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    The Problem of Thinking Too Much (2002)

    (www.jstor.org)
    50 points lermontov | 18 comments | 14 Nov 24 20:09 UTC | HN request time: 1.218s | source | bottom
    1. baxtr ◴[21 Nov 24 04:52 UTC] No.42201238[source]▶
    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.

    replies(3): >>42201278 #>>42201376 #>>42201461 #
    2. dev-jayson ◴[21 Nov 24 04:55 UTC] No.42201255[source]▶
    For a PDF created in 2002, it's incredibly easy to read on a smartphone.
    3. tifik ◴[21 Nov 24 04:59 UTC] No.42201278[source]▶
    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.
    4. gavmor ◴[21 Nov 24 05:20 UTC] No.42201376[source]▶
    Wow, been doing this for twenty years—didn't know it was "a thing"!
    5. senthil_rajasek ◴[21 Nov 24 05:39 UTC] No.42201461[source]▶
    Scene from Board Walk Empire Season 2 that uses the coin flip trick.

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

    6. tropicalfruit ◴[21 Nov 24 05:44 UTC] No.42201485[source]▶
    some people has no inner dialogue

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

    replies(3): >>42201681 #>>42202004 #>>42205352 #
    7. LaundroMat ◴[21 Nov 24 06:27 UTC] No.42201681[source]▶
    Where did you read that?
    replies(2): >>42201786 #>>42201852 #
    8. ◴[21 Nov 24 06:49 UTC] No.42201786{3}[source]▶
    9. ◴[21 Nov 24 07:05 UTC] No.42201852{3}[source]▶
    10. jeisc ◴[21 Nov 24 07:34 UTC] No.42201986[source]▶
    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
    replies(3): >>42213141 #>>42217662 #>>42231380 #
    11. jeisc ◴[21 Nov 24 07:38 UTC] No.42202004[source]▶
    any brain waves are thoughts
    replies(1): >>42211845 #
    12. Pigalowda ◴[21 Nov 24 15:35 UTC] No.42205352[source]▶
    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.
    13. tropicalfruit ◴[22 Nov 24 07:28 UTC] No.42211845{3}[source]▶
    if a brain waves, who waves back?
    14. NBJack ◴[22 Nov 24 12:06 UTC] No.42213141[source]▶
    "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
    15. P_I_Staker ◴[22 Nov 24 13:29 UTC] No.42213680[source]▶
    Maybe if I read this article, it will fix it!
    16. neuralRiot ◴[22 Nov 24 21:51 UTC] No.42217662[source]▶
    “Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment. Full effort is full victory.”

    Mahatma Gandhi

    17. zvr ◴[24 Nov 24 23:04 UTC] No.42231380[source]▶
    As you set out for Ithaka / hope your road is a long one -- Ithaka, C.P. Cavafy