Small rant / iPads

My dad gave me his ipad and I use it exclusively as a hearthstone/twitch machine, always hearthstone casters ass well. I'm working on trading that ipad for his mac air to do some programming and waste less time.

probably a good idea I think that falls squarely under the definition of category 1 activities that i'd be looking to avoid If we lived in autarky (no possible trade) and I got tempted to do things like that with my ipad, i believe it would serve me better broken into two pieces than intact (another example of precommitment)

what would I do without my iPad in the bathroom?

How hard are you working each day that you would have net negative feelings about watching GOT for 45 minutes per week? You must have some other higher priority category 1 vices that you haven't confessed here yet. (fap fapf apfa fpa fapf apfa p)

I think gaming can also be in category 2, a healthy amount of gaming allows me to socialize with friends and exercise my brain. Unfortunately the positive experience can be addicting and take the place of too many other things in life, at this point the benefits are no longer relevant and gaming degenerates into a clear category 1 activity.

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I don't like looking at my phone and my laptop is a huge desktop replacement so I get some use out of my ipad for times when I'm forced to wait. Airports/airplanes, government offices, hospitals, etc. Content is ebooks, poker training videos, and hearthstone.

On May 06 2015 07:59 Baalim wrote: what would I do without my iPad in the bathroom?

yeah true, nothing like an ipad to distract you during that massive dump

I use my ipad mostly for category2. I basically have all my study materials on there and I find it much more practical to take the ipad to the library than to take a laptop. Ofc this is only true when I just have to get information out of the ipad, not into it (then i would prefer a laptop). I also use iTunes U a lot on the ipad. There is some great stuff on there.

As for category1 I mostly use it when I find that I wanna watch something that isnt worth my whole attention span (i.e. random starcraft matches, any sports event where "my" team isnt playing etc)

As for reading on the ipad, I thought I was gonna do that a lot when i got it, mostly because I dislike reading a book in bad light conditions more than i dislike reading on a display. Since I got my new lenses and I can once again see properly, I have found that, if i have the choice I prefer reading a book just for the feeling of turning pages. For studying i prefer books as well. iBooks doesnt really deal well with browsing around in a book or when you have to look up different stuff.


Here's for gaming being category2!! Eventhough me playing 1v1 ladder starcraft doesnt really benefit the society as a whole, I get a good feeling when I do good at it :D

On May 06 2015 09:10 Smuft wrote: How hard are you working each day that you would have net negative feelings about watching GOT for 45 minutes per week? You must have some other higher priority category 1 vices that you haven't confessed here yet. (fap fapf apfa fpa fapf apfa p) I think gaming can also be in category 2, a healthy amount of gaming allows me to socialize with friends and exercise my brain. Unfortunately the positive experience can be addicting and take the place of too many other things in life, at this point the benefits are no longer relevant and gaming degenerates into a clear category 1 activity. - I don't like looking at my phone and my laptop is a huge desktop replacement so I get some use out of my ipad for times when I'm forced to wait. Airports/airplanes, government offices, hospitals, etc. Content is ebooks, poker training videos, and hearthstone.

hehe i have plenty of category 1 vices - visiting this forum too much being one of them (unless we're discussing topics such as this one of course). if the only vice you had access to was available for just 45 mins a week there wouldn't be any problem. the trouble is they're bloody ubiquitous (and potentially more so with ipad ownership depending on how you use it).

everyone needs downtime, You indeed cannot always be working and doing hard, self improving things, all that good stuff. I also find that the way you spend your relaxing downtime every day has lasting effects on your happiness and quality of life. I find that I get more lasting long-term happiness spending time with my family and socialising or reading 'easy-reading' books that don't take much concentration but are really entertaining nonetheless (think Malcom Gladwell, Michael Lewis), than I do by watching 5 episodes in a row of House of Cards or indeed that worst and ultimate of all motivation destroying activities, fapping more than a moderate amount.

