on material possessions
For a while now I've been thinking about the philosophy of minimizing how many material possessions you have. The problem seems to be where you're supposed to draw the line between what you can get rid of and what's actually good to hang on to.
Today in 15-610 we were given loaner android phones in preparation for project 4, which will use them as development platforms. The phones came with a month's worth of data plan and also cell phone service. I spent a while playing with it, naturally - this device gives me a constant connection to IRC (and email) in my pocket wherever I go. It also lets me watch facebook, or take pictures and have them emailed off to an arbitrary target within ten seconds of the photographed event happening. The more I fiddled with this gadget, the more frightening I found it. Why? Because if I were to own one of these devices, as soon as I got used to it, my overall happiness and mental health would not have improved at all since going about life without such conveniences. For effect, go back and read that bit about emailing photos again. I think smartphones, then, are not worthwhile possessions. One might make the following argument: android has a GPS app with integrated google maps, which lets me do long road trips in unfamiliar territory. My counter: I like doing long road trips by printing out the directions and consulting them as I go; it's harder, but gives a better sense of adventure, and is not painful if you're used to it.
I have sitting in front of me a plastic egg with silly putty inside, which I picked up as swag from J. Random Company at the EOC a few months ago. Ever since I was a kid, I've always had to have something in my hands to fidget with. (One time my parents heard from my first-grade teacher a warning to not give me mechanical pencils, since they would be disassembled, and another time a caution to check my socks, since I kept pulling the elastic strings out of them.) Silly putty fulfills this need admirably, and is especially good for stress relief, since it reacts to physical force in amusing ways. It's good for keeping my mind on track when up late at night churning out a homework due soon. Since it's so directly good for my mental health, I deem it a worthwhile possession. But what if a monk at the top of a mountain told me old-fashioned stress relief, done with solely mental exercises, were the way to enlightenment? Is there any response?
Another example of something I think is worth owning: pots and pans. Cooking and eating good food is one of my favourite recreation activities, and cookware makes it possible. Something I consider a luxury, though, is using Jake's anodized aluminum skillet (which he's left in care of our kitchen), because of how easy to clean it is (soak in soapy water for a while, wipe down with a sponge, good to go). I would be no less happy overall if I had to struggle with a piece of cast-iron every time I wanted to cook.
What sorts of things do you own that give you better amortized mental health? Have you recently gotten rid of anything and felt happier for it?
Today in 15-610 we were given loaner android phones in preparation for project 4, which will use them as development platforms. The phones came with a month's worth of data plan and also cell phone service. I spent a while playing with it, naturally - this device gives me a constant connection to IRC (and email) in my pocket wherever I go. It also lets me watch facebook, or take pictures and have them emailed off to an arbitrary target within ten seconds of the photographed event happening. The more I fiddled with this gadget, the more frightening I found it. Why? Because if I were to own one of these devices, as soon as I got used to it, my overall happiness and mental health would not have improved at all since going about life without such conveniences. For effect, go back and read that bit about emailing photos again. I think smartphones, then, are not worthwhile possessions. One might make the following argument: android has a GPS app with integrated google maps, which lets me do long road trips in unfamiliar territory. My counter: I like doing long road trips by printing out the directions and consulting them as I go; it's harder, but gives a better sense of adventure, and is not painful if you're used to it.
I have sitting in front of me a plastic egg with silly putty inside, which I picked up as swag from J. Random Company at the EOC a few months ago. Ever since I was a kid, I've always had to have something in my hands to fidget with. (One time my parents heard from my first-grade teacher a warning to not give me mechanical pencils, since they would be disassembled, and another time a caution to check my socks, since I kept pulling the elastic strings out of them.) Silly putty fulfills this need admirably, and is especially good for stress relief, since it reacts to physical force in amusing ways. It's good for keeping my mind on track when up late at night churning out a homework due soon. Since it's so directly good for my mental health, I deem it a worthwhile possession. But what if a monk at the top of a mountain told me old-fashioned stress relief, done with solely mental exercises, were the way to enlightenment? Is there any response?
Another example of something I think is worth owning: pots and pans. Cooking and eating good food is one of my favourite recreation activities, and cookware makes it possible. Something I consider a luxury, though, is using Jake's anodized aluminum skillet (which he's left in care of our kitchen), because of how easy to clean it is (soak in soapy water for a while, wipe down with a sponge, good to go). I would be no less happy overall if I had to struggle with a piece of cast-iron every time I wanted to cook.
What sorts of things do you own that give you better amortized mental health? Have you recently gotten rid of anything and felt happier for it?