“If you would only learn to compliment Dionysus, you wouldn’t have to live on lentils”
Aristippus to Diogenes of Sinope when he saw him cooking lentils for a meal.
“But if you would only learn to live on lentils, you wouldn’t have to flatter Dionysus.”
Diogenes of Sinope
Today I am quite proud of myself. This is a silly thing to most, but I’ve resisted the incredible urge I felt to buy a smartwatch. I’ve been thinking about it ever since my Pebble 2 broke. Sleep, activity tracking, notifications, smart home control. All of this excites me and I yearn to have another similar gadget to tinker with. I spent about 10 minutes in the shop, looking up reviews (all glowing) and prices (it was on sale and cheaper in the shop than online). It had all the features, battery life, looks you name it. It was meant to be.
But, I didn’t buy it. It felt alien, leaving empty handed after so much rationalisation and reviewing, testing. I pulled myself away from having to flatter the smartphone era. I need to learn to live on lentil soup. Why do I need sleep tracking? If I’m having issues sleeping, I can record it in a journal and make notes on what is different that day or what my sleep routine (or lack of) was. Why do I need notifications on my wrist? My smartphone is already invading into my life and attention span like an acid.
I’m coming back to this a few weeks after I wrote the text above. I “caved” and bought a fitness tracker. Much cheaper than the original ones I wanted, and I do have projects lined up for it, but I feel like I am rationalising the decision. I don’t know whether I should be proud of delaying or ashamed of caving, neither really. I’m excited for the opportunities it will present, but should remind myself to finish other projects before half starting the next one. I dunno, kind of conflicted on this one. I don’t rationalise buying food or clothes this much.
