12/15/2019

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Recommended Reading

Being Bored Can Be Good for You – If You Do It Right. Here’s How

Excerpt:

“In the study, people who had gone through a boredom-inducing task — methodically sorting a bowl of beans by color, one by one — later performed better on an idea-generating task than peers who first completed an interesting craft activity… The bored folks outperformed the artists both in terms of idea quantity and quality, as ranked by objective outsiders who assigned uniqueness scores to each one.”

Notes:

I first started reading about the link between boredom and creativity in college. Soon after, I began consciously forcing myself to sit and stare at the wall for an extended period of time, before performing my long standing daily writing ritual. The results of the addition of these periods of low input were incredible. Ideas almost always seemed to leap from my hands as soon as I started typing.

This is one of the many examples of instances in which great results can be achieved by doing something that seems very counterintuitive.

Lactose intolerance – Genetics Home Reference – NIH

Excerpt:

“Approximately 65 percent of the human population has a reduced ability to digest lactose after infancy. Lactose intolerance in adulthood is most prevalent in people of East Asian descent, with 70 to 100 percent of people affected in these communities. Lactose intolerance is also very common in people of West African, Arab, Jewish, Greek, and Italian descent.”

Notes:

I decided to see what would happen if I cut dairy products out of my diet in the fall of 2018. I felt much better immediately after doing so. Later on, the results of a genetics test indicated that I have genes that predispose me for adult onset lactose intolerance. If you get the chance, take a break from dairy and see what happens. It might work well for you too.

The Best of States, The Worst of States

Notes:

Interesting maps showing negative and positive superlatives for states in the U.S and countries in Europe, along with some commentary.

Excerpts:

“Many labels reflect the positive attitude of that state’s citizens: South Carolina, most polite; Utah, most charitable; Iowa, lowest divorce rate; Kansas, most teenage volunteers; Ohio, most library visits per capita…”

“France is the Colorado of Europe: both places have the lowest obesity rate within their respective Unions. And Iowa and Ireland have the lowest divorce rates in the US and EU, respectively.”

Article Describing Study Linking Birth Control Pill Use to Brain Differences

“When Lipton and his team looked at the brain scans of both groups, they found a clear contrast. Women on birth control, on average, had a smaller hypothalamus than those not on birth control. Moreover, there was also a link between a smaller hypothalamus and women experiencing more symptoms of depression and anger.”

“Even if birth control could be causing real changes in the brain, it’s still unclear whether these changes are significant enough to affect a person’s life, much less in a negative way.”

Incredible Cover of Hotel California