General > General Technical Chat
Design engineers: Can you shut off your brain during non-work hours?
Nominal Animal:
--- Quote from: SiliconWizard on June 14, 2023, 04:59:41 am ---Yeah, cheesy I know, but you should always try having a balanced life. You can't shut your brain off, but you can try getting it busy with varied things that will help it not obsessing.
--- End quote ---
For me, woodworking and other tactile and olfactory creative stuff (like cooking) does "relax" the analytical part of my mind.
I know a few others who do meditation, sports (running and biking), and such; but it indeed is about "shifting balance" or "shifting gears", not so much "shut brain off" type of thing. Concentrating on the moment in particular seems to work for many.
JPortici:
--- Quote from: Nominal Animal on June 14, 2023, 05:45:33 am ---
--- Quote from: SiliconWizard on June 14, 2023, 04:59:41 am ---Yeah, cheesy I know, but you should always try having a balanced life. You can't shut your brain off, but you can try getting it busy with varied things that will help it not obsessing.
--- End quote ---
For me, woodworking and other tactile and olfactory creative stuff (like cooking) does "relax" the analytical part of my mind.
I know a few others who do meditation, sports (running and biking), and such; but it indeed is about "shifting balance" or "shifting gears", not so much "shut brain off" type of thing. Concentrating on the moment in particular seems to work for many.
--- End quote ---
To me it's alpinism. Tthere is nothing else from the moment you touch the rock, snow or ice, to the moment you and your partner (if applicable) have arrived to the top (and sometimes after you have descended, because you also have to climb down most of the times). Your awereness must be 100% on what's in front of you and the immediate surrounding. Work issues, relationship issues, money problems, all has to disappear, and nothing else leaves me at peace like in those hours.
That said, I always wanted to get into woodworking because you still create something, but with your hands more than with your mind, and i love working with hands, but i don't have the space yet to get started.
EPAIII:
I have found that I can get some of my best ideas when I take my mind off a problem that I had been working on for hours or days. I remember once where the answer to a problem that I and others had been working on for weeks came to me while standing in line to get a sandwich for lunch. I was mentally debating chicken or roast beef.
YMMV.
T3sl4co1l:
--- Quote from: JPortici on June 14, 2023, 06:56:54 am ---To me it's alpinism. Tthere is nothing else from the moment you touch the rock, snow or ice, to the moment you and your partner (if applicable) have arrived to the top (and sometimes after you have descended, because you also have to climb down most of the times). Your awereness must be 100% on what's in front of you and the immediate surrounding. Work issues, relationship issues, money problems, all has to disappear, and nothing else leaves me at peace like in those hours.
That said, I always wanted to get into woodworking because you still create something, but with your hands more than with your mind, and i love working with hands, but i don't have the space yet to get started.
--- End quote ---
I have that kind of relationship with several video games I play. It varies, of course; you can have anything from a quick intellectual puzzle like Sudoku, to difficult but self-paced games, to low/no pause games that strongly encourage a flow state (i.e., maybe you can pause, but it's not especially advantageous to do so).
Of the middle, FTL: Faster Than Light is my example; you are not only able, but strongly encouraged, to pause often: take time targeting your weapons, assigning crew stations, ship's systems, etc. I've played through it enough times not to read and cogitate on most of the messages/events, though it's not so engaging that nothing ever crosses my mind; or I may just get up and take a break, and then other thoughts drift back in.
The latter case, in the past I've played quite a lot of several FPSs. Like, I grew up on Quake 2 online multiplayer, and still play a fair bit of Classic Doom (the mods coming out these days are exquisite!). But most recently, I've been playing a lot of Rain World, a fascinating 2D survival platformer / simulated ecosystem / body horror / post-apocalyptic sci-fi game, which has more-or-less one-shot death, so, fail a jump and it's back to the start; or, just stand around too long and a giant lizard is likely to munch you (let alone if you're moving through an area strewn with them, among other hazards). It's not just that it's a challenging game, but indeed it demands attention, and won't let you progress until you've shown your competency, at each leg of your journey. It seems like, of the range of people I've seen playing it online, a sizable number of them are very [self admitted] ADHD brains; I'm not sure if the game specifically helps with that condition, but if nothing else, the demand for engagement seems a surprisingly effective way to engage the hyperfocus flow state characteristic of ADHD. For my part, I find I'm rarely thinking about anything else while playing, unless some bit of lore happens to twinge me just right and I have to pause and give it a think.
There's probably a fair amount of merit to discussing games in this context, relating to lifestyle and relaxation, to mental health and so on. It's interesting that such things have generally been frowned upon to discuss in the past, perhaps seen as trivialities, or too off-topic; well, between societal expectations, and a growing sensitivity to our own mental health, perhaps there is room for them after all? :)
Tim
hans:
I find games always a funny one.
"You still play video games? You're 30, it has been 15 years since I last was into video games!"
is very common thing to hear. But meanwhile many people set this societal expectation that board games must be fun. Ugh. Most board games would be described as Dice Simulator with lots of DLC reskins in various game formats. They are also a great way to pretend you hang out with people and then not have conversations with them.
What if, when you're in the mood of "playing" something, you could learn to play something together or against each other, where your choices and outcomes are not predominantly RNG based?
"But that's why I play a sport"
Oh yes thats good for physical health, which games do not pose an alternative for. But I don't think many can play sports for 20hrs+ a week, unless they make it their career. Sporting excessively late at night is also a great way to wreck your sleep schedule, at least it is for me.. So I think its a supplement and not an entire substitute.
Then the other day people will say: "Hey, have you seen that series/movie?"
Sure, I may or may not have seen it. But personally I'm far more interested in open-world RPGs than to watch a 100% linear story. Now again, these 2 hobbies can also be supplemental as playing games can be done at a level thats more recreational than relaxational. But it depends on what type of game you pickup. I think you get the point, though.
Personally I love to play simulator based games, RPGs, team-PvP or PvE, or creative-style games (Tycoons, builders, etc.). The latter can be dangerous though, as there are many games that speak for the engineering analytical mind. Its easy to get carried away and break out the calculator again to find optimal builds for XYZ ::) But I find simulators as a great way to unwind. There is something majestic in picking up a task with no list of requirements, and just do it at whatever immersion depth you wish. I find flight simulators to be excellent for that. In no way do I have the options to be a (professional) pilot, but it fun to try and master these big machines that are out there, and try or learn something every time :)
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