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A developer explains how he reduced compulsive scrolling not through willpower but by systematically adding friction to distracting websites—grayscale mode, browser-only access, custom scripts that strip away appealing UI—accepting that addiction requires environmental design, not discipline.
- Willpower fails repeatedly; the author overrode his own website blocker for 444 minutes in a single session, forcing him to abandon self-discipline as a strategy.
- Grayscale mode on his phone for two years proved more effective than app blockers because it kills appeal rather than just restricting access—there's no override button for "this looks boring."
- He built a layered system combining no native social apps, LeechBlock NG, a custom Tampermonkey script that grayscales and blurs images on distracting sites, and deliberately clicking "Not interested" on feeds—each layer makes the default path slightly more annoying rather than impossible.
The author reflects on their journey through addiction to nitrous oxide and the profound spiritual experience that altered their perception of reality. This transformation led to a deep exploration of the existence of God and the struggle to find evidence of divine presence, revealing the complexities of faith and personal truth.
- Nitrous oxide addiction became the unlikely trigger for a full-blown mystical experience, not just a chemical high.
- The experience converted a self-identified humanist into someone convinced of a real "god-shaped hole" underlying human suffering.
- The author stresses that gnosis (direct spiritual knowing) is inherently incommunicable, creating a painful gap between personal certainty and the inability to prove or share it with others.
- The piece frames addiction, despair, and divine encounter as intertwined, arguing that grace can emerge directly from the depths of self-destructive struggle.