

[Drareg]

I think the pop culture dominance in most western countries has seeded big expectations into people's minds,money,sex,power and fame are littered throughout every aspect of entertainment.
All these archetypes pluck on the mental stings priming you since childhood.
People now feel worthless because they are not a roaring success.

There is so much human energy getting put into these cultural cages,like a piece of cheese is the promise of fame and fortune,based on said cultural framework it is a trap.

A critical ear is needed when confronted with information but even the culture of political correctness shouts this down as negativity or plays the victim,claims of attack etc ,social media should be renamed social mafia.

"We're caught in a trap,we can't we walk out......."
Elvis Presley.

 

[Dante]

Well said.
on top of that opportunity has been sucked away since the 2008 "financial crisis", nobody is sure what to do because they could be replaced by robots in 5-10 years.

What kind of jobs will be replaced by robots in next 5-10 years ?

 

[Drareg]

What kind of jobs will be replaced by robots in next 5-10 years ?

I'm guessing a few,maybe a bit longer but self driving cars is no joke. Accountancy is another example.
Everybody was laughing at A.I.'s ability but not so much since it won at Go Game against the human champion.
It's learning now ,it's crude buts its working,needs a lot of time to make the mistakes first.
It won't replace all jobs and it's not very creative but it's a tool that will have a big effect.

This is worth a read if your interested.
http://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf

Lol 72 pages of info in it!

 

[Dante]

I'm guessing a few,maybe a bit longer but self driving cars is no joke. Accountancy is another example.
Everybody was laughing at A.I.'s ability but not so much since it won at Go Game against the human champion.
It's learning now ,it's crude buts its working,needs a lot of time to make the mistakes first.
It won't replace all jobs and it's not very creative but it's a tool that will have a big effect.

This is worth a read if your interested.
http://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf

Lol 72 pages of info in it!

@Constatine works in this field, he would know who would get jobless first :)

 

[Dante]

I'm guessing a few,maybe a bit longer but self driving cars is no joke. Accountancy is another example.
Everybody was laughing at A.I.'s ability but not so much since it won at Go Game against the human champion.
It's learning now ,it's crude buts its working,needs a lot of time to make the mistakes first.
It won't replace all jobs and it's not very creative but it's a tool that will have a big effect.

This is worth a read if your interested.
http://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf

Lol 72 pages of info in it!

@Constatine works in this field, he would know who would get jobless first :)

 

[Drareg]

@Constatine @Dante we should make a list with time limits,will help people manage the stress if they are in one of these positions.
I think it will be very disruptive compared to new techs in previous centuries,there is way more people now,thing is if they are out of work with the likes of Amazon using drones instead of people,Amazon will loose money as people they let go have no money to "consume".
It will a melting pot full of misinfo.

 

[Constatine]

“Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.”

― Albert Einstein

Great quote.

@Constatine works in this field, he would know who would get jobless first :)

Any job that does not require intuition and involves highly repetitive tasks may be replaced. Or rather such jobs may not be completely replaced but the existing workers may be given powerful tools that make them much more efficient hence less workers are required (thus jobs that require intuition may also be at risk). In general technology is not advancing quite as fast as the general public seems to believe (it is not exponential) due to a variety of factors. Also technological advancements are modulated by culture. Products that are too ahead of its time often fall on its face. Ray Peat said "the nature of science itself changed around the middle of the last century, becoming product and disease oriented", the same is true for modern day engineering. Engineering and especially software engineering does not simply strive for progress but rather for a buck. For this reason general technological advancement is greatly hindered by our culture. Jobs will only be replaced if it is culturally acceptable to do so.

@Constatine @Dante we should make a list with time limits,will help people manage the stress if they are in one of these positions.
I think it will be very disruptive compared to new techs in previous centuries,there is way more people now,thing is if they are out of work with the likes of Amazon using drones instead of people,Amazon will loose money as people they let go have no money to "consume".
It will a melting pot full of misinfo.

That's a good idea. Though predicting the time a job will be replaced would be difficult as it depends almost entirely on culture. We have the technology to replace or greatly reduce the workforce in many, many jobs now. It is mostly cultural factors that hold technology back.

 

[Badger]

Culture can be your friend when it is healthy, and be protective of life of all kinds. But when the culture is not healthy, when, as it is in the US and other many other places, mostly about the attainment of money, power, status - an anti-culture, actually - robots, deep learning, AI, etc. funded by the 1%, will be rushing into the job landscape like a super-tsunami, drowning into oblivion almost every type of work possible done by humans. Evidence the super tsunmai has begun to trickle in:
21 jobs where robots are already replacing humans
21 jobs where robots are already replacing humans
Chinese Factory Replaces 90% Of Its Workers With Robots, Productivity Increases 250%
Chinese Factory Replaces 90% Of Its Workers With Robots, Productivity Increases 250%
I wonder what happended to the "cultural factors" that was supposed to inhibit robot technology in that Chinese factory?

Titanium-Hardened Iron-Fisted Decrees of the 1%:
1990s and on: ever job that can be outsourced to 3rd world countries will be outsourced to 3rd world countries.
2020s and on: every job that can be outsourced to robots will be outsourced to robots.

Unanswered conundrum: when human are replaced by robots, and therefore humans no longer can make wages to buy the services and goods that robots make, how will the robots be paid for? One more questions directly stemming from prior question: how does this all end up? Financial collapse resulting in a Mad Max world? Or maybe government forcing welfare-istic and gigantic state allocations to the resulting vastly numbered unemployed? Or perhaps conscious, planned genocide of the billions of unemployed on a scale to make Hitler's and Stalin's genocides look like a picnic by comparison? Other scenarios?

 

[sprinter]

“Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.”

I am always reading. I feel like 99% of the info I was taught growing up was wrong or biased in this corrupt world and now I can't get enough truth. The internet is full of falsehoods too of course, so one must use their own intelligence to figure out what is true. But I think I am way better of because of reading so much. I have way more correct information.

Sure I could spend time learning how to play the flute or a learn a new language, but at this point in my life I feel gathering correct information is way more important.