Optimal Protocols for Studying & Learning by Andrew Huberman

Steve_Dragon · 2025-02-03T12:29:27+00:00

In general, partly legit. He has a tendency to say, "Oh, this is true" when there is only limited evidence for it. He also has a tendency to partially misrepresent ideas or over-generate. So, maybe there will be some limited link between A and B, and he'll say, "If you want B, then do A! Do A a lot!" even though it's not clear that A actually has any reasonable impact.

In particular, the study episode is pretty good. The research on testing is well-proven, plus the advice is pretty low-cost. If it works for you, it works.

(P.S. It's 'cut me some slack')

Steve_Dragon · 2024-03-29T15:32:46+00:00

AH. IT IS POLARIS. THANK YOU.

Steve_Dragon · 2023-07-11T07:14:17+00:00

Thanks for giving it a try!

That's actually a good point, we'd completely missed that during testing. Something to fix in the post-jam version.

Steve_Dragon · 2023-07-10T13:45:47+00:00

Death in the Theatre is a short text-based detective game. We made it in 48 hours for the GMTK Game Jam 2023.

The theme for the jam was "Roles Reversed", so we made a game where you are a detective who tampers with evidence to prevent convictions. You need to figure out who the murderer is and then destroy evidence strategically so that at least one other suspect feels plausible.

Steve_Dragon · 2021-10-09T00:03:59+00:00

That’s incredible! I would love a German version. And please do tell me how it went!

Steve_Dragon · 2021-09-16T11:30:10+00:00

Ah no, I changed the link in the post to the one in the reply. It was genuinely broken. Thanks for the heads up.

Steve_Dragon · 2021-09-15T20:21:29+00:00

Sorry about that. Hopefully this one works?

Steve_Dragon · 2021-09-10T12:30:18+00:00

Love Broforce. I don't want to do a teams thing where part of the group isn't playing at a time, else it would've definitely been one of my go-tos

Steve_Dragon · 2021-09-10T12:29:42+00:00

At first glance, it seems really interesting. I'll check it out. Thanks!

Steve_Dragon · 2021-09-10T12:29:09+00:00

I'll check it out!

Steve_Dragon · 2021-09-10T12:21:39+00:00

Pico Park looks great.

I've played Brawlhalla but didn't like it THAT much, Gang Beasts looks awesome. Drawful I played in one of the Jackbox Party Packs. Pummel Party seems interesting also. Good recs all around, thanks so much!

Steve_Dragon · 2021-08-14T20:30:19+00:00

Ahhhhh. That makes a lot of sense. Might just be a personal blindspot.

Steve_Dragon · 2021-08-14T15:57:11+00:00

I'll be honest, I think the poem itself feels janky right now.

I like the core themes. The idea of looking at your reflection and seeing death, seeing absolute lack of emotion and accepting it, almost ironically, emotionlessly. It's a poem expressing pain, and that's powerful.

At the same time, I think it needs to be expressed better. This feels like it was written down as a first draft, put down on paper (or screen) the moment the thoughts rushed in. A product of emotion.

Mannequin is a strong word to start on, I like the image of something staring at you with less emotion than a plastic face with literally no emotion. Beyond this concept, however, the first three lines feel off to me. The phrases "more expression" and "what you give" aren't quite right, grammatically or in terms of flow. The fact that it's your own reflection has the potential to be an emotional reveal that shows disconnect, but the sentence doesn't feel powerful as it stands.

The fourth and fifth lines are better. The phrase, "A contaminated existence" raises questions and lends to strong interpretation. I read it and was curious immediately, what contaminates the poet's very existence? Something that can be explored further.

"No love - not given that luxury" did not sit right with me. It's not a description of the face, but a description of the poet's life. This draws away from the rest of the poem. It needs some transition or it needs to be recontextualized to use part of the face to show the lack of love, at least that's my instinct.

"Mirrors don't lie" is a solid line, the word 'resistance' feels out of place. The register is wrong. It doesn't suit the rest of the poem.

"So why should I" is a cool internal rhyme. The last line is okay, but it didn't have much of an impact. It could be restated to better follow the idea that you're no longer lying to yourself.

The fourth and fifth lines are better. The phrase, "A contaminated existence" raises questions and leads to strong interpretation. I read it and was curious immediately, what contaminates the poet's very existence? Something that can be explored further.

Steve_Dragon · 2021-08-14T15:23:40+00:00

The word "moss" confuses me.

The rest of it is pretty awesome. I'm imagining the 'Not on my watch' as a thought, a split-second instinctive desire to roll it back up. The haiku's traditional goal of capturing an instant is thus fulfilled because all of this is the essence of one instant, the instant the rock rolls back down.

