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There and back again
So what have I been doing the last few weeks? Mostly enjoying peace away from home (or should I say the place of family chaos). I think that has been the best "gift" I got - not the loot, which is nice but which I have quite a bit of by now, but the actual peace and quiet of getting away and of visiting relatives.
It hasn't only been uneventful, of course. Said relatives had yet other relatives (and friends) visit on the occasion, and they were generally nice to be around. Perhaps some of them you wouldn't want around the entire year, but hey, they're nice in smaller doses :)
I feel the effect of that relaxation and calm on my capacity to think, too. Just a few days ago, I started using the no-free-lunch theorem when thinking about general optimizers, and I didn't have to think much. I think I'm using the theorem properly, but of course I can't validate that using the same mind with which I did the original thinking... in any event, it felt like I could just grab hold of it and then use it, whereas I would have had to think a whole lot more ordinarily.
So yes, the holidays have been good to me. All good things come to an end, though, but it has shown me how things *can* be. The problem with being around chaos for too long is that eventually you lose the contrast and it seems... normal, but now I'm reminded again that it isn't.
Dear Vasai, I have now experienced your void sighting.
It hasn't only been uneventful, of course. Said relatives had yet other relatives (and friends) visit on the occasion, and they were generally nice to be around. Perhaps some of them you wouldn't want around the entire year, but hey, they're nice in smaller doses :)
I feel the effect of that relaxation and calm on my capacity to think, too. Just a few days ago, I started using the no-free-lunch theorem when thinking about general optimizers, and I didn't have to think much. I think I'm using the theorem properly, but of course I can't validate that using the same mind with which I did the original thinking... in any event, it felt like I could just grab hold of it and then use it, whereas I would have had to think a whole lot more ordinarily.
So yes, the holidays have been good to me. All good things come to an end, though, but it has shown me how things *can* be. The problem with being around chaos for too long is that eventually you lose the contrast and it seems... normal, but now I'm reminded again that it isn't.
Dear Vasai, I have now experienced your void sighting.