In praise of idleness

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• youngbenny · May 11, 2013 · Recommends

  Looking for good books to read. Any recommendations? I liked these: Everything and More, David Foster Wallace Gödel, Escher, Bach, Douglas Hofstadter Collected Fictions, Jorge Luis Borges In Praise of Idleness, Bertrand Russell Antifragile, Nassim Taleb The Long Way, Bernard Moitessier Deceit, Desire, and the Novel, Rene Girard The Wu-Tang Manual, RZA Meditations, Marcus Aurelius Essays, Michel de Montaigne…

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• crispyambulance · Jun 8, 2021 · Recommends

  Read also a much better essay by a vastly more skilled writer with quite a different view, Bertrand Russell, "In Praise of Idleness." https://harpers.org/archive/1932/10/in-praise-of-idleness/ Russell would say that people of the age to be tech start-up fodder should instead DO NOTHING. It's better for them and for society. > I…

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• jrogers65 · Feb 16, 2013 · Recommends

  …time to think, reconcile and determine the best path to take as opposed to mindlessly doing as much as possible just to earn enough for bread and shelter. Bertrand Russell wrote a good essay on this - In Praise Of Idleness: http://www.zpub.com/notes/idle.html As a software developer, someone who will stay employed in the coming years, I'm willing to give up some of my salary so that the newly unemployed can continue to…

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• yesbabyyes · Mar 6, 2017 · Recommends

  …to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond - Empires: The Logic of World Domination from Ancient Rome to the United States by Herfried Münkler - Smedley D. Butler's War is a Racket (more of an exposé) - In Praise of Idleness by Bertrand Russell (ditto) - Neuromancer by William Gibson

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• drunkpotato · Nov 1, 2011 · Recommends

  …less work, and by that standard we are woefully regressing. Someone posted this the other day, which I'd never read before but I thought was quite an eloquent argument for the same. Bertrand Russell, In Praise of Idleness: http://www.zpub.com/notes/idle.html

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• norswap · Sep 9, 2012 · Recommends

  I encourage you to read the essay referenced in the article: http://www.zpub.com/notes/idle.html (In Praise of Idleness, by Bertrand Russel) A true eye opener.

  on “What Work is Really For” ↗
• ssivark · Dec 5, 2019 · Recommends

  …a more detailed exposition on what goes into achieving a "flow" state, I recommend checking out Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi's book titled Flow. For more on "leisure", I recommend Bertrand Russell's essay In praise of idleness.

  on “Busyness leads to bad decisions” ↗
• baoqdau · Apr 4, 2021 · Recommends

  I love Bertrand Russell man. His essays are so beautifully written. In praise of idleness is a banger. The conquest of happiness is a joy to read. His writings are so clear. The way he elucidates his thought process is sublime. What a cool guy.

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• demian · Mar 3, 2012 · Recommends

  There is nothing wrong with working 10 or 11 hours, if you want to. The problem is when programmers DON'T want to stay overtime. Have you read "In Praise of Idleness" by Bertrand Russell? It raises some interesting questions. http://www.zpub.com/notes/idle.html

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• EvilTerran · Jul 1, 2012 · Recommends

  …particularly the paragraphs "Idleness is not just a vacation ..." and "The goal of the future is full unemployment, so we can play ...", express a similar sentiment to my favourite essay: Bertrand Russell - In Praise Of Idleness http://www.zpub.com/notes/idle.html

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• dvanduzer · Sep 6, 2013 · Recommends

  …would also optimize the use of their employees' time. I think your understanding of Soviet economic policy is probably a bit naive, but for a high level overview of my philosophy, I'd recommend Russell's In Praise of Idleness[1]. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nomi... [1] http://www.zpub.com/notes/idle.html

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• phaemon · May 18, 2015 · Recommends

  …being used as tradeable goods, not as currency. There's a difference. Bertrand Russell wrote an essay on getting rid of the gold standard called "The Modern Midas". You'll find it in the collection "In Praise of Idleness". You might find it interesting. In fact, you might find the whole collection interesting, though I doubt you'd agree with any of them. > Surely you understand that other people very much would, even…

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• phaemon · Jul 7, 2015 · Recommends

  Perhaps you'd prefer Bertrand Russell's "In Praise of Idleness", which uses clearer language to express much the same sentiments.

  on “The abolition of work” ↗
• DenisM · Apr 10, 2018 · Recommends

  …community values of the SV culture back to the community itself. It may get tiresome after a while, but less so when you settle comfortably into your own work ethics. On a related note, there is an essay "In praise of idleness" [1] by Bertrand Russell - he is one of the greatest minds, and his work gives excellent form to many of your thoughts. I think you will thoroughly enjoy it. [1] https://harpers.org/archive/1932/10/in-praise-of-idleness/

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• Jun8 · Apr 21, 2018 · Recommends

  …wasting is not wasted time". This quote is usually attributed to Bertrand Russell, but he didn't say it (https://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/06/11/time-you-enjoy/), he has written a good essay titled "In Praise of Idleness", though, https://harpers.org/archive/1932/10/in-praise-of-idleness/. However, I think there he was talking about idleness as the opposite of work forced on you. Nowadays it's clear that the enemy is…

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