Ascetic Computing / 苦行式计算

(Sketchbook drawing by the author, fountain pen.) I recently came across a comment I’d written in a configuration file. It was above some commented-out lines. It said: # I opted to do without this for ascetic reasons. I often put a fair amount of effort into perfecting and cleaning up source and configuration files for aesthetic reasons, so this comment briefly threw me for a loop. Then I chuckled. How droll. The more I thought about it, thought, I had to conclude that I’ve been doing a lot of things lately for “ascetic reasons”.

（作者手绘素描，钢笔。）最近，我在一个配置文件中偶然发现了一段我曾经写下的注释。它位于几行被注释掉的代码上方，写着：“# 出于苦行（ascetic）的原因，我选择放弃这个功能。”我经常为了“美学（aesthetic）”原因，花费大量精力去完善和清理源代码及配置文件，所以这段注释起初让我愣了一下。随后我笑了，真是有趣。但转念一想，我不得不承认，最近我确实在以“苦行原因”为由做很多事情。

As the asceticism article (wikipedia.org) begins: “Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living…​” I acknowledge we moderns often give asceticism a religious and spiritual flavor, but the term predates that use and originates with regular old down-to-earth self improvement. (More on that in the section Keeping Sharp below.) Further, the brand of asceticism I’m thinking of is a “natural asceticism” which results from a pursuit of simplicity and focus, not an asceticism of suffering or denial for its own sake!

正如维基百科关于“苦行主义”的条目开头所言：“苦行主义是一种生活方式，其特征是通过自律、自我施加的贫困和简朴的生活来节制世俗享乐……”我承认，现代人往往给苦行主义赋予了宗教和精神色彩，但这个词的起源远早于此，它最初源于朴实无华的自我提升。（关于这一点，详见下文“保持敏锐”一节。）此外，我所构想的这种苦行主义是一种“自然苦行”，它源于对简约和专注的追求，而非为了受苦或自我否定而进行的苦行！

I’m not picturing a starving monk in a hair shirt, but something more like Henry David Thoreau in Walden: “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately” a life not “frittered away by detail.” (Hey, look at me, I’m the Thoreau of computing! Seriously, though, the comparison is pretty apt because, like Thoreau, I haven’t strayed very far from civilization and still make regular use of it. For what it’s worth, I do laundry.)

我指的不是穿着粗布衣衫、忍饥挨饿的僧侣，而是更像亨利·戴维·梭罗在《瓦尔登湖》中所描述的那样：“我走进森林，是因为我希望有目的地生活”，过一种不被“琐事所浪费”的生活。（嘿，看看我，我是计算界的梭罗！说真的，这个比喻很贴切，因为像梭罗一样，我并没有远离文明，依然在正常使用它。顺便提一句，我还是会洗衣服的。）

What it means to me I’ve come up with a list of principles that are the basis for my ascetic computing. Before I give you the list, understand that I mostly live by these principles, but not always. Just search for “Faust” and “Faustian” on this page. Here’s what “ascetic computing” means to me: Doing without things that compromise my personal standards or morals. Learning to live Fearlessly in the face of Missing Out. Resisting the Endless Pursuit of Shiny Things.

对我而言，这意味着什么？我总结了一系列原则，作为我“苦行式计算”的基础。在列出这些原则之前，请明白我大部分时间都在践行它们，但并非总是如此。只需在本页搜索“浮士德（Faust）”和“浮士德式的（Faustian）”即可明白。对我来说，“苦行式计算”意味着：放弃那些违背我个人标准或道德的事物；学会面对“错失恐惧（FOMO）”时无所畏惧；抵制对“闪亮新事物”的无尽追求。

What’s interesting is that the word computer does not appear even once. Someone 200 years ago probably would have understood my list, and could comprehend, after a moment of pause, the modern idioms “Fear of Missing Out” and “Shiny Things”. All three of these principles are challenging, but I think the Shiny Things are my final boss. I’m one of those people who follows the links on Wikipedia and finds themselves with 30 tabs open an hour later. Or who buys supplies for hobbies with the full intention of doing that hobby for the rest of my life. And then…​doesn’t.

有趣的是，这里面甚至一次都没有出现“计算机”这个词。200年前的人大概也能理解我的这份清单，稍作思考后，也能领会“错失恐惧”和“闪亮新事物”这些现代习语。这三条原则都极具挑战性，但我认为“闪亮新事物”是我的终极BOSS。我就是那种在维基百科上点着链接，一小时后发现自己开了30个标签页的人；或者那种买了一堆爱好用品，满心打算余生都投入其中，结果……却半途而废的人。

(Yes, I used to learn a lot of subjects, but the problem with Shiny Things is that when I was always chasing the new fashions in computing, I never gave myself a chance to dive deeply into the things I really cared about. Of course, you first have to figure out what you really care about, so I think you probably should look at the Shiny Things when you’re starting out. What is shiny now may become a well-worn old favorite a decade from now.)

