"The Referendum is a phenomenon typical of (but not limited to) midlife, whereby people, increasingly aware of the finiteness of their time in the world, the limitations placed on them by their choices so far, and the narrowing options remaining to them, start judging their peers’ differing choices with reactions ranging from envy to contempt. … Continue reading The Referendum
Category: lessons
Advice is a Dangerous Gift
"Gildor was silent for a moment. 'I do not like this news,' he said at last. 'That Gandalf should be late, does not bode well. But it is said: Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger. The choice is yours: to go or wait.' 'And it … Continue reading Advice is a Dangerous Gift
Zuihitsu: 2021-06
Collecting these little ideas has become a major focus. Here's this month's installment. 1. "I’m not saying we’ll live to see some sort of paradise. But just fighting for change makes you stronger. Not hoping for anything will kill you for sure." —Leslie Feinberg, Stone Butch Blues2. Figure out what game you're playing, then play … Continue reading Zuihitsu: 2021-06
Book Summary: Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha
To summarize the main ideas: Thinking is not a substitute for lived experience. The idea of being a mother, combat veteran, a disciple of a spiritual teacher - pick any experience you don't have - and having the idea about it is not the same as having lived it. And, it is worse than that, … Continue reading Book Summary: Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha
The Discourse of Loving Kindness in Sutta Nipata
What should be done by one who's skilled in wholesomeness To gain the state of peacefulness is this: One must be able, upright, straight and not proud, Easy to speak to, mild and well content, Easily satisfied and not caught up In too much bustle, and frugal in one's ways, With senses calmed, intelligent, not … Continue reading The Discourse of Loving Kindness in Sutta Nipata
Mimesis, Unconscious Imitation
"What happened that night is something I now recognize as disruptive empathy. The cycle of conflict that stems from unchecked mimesis (unconscious imitation)—like that of a debt collector and a debtor, each responding mimetically to the aggression of the other—was derailed. There was an unexpected breaking in of empathy, something that transcended the moment. Fear, anxiety, and anger … Continue reading Mimesis, Unconscious Imitation
Entitativity: Thinking and Feeling Together
"Our culture and our institutions tend to fixate on the individual—on his uniqueness, his distinctiveness, his independence from others. In business and education, in public and private life, we emphasize individual competition over joint cooperation. We resist what we consider conformity (at least in its overt, organized form), and we look with suspicion on what … Continue reading Entitativity: Thinking and Feeling Together
Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer on PBS
"Explore this four-part series, which examines the science and medical innovations that conquered some of the world's deadliest diseases and doubled life expectancies for many across the globe.-Extra Life
Play Your Own Game
1. Judge less.At least half the people doing things with money that you disagree with are playing a different game than you are. You probably look just as crazy in their eyes.2. Figure out what game you're playing, then play it (and only it).So few investors do this. Maybe they have a vague idea of … Continue reading Play Your Own Game
Zuihitsu: 2021-05
Collecting these little ideas has become a major focus. Here's this month's installment. Small talk is the tax that God extracted for the privilege of human speech.It is a different skill to communicate an idea than to understand it.If someone says there was too much, then something about it was unappealing.Why not? is a terrible … Continue reading Zuihitsu: 2021-05
Metaphor as Mental Model
"In 2011, Stanford researchers Paul Thibodeau and Lera Boroditsky published research that showed how the way we talk about crime changes our ideas about what to do about it. They asked two groups of students to read reports about crime in their area - one using a metaphor of crime as a ‘beast’ that was … Continue reading Metaphor as Mental Model
Understanding QAnon’s Connection to American Politics, Religion, and Media Consumption
"A nontrivial 15% of Americans agree with the sweeping QAnon allegation that “the government, media, and financial worlds in the U.S. are controlled by a group of Satan-worshipping pedophiles who run a global child sex trafficking operation,” while the vast majority of Americans (82%) disagree with this statement. Republicans (23%) are significantly more likely than … Continue reading Understanding QAnon’s Connection to American Politics, Religion, and Media Consumption
The Maximum Human Life Span and Conjecture on Step Counts to Get There (15,000 Steps a Day)
"For the study, Timothy Pyrkov, a researcher at a Singapore-based company called Gero, and his colleagues looked at this “pace of aging” in three large cohorts in the U.S., the U.K. and Russia. To evaluate deviations from stable health, they assessed changes in blood cell counts and the daily number of steps taken and analyzed … Continue reading The Maximum Human Life Span and Conjecture on Step Counts to Get There (15,000 Steps a Day)
The P-Factor
"'One of the most interesting origins for much of this aberrant thought comes out of harsh and inconsistent and unpredictable early environments,' Caspi tells me. 'Those kinds of experiences that set up the anticipation of bad things happening, or they set up the anticipation of being rejected, they set up the anticipation of being violated, … Continue reading The P-Factor
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