I think as far as gaming goes, your experience of it can be considered atypical enough to be qualitatively different to how most people do gaming (playing competitively at the elite level in a hard to master game with friends who also got to the top). For example I myself favoured scv football.ums and facebook tetris battle. Whatever benefits you're getting from gaming or did in the past, I'm not sure if they universally apply

On May 06 2015 09:27 Luna_Bluffgood wrote: I use my ipad mostly for category2. I basically have all my study materials on there and I find it much more practical to take the ipad to the library than to take a laptop. Ofc this is only true when I just have to get information out of the ipad, not into it (then i would prefer a laptop). I also use iTunes U a lot on the ipad. There is some great stuff on there. As for category1 I mostly use it when I find that I wanna watch something that isnt worth my whole attention span (i.e. random starcraft matches, any sports event where "my" team isnt playing etc) As for reading on the ipad, I thought I was gonna do that a lot when i got it, mostly because I dislike reading a book in bad light conditions more than i dislike reading on a display. Since I got my new lenses and I can once again see properly, I have found that, if i have the choice I prefer reading a book just for the feeling of turning pages. For studying i prefer books as well. iBooks doesnt really deal well with browsing around in a book or when you have to look up different stuff. Here's for gaming being category2!! Eventhough me playing 1v1 ladder starcraft doesnt really benefit the society as a whole, I get a good feeling when I do good at it :D

Thanks, good to hear. This is something very similar to what I hope to be using it for. I haven't tried iTunes U myself, do you have any thoughts on how it compares with Coursera/edX, if you've used those?

On May 06 2015 10:14 Romm3l wrote: Show nested quote + On May 06 2015 09:27 Luna_Bluffgood wrote: I use my ipad mostly for category2. I basically have all my study materials on there and I find it much more practical to take the ipad to the library than to take a laptop. Ofc this is only true when I just have to get information out of the ipad, not into it (then i would prefer a laptop). I also use iTunes U a lot on the ipad. There is some great stuff on there. As for category1 I mostly use it when I find that I wanna watch something that isnt worth my whole attention span (i.e. random starcraft matches, any sports event where "my" team isnt playing etc) As for reading on the ipad, I thought I was gonna do that a lot when i got it, mostly because I dislike reading a book in bad light conditions more than i dislike reading on a display. Since I got my new lenses and I can once again see properly, I have found that, if i have the choice I prefer reading a book just for the feeling of turning pages. For studying i prefer books as well. iBooks doesnt really deal well with browsing around in a book or when you have to look up different stuff. Here's for gaming being category2!! Eventhough me playing 1v1 ladder starcraft doesnt really benefit the society as a whole, I get a good feeling when I do good at it :D Thanks, good to hear. This is something very similar to what I hope to be using it for. I haven't tried iTunes U myself, do you have any thoughts on how it compares with Coursera/edX, if you've used those?

Sorry, never used those.

For documents I use dropbox, as i've found it's the most convenient way to transfer pdfs and stuff to ipad from laptop.
Since you seem to be a very coordinated thinker, you might also want to try iThoughts, which basically let's you view mindmaps. I'm not sure if you can create mindmaps as well. But i would create those on a laptop anyway, should be much easier.

On May 06 2015 11:48 Luna_Bluffgood wrote: Show nested quote + On May 06 2015 10:14 Romm3l wrote:   On May 06 2015 09:27 Luna_Bluffgood wrote: I use my ipad mostly for category2. I basically have all my study materials on there and I find it much more practical to take the ipad to the library than to take a laptop. Ofc this is only true when I just have to get information out of the ipad, not into it (then i would prefer a laptop). I also use iTunes U a lot on the ipad. There is some great stuff on there. As for category1 I mostly use it when I find that I wanna watch something that isnt worth my whole attention span (i.e. random starcraft matches, any sports event where "my" team isnt playing etc) As for reading on the ipad, I thought I was gonna do that a lot when i got it, mostly because I dislike reading a book in bad light conditions more than i dislike reading on a display. Since I got my new lenses and I can once again see properly, I have found that, if i have the choice I prefer reading a book just for the feeling of turning pages. For studying i prefer books as well. iBooks doesnt really deal well with browsing around in a book or when you have to look up different stuff. Here's for gaming being category2!! Eventhough me playing 1v1 ladder starcraft doesnt really benefit the society as a whole, I get a good feeling when I do good at it :D Thanks, good to hear. This is something very similar to what I hope to be using it for. I haven't tried iTunes U myself, do you have any thoughts on how it compares with Coursera/edX, if you've used those? Sorry, never used those. For documents I use dropbox, as i've found it's the most convenient way to transfer pdfs and stuff to ipad from laptop. Since you seem to be a very coordinated thinker, you might also want to try iThoughts, which basically let's you view mindmaps. I'm not sure if you can create mindmaps as well. But i would create those on a laptop anyway, should be much easier.

Ye I'll def get on the dropbox, I use it anyway.

