General > General Technical Chat
Stuck in a rut for years
T3sl4co1l:
Cheers mate.
The internet -- you get out of it what you want to, I suppose. Whether that happens consciously or not. Maybe I have the benefit of having grown up on it (you're about 10 years older than me), or developed different perspectives or strategies on minding where I hang out, what I watch (and don't!).
At least for me I would say, as far as something like, using YouTube -- be careful and critical of what you watch, pick things that interest you. Build up an immunity for clickbait, refuse to click on "you won't believe <clearly false thing>!" thumbnails. Hide them if you have to.
The recommendation system is statistical, you click on some subject, it'll recommend more, give or take how much of it you watched, and pretty quickly you can end up spammed with a topic that you aren't actually all that interested in (or that's entirely erroneous).
The thing to remember is, you still have will and agency, even in these finely crafted corporate gardens of recommended content; the trick is, they don't know you well enough to recommend things from first principles, it's much simpler than that, just that some topics (or creators) cluster closer to others you've watched, and so are more likely to be recommended in the future. Don't want any more of it? Just tune it out, eventually it will disappear. You are the owner and creator of your own echo chamber. Be aware of it, recognize it, understand what you've let inside, be aware of things on the edge or outside your scope -- maybe check on random unrelated topics once in a while, who knows, maybe you'll discover something that captures your interest.
Supposedly, platforms like Tiktok are exceptionally bad at this, filling your feed say with scantily-clad women performing vacuous content the instant you swipe on one, or maybe from-adam just because those vids are so popular they'll assume you'll be as interested in them as the average platform user is. I don't use it, I don't know for sure. That's for the better I'm sure. It's particularly insidious closing a positive feedback loop of saccharine (or worse) content to young minds, that haven't developed a discipline for topics of more than superficial interest.
As for being critical, that goes for absolutely anything; always think about what they're really saying, what they might be leaving out, and why -- maybe there's an agenda (especially on politicized topics), maybe there's simply ignorance (no shortage of that among electronics topics, for example!), maybe it ticks all the boxes and is widely supported by multiple others in the field, by significant and diverse evidence, etc.
As for places to hang out -- not sure, honestly. Forums have gone the way of the dodo. Pretty sure this is the best electronics-themed one anymore. There are other sites, like Quora or Stack of course, but they're geared towards answering questions, usually with strict moderation (it's not a discussion group!), and, well, random people on the internet being what they are -- the range of questions, and quality, is probably even more inane than the spread we get here.
What do people do instead, then? Tons of discussion groups moved to Discord. Or Facebook. Or users on Twitter. I don't know of any reasonable electronics related groups offhand, but I'm sure there's a few out there. Discord isn't public searchable AFAIK, it's a hidden garden, good luck. FB is if the groups are public. And Twitter, does have some good threads from time to time, but I might not recommend sifting through the miles of muck to find them. (That said, I'm fond of perusing https://twitter.com/kenshirriff and related feeds, from time to time.)
Regarding the hesitation with transistors -- heh, I can identify with that feeling I think. Let's see, what was the last thing... Maybe just motivating in general? Say, testing a new selection of components in a prototype -- like, there's a few ways I can go about doing this, change these, change those, do I test each time, do I test a whole set (multiple changes at once), do I want to do a setup to make it easier to change parts, or to take the measurements, or... And it just spirals through analysis paralysis and getting-ready-to-wait syndrome. Undiagnosed ADHD something, probably -- but these are actually very common symptoms that people have, to varying severity, and often clustering with other things too: anxiety, ASD, etc. Maybe you've felt these sorts of forces (or blocks) a long time, maybe wondered if that's just how things are, whether anyone else does it; well -- don't be afraid about it, definitely people do. Maybe get to know a few people like that, be gracious, understanding, patient, curious, share like experiences; I think it's also a common experience that, a lot of people, men especially, are raised to keep things bottled up, private, British stiff upper lip in your case, I suppose? -- but as it happens, there's no harm in being sensitive about these things. Like, maybe you indeed have undiagnosed ADHD or something, maybe something to look into -- therapy? medication? -- or maybe it's completely different, I'm just spitballing examples here. But the point is, everyone's a bit nuts, and we don't have to hide that; we do have to work through a shared social language (written, spoken, and body language, and etiquette too!), and be gracious and give benefit of a doubt and ask for clarification when needed.
