How sweet something tastes is clearly a matter of acclimation. When you cut sugar from your diet, your sense of sweetness gets “downregulated” in a few weeks. Afterwards, sweet things often taste too sweet. So I have a plan to … Continued
We’re so out of touch with our bodies we routinely mistake physical discomfort for psychological. Most of the time, we’re in our heads, and focused on fairly cerebral tasks in an almost “out of body” state. As a result, physical … Continued
In a time of muddled language and words losing all meaning, it falls to the best and brightest among us to engage in a heroic effort to make language correspond to reality again, a Herculean, Confucius-inspired work of rectification of … Continued
The notion that laws of nature apply to humans gets called a lot of nasty names, such as “biological determinism”, but it is simply consistent science. This really shouldn’t be controversial. We now know all human traits have a genetic … Continued
I may have solved another issue almost everyone has. It has to be the most googled health topic after sex stuff: brain fog, fatigue, low energy, trouble concentrating, anxiety, depression, feeling stuck in second gear, malaise. You know exactly what … Continued
Reportedly, a depression epidemic is sweeping the developed world, and especially its young people. One, that’s at least partly an effect of better diagnostic capture, not there being more of it – as described earlier. Two, to the degree it is … Continued
Here’s something interesting: we’ve been selectively breeding crops and animals for thousands of years before any formal theory of evolution was written. Not only do we act on knowledge we don’t realize we have and would struggle to put into … Continued
How to effectively change habits is one of life’s big and permanent questions. There are a bunch of “hacks” on the internet. But to qualify as a real life hack, a tip must be so effective it feels like a … Continued
There’s a sort of exoticism that people expect from effective advice – it must be terribly complicated and surprising and insightful. I am increasingly convinced, however, that for most people, the biggest opportunities are in basic stuff they’re neglecting. The … Continued
Your weight is probably generally stable, which means you’re within a few calories per day of getting thinner. That means relatively small and easy changes in your lifestyle can achieve great results. Let’s identify those changes for you. Most people … Continued
Thinking about your life is valuable, and makes it more valuable. There have been roughly three traditional methods, all compatible: Therapy. Sitting in front of the fire in your study on the moors, with your trusty hound resting on your … Continued
People will spend hours arguing with complete strangers on the internet why they don’t have twenty minutes for a workout. I imagine there are people – about five – who really can’t squeeze a few hours of exercise into their … Continued
We live at a time of fakes. Anything you want, there’s an easy way to get something a bit like it, but not quite. Those distract from the real stuff. Here are some examples: Wants to feel a sense of … Continued
I have good news for you, and bad news for lazy people. By and large, there are no secrets, shortcuts or silver bullets. The stuff that actually works is simple and you probably already know it. This is true in … Continued
Fellow time-travelling artificial intelligence uploaded into a passable, but not entirely convincing human body Elon Musk has unveiled a new company – Neuralink. Ever the man to go after whatever promises the greatest possible benefit to mankind, he will be developing brain-computer … Continued
People often suffer from the notion that they should wait for their lives to begin instead of living them – that something will – eventually – happen, the stars will align, and their lives will finally properly begin. I call … Continued
Things are apparently going so well in the West that our biggest problem is people having too much pudding. That’s why British health minister Jeremy Hunt declared a “Government war on puddings”. Let your common sense appreciate this. Marvel at … Continued
TLDR version: What you measure, you optimize. But there are important caveats. Two things happened in a day that triggered pattern recognition (no, not the looting and rioting in Charlotte): A study reports that fitness trackers make people lose less weight. … Continued
Some errors are so grave, it takes an expert to make them – and uncritical journalists and motivated reasoners to repeat them. For example, the soundbite that “You can’t outrun your fork”. You know, because thermodynamics isn’t a thing, or doesn’t apply … Continued
The British government, among others, is trying to figure out how to make people eat less sugar. I propose a better question: Have we all gone completely mad and legally incapable? What the fuck happened to sui iuris? Feel free to call me old-fashioned, … Continued