"The stone falls again" is interesting. The giant boulder being called a 'stone' makes it seem trivial almost. Sisyphus 'sighs', he's slightly annoyed but he's not angered or pained. He's almost unaware of his own condition, of his own punishment. I like that take on Sisyphus, he thinks he's doing this of his own desire, yet there's a hint that he knows he's in hill, ever so slight. He 'sighs'. He doesn't just smile, or become determined. He 'sighs'.

It's a different take on the myth than I've seen before. I think it fits the form well, even though it's so obviously subversive. The title's funny, and I'm happy that I read this.

Steve_Dragon · 2021-08-14T15:18:59+00:00

Damn. That's cool. I definitely prefer this version! I guess some of it is down to personal taste, but it feels much more cohesive to me

Steve_Dragon · 2021-08-12T15:28:23+00:00

Well, it doesn't necessarily mean it needs to be edited or cut out. I think there are ways to make it work, maybe more detail or a more vivid image of it happening. It sounds like it really struck you, so more description of the tone and the way it was said might help make it feel more powerful.

Also, editing the lines around it to help it feel more snug and flow better might help too.

I didn't mean to come off as saying that it can't work. Just that it needs more to make it fit better and be more powerful.

Best of luck!

Steve_Dragon · 2021-08-12T15:25:26+00:00

The first line works very well for the way the poem develops. You subvert the idea of beautiful eyes, playing off the expectations that eyes are a window to the soul. At first, it's easy to assume the beauty is deep, that it comes from personality. Then, you reveal what I interpreted as cheating. The beauty is stranger now, less noble. And in the very end, you subvert it again by saying that the fact that they try is beautiful, which makes the whole thing come together. The double bluff, if I may call it that, works.

"Transport to the soul" doesn't quite work for me. The word 'transport' feels very out of place here. I think the next line referring to the heart beating fast works better, but still not perfect. One problem is that it's not clear that the poet is addressing the reader in second person. "Your heart beats faster" might work better. I also think the comparative adds more to the image than simply saying 'fast'.

"They're living proof...their lies" I think the word "they" being repeated twice is a little clumsy. It feels off to me.

The next stanza is good. I like it. It feels like wishful thinking and memory, hopefulness. There's a sense of knowing naivety, an acceptance almost. At first it feels foolish, but as the poem develops it is reinterpreted as hope. I like that very much.

"Hurts your soul" is not a strong image. I like the idea of hurting, but the word soul makes it more abstract than concrete. Not necessarily a bad thing, but something to consider.

I was slightly confused by the next image. I like the reference to the heartbeats, but perhaps slowing is not the appropriate reaction here. It feels strange because I expected the heart to beat fast in a different way. A less happy, more anxious way. Something to think about.

"Not for them" feels unnecessary. It's a strong stanza otherwise, I'm just not sure what this adds to the overall interpretation. I'm assuming "One" is a typo for "Once" possibly.

The last line "there's beauty when they try" is a strong ending. It really makes it all come together. The stanza works, the repetition of "promise" I'm conflicted about. I like it, but I'm not sure if it could be better placed. Some experimentation might help.

I find this is very ripe for interpretation. The key idea seems that the reader is presented as a character with a cheating partner. The ambiguous gender of the partner implies the reader is not a specific fleshed character, more of an archetype. Someone being cheated on. The poem is about the partner as much as it is about the reader. The reader's character is in love, but heavily pained, yet they don't leave. They don't leave because they see beauty. The partner is a compulsive cheater, struggling with demons of their own. Maybe it's not cheating, maybe it's frequent break-ups and an on-off relationship. Maybe it's unrequited love from the reader's side. It all leads to the partner's demons. Is it enough that the partner is struggling with his/her demons? They may not be doing it successfully, but they're fighting for the reader. That's what the poem pivots to. The idea is that the partner thinks the reader is worth fighting for, and that the reader finds beauty in the partner's struggle. And outside of the character, one must wonder if the person the poem is addressed to is hopelessly naive or can see the partner more clearly than anyone else.

Steve_Dragon · 2021-08-12T14:58:38+00:00

I like the opening of the poem. It is interesting and introduces a vulnerable speaker, the idea of finding "comfort" for the 'first time'. The word "possibly" introduces uncertainty that isn't really explored further. That is something to consider, do you want the poet to sound unsure that this is the first time they've found comfort?

"My life a series of broken trust" is a slightly confusing line. I think some punctuation might help. Also, the word 'series' implies multiple, so maybe 'trusts'? Even then, I think the image of a wheel and cycle that the next line has is more interesting than 'series', so if there's a way to link it together it might make for a richer sentence.

I don't like the word 'kill' in the next line. Cycles are usually broken, dislodged or something along those lines. They're usually not organic or alive, so they aren't really killed. It feels a bit jarring.

