Who am I? I'm PureDoxyk. Wow, that was uninformative, huh? ;)
If you know me at all, it's because of the only thing I ever did that got any attention at all...and that was writing the "Uberman's Sleep Schedule" writeup on Everything2 back in 2002. (So if you were going to ask why I called this the "official" Uberman blog, it's because that's my one claim to fame: I coined the term "Uberman Sleep Schedule" to describe this type of polyphasic sleeping. Perhaps if I'd known that people would remember the term, I'd have thought of something more original!)
There are other facts about me, I guess, like, I'm nearly 30 now and I have a daughter and whatnot, but those will come in if and when they're relevant. One thing that might be interesting to know is that I'm *not* a health nut; I drink coffee and eat meat and other such vileness. I am in pretty good health; I try to eat right, I exercise daily, and I try to stay in good shape overall, but I'm no raw-foodin', yoga-at-5-a.m. superstar. I think that's important, because it's part of my goal to show that this schedule can work for people who aren't health-nuts or in absolutely perfect shape. (Why do I know this? Because I first did it in college, when my diet mostly consisted of rage and cigarettes. You'll be happy to know that I gave up the cigs...).
But, speaking of my goals:
What the hell am I doing? Weeellll....I suppose I'm conducting an experiment. Or proving a point. (Said point may very well be that I'm crazier than a basketful of doped-up loons.)
The second sentence of the E2 writeup is about how I'd love to get my precious sleep schedule back. I've said it lots more besides. I adored that schedule. And I guess I thought that I'd gotten too 'grown up' for it, and maybe I'd have forgotten about it, but interest in the darn thing seems to have gotten and stayed pretty intense. I still get emails now and again asking if I was lying about how well it worked, and if I really think it's safe, and if I really ever expect to do it again.
Gallingly, I also heard numerous challenges to the authenticity of my experiment. I've frequently heard, "You're lying because I tried it and it didn't work, I was just tired all the time," or "This could never work if you weren't in college."
Person One is just wrong: They didn't do it right, and that's why it didn't work. I'm here to prove that point, by doing it properly.
Person Two may be right, which worries me: I'm here to experiment on that. I'm a mom now, with a full-time job and part-time school. If I can do it, anybody can. ;)
I'm also here to write a book on the Uberman schedule. Now, one doesn't write a book on Blogger; I'm perfectly aware of that. This would make a crappy book anyway -- I'm also perfectly aware that nobody who buys a book wants to read whatever drivel I write at 4 a.m. on Day Three, but others might. So I started this blog specifically to chronicle details of the transition that may or may not be suitable for the book, but about which people might be curious. The book will be much more, um, clear-headed, and hopefully more informative than a simple first-person blogging account could be. I'd like to do some at least minimally scientific experimentation (so that people have somewhere to go beside's Stampi's $155 research tome for info) and also get into the social and psychological changes (which even Steve Pavlina--the only other successful Uberman sleeper I know of--agrees are fundamental, but nobody's gone into in great detail).
This blog will not do that, but it will do other things: It will provide a space for people who want to comment, ask questions, etc. to do so, while the experiment plays out. And it'll keep me entertained, heh.
Why is this such a big deal? Er, it's not, in the sense of being "utterly unique". In the years since the E2 writeup, numerous people have tried some version of the schedule and written about it, though the vast majority of them were not successful. (I maintain that this is because they did it wrong.) There's a lot of good information out there, albeit subjective information. (I will at some point try to gather a good list of other blogs that chronicled attempts at Uberman; if you are one and wish to be included, please let me know.)
I'm doing exactly the same thing with this blog, but alongside it I will also be researching and writing the best objective account I can of the Uberman schedule's effects, in the form of the book.
So, um, the book is kinda special, but the blog isn't. The blog is mostly there to give people a forum with which to harass me (because being angry makes it easier to stay awake, heh).
-PD
If you know me at all, it's because of the only thing I ever did that got any attention at all...and that was writing the "Uberman's Sleep Schedule" writeup on Everything2 back in 2002. (So if you were going to ask why I called this the "official" Uberman blog, it's because that's my one claim to fame: I coined the term "Uberman Sleep Schedule" to describe this type of polyphasic sleeping. Perhaps if I'd known that people would remember the term, I'd have thought of something more original!)