No idea if any of these ramblings in turn are helpful, maybe I've touched upon a few ideas that hit home, I know you've been frustrated by various things before -- the thing with frustration is, it's a very real thing, maybe anyone else in your exact circumstances would lash out too, but maybe it really is something you've overlooked about yourself, or something you've misinterpreted about the situation; always be willing to stop, take a step back, think about it, think about yourself, do some introspection -- at the very least, you may gain an appreciation for why people might be responding to you some way, or what you're doing to influence or trigger that; often, there's a list of possibilities that you just don't know about (because of ignorance of their priorities, or ignorance of psychology in general -- brains are weird, alright?).
Oh, related, I suspect this very process (introspection) is the, for some reason rarely spoken/described, real purpose of meditation. Or anything that works like that, be it physically related too (e.g. Yoga) or religiously themed (loops of prayers?). (I mean, Yoga is religious too, but additionally I mean.) Seems to me, like, I at least can put my mind to very literal purposes, like, you want me to say a prayer ten times in a row so what, it's just words through my head, what have I actually accomplished? I suspect for most people, it's that their heads are constantly filled with thoughts, whether intrusive, undisciplined, or just completely random; forcing concentration onto something repetitive clears the mind, maybe opens one up to thoughts about oneself, maybe not necessarily pleasant thoughts at that, but those too are things we need to introspect about. Anyway, maybe that's helpful to some people, praying or meditating or whatever; but whenever I tried it, I find -- perhaps I'm too literal, and I can in fact fill my mind with just the thing being repeated, or nothing at all if in silent contemplation. It's no value to me, it does absolutely nothing. I'd rather just go right in and think about things directly!
But anyway, yeah, there's a lot of people here I suspect, who maybe never realized things about themselves, whether it's just how they really feel about things, or how others think of them or their behavior, or whether it's mental condition, or indeed disorder (diagnosed or not), and as a result, a lot of people have limited views on multitudes of subjects or experiences, and so often end up frustrated when things don't seem to go right (indeed maybe they don't ever go right..!).
Idunno. Usual disclaimers, IANAPsychiatrist, cash value three trillionths of a bitcoin, etc...
Cheers all,
Tim
unknownparticle:
For me, youtube is very useful. I'm not denying there is alot of utter garbage on there but that isn't a problem, just don't watch that sort of material!! I regularly block channels that are pushed at me so I don't get annoyed at seeing their stupid names and click bait titles appear in my recommendations, so the power is there to filter the cr4p.
I found it massively helpful when I began my journey into surface mount soldering, as although my soldering skill for through hole etc is more than competent, I found the prospect of surface mount daunting. Couple of hours watching and absorbing experts do it and a few practice boards and components later and I was on it like a pro! Although it did help that I invested in a Metcal station and a range of tips, that is a superb piece of kit!
My more than 40 year old Weller station has been a stalwart and has never given a moments trouble, it's just not the thing for SMD. Still serves well on my vintage stuff though.
Also very useful for fault finding on modern cars with ECU's and body modules everywhere. If you have a problem that is proving tricky to locate, bets are that someone else has had the same issue and has solved it. Watching their process builds your own knowledge of how to approach other problems in the future.
There are some VERY, VERY clever people on youtube, particularly in the electronics field, where else could you find such expertise so easily?!
hans:
--- Quote from: sokoloff on November 04, 2022, 07:07:28 pm ---I remember reading a paper (more realistically the abstract and skimming the paper) that said there was evidence that telling someone about a plan you have activates some of the same reward pathways in your brain as actually doing the thing. It wouldn't surprise me at all to learn that watching someone accomplish a task on YouTube gives you some of that same experience.
--- End quote ---
It's even worse. It doesn't even to be seeing someone else doing it.. just thinking about it yourself how you would do it is enough! So say you fantasize about recreating this particular project you are gazing at online. You may sketch a small circuit, block diagram.. may even make a start in CAD. But then you lose interest as the grind sets in, because that seems intense.. It's outside of my attention span for that moment..