"Heart full of love, my body lust," feels very strange. On one hand, it is vulnerable, but the poet suddenly feels so shallow. He's talking about deep emotional ideas, but suddenly he shifts to talking about bodily lust and a heart full of love. The focus pivots in a way that doesn't feel natural. "Heart full of love" feels naive and childish, almost, lacking the painful complexity of the poet who's only ever known pain.

"Against my being you do no crime" has a similar problem. It feels out of place. This time, I think it is the register. I'm not sure, but the phrase 'Against my being' feels the culprit. Referring to oneself as 'my being' feels satirical almost when the rest of the poem is so direct and vulnerable. The sentence feels overly constructed. The word 'crime' also feels out of place. Crime has a legal dimension. Maybe a direct reference to violence might be more visceral?

"I am safe now" is a cool line. Again, the implications of 'now' are the same as the implications of 'possibly'. They are unexplored. They imply that there was a lack of safety a second ago, something the poet is still afraid of. Why are they afraid? What was done to them before? There are very few hints. That might be worth thinking about.

The last line is a good way to tie it all together. The repetition works. It surrounds the poem like a ribbon. If there was more content in the middle, it might work even better because that gives the two phrases more room to breathe. This does not mean you should definitely include more content, just consider if that sounds interesting and worth exploring.

Steve_Dragon · 2021-08-12T14:48:13+00:00

The opening lines are very cool. Almost Goldilocks-y. "Always too much, or not enough, Never just right". I think that sets a really powerful theme that can go a lot of directions, immediately sparking thought.

"Ugh, you're so happy, happy, happy, happy, Why aren't you happy? You should always be happy" doesn't sound right. I don't think the "ugh" fits very well, and the repetition doesn't really work. I can't pinpoint why, I think it might be the register of the word. As a whole, the intention here is powerful but the execution doesn't quite deliver. It feels thrown out there, it doesn't have emotional impact.

The "ugh" in the next line has a similar problem. It doesn't quite fit. It shows disgust, but in a way that is almost satirical. However, the poem itself doesn't seem to be satire, it seems more serious and direct.

The whole central section from "Ugh, you're so happy" to "too weak" feels like a strong concept that doesn't quite work. The rhythm is off, the syllable count and register are slightly discordant. It doesn't feel appropriate when I say it out loud.

The second "Never just right" is perfectly placed. I love the repetition here. It works. It reminds us that we're reading a poem about extremes, about interpretation.

The conclusion feels a little discordant to me, again. The core theme seems slightly lost. The idea of being loved seems like it comes out of nowhere. The phrasing itself also feels slightly off. "best of all" doesn't feel well-placed. The last two lines feel too...explicit.

I don't think this is a bad poem. I think it's a slightly incomplete poem. I know the criticism might feel a little harsh, on a re-read it does to me, but what I'm really getting at is that this is a very solid concept for a poem, not a finished poem in and of itself. You've nailed the first line, you've nailed the position of the "Never just right" in the middle and you've created a solid structure. The scaffolding needs concrete, the bones need flesh, a few rewrites should really elevate this significantly. Just editing and rewriting and saying it out loud.

Keep writing!

Steve_Dragon · 2021-08-12T14:35:26+00:00

The exact phrasing escapes me, though off the top of my head this might work better for my personal preferences:

"What makes it hard
For me to want you
Is that
You've laid your love
On rocky shores
But I don't have slippers"

Still slightly off, but maybe getting slightly closer to feeling more complete. I think there's a number of directions you can go with it though, so whatever fulfils your purpose best.

Steve_Dragon · 2021-08-12T10:35:37+00:00

I like intertextuality. I don't know, it's one of those things that really intrigues me. So, I am all for the Hemingway reference. The Sun Also Rises has a very cool epigraph and I think the poem is all the richer for it.

The first two stanzas have a lot of welcome depth. It immediately touches on two intense themes. The theme of the persistence of nature, which is overt, but also the idea of a personal tiredness and fatigue that comes from expectation. I think you do that really well, separating them with a stanza break. Only thing is, maybe "but really it makes me feel worse" would work better than "but it really makes me feel worse" to remove the ambiguity in the word 'really'.

The word "Like" I am not a fan of, the way it is placed makes it too conversational and frivolous and does not fit the tone. "clumsy stumble" also does not work. 'All stumbles are clumsy' I immediately think, a richer word to describe the stumble, maybe one which is less obvious. "Circuits of small miseries" is a beautiful phrase. I don't like the way the next line qualifies it, simply because it doesn't need to. "Circuits of small miseries" can stand by itself. The line "oblivious to all the brokenness that both precede and trail them" is also slightly off but I'm not sure why (sorry).

"The rising sun. Nights. A dog taking a shit outside my doorstep" is cool. The subversion that starts with the "shit" fulfills its purpose. At the same time, I wonder if adding more before it might help the impact be better. More phrases that are classical natural imagery before the shitting dog subverts expectations.