There are other facts about me, I guess, like, I'm nearly 30 now and I have a daughter and whatnot, but those will come in if and when they're relevant. One thing that might be interesting to know is that I'm *not* a health nut; I drink coffee and eat meat and other such vileness. I am in pretty good health; I try to eat right, I exercise daily, and I try to stay in good shape overall, but I'm no raw-foodin', yoga-at-5-a.m. superstar. I think that's important, because it's part of my goal to show that this schedule can work for people who aren't health-nuts or in absolutely perfect shape. (Why do I know this? Because I first did it in college, when my diet mostly consisted of rage and cigarettes. You'll be happy to know that I gave up the cigs...).
But, speaking of my goals:
What the hell am I doing? Weeellll....I suppose I'm conducting an experiment. Or proving a point. (Said point may very well be that I'm crazier than a basketful of doped-up loons.)
The second sentence of the E2 writeup is about how I'd love to get my precious sleep schedule back. I've said it lots more besides. I adored that schedule. And I guess I thought that I'd gotten too 'grown up' for it, and maybe I'd have forgotten about it, but interest in the darn thing seems to have gotten and stayed pretty intense. I still get emails now and again asking if I was lying about how well it worked, and if I really think it's safe, and if I really ever expect to do it again.
Gallingly, I also heard numerous challenges to the authenticity of my experiment. I've frequently heard, "You're lying because I tried it and it didn't work, I was just tired all the time," or "This could never work if you weren't in college."
Person One is just wrong: They didn't do it right, and that's why it didn't work. I'm here to prove that point, by doing it properly.
Person Two may be right, which worries me: I'm here to experiment on that. I'm a mom now, with a full-time job and part-time school. If I can do it, anybody can. ;)
I'm also here to write a book on the Uberman schedule. Now, one doesn't write a book on Blogger; I'm perfectly aware of that. This would make a crappy book anyway -- I'm also perfectly aware that nobody who buys a book wants to read whatever drivel I write at 4 a.m. on Day Three, but others might. So I started this blog specifically to chronicle details of the transition that may or may not be suitable for the book, but about which people might be curious. The book will be much more, um, clear-headed, and hopefully more informative than a simple first-person blogging account could be. I'd like to do some at least minimally scientific experimentation (so that people have somewhere to go beside's Stampi's $155 research tome for info) and also get into the social and psychological changes (which even Steve Pavlina--the only other successful Uberman sleeper I know of--agrees are fundamental, but nobody's gone into in great detail).
This blog will not do that, but it will do other things: It will provide a space for people who want to comment, ask questions, etc. to do so, while the experiment plays out. And it'll keep me entertained, heh.
Why is this such a big deal? Er, it's not, in the sense of being "utterly unique". In the years since the E2 writeup, numerous people have tried some version of the schedule and written about it, though the vast majority of them were not successful. (I maintain that this is because they did it wrong.) There's a lot of good information out there, albeit subjective information. (I will at some point try to gather a good list of other blogs that chronicled attempts at Uberman; if you are one and wish to be included, please let me know.)
I'm doing exactly the same thing with this blog, but alongside it I will also be researching and writing the best objective account I can of the Uberman schedule's effects, in the form of the book.
So, um, the book is kinda special, but the blog isn't. The blog is mostly there to give people a forum with which to harass me (because being angry makes it easier to stay awake, heh).
-PD
posted by PureDoxyk at 4:33 PM
2 Comments:
Hey, just found your new log ~ I've wondered when you'd finally come back to the uberfold, {grin}.
In addition to the scattered polyphasic sleep blogs, you might stop by the yahoo uberman group -- http://groups.yahoo.com/group/uberman/ -- 1700+ members.
Best wishes on your transit through the phase door ~ we'll be waiting for you. ;->
Heidi
I'm trying to get on the uberman schedule right now, and am doing a blog here ubergpp.blogspot.com
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