（是的，我过去学过很多学科，但“闪亮新事物”的问题在于，当我总是追逐计算领域的新潮流时，我从未给自己机会去深入钻研我真正关心的事物。当然，你首先得弄清楚自己真正关心什么，所以我认为当你刚起步时，或许应该去看看那些“闪亮新事物”。现在闪亮的东西，十年后可能就会成为你习以为常的老朋友。）

Anyway, I’d like to point out that deprivation is not on the list. A certain amount of deprivation may occur as a result of following the three principles, but it’s not the goal. The goal is to live a (computing) life of principle, purpose, and focus.

总之，我想指出的是，“匮乏”并不在我的清单上。遵循这三条原则可能会导致一定程度的匮乏，但这并非目的。目标是过一种有原则、有目的、有专注力的（计算）生活。

(Sketchbook drawing by the author with black and gray liner pens.) I’m not kidding, I really do enjoy computing like this I have no desire to wander into the desert with a laptop computer and some solar panels and starve myself until I go on a vision quest (though I do seek the sort of simplicity that would entail). It’s not that I’m not interested in new things, it’s just that I want to concentrate on the things that are important to me with as few distractions as possible. I wish for my natural state to be either a) learning, creating things, and writing or b) resting. Another way to look at it: Rather than deprivation, I see this as enjoying what I have, which is a lot.

（作者用黑灰针管笔绘制的素描。）我没开玩笑，我真的很享受这样的计算方式。我并不想带着笔记本电脑和太阳能板流浪到沙漠，把自己饿到产生幻觉（尽管我确实追求那种生活方式所带来的简约）。我并非对新事物不感兴趣，只是我想尽可能减少干扰，专注于对我重要的事情。我希望我的自然状态要么是：a) 学习、创作和写作；要么是：b) 休息。换个角度看：与其说是匮乏，我更倾向于将其视为享受我所拥有的一切——而我拥有的已经很多了。

Finally, to be explicitly clear before we go any further, because some people will insist on misreading this article: Nothing I do on computers is masochistic self-denial or performative mortification to impress anyone. Quite the opposite! I find my habits pleasurable and satisfying. Nor has this been a sudden proclamation I just made one day. It’s simply a natural mode into which I’ve settled at this stage of my life. In short, I wouldn’t do it this way if I didn’t like it.

最后，在继续之前我必须明确一点，因为总有人会执意误读这篇文章：我在电脑上所做的一切，绝非受虐式的自我否定，也不是为了给别人看的表演性苦行。恰恰相反！我发现这些习惯让我感到愉悦和满足。这也不是我某天突然宣布的决定，它只是我在人生现阶段自然而然形成的一种模式。简而言之，如果我不喜欢，我就不会这样做。

Simplicity and things that just work I have adored the following Flaubert quote ever since I was introduced to it in a book chapter titled “Be Boring” by Austin Kleon: “Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work.” — Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) I’m at the point in my life where I’d rather spend my creative energy on a project of my own creation than fighting my operating system and tools. I’d rather do without a few conveniences if it means less complications and breakages and distractions.

简约与好用的工具：自从在奥斯汀·克莱恩（Austin Kleon）的著作《保持无聊》（Be Boring）一章中读到福楼拜的这句名言后，我就一直对它推崇备至：“生活要规律且有序，这样你在工作中才能狂野且独创。”——古斯塔夫·福楼拜（1821-1880）。我正处于人生的这样一个阶段：我宁愿将创造力花在自己的项目上，也不愿与操作系统和工具斗智斗勇。如果放弃一些便利能换来更少的复杂性、故障和干扰，我宁愿不要那些便利。

No distractions For me, this means not using operating systems and software that presumes it is entitled to use my computer to interrupt me with messages and threats at all hours. My time and attention is in very limited supply and very precious to me. Software that steals it is abhorrent! You might as well tell me I should run a program that steals pieces of silverware from my kitchen when I have my back turned! Are you nuts? Who would do that? No, my computing setup is relaxing. It’s a little bit like this website: quirky, but stable. No popups. No “toast” notifications. Just a machine calmly waiting for my input. I’ll let you in on another fact, and brace yourself because this one may shock you: I prefer operating systems and software that do not automatically update themselves, even for security reasons. I update my operating system and software when I am ready.

拒绝干扰：对我而言，这意味着不使用那些自以为有权随时通过消息和警告来打断我的操作系统和软件。我的时间和注意力极其有限且非常宝贵。窃取这些资源的软件令人厌恶！这简直就像是让我运行一个程序，在我转身时偷走厨房里的餐具一样！你疯了吗？谁会那么做？不，我的计算环境是令人放松的。它有点像这个网站：古怪但稳定。没有弹窗，没有“吐司”通知，只有一台机器平静地等待我的指令。再告诉你一个事实，做好心理准备，因为这可能会让你震惊：我更喜欢那些不会自动更新的操作系统和软件，即使是为了安全原因也不行。我只会在我准备好时才更新我的系统和软件。