>in areas where there is an arbitrary choice between particular words or terms within the code, the watermark can be used, such as comments within code.
I wonder if this is why Opus 5 keeps writing excessively long comments, even though I keep instructing it not to (both in chat, CLAUDE.md, and in its memories)
The BBC had a programme "Your Home Made Perfect" where they would give people a VR demo of two potential home renovations, then they'd build the one they chose. This was a few years back though, so they're using Oculus Gos [0]
After reading about the default mode network here a few times recently, I think missing out on all that critical "daydreaming" time is a bigger problem. I've stopped listening to things while I'm out walking, and I've noticed a lot more solutions and ideas coming to me. The DMN seems to fall into a similar area as meditation (remember when that was all the rage among tech leaders?); the lowered input noise gives the brain time to clear things out.
I'm a big fan of having noise cancelling earphones in with no music or audio when going for a walk. It's amazing how it forces you to think as you say and brings a kind of clarity.
I am a big fan of walking around in nature (even parks) enjoying nature sounds. It positively affects my mood. Bird sounds are my favorite, but while in bed I love the rain outside.
No doubt this website has a better range of sounds, but this is also built into iOS/MacOS as an accessibility feature which means you can use it even when offline.
Everything has its moments :) Most of the times I like complete silence, so often I sit up until 3-4 so I can sit on the balcony for 10/15 minutes in complete silence. Other times walking in nature hearing the environment and animals brings a lot of mindfulness and introspection. I've been nostalgic for the sounds of a running train in the past too, or just the rumble of living next to a busy plaza, but too much of that would be annoying too.
I often put AirPods in and turn the noise cancellation on, but don't play any audio. Many other commenters mention the same thing.
Different people have different levels of ability to filter out background noise. Some people can focus and ignore the outside world so much that you have to wave a hand in front of their face if you need their attention. Other people can't help but parse background conversations and noises all around them.
Noise cancelling headphones level the playing field for people in the second category: It allows them to dial down the distractions and focus like the first group when their environment is fighting hard against it.
Even listening to background music has the same effect for many people. Music, especially familiar music, is not necessarily engaging enough to pull people out of their relaxed states and focus on the music.
I miss daydreaming too. In younger years, I often had boring, repetitive work but I could daydream the full day. Then as more you need the brain for work, as less time you have to daydream. Now I have really cool work, but I can't daydream at all.
Even I use mostly public transportation (train) and have my headphones with me, I rarely use they. I kind like to hear and feel the people around me.
In high school and college I worked at a Christmas tree farm, and eventually was also a landscaper/hardscaper, caring for, digging up and planting trees, and building retaining walls and patios. At the time it made for good motivation to keep doing well in school, as the hours were long, and while easy for a fit 18-22 year old, definitely back breaking kind of stuff.
However, looking back on it I miss those weeks and months on end of having 6+ hours a day to be outside, working my body, but doing tasks that let my mind wander all over. No doubt those years of daydreaming helped me become the person I am today, and everybody has to grow up at some point, but I do wish I could get more of that back into my daily life. In fact, I think a large part of my current path towards early retirement is just to have that sort of time back.
> After reading about the default mode network here a few times recently, I think missing out on all that critical "daydreaming" time is a bigger problem.
Part of the reason why I listen to music and scroll my phone is to get some peace from the default mode network.
I don't feel like I would do it as often if my mind didn't insist on being busy all the time.
> The DMN seems to fall into a similar area as meditation (remember when that was all the rage among tech leaders?); the lowered input noise gives the brain time to clear things out.
I am not skilled enough in that department to say anything with certainty. But formal meditation is about intentionally focusing the mind, and the talkative mind or whatever it is called in the buddhist traditions is probably this default mode network. Which is the first obstacle; being able to focus on the meditation object without having your attention hijacked because oh what's for dinner, did I send that email, but what about that other email, oh but I couldn't log in on my phone, oh by the way that phone is also annoying in terms of that related thing, but I should stop using my phone as much anyway what about getting one of those dual SIM cards that I read about on HN.
In my experience, it's probably healthier for the mind to have the DMN active more than someone who can distract themselves all the time do. But to me DMT looks to meditation like sunbathing looks to a day's hike (yeah you're outside for both of these activities but).
