Simulator games, to me, have the same basic effect as Old School RuneScape. Basically, it turns everything in the brain off the same way alcohol does (but with fewer though nonzero lingering side effects).
I'm not playing Supermarket Simulator because it's *fun*, I'm playing it because it has an easy action -> reward loop, where you know exactly what to do and the action will always be rewarded in predictable ways. There's zero brainpower involved, which in many cases is a "bonus". Even though I actively enjoy approximately zero seconds of playing the game, it numbs everything else out.
I suspect doomscrolling Reddit or whatever hits psychologically the same effect, but pulls on a different hook to do it (social media pulls the social hook that is designed to motivate people to build relationships; simulator games / RuneScape hit the achievement hook that is designed to motivate people to do basic life / community upkeep tasks like routine foraging or whatever)
My wife watches videos of a guy who cleans up overgrown yards. Personally, I'm a doomscroller with the bad habit of too much rum. On a positive note, scrolling through Substack. I do find wonderful articles like this. I find most computer games boring and easy, although, i am trying to get back into Mine Sweeper. (I know, I'm dating myself lol)
Minesweeper is a classic for a reason, though I was always more partial to Spider Solitaire on old Windows. I feel like I also vaguely remember my first computer coming pre-installed with a pinball game?
Maybe not an interesting comment, but I'm always fascinated hearing older family members' memories of their first computer and what they used it for. (I'm only 23 but my first computer was internet-less Windows, until I successfully pestered my dad into letting me have dial-up for one hour a week so that I could download clip art for Microsoft Word. Good times.)
Woah, had to look it up and it was definitely way before my time. Very cool though - I think the way young people seemed to be nostalgic about the seventies in the early aughts, I'm now stuck on how cool early computing seemed (as someone deep in modern computing who wasn't there to see it). The kinds of things captured from early BBC boards on textfiles.com and in books like Kevin Mitnick's autobiography seem like a whole different world.
I wonder if the generational nostalgia I have for it is the same kind that people used to have for the West before it was settled, when they were already comfortably living in a US with no more frontier.
The sluggard waker is still a position in some Zen centers. There's a person walking around with a bamboo cane who will whack you into alertness if you hold up your hands to indicate that you are feeling sleepy.
It's often used stylistically (and incorrectly), but the & in a firm name has an actual meaning: the two parties are equal partners. Dombey & Son, Dave & Buster's (although I suppose it should be Dave & Buster). Dombey and Son means that the son is a junior partner in the enterprise.
I just wrote about the frog pregnancy test and my favorite thing is that it was immediately preceded by the rabbit pregnancy test (which was itself preceded by the mouse pregnancy test)
I'm defending Powerwash Simulator. It is both relaxing AND satisfying to see a truck or playground or entire fire station complex go from sludgy dirt to squeaky clean. It's ideal to do before bed--soothes your mind and you remember what it feels like to accomplish something! Highly recommend.
Seeing Northernlion referenced in an EH article was a delightful surprise - two edges of my media sphere I did not expect to crossover!
Simulator games, to me, have the same basic effect as Old School RuneScape. Basically, it turns everything in the brain off the same way alcohol does (but with fewer though nonzero lingering side effects).
I'm not playing Supermarket Simulator because it's *fun*, I'm playing it because it has an easy action -> reward loop, where you know exactly what to do and the action will always be rewarded in predictable ways. There's zero brainpower involved, which in many cases is a "bonus". Even though I actively enjoy approximately zero seconds of playing the game, it numbs everything else out.
I suspect doomscrolling Reddit or whatever hits psychologically the same effect, but pulls on a different hook to do it (social media pulls the social hook that is designed to motivate people to build relationships; simulator games / RuneScape hit the achievement hook that is designed to motivate people to do basic life / community upkeep tasks like routine foraging or whatever)
My wife watches videos of a guy who cleans up overgrown yards. Personally, I'm a doomscroller with the bad habit of too much rum. On a positive note, scrolling through Substack. I do find wonderful articles like this. I find most computer games boring and easy, although, i am trying to get back into Mine Sweeper. (I know, I'm dating myself lol)
Minesweeper is a classic for a reason, though I was always more partial to Spider Solitaire on old Windows. I feel like I also vaguely remember my first computer coming pre-installed with a pinball game?
Maybe not an interesting comment, but I'm always fascinated hearing older family members' memories of their first computer and what they used it for. (I'm only 23 but my first computer was internet-less Windows, until I successfully pestered my dad into letting me have dial-up for one hour a week so that I could download clip art for Microsoft Word. Good times.)
I started with a Commodore Vic 20 assembled by yours truly.
(Wayyy beyond 23)
Woah, had to look it up and it was definitely way before my time. Very cool though - I think the way young people seemed to be nostalgic about the seventies in the early aughts, I'm now stuck on how cool early computing seemed (as someone deep in modern computing who wasn't there to see it). The kinds of things captured from early BBC boards on textfiles.com and in books like Kevin Mitnick's autobiography seem like a whole different world.
I wonder if the generational nostalgia I have for it is the same kind that people used to have for the West before it was settled, when they were already comfortably living in a US with no more frontier.
Anyway, thanks for indulging my baseless rambles
The sluggard waker is still a position in some Zen centers. There's a person walking around with a bamboo cane who will whack you into alertness if you hold up your hands to indicate that you are feeling sleepy.
I have always read the Toyota TRD as "turd," and I can't believe the guy who came up with that wasn't fired.
Thanks for mentioning my book, Adam! I did indeed listen to every number one hit from 1958 through today and turned it into a book. I’ve got an excerpt up here for the curious: https://www.cantgetmuchhigher.com/p/you-can-pre-order-my-book
Me: We need to focus on more crazy ideas in research!
Cosimo Research: hold my beer
Off to see if I can custom print a robot meatgrinder tshirt from the public domain….
6 was super interesting but also a bit outdated, discussing not yet arrested for murder Zizians and not yet arrested for fraud SBF
It's often used stylistically (and incorrectly), but the & in a firm name has an actual meaning: the two parties are equal partners. Dombey & Son, Dave & Buster's (although I suppose it should be Dave & Buster). Dombey and Son means that the son is a junior partner in the enterprise.
I just wrote about the frog pregnancy test and my favorite thing is that it was immediately preceded by the rabbit pregnancy test (which was itself preceded by the mouse pregnancy test)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pregnancy_tests_using_animals
I'm defending Powerwash Simulator. It is both relaxing AND satisfying to see a truck or playground or entire fire station complex go from sludgy dirt to squeaky clean. It's ideal to do before bed--soothes your mind and you remember what it feels like to accomplish something! Highly recommend.
Thanks for the shout out Adam! Glad you liked it. I actually used it myself and it's really useful.