Posted by jger15 9/4/2025
There's something of a neural "fire together, wire together" explanation for this general phenomenon, no?
Jhanas (when in the positive direction), and dukkha or suffering (as caused by tanha or tension) when applied in the negative direction.
I find that 90% of the time the more you pay attention to something, the more interesting it gets.
Which I think is related to what you’re saying. Looking more closely at something and paying more attention can both unveil what’s “beneath the surface”.
Instead of dismissing them or getting super annoyed (which still does happen, not going to lie), I ask myself the question “what do they know or not know that is making them say that? Why are they thinking about it this way?”
The answers aren’t always satisfying and a lot of the time they really are just stupid/annoying questions or ideas, but approaching it with curiosity means that finding out at least satisfies that curiosity and is its own mini reward
The real benefit though is that it’s simply made me a better listener and in turn a better communicator
Great approach.
One of my favorite things to do when I'm answering or asking a question is always adding "what am I missing?" Because sometimes I'm missing something and it never hurts to ask.
Early on in my career, I thought a lot of technical topics wouldn’t be interesting. Especially things that aren’t new.
Yet, when one gets down into it, mundane things end up being quite interesting. Even unit testing!
Surely this principle has limits!
It’s kind of uplifting in a way. The only depressing part is that one life isn’t nearly enough time to go through it all.
It's like being a kid again and finding fascinating new facts around every corner.
Others don't chase the high at all, but remember the state of mind and simply tune their brains to respond with said high on command whenever the chemistry in the brain fulfills the conditions, which can happen without taking the drug at all.
I don't see a loop there; I see different levels of awareness, consciousness and needs.
It's also what I think when I hear Hofstadter or (high-)functioning people talking about being "strange loops". ... use some of your opportunities, peace of mind and resources to sue people (you can probably come up with entire lists...) and the "strange loop" will break immediately.
Some people edge for days, others had to use various toys and stimuli before getting off since youth.