Greetings everyone,
I haven’t been reading as much as I used to. And I want to change that. So this month, I am committing to finishing Dosteoevsky’s Demons. Will do a book review at the end of June. There are 678 pages in my copy — I will therefore have to read 17 pages a day for the next 40 days to finish it by June 30th. Seems doable.
Please enjoy today’s paper.
The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.
—Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)
✏️ Between the Ears
Your thoughts can’t affect you if you don’t believe them.
Much of what distresses us in life happens not in reality but between our ears. Our internal dialogue speaks to us in ways that we seemingly have control over. But do we really have control over them? Are my thoughts me, or just within me?
I worry that questioning my own thoughts could lead me to not being able to trust myself. How do I choose what to believe and what to discard? Do I only believe that which serves me, or imbues positivity? Much of the benefit that I derive from my inner dialogue is through the negative. It seems unhealthy, but ruminating on a particular interaction, thinking about every possible event permutation that could occur in response to an email I sent, or simply replaying negative moments that motivate me to work harder and push more: this process, for me, provides some value, helping me see the world more clearly. Where it becomes counterproductive for me is when I revisit the same thought patterns for an unnecessarily long period of time. But even then, sometimes with time, my perspective changes on a situation as my emotion is removed from the situation. I remember in particular I slight I received at the gym — someone I went to school with blatantly ignored my greeting after acknowledging me just a week before. I thought about every potential reason for this for months — I couldn’t think of anything I did to him to deserve that. Maybe I had hurt someone he knew. I couldn’t put my figure on it, and blamed myself for months, thinking I must have done something. But now, looking back, far removed from the situation, I realize that it was just him, not me. And I saw he felt that wrongness in that situation. Thinking about this for months led me to vindication. Perhaps I wouldn’t have been able to learn and grow from it had I not replayed it in my mind a hundred times.
Your thoughts are not you. But they are plants that spring forth from the soil of your soul. Their fruits bare the marks of your existence. They can tell tales of perspective — they have their own truth. Not necessarily the truth, but a version of the truth that is true nonetheless. You don’t have to believe your thoughts, but you should listen to them.
quidquid Latine dictum sit altum videtur — whatever said in Latin, seems profound
💡 Food for Thought
God tests according to what He has given you.
🔗 Sunday Best
Microsoft Excel Life Hacks
Wow. This would have made the last 10 years of my life so much easier.
ADHD & How Anyone Can Improve Their Focus
From the Huberman Lab Podcast #37
I discuss both behavioral and pharmacologic treatments for ADHD, and brain-machine interface tools. I also discuss behavioral training protocols that can improve focus in people with ADHD and those without ADHD, and for people of different ages. I discuss the role of dopamine in coordinating 'default-mode' and 'task-related' neural networks, attentional "blinks" (lapses of attention) and how to overcome them, and the role of actual blinks in time perception and attention. Finally, I review some of the prescription and over-the-counter compounds for increasing focus such as Adderall, Ritalin, Modafinil and Armodafinil, the racetams, Alpha-GPC and phosphatidylserine and the role of diet for managing ADHD (and the controversies of diet for ADHD).
The role of cell phones/technology in ADHD and ADHD-like challenges with focus are also discussed. Throughout, both basic science and clinical scenarios, as well as applicable tools and resources are covered.
John Field — 18 Nocturnes
I particularly like the 10th and 11th.
John Field is an Irish composer considered to be the father of the modern nocturne.
Not as well known in lay circles but widely respected by pianists throughout the ages.
People are strange: they are constantly angered by trivial things, but on a major matter like totally wasting their lives, they hardly seem to notice.
—Charles Bukowski (1920-1994)
Thanks for coming!
AT