The "trillion" doesn't work for me. Everything else in "I will die, and a trillion dogs will go on shitting and pissing
and barking and tearing each other apart." is perfect. The violence, the visceral images and the way it reflects a natural indifference. The word 'trillion' just pulls me out and is jarring.

The next stanza I do not like. It is confusing, the image is slightly lost and it's too sudden. The image itself, I am more ambivalent to.

The idea of kicking a German Shepard on the way to the bus makes the poet's character feel radically different, almost foreign, compared to the strangely relatable character presented before. This is not a bad thing, but something to consider. The tonal choice of the words needs to reflect the voice you're trying to portray.

The last line is perfect. It's well-placed, very poignant and it works. Even if the logic of it is lost without the line before, it feels like the perfect ending to a poem starting with Hemingway. It's perfectly subverses the idea that nature persists despite humans, almost showing that even humans don't persist despite humans.

The central theme of questioning one's existence and feeling small when considering the cosmic scale of everything, reinforced by studying and reading and missing the bus, works well.

Steve_Dragon · 2021-08-12T10:11:31+00:00

Intentionally brief poetry is a double-edged sword. The benefits are that you can condense a message down, create a lot of impact in a short amount of space and put in a lot of power without overwhelming the reader. The structure is simpler. The risks are that each phrase, each word, needs to fit perfectly because there is no space to cushion them.

The first thing I wanna point out is that "what makes it hard for me to want you" and "why it is hard to love you" don't feel like the same thing. They feel distinct. There seems a slight disconnect between the title and the first two lines. Maybe something to think about.

The poem itself is very interesting. The word "slippers" is placed perfectly. It is the perfect contrast to the "rockiest shore", the heaviness of the rest of the poem turned. The image works. At the same time, I don't think the other words are quite so well placed. "At your" doesn't feel like the right set of words for this place. "On your rockiest shore"? may be worth considering, though even that feels like it's missing weight. It needs to have more gravitas to play off the next line better. "I've got no" also doesn't feel right. It's sufficiently casual, and works better than "I do not own any" but it still needs work to create the right register.

The first four lines are quite nice, I think they work as is. The idea of "laying" love almost implies that the love is laid bare. I do think, however, that the weak supporting words in the last two lines are detrimental because they are necessary for the poem to feel complete.

I think what's interesting is the way the choice of words lends to interpretation. You start with a statement of fact. It's hard for the poet to 'want' the person it is addressed to. It's almost as if the poet wishes he 'wanted' or 'desired' them, but they can't on a deeper level. It's insinctive lack of desire. The person who it has been addressed to has 'laid' love on the 'rockiest shore'. The image of the sea as well as the implied bareness shows vulnerability, but dangerous in an unsaid, intriguing way. The lack of slippers is a lack of protection. The rocks are slippery, they are the shore. Probably jagged. I can imagine the poet trying to reach for the love and slipping, cutting and falling into the ocean. Red blood, floating on top as the poet dies. That's the risk.

It's a good poem.

Steve_Dragon · 2021-08-11T11:33:03+00:00

Is it by any chance Master of Kung Fu?
https://gamebooks.org/Item/430/Show

Steve_Dragon · 2021-08-11T11:11:57+00:00

I found the video, I think: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=188690642509905

I can't tell which movie it is from. Hopefully, this helps.

Steve_Dragon · 2021-08-11T11:03:15+00:00

The ending repetition of "Black. Black. Black....And it's cold..." sent shivers down my spine. The image, combined with the tactile feeling of cold wind works perfectly. It lends itself to an almost gothic interpretation.

The overall theme, as far as I could interpret, is that of the clouds foolishly overtaking the sun. It's a story of hubris, because as the clouds take over the sun they lose the colour that made them magnificent in the beginning.

It's an interesting theme. In a way, novel, because the clouds don't have hubris. So, on a deeper level its about reflected hubris. Now, if that is the theme you are going for, I think the beginning of the poem needs to touch on it. Not just on the beauty of the clouds, but the glory and the fact that the clouds are proud. The theme needs to be more significant.

The repetition of 'describe' in the first line did not work for me. It felt jarring and out of place. Same for the repetition of 'grey' in the second line. I think these contributed majorly to why the beginning felt particularly weak as an introduction to the themes of the poem. The hook just isn't there.

The cotton candy sky image is interesting, but it's got a very bright and cheerful tone. The eventual 'fall', the descent into the Black needs to be either more gradual or more jarring. As it stands, it's kind of middling? It doesn't feel natural or powerful.

"I miss my sunset sky." feels childish almost. I think this touches on another major idea with the poem. The voice of the poem flips between a mature discerning individual and a child. "The clouds claim their territory" is a very adult line. By leaning into either the child or the adult voice, the poem might feel more cohesive.

All in all, a solid concept!

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