HN Books @HNBooksMonth

What he describes seems to be the same as flow ...the mental state of operation in which a person in an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity.

For tips on how to create the zone that OP is talking about, read the wikipedia article [1]. The book Flow by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi [2] is also highly recommended.

1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology)#Components_of...

2: http://www.amazon.com/Flow-Psychology-Experience-Mihaly-Csik...

⬐ smz

I was thinking exactly the same thing (as others seem to have done). As a competitive gamer, what the post describes certainly sounds like flow. Unfortunately, as others have mentioned, it's not always easy to replicate. The best I can do is turn on music and let my fingers do the rest.

His book is really worth reading. I suspect his editor wanted it to be a self-help book and sometimes it reads that way, but it's strongly based on years of observations and collected evidence.

http://www.amazon.com/Flow-Psychology-Experience-Mihaly-Csik...

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience http://www.amazon.com/Flow-Psychology-Experience-Mihaly-Csik...

The Design of Everyday Things http://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Donald-Norman/d...

This review is for a relatively new book. I prefer the classic(there's a section - flow in sex for the curious.[had to mention as it has been sexytime last couple days here with orgasms and all!].

If you need the classic : http://www.amazon.com/dp/0060920432/ Flow:The Psychology of Optimal Experience

This book is not those personal-help books, instead inspires/motivates you to overcome (hacking pseudocode for the layman); if I may compare - very similar to talk about getting over "the wall" by Randy Pausch, but this book gives more insight 'behind-the-scenes'.

⬐ tom_b

I second the original book. It's a good read and offers up a simple recipe for finding/building flow experiences. I suspect most hackers already have experienced flow and that maybe this experience is what keeps hacking such an addictive activity. But it's cool to think about flow in other arenas of life as well.

The article mentions the concept of "flow." This concept is described in detail in the book "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. I highly recommend this book!

http://www.amazon.com/Flow-Psychology-Experience-Mihaly-Csik...

That's called flow. I've been reading a book by Mihaly Csikszentmihaly on that ( http://www.amazon.com/Flow-Psychology-Experience-Mihaly-Csik... ).

That's what drives me, too.

I wasn't recommending looking everywhere, I was recommending being open to looking anywhere that catches your fancy.

The thing that is independent/unique about somebody isn't a static criterion that remains unchanging over time, it's more the trajectory you end up taking that's constantly evolving over time. All I'm saying is: don't exclude reading about past failures when you make your choices on what to do next. It's fine to say ok, let's stop reading for a while and try building this one thing my mind has settled on. That's a great habit to acquire.

The unpronounceable author of Flow: http://www.amazon.com/Flow-Psychology-Experience-Mihaly-Csik... says the most successful people alternate periods in closed states when they focus on a specific concrete project with periods in open states where they demonstrate huge appetite for new ideas.

I'm starting to think we're saying the same thing in different words and with slightly different emphasis. It is thus with most interesting conversations.

⬐ downer

> I'm starting to think we're saying the same thing in different words and with slightly different emphasis. It is thus with most interesting conversations.

I LIKE TURTLES