Author: Ankur Sethi
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The Mere-Exposure Effect
The mere-exposure effect is a psychological phenomenon by which people tend to develop a preference for things merely because they are familiar with them. In social psychology, this effect is sometimes called the familiarity principle. Mere-Exposure Effect (Wikipedia) Whenever someone on the Internet says “things used to be so much better in my day” or…
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Week of 21 June, 2021
On Pratul’s recommendation, I started reading How to Take Smart Notes by Sönke Ahrens this week. I’m only halfway through it, but already this book has changed the way I think about organizing the information and insight I glean from books, articles, lectures, and other media. It has also put into words some of my…
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I played Fire Emblem: Three Houses
After over 70 hours of gameplay spread across three months, I finally finished the Blue Lions route in Fire Emblem: Three Houses last Saturday. This was my third attempt at playing this game. I had to quit playing the first two times because the hundreds of options the game offers for customizing character builds made…
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Rust is Hard
I’m not a Rust expert by any means, but I’ve spent enough time with the language that I can write reasonable code with a bit of effort (and a lot of DuckDuckGo). However, I’ve found that I often hesitate to use it for my personal projects. Rust is a large language. The sheer number of…
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Emacs Sparks Joy
Much like how some people enjoy tinkering with motorcycles, electronics, or craft projects, I enjoy tinkering with software. If my computing environment stays the same for too long, I start getting restless. I crave constant change. Emacs is a tinkerer’s dream, an infinite sandbox that can be molded into something entirely different each day. I…
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Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television
There is skill to it. More importantly, it has to be joyful, effortless, fun. TV defeats its own purpose when it’s pushing an agenda, or trying to defeat other TV or being proud or ashamed of itself for existing. It’s TV; it’s comfort. It’s a friend you’ve known so well, and for so long you…