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I've noticed that consciousness recedes when I'm deep in a coding phase, many back-to-back days in flow. My mind narrows to tunnel-vision, fixated on the software and its issues. My sense of self shrinks; non-code ideas cease to arise; I get less curious; writing yields little.

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joe

@addrinuse

Oct 18, 2020

This is something ive struggled with recently, especially with trying to pinpoint how programming differs from other work. Of your hypotheses for me it is noticing due to more self-awareness. You put into words something ive felt very strongly in the last year or so.

joe

@addrinuse

Oct 18, 2020

Another observation of my experience at least, is a much lower level of presence at home. Honestly before your thread I attributed some of this to attention-related issues or something along those lines.

Andy Matuschak

@andy_matuschak

Replying to

@addrinuse

Yeah, definitely. It *is* an attention-related issue: I lose the ability (or more accurately: interest? inclination?) to place my attention on anything non-abstract, non-technical, etc.

2:56 AM · Oct 18, 2020Twitter Web App

Replying to

I appreciate your candor. This thread has definitely made this experience feel less isolating. I too get that feeling of loss-of-ability or powerlessness.

George Pór #StandWithUkraine

@technoshaman

Oct 18, 2020

Replying to

@andy_matuschak

, did you try placing the half of your attention on your breath, whilst you're coding in the flow? I'm a knowledge ecologist, not a programmer but in my research, I frequently get into a disturbingly disembodied flow. When I notice, I turn on my Tantric breathing.

Andy Matuschak

@andy_matuschak

Oct 18, 2020

I haven’t! I’ll try—thanks for suggesting. I’ve been meditating daily for years (samatha + vipassana), but my sense is that my practice is too weak to remain effective at coding when adopting “vast" attention.

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