Alive Time vs Dead Time: • This is a concept from Robert Greene. He has written many formidable books about mastery, war, power. This concept relates to how you choose to spend your time. It relates closely to what David Foster Wallace was advising on where to direct your attention (“This is water”). • This motivates one to use…
Making Faces: • Check out this fairly technical article about facial expressions as social tools. Plenty of sociologic jargon, talking about an “externalist, functionalist view of facial displays.” • The general idea is that the facial expressions we make could be more to induce feelings or behaviors in others than to actually express what is on our mind.…
Wisdom from the ER: • A patient told us that a very angry 5-foot-4 bald man would be looking for her. She was in a bad accident and she was thinking about her frantic husband. Minutes and even hours can fly by in the hospital, and this time feels like eternity to family members who are not informed. Usually…
Protect Yourself: • Sadly, in medicine we are at risk of violence from the people we are trying to help, and must be resolved not to fight back. This article has many pearls, the most pragmatic being the three positions you can stand in when encountering trouble: the thinker pose, the timeout pose, and the hands up. All poses…
Light is a Drug: • Thanks Ashlee Melendez for this article that is absolutely packed with concisely presented information on healthy light-dark cycles. Article on BBC about Linda Geddes, who spent two weeks with no artificial light. I am bookmarking the article and have printed numerous references. Looking forward to her book (Chasing the Sun, early 2019). Two…
Writing: • Gutenberg invented the printing press based on an idea of scaling production. His entrepreneurial spirit actually started with mass-production of ornamental mirrors for a church festival. He then adapted a wine press to print words on pages. The first book he printed was a Latin handbook.• Martin Luther said print was God’s greatest act of…
Order and Chaos: Jordan Peterson is all over the internet, podcasts, best selling book, etc. His philosophical – mythical – psychological grasp of humanity is comprehensive and pragmatic in its ability to integrate your psyche. I was thinking about why night shifts are fun, and why dangerous and “unhealthy” behaviors are fun. And I think…
Rules for life: • Russ Roberts, who wrote the commentary on Adam Smith’s moral thesis, posted his 12 rules for life.• #2- find something healthy to worship, could be called a healthy addiction or obsession. #8- give up a lot to make it to funerals is a cool one you don’t often hear. #9- always take…
Moral Sentiments: • Adam Smith may have invented modern economics. But he also dabbled in moral philosophy. This book by economist Russ Roberts dissects Smith’s formidable Theory of Moral Sentiments with a 21st century approach.• Smith knew humans wanted not only to “be loved, but to be lovely.” We desire to be praised, but also to behave in a way…
Habituation: • Dostoevsky defined man as the creature that can get accustomed to anything. In The Function of Discontent, neurobiologist Indira M. Raman explains the brain chemistry of habituation. The is a mechanistic biochemical explanation of hedonic adaptation, eg most rich people can never have enough money. Similar adaptation allows us to tolerate adversity, to reach a new normal after tragedy.• The take…
