[crawfordcomeaux]

I started using animism yesterday to motivate me to do the dishes, viewing them as the physical embodiment of souls that I, their god, allowed to get moldy/rusty through neglect.

I think when we introduce choice/attention into the theory that we construct reality out of beliefs, emotions, culture (thought/behavior patterns), and intentions, it's possible to find all kinds of useful frameworks.

Maybe the idea of "scientific validity" needs to be adapted for subjective experiences constructed by us.

[blobbers]

You win a prize for the most bizarre story I'll read today.

That said, I think one thing you indicate here is helpful - life is a personal experience, and while some people may experience motivation from the exercise of willpower, others may feel they have their willpower 'broken down' over time.

I think the specific context of the experiment really does impact the results.

It is never as simple as: WILLPOWER [<3 <3 <3 </] HP [<3 <3 <3 <3]

etc.

[tinymollusk]

How do you think we could adapt that concept to subjective experiences? As I've gotten older (and learned to manage my mental state better), I've found great benefit from separating "scientifically true" and "useful to lead a good life".

I suppose that makes me a hypocrite in the same way that devoutly religious scientists are. But it makes my life more fulfilled, I experience less anxiety, etc.

It's an interesting ride, whatever it is.

[crawfordcomeaux]

I think one thing that needs to happen is a wider adoption of the pragmatic view described here:

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/structure-scientific-theo...

Mainstream approaches to science are obsessively objective, denying the fact that everything we do is a subject experience. So many people learn the idea that things can only be true or false, as opposed to things being dependent on the lens through which they're viewed. We see the same sort of separation in our politics.

I think we need a framework for self-observation. Granted, we have systems in place designed to punish us for being ourselves, so that'll have to change, too.

If you want to learn how to work in a field dedicated to observing & documenting something, then first or concurrently learn to responsibly observe & document yourself. The goal is to maximize self-awareness, which I think everyone can benefit from in some way.

[tinymollusk]

This looks very interesting, thanks!

I agree about the usefulness of such a framework. Subjective experiences draw optimizations (self-improvement), so by observing, we naturally are changed. This does not assume improvement; for that, we have to combine change with a fitness function.