Time: • Another cool pieceon passage of time. Physicist Adrian Bejan is apparently a renaissance man, attempting to use physics to explain everything from how humans shape a campfire to wealth inequality. This time piece shows how eye movements and brain processing slow with age, leading to an apparently faster perception of time; we notice less…
Carnivores: • Cool article on Mongolian steppe dwellers based on archeologic remains. They reconstruct a traditional pastoral lifestyle where people lived in small groups, relied on a protein-rich diet and used animals for transportation.They found one dental cavity out of 252 teeth. Three people (out of 25) had inflammatory conditions. The proportion of old adults in the sample, and the fact that the pathologies…
Musonius Rufus: • We have covered embracing voluntary discomfort. Yes it will “make you stronger.” But how does this actually work? William Irvine breaks down several stoic principles in his book A Guide to the Good Life. He gives 3 specific reasons to embrace discomfort (adapted from first century stoic philosopher Musonious Rufus): 1. Voluntary Discomfort hardens us. If…
Sun worship: • Comprehensive and enlightening article from Outside Online. I love the title, Is Sunscreen the New Margarine. Hopefully the headline alone will cause some people to read and find out that margarine is a horrible poisonous atrocity.• The article dives in to some interesting literature on skin cancer and mortality. If you develop non-melanoma skin…
Practice: • Is practice a verb or a noun? We often think of it as something we do, whether it is medicine, golf, guitar. George Leonard argues (in his book Mastery) that we should think of it more as a noun, something we have, something we are. Practice is Tao in Chinese and do in Japanese, but these words more directly translate to path or way.…
Winter: • We have covered this before, but it is very important to look at the protein content of your food. The higher protein intake, the less you will overeat. Ted Naiman stresses this, but also the carb to fat ratio. He says to avoid ALL foods that are moderate in carbs and fat. In nature, the…
Happy New Year to everyone. We all have an opportunity for a fresh start; to reflect on what we are grateful for from 2018, and to strategically forget what didn’t go so well last year. Give yourself some time to sit down and think about what big plans you have for this year: a new work…
Move: • Sandbags. You can buy them on Amazon, Onnit, or go big and get your equipment from Rogue. There are several tutorials online with which exercises to do. But you can get a great workout by just picking up a sandbag and doing human things. • Bend over and pick it up, hug it and squat with…
Move: • Do you want to look like Superman? Wonderwoman? Try this very simple exercise that Henry Cavill used to get in shape for movies.. • You can either do a few rounds of it, or finish your regular workout. You do need a…
Work hard, rest hard: • Great and I promise short post from Life in the Fast Lane on William Osler. The post starts with a long quote where Osler talks about the one master-word that opens doors and is a great equalizer. Work. Osler was able to find true joy in his work. I have heard others say work-life balance…
