Edit: I rewrote this to use “Alice” and “Bob” instead of “you” and “me” as characters to clarify that it’s a thought experiment and not a question about Less Wrong user arundelo (though it is inspired by actual events). I also added a paragraph at the end.
Let’s say Alice asks Bob why he didn’t watch the most recent episode of $TVSHOW and he says, “I didn’t feel like it”, and she asks for more detail. He might tell her that he doesn’t really like $TVSHOW, or that he likes it but wasn’t in the mood and maybe will watch it tomorrow.
Now let’s say she asks him why he didn’t work today and he says, “I didn’t feel like it”, and she asks for more detail. He might tell her that he decided to take a day off because he’s been working a lot lately, or because the weather was nice and he wanted to spend the day hiking.
All these responses seem pretty similar compared to Bob telling Alice, “I don’t know why I didn’t feel like working. I guess work is hard and I’d rather goof off. Or maybe I have some sort of subconscious fear that if I do work I’ll prove that I’m stupid or incompetent. But I’ve only worked a couple hours so far this week and I get paid by the hour, and I’m afraid I’m gonna be late to pay my rent again, and my landlord told me if I’m late again she’s going to file an eviction notice.”
The most important thing is solving the problem, which may involve figuring out if Bob does have a subconscious fear of failure or whatever. But when I use words like “akrasia” or “procrastination”, I’m using them as shorthand for long descriptions like the one in the previous paragraph.
Is it really worthwhile for Bob to avoid the words “akrasia” and “procrastination”? If so, should his short answer to “Why didn’t you work today?” really be “I didn’t feel like it”? Or is there something better?
Yes, I think it is really worthwhile for Bob to avoid the words “akrasia” and “procrastination,” and that the short answer “I didn’t feel like it” is better.
It’s an important feature of this scenario that Bob must work in order to survive, which the akrasia / procrastination frame masks; poetically, he is a slave to Moloch, and it’s important that he uses language that clearly distinguishes what he wants (which is to not work) from what Moloch wants (which is to continue his enslavement).
(A mantra for Bob: is it akrasia or am I a slave?)
Thanks for the response! (I’ve seen you say similar stuff about “akrasia” once or twice before and had been meaning to ask you about it. I’ll think about this.)
Edit: I rewrote this to use “Alice” and “Bob” instead of “you” and “me” as characters to clarify that it’s a thought experiment and not a question about Less Wrong user arundelo (though it is inspired by actual events). I also added a paragraph at the end.
Let’s say Alice asks Bob why he didn’t watch the most recent episode of $TVSHOW and he says, “I didn’t feel like it”, and she asks for more detail. He might tell her that he doesn’t really like $TVSHOW, or that he likes it but wasn’t in the mood and maybe will watch it tomorrow.
Now let’s say she asks him why he didn’t work today and he says, “I didn’t feel like it”, and she asks for more detail. He might tell her that he decided to take a day off because he’s been working a lot lately, or because the weather was nice and he wanted to spend the day hiking.
All these responses seem pretty similar compared to Bob telling Alice, “I don’t know why I didn’t feel like working. I guess work is hard and I’d rather goof off. Or maybe I have some sort of subconscious fear that if I do work I’ll prove that I’m stupid or incompetent. But I’ve only worked a couple hours so far this week and I get paid by the hour, and I’m afraid I’m gonna be late to pay my rent again, and my landlord told me if I’m late again she’s going to file an eviction notice.”
The most important thing is solving the problem, which may involve figuring out if Bob does have a subconscious fear of failure or whatever. But when I use words like “akrasia” or “procrastination”, I’m using them as shorthand for long descriptions like the one in the previous paragraph.
Is it really worthwhile for Bob to avoid the words “akrasia” and “procrastination”? If so, should his short answer to “Why didn’t you work today?” really be “I didn’t feel like it”? Or is there something better?
Yes, I think it is really worthwhile for Bob to avoid the words “akrasia” and “procrastination,” and that the short answer “I didn’t feel like it” is better.
It’s an important feature of this scenario that Bob must work in order to survive, which the akrasia / procrastination frame masks; poetically, he is a slave to Moloch, and it’s important that he uses language that clearly distinguishes what he wants (which is to not work) from what Moloch wants (which is to continue his enslavement).
(A mantra for Bob: is it akrasia or am I a slave?)
Thanks for the response! (I’ve seen you say similar stuff about “akrasia” once or twice before and had been meaning to ask you about it. I’ll think about this.)
(“Meditations on Moloch” link for anyone who didn’t understand the reference.)