A colleague of mine told me it's a classic symptom of ADHD. He described it as being different from lazy.. it's not that I don't want to finish this project, or have no interest or passion for things. But I'm often only able to draw into *new* things. I can only finish things under time pressure, at say work, or because of an external factor. Sometimes 'peer pressure' can help, say I'm cooperating on a project with a friend.. but solo with zero consequence I often just can't push myself to finish it. It's this on/off interest is something I'm quite familiar with. I start lots of projects but finish like 5% tops. That's why I described that getting moody at slow progress, annoying bugs, frustrating mistakes, is a huge obstacle for me. I tend to ignore it for a long time, but it gives me a lot of stress. Nowadays I much rather make a small 3D CAD drawing in the morning and have it printed in the afternoon. :-//
But my passion is not in mech eng. I'm not interested in making very nice parameterized 3D models, it's neat but too much hassle to perfect. I don't care much for the physics of some mechanical apparatus, or very dynamic systems like robotics.
It's almost orthogonal to how I approach electronics, as in my education/work I am supposed to (read: need) to grind through simulations, modelling, quantiative analysis and write papers about it. It's my job and something I do like to do, but I do need to put (or find) myself in the right mindset to complete it.
On a related note.. read the wikipedia article on anhedonia. It's not a pretty subject as it's intensely linked to depression.. but basically it describes that typical people will have 2 types of ways to enjoy an activity: it's the anticipation for an activity, and the actual execution of that activity. Some people may not find joy in telling everyone they're going for an epic bike ride that weekend, but can still make themselves do it and actually like it. Others may actually look intensely forward to working on a hobby, but then as they start immediately lose interest in it.
Disclaimer: I'm not a psychologist nor psychiatrist, and I don't encourage self-diagnosis nor want to imply of my descriptions are accurate or apply to anyone in this thread. Consult a professional . :)
jpanhalt:
Hi eti,
There is a basic fact you don't seem to realize. When you work for someone else, that person calls the shots. When you work for yourself, you call the shots. You have proved at age 47 that you can do neither.
In your first example, you were an employee and refused to make deliveries for your boss. Did you really think the boss should do that for you? You were the "go pher." Your boss's time in the shop was more valuable than yours. You got fired rightfully. The rest of your history is more of the same. No one really cares how you feel. What they want is a productive employee. If you wanted to be a boss, you should have stayed in school and learned more than how to have fun why engaging in you hobby. Most professionals (e.g., lawyers, physicians, professors, nurses, etc.) have made "it" by age 35, much less 47.
So, you have cast around for 30+ years and now want help from this forum. Do you really want the truth? The horse is out of the barn. It's too late to do what you should have done years ago. Get a job, work hard, do what you are asked to do and survive on your own. My mother's advice was simple, "John, you need to work hard, or you will lose your job, go broke, and starve to death." She was the most senior child in a large immigrant family when the depression hit. They survived very well. Today, there are safety nets for those who don't want to work. That choice is yours. Why complain here that you are in a rut when you won't take any advice that doesn't support your "passion?"
eti:
--- Quote from: ebastler on November 04, 2022, 09:55:09 pm ---I admit that I am rather annoyed by eti's choice not to respond or react in any way to most of the posts here -- including many which were obviously written with good intentions, and with an investment of time and thought.
On the one hand, that's my problem, and probably what I deserve for taking part in the "General Chat" against my own advice above. ;) On the other hand, it may say something about eti's problem if he is not even willing to follow up on a discussion he started himself (with a request for help, mind you).
--- End quote ---
You know, with due respect, I do have a life outside an internet forum. Is there a schedule within which I should reply? I’ve endured a great deal of trauma and heartbreak the last three years. I’m very solitary. I’ll reply when I’m ready to. You’ve no idea of my life, who I am or what I’m doing, minute to minute. If you step outside the forum and don’t keep checking to see if people have replied, then it’s not going to bother you.
Cheerio for now.
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