[HN Gopher] Step Inside the Real World of Compulsive Hoarders (2...
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       Step Inside the Real World of Compulsive Hoarders (2013)
        
       Author : yamrzou
       Score  : 15 points
       Date   : 2022-11-08 17:43 UTC (1 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.scientificamerican.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.scientificamerican.com)
        
       | reshie wrote:
       | there was a mentality mostly from the depression era where it
       | kind of got to hording in the when there was excess that
       | mentality never changed much for that generation.
       | 
       | it is all measured its the extremes that are bad and really
       | applies to anything.
        
       | yamrzou wrote:
       | The article talks about hoarding objects, newspapers and
       | magazines. The digital equivalent would be bookmarks, browser
       | tabs and data hoarding (https://old.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/).
        
         | Eleison23 wrote:
         | What about browser extensions?
         | 
         | I had a neighbor who gave his computer to another neighbor. I
         | found dozens of browser tabs that had inevitably introduced
         | malware. His addiction was innocent enough: he wanted online
         | deals, coupon codes, and discounts. The browser extensions
         | promised the world and delivered spyware, adware, malware.
        
         | nonrandomstring wrote:
         | This is digital hoarding [1]
         | 
         | [1] https://cheapskatesguide.org/articles/techno-clutter-
         | farnell...
        
         | kerblang wrote:
         | I have dealt with lots of programmer hoarding, the "we might
         | decide to bring this back someday" sort of thing. Yes I know
         | source control would handle that in theory, but it's just not
         | the same sense of security as having it _right there_.
         | 
         | I finally made an extra repo just for hoarding, where I could
         | toss old crap and assure people that it's safe and sound.
        
         | pessimizer wrote:
         | A wonderful change, too. I come from a family with many
         | compulsive hoarders, and I'd probably be (or am) one too, but
         | all of my 2xNASes worth of hoarding could fit in a rolling
         | carry-on suitcase.
        
       | gkrimer wrote:
       | Not sure this is HN-worthy but the following was my experience
       | dealing with a hoarder on the other side of me in Mountain View:
       | 
       | https://m.yelp.com/user_details_reviews_self?userid=1jKEOS2t...
       | 
       | 50+ rats!!! I have pictures.
        
       | itronitron wrote:
       | Like any good article about a psychological disorder, it will
       | leave every reader with the sense that they also may suffer from
       | the condition.
        
         | kayodelycaon wrote:
         | It does, mostly because people don't have context to judge the
         | severity of their own tendencies.
         | 
         | Psychology is kind of a mess.
         | 
         | A great many disorders are on a spectrum from normal variation
         | to truly severe, disabling symptoms.
         | 
         | We also don't know enough to definitively identify the causes
         | of a person's disorder. For example, many cases of depression
         | are caused by circumstances. In those cases, depression may be
         | an expected result. Other cases are inherited genetic defects,
         | which no amount of circumstance can fix.
         | 
         | Edit: definitely -> definitively
        
           | Eleison23 wrote:
           | We would know enough, except people tend to reject the
           | philosophers and prophets who impart ancient knowledge in
           | ways too mysterious to accept as truth.
        
             | kayodelycaon wrote:
             | That's an interesting perspective. I had a few classes in
             | philosophy but I'm not entirely sure what realm of ancient
             | knowledge would be applicable here.
             | 
             | Would you happen to have a Wikipedia link or two to some of
             | the stuff you're thinking of?
        
       | yamrzou wrote:
       | https://archive.ph/dm9rV
        
       | treeman79 wrote:
       | Had a friend who's parents are hoarders. My wife's parents are
       | hoarders. Both "clean" in such that nothing rotting.
       | 
       | Wife and my daughters all have strong tendencies toward it.
       | 
       | After years of struggle I got immediate family hooked on KonMari
       | method for what to keep.
       | 
       | It's been amazing for them as now that everything they own has a
       | specific place, they don't want to screw it by having something
       | without an assigned spot.
       | 
       | My budget has improved dramatically from reduced spending.
       | 
       | Wife's parents bought a much larger house and a huge workshop
       | space bigger then the house. Initially everything fit.
       | 
       | Bet my wife by end of a year it would all be filled floor to
       | ceiling.
       | 
       | I won the bet :(
        
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