From 546d97550c2808fcdd4f8bc1d2037e5b931acaa6 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Darshak Parikh Date: Sun, 6 Oct 2024 20:52:22 +0530 Subject: [PATCH] Add digital garden link and reorganise --- content/blog/commute-transmute.md | 21 ------ .../fix-macos-defaults.md | 3 +- content/blog/metaconfirmation-bias.md | 65 ------------------- content/digital-garden/_index.md | 8 +++ content/links.json | 5 ++ templates/section.html | 8 ++- 6 files changed, 21 insertions(+), 89 deletions(-) delete mode 100644 content/blog/commute-transmute.md rename content/{digital-garden => blog}/fix-macos-defaults.md (97%) delete mode 100644 content/blog/metaconfirmation-bias.md create mode 100644 content/digital-garden/_index.md diff --git a/content/blog/commute-transmute.md b/content/blog/commute-transmute.md deleted file mode 100644 index 4e71125..0000000 --- a/content/blog/commute-transmute.md +++ /dev/null @@ -1,21 +0,0 @@ -+++ -title = "Commute Transmute" -date = 2020-10-14 - -[taxonomies] -tags = ["psychology"] -+++ - -Before the pandemic, I have had myriad forms of commutes. I have had five-minute walks and 45-minute city bus rides. I’ve listened to music, read eBooks, played games and taken naps. And I’ve also spent time contemplating. What I have seldom done is drive my own vehicle: an activity that wouldn’t let me do most of the above. - -And yet, few people get to do these things any more. Our commuting time has gone from minutes to mere seconds. - -At a first glance, this is a good thing, especially for those who drove to and from work. You avoid the traffic and the ensuing weariness. <cough>Bengaluru</cough> - -But I have felt something different while working from home. When I start my workday, I don’t immediately get in the mood to focus—something which is amplified by the leisurewear and the lack of coworkers and workplace sounds. And when I’m done with work, I still keep thinking about work even as I lounge on my couch. - -The commute was a time my brain used to prepare for the environment at the destination: focus at work and relaxation at home. And now since that time is gone, I had to find a replacement, so that’s what I did. - -In the mornings, I take a bath just before starting work. In the evenings, I take a walk either indoors or on the terrace. Both activities allow me to be alone with my own thoughts, giving my mind enough warm-up and cool-down time. - -Who would have thought to replace the time spend on the road with that in the bath or on the terrace? diff --git a/content/digital-garden/fix-macos-defaults.md b/content/blog/fix-macos-defaults.md similarity index 97% rename from content/digital-garden/fix-macos-defaults.md rename to content/blog/fix-macos-defaults.md index 882354b..d5fa5fb 100644 --- a/content/digital-garden/fix-macos-defaults.md +++ b/content/blog/fix-macos-defaults.md @@ -1,5 +1,6 @@ +++ -title = "Fixing the stupid defaults on macOS" +title = "Fixing the Stupid Defaults on macOS" +date = 2024-10-06 +++ ## Why diff --git a/content/blog/metaconfirmation-bias.md b/content/blog/metaconfirmation-bias.md deleted file mode 100644 index d58e87a..0000000 --- a/content/blog/metaconfirmation-bias.md +++ /dev/null @@ -1,65 +0,0 @@ -+++ -title = "Metaconfirmation Bias" -date = 2020-09-26 - -[taxonomies] -tags = ["psychology"] -+++ - -## What is confirmation bias? - -Imagine that you recently had a debate with a friend. You went on for hours about how nobody in your city obeys traffic rules. You presented elaborate examples and cited a dozen studies to prove your point. And in the end, you agreed to disagree. - -Next time you drive, you see these rule breakers everywhere. You notice people jumping signals, not wearing helmets, overspeeding and driving on the wrong side. - -### Why does this happen? - -One popular explanation by the believers in the [Law of Attraction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_attraction_(New_Thought)) is that the universe conspires to give you what you think about the most. You manifest what you believe. - -Psychology disagrees. It’s not the universe conspiring this. It’s the thing between your ears. - -Our brain looks at what we have been thinking about and labels it as **#relevant**. Then, of all the information our senses feed it, it highlights what strikes to it as **#relevant**. It will ignore the smooth drive you’ve had for the last 30 minutes and light up when it sees your neighbour without the seatbelt. - -This is a continuous process. Every day, we mark new things as **#relevant** and