I'll take the opportunity to add that there are as many meditative goals and techniques as there are cultures.
What you are describing is likely closest to certain forms of zazen, in which one tries to focus on just one thing or no-thing in order to quiet the mind.
However, just as common, is the various vipassana schools in which one attempts to gain specific insight through specific observation.
In the former, enlightenment comes from still states, in the latter from evolving states.
Then of course there are many visualization and trance traditions, though those are more common the further west you go from SEA.
All that is to say that not all meditation is simple sitting. There are walking meditations, dancing meditations, chanting meditations, visualizations, prayer, etc. And while they differ in technique, they all have the goal of achieving some specific state of mind.
I wouldn't go so far as to say the DMN is akin to mediation. The DMN what activates when your brain is not focused on the outside world, eg when you're reflecting on the past, or contemplating the future. That's almost precisely the opposite of mindfulness, which is about the somatic experience of the present moment.
To give you another perspective, I think I suffer from far too much DMN activity. It's very easy for "reflection" to slide into rumination. Increase DMN activity is highly correlated with depression. And I found daily mindfulness meditation to be incredibly helpful at counterbalancing that, spending less time in my head and more time in my embodied experience.
I've done the exact same. I frequently take walks and walk places and often used that time for an audio book or podcast. A zen revelation has been taking these walks and not bringing my phone. It's my daily meditation.
> The DMN seems to fall into a similar area as meditation
I'm curious about the relationship between mind wandering as exploration leading to insight and mind wandering as rumination. It seems like DMN is more associated with the latter. Its association with meditation likely comes from studies like the below.
Meditation leads to reduced default mode network activity beyond an active task
ADHD + Airpods means that I'm often putting them in, and stepping out of the house and completely forgetting to put something on. I'll just walk around with the noise cancelling on and it's super nice in a busy city.
Yeah, I have noticed this as well. When I’m trying to solve a difficult problem, it seems that way more ideas arrive to me unprompted when I take a break from heavy listening.
Sounds like the "Penfield Mood Organ"[0] from Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. Characters "dial" emotions, from basic to extremely specific (e.g. "481. Awareness of the manifold possibilities open [...] in the future", or "888 [...] The desire to watch TV, no matter what's on it")
It could be considered similar to this. In a way the Penfield Mood Organ could be seen as something that gives people emotional autonomy and optimization, not too different than choosing the right music for the moment to shift your mood.
Of course with something like this there are also concerns about emotional conformity and losing authenticity. And questions about what is considered a real authentic emotional experience vs a manufactured one.
Some might consider what we're building "manufactured" emotional experiences. But are emotions elicited from music and movies manufactured? Just because something is happening on a screen or coming through speakers doesn't make it any less meaningful. Our brains don't know the difference and the feeling is real.
Media influences our emotions probably more than anything right now and for the most part is currently being fed to us by algorithms designed to prey on our most vulnerable feelings. What we're building gives you the ability to regain control over your emotions and inner world. It's more about using art, audiovisual, media, storytelling, and guided practices to move you through something real. It's about emotional awareness, exploration, and transformation more than artificially induced control. Of course like any tech it's up to people how they choose to use it. But we are trying to design it in a way that prioritizes the emotional benefit and personal growth of each user.
It's an interesting philosophical conversation that could go much deeper. I appreciate the feedback and reflection.
Blender is nothing like chromium. It's not made by a big company, it sprung up in an extremely for-profit niche (and it has like 4 serious competitors that are all actively in use)
There were so many excellent touches and insights in the documentary. And I got goosebumps in a couple of places.
Also the Half-Life documentary they released last year was one hour long. The Half-Life 2 documentary is two hours long. I sure doesn't feel like 2 hours.
Highly recommended. (There are manual English subtitles included that seem perfect too, if you need them.)
These documentaries are nice but I feel they're missing something by being commissioned. Obviously they don't contain any criticism about Valve, but is it still documentary or just marketing material?
In this era of marketing and polish, honesty I don't really take anything from big companies or 'big people' at face value. Everything is scripted and wordsmithed within an inch of its life.
Even if something was genuine...it's hard to tell.
I checked the download page[0] and next to the download button they say they will do this
>You will also receive in-app notifications with promotional offers from Microsoft
[0] https://www.bing.com/apps/wallpaper?pc=w011&brand=bing
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