It reminded me of my own habit of logging my pour-over coffee brews. For months I saved every variable about every cup, imagining that one day I'd analyze that data and arrive at the perfect recipe.
I never once looked at the data. Eventually I realized that I'd rather learn by just paying close attention to this cup, and using it to change my approach for the next cup.
I vividly remember playing Genesis in my living room as a kid when my parents were having friends over from out of town. My dad and his friend came in after a couple beers and my dad explained what I was playing. His friend knew all about Genesis already: "We've got the Sega Channel. I play 50 games a year!" I remember being very fascinated until he started laughing, which to me signaled that he was pulling my leg. I spent the next 30 or so years thinking the "Sega Channel" was a dumb joke from an inebriated friend of my dad's. Until today.
Looking back, maybe my dad nudged him to change the subject so that I wouldn't spend the next month begging for a subscription.
I agree with you. It comes down to risks vs benefits, and I feel that for a huge number of people that aren't predisposed to addiction, that don't need to drink to the point of blacking out, etc., it may very well be worth it.
I know that my "principled" refusal to drink in my younger years made socializing a lot harder and just generally put a barrier between myself and my peers. Of course, a stronger person could overcome those challenges without alcohol, but that seems like a Herculean task for someone who's already shy and lacking self-esteem.
Reminds me of the fatalities in Mortal Kombat growing up. All the regular moves were in the manual, but IIRC the fatalities were not. It was a form of secret knowledge, and it was really cool if you knew one. Granted, this was right before the Internet-connected home computer became ubiquitous.
I attended, and one thing I learned is that being good at giving talks is often more important than the subject matter of the talk. It's all about keeping it slow and digestible and making sure you don't lose your audience. "Computational Origami" is an example of a talk I loved because of how well it was executed, not necessarily because of the subject matter.
It reminded me of my own habit of logging my pour-over coffee brews. For months I saved every variable about every cup, imagining that one day I'd analyze that data and arrive at the perfect recipe.
I never once looked at the data. Eventually I realized that I'd rather learn by just paying close attention to this cup, and using it to change my approach for the next cup.
It feels like a more human, living knowledge.