take out old things. Some things stay forever. At any point, there is a finite set of topics tagged with the **#relevant** label. - -Psychologists have an accurate term for this: _[confirmation bias](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias)_. We are _biased_ in the information we take in, in that we pay extra attention to events that _confirm_ our existing beliefs. - -## Why do we have this? - -Because it is efficient. - -We take in a galaxy-load of information through our senses during our waking hours. Processing it all would drive us crazy in a matter of minutes. We don’t want that. So our brains have evolved to cut out the cruft and only look at things it considers **#relevant**. This saves us a lot of time and effort, and keeps us sane. - -Confirmation bias is a solution. Except when it becomes the problem. - -## What’s wrong with it? - -We have opinions. - -Thanks to our friend, the confirmation bias, we filter all the information we receive and keep what confirms our opinions, thus reinforcing them. - -The problem is other people. Those imbecile beings have _their_ opinions (which are obviously wrong, as we confirmed in the last paragraph). Then these obviously wrong opinions are further strengthened by _their_ confirmation biases, making _them_ more full of themselves. - -Then we get on the internet and fight one another. Or even offline. We lose friends and make enemies, and that’s not even the worst case. Confirmation bias has a huge role to play in all extremism, violence, racism, sexism, xenophobia and other general douchebaggery that humans exhibit. It all starts because other people are obviously wrong, and they deserve to suffer and die. - -## What’s with the title then? - -If you have read about confirmation bias before, then you likely skipped to this section. Wise decision, because all I said above was what you already know: that the bias makes us all assholes. - -When I say _metaconfirmation bias_, I address the people who already realize that confirmation bias fucks us all up. Which is anyone who made it till this point. - -You know that people act in unreasonable ways because they have fallen victim to the dreaded bias. They form a distorted view of the world, their country, a politician, an agenda, a sports team, an anything. And their biased brains fuel it till they become [woke zombies](https://www.livemint.com/opinion/columns/the-art-of-survival-in-a-world-of-unknowing-zombies-11600005597992.html) who are hard to deal with. - -Next time you meet this victim, and they share their views on capitalism, you know they are acting under influence and are not to be taken seriously. They did not look at the picture from a neutral viewpoint, so they’re obviously wrong. - -Wait, where have I heard that before? - -## Epilogue - -I am apolitical and do not take part in political debates. I like to think that I am above it all, since these lowly conflicts are not what we live for. - -When everybody in a debate calms down and agrees that different opinions exist, I step in. Then I smugly declare, mostly only to myself, that this is all a result of the diabolic force we now know the name of. - -In doing so, I leave out on important information I need to have as a citizen. Thanks to my biased opinion that woke people are always biased, I let my confirmation bias confirm confirmation bias. - -Hence the title. diff --git a/content/digital-garden/_index.md b/content/digital-garden/_index.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1f6df63 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/digital-garden/_index.md @@ -0,0 +1,8 @@ ++++ +title = "Digital Garden" +description = "Timeless, growing, incomplete, personal notes by Darshak Parikh" +sort_by = "title" + +[extra] +keywords = ["Darshak", "Parikh", "personal", "blog", "site", "posts"] ++++ diff --git a/content/links.json b/content/links.json index 157b4f7..ba9cb68 100644 --- a/content/links.json +++ b/content/links.json @@ -5,6 +5,11 @@ "text": "blog", "long": "Read my blog" }, + { + "url": "/digital-garden", + "text": "digital garden", + "long": "Visit my digital garden" + }, { "url": "/projects", "text": "projects", diff --git a/templates/section.html b/templates/section.html index 49f4fef..7374ee6 100644 --- a/templates/section.html +++ b/templates/section.html @@ -27,9 +27,13 @@

{{ section.title }}

{% for page in section.pages %} {{ page.title }} - + {% if page.date -%} + + {% else %} +
+ {%- endif %} {% endfor %}
-{% endblock %} \ No newline at end of file +{% endblock %}