[HN Gopher] Look Where You're Headed
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       Look Where You're Headed
        
       Author : ironmagma
       Score  : 17 points
       Date   : 2023-07-07 20:00 UTC (3 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (blog.quinefoundation.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (blog.quinefoundation.com)
        
       | gumby wrote:
       | The lesson here is the other way around: you go where you look.
       | The author's own bike example says that and it's a standard
       | lesson in driving school (hence "eyes on the road"). You do it
       | while lifting bc when you look straight ahead you adopt what
       | turns out to be the right posture for lifting (it's symmetrical
       | and "straight" so that your lift will be symmetrical too).
       | 
       | This property was used amusingly in Neal Stephenson's novel
       | "Zodiac": since drivers steer where they look, wearing bright,
       | high-viz clothing while cycling increases the chance you will be
       | hit by a car. Thus the only way to cycle safely in Boston is to
       | use the "ninja approach to biking": no reflectors, paint
       | everything black (no shiny rims, crank, etc), wear only black
       | clothes, and no helmet so you can hear danger approaching.
        
         | ironmagma wrote:
         | Author here. Thanks for reading! The idea was to show that if
         | we are intentional about what we look at, it can optimize our
         | lives.
         | 
         | Even outside of the context of sports, sometimes we can knock
         | out 1.5 goals instead of 1 goal just by focusing on the 1 but
         | in a slightly different way than if we didn't know about goal
         | 2.
        
       | thimkerbell wrote:
       | Who takes care of the other stuff, then? Because a corollary is
       | "ignore the trash that others more influential than you have put
       | out there."
        
         | ironmagma wrote:
         | Someone will have to pick up the pieces later. It may be you,
         | or it may be someone whose desired heading corresponds to those
         | other things. If we are talking about value creation, we have
         | to acknowledge there will be externalities we create while
         | creating value. Those will sometimes be good (more opportunity)
         | and sometimes be bad (crappy projects). The hope is that there
         | is more good than bad, otherwise we have a failing startup on
         | our hands.
        
       | foobarbecue wrote:
       | Not sure about the "life lesson" here, but it's definitely a good
       | tip for surfing. You will tend to go where you look. So, if
       | you're trying not to hit somebody paddling, don't look at them!
       | And if you want to do a cutback or something, step 1 is look
       | where you want to go.
        
         | throw0101a wrote:
         | > _You will tend to go where you look._
         | 
         | Taught in driving/motorcycling schools:
         | 
         | * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Target_fixation
        
       | duck wrote:
       | I like this a lot. My dad had told me something similar at a kart
       | race when we were at a much bigger track - he wanted me to look
       | all the way to the turn instead of just in front of me. I've used
       | that since as it is so easy to waste time over correcting along
       | the way when you aim wrong.
        
       | phailhaus wrote:
       | You go where you look. If you keep staring at the tree you're
       | trying to avoid, you'll hit it. I feel like this is what happened
       | to the US in 2016: we kept staring at Trump and couldn't figure
       | out what else to look at.
        
       | nicbou wrote:
       | This is a very important tip if you ride motorcycles. Look at
       | where you want to go, not what you want to avoid.
        
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       (page generated 2023-07-07 23:01 UTC)