Thanks for the other suggestion, however I'm a firm believer that nothing beats the low-tech solution of paper and pen for note-taking and trying to get a grasp of new ideas/material. I always found that physically writing helped things make more sense and stick easier than inputting them into technology. Apparently there might actually be something to that idea:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/art...take-notes-with-a-laptop/?WT.mc_id=SA

I intend to carry a notebook and pen alongside the ipad whenever I take it out of the house

I was also gifted my tablet and wouldn't normally buy one. I agree, it's one of the best gifts you can give an older person.

Uses:
-reading, and other productive media consumption. Mine is set up with a couple good reader apps, and is basically a portable mini library.
-related: there are short trips (think daytrips, plane rides, waits while seated) where the size/weight of a tablet coupled with longer battery life make it a better choice than the smallest laptops
-you can get real creative work done with gDocs + a wireless keyboard. A developer friend of mine uses it for all of his blogging/email stuff
-there are apps that can turn it into a moderate-latency supplemental monitor/screen
-casual gaming. young children (think before going to school) love tablets. having a responsive chessboard+timer available at will is pretty nice.


On your meta ramblings about trying to get more category 2 activities:
I think you understate the power of habit (it's the title of a good book on the subject). We aren't just creatures of habit. Literally all we are is a jumbled, often conflicted, shifting yet surprisingly stable, collection of habits. I'm pointing out getting all your category 2 stuff doesn't come from conscious maximizing (which is impossible because of how limited and fungible our willpower seems to be) so much as just setting up good cues and routines so that it is effortless.

I hope some of that is useful to you. Have fun with the new iPad.

On May 09 2015 14:10 SemPeR wrote: I was also gifted my tablet and wouldn't normally buy one. I agree, it's one of the best gifts you can give an older person. Uses: -reading, and other productive media consumption. Mine is set up with a couple good reader apps, and is basically a portable mini library. -related: there are short trips (think daytrips, plane rides, waits while seated) where the size/weight of a tablet coupled with longer battery life make it a better choice than the smallest laptops -you can get real creative work done with gDocs + a wireless keyboard. A developer friend of mine uses it for all of his blogging/email stuff -there are apps that can turn it into a moderate-latency supplemental monitor/screen -casual gaming. young children (think before going to school) love tablets. having a responsive chessboard+timer available at will is pretty nice. On your meta ramblings about trying to get more category 2 activities: I think you understate the power of habit (it's the title of a good book on the subject). We aren't just creatures of habit. Literally all we are is a jumbled, often conflicted, shifting yet surprisingly stable, collection of habits. I'm pointing out getting all your category 2 stuff doesn't come from conscious maximizing (which is impossible because of how limited and fungible our willpower seems to be) so much as just setting up good cues and routines so that it is effortless. I hope some of that is useful to you. Have fun with the new iPad.

All around very useful post, thanks. Exactly the sort of response I was hoping for. I'll check the book out for sure.

Re: young children and tablets, that's an area I intend to think about and research some more. It could potentially be a great way to expose them to more mental stimulation, I'm thinking puzzle games to develop working with symbolic information and abstract problem solving. On the potential downside I'm also a bit worried about addiction to this kind of instantly gratifying stimulus inhibiting the development of patience or ability to focus on one thing for an extended amount of time. Also there are things that just make me uncomfortable like seeing how other people's children are extremely dextrous with their texting thumbs but can't handwrite for shit, or how they may grow up thinking interacting with touch-sensitive screens is a perfectly normal part of the natural world and something must be broken or wrong when the same touch actions don't work on computer monitors or TVs. As with most things there's probably a healthy balance and the right answer is somewhere in the middle.

I use my Ipad mainly for work stuff (im live sound engingeer). Use it to control desks and devices wirelessly. It is very useful. Makes workflow very effiecent.

Other than that, I use it for casual browsing / email / ebanking and have a few apps for my 3 year old daughter who is a wizz at it and plays CBBC app anytime i let her lol. Its really amazing how kids can learn how to use it and it is a testament to its intuitive interface.

I play poker on it, watch those useless tv shows (not too much though, not to the extent where I feel like I wasted time)

honestly I use it pretty much like I would use a laptop except it's much lighter so it feels more convenient when traveling

movies/TV shows on long haul flights

Finished reading this (using the ipad as a reader, no less), thanks again for the recommendation Semper. Very useful stuff to know. Even keeping the ipad propped up in a standing position on the desk is a useful cue for establishing a more regular reading routine. It's really easy to just open it up and keep reading where you left off

now to try and implement some more of these ideas..