Recommended Reading
Notes:
- Discusses potential consequences if something like the Carrington Event, a massive solar storm that occurred in 1859, repeated itself.
Excerpts:
- “…before sunrise, NASA writes, “skies all over planet Earth erupted in red, green, and purple auroras so brilliant that newspapers could be read as easily as in daylight. Indeed, stunning auroras pulsated even at near tropical latitudes over Cuba, the Bahamas, Jamaica, El Salvador, and Hawaii.” (A description of the Carrington event)
- “If a Carrington Event happened today, the world would likely have to deal with the simultaneous loss of GPS, cellphone reception, and much of the power grid. The global aircraft fleet might have to coordinate an unprecedented mass grounding without satellite guidance. Unguarded electronic infrastructure could fail outright.”
Three ways your environment affects your intelligence
Notes:
- I’ve posted this one in a past edition but it seemed worth reemphasizing.
- This is one of the most interesting and important pieces I’ve read in the past couple months.
- Key point: Emissions and other forms of pollution don’t just warm the atmosphere, they have serious negative effects on human health and mental ability.
Excerpts:
- “One study, for instance, analyzed a dataset of nearly 32,000 observations of standardized test scores and the daily air pollution index throughout China. The researchers found that the longer a study participant was exposed to high levels of pollution, the more their intelligence dropped.”
- “The generation born after the Clean Air Act gained 6 points in their IQ scores. What’s more, researchers argue that kids who grew up during the period between lead’s introduction to gasoline in the 1920s and its elimination in the 1970s drove up to 90 percent of the variation in violent crime.”
Quote of the Week
It is by going into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life.
– Joseph Campbell
Note:
- For anyone who wants to go into “the abyss” I’d recommend the following practice: Create a very dark place. (I do this by going into my bathroom and putting a shirt in in front of the crack underneath the door to block out any light.) It’s best to perform this practice at night, since doing so will insure the darkest possible conditions. Ideally, you want there to be no detectable difference between having your eyes open and having them closed. Bring in a comfortable chair to sit on. Take your phone, or some other form of timer with you. Set it for at least two hours. Turn off the lights. You’ll probably find that your mind goes to some places that you really don’t want it to. That’s okay. You’ll also probably find yourself becoming very bored. That’s okay. As far as I can tell, boredom is simply the feeling that arises when your mind is trying to keep something hidden. The boredom will eventually peak, at which point your mind will release whatever it has been trying to cover up. If things get intense, focus on your breathing. If someone wanted to elevate their state of mind and asked me how to do it, there are few practices that I would recommend more highly than this one.
Photo of the Week by @chaseschoberphotography
