Science
One of the Biggest Stories of the Century Happened, We Just Don’t Know Which
There's only 3 possibilities, and all of them are bananas.
5 min readIssues — page 31
Believe Everything
Something I heard recently is that your brain processes new information by first temporarily believing it and then, if necessary,
2 min read
Writing
Book Review: Yąnomamö: The Fierce People
Napoleon Chagnon's book was so poorly received that he was accused of committing genocide via measles. Needless to say, I was intrigued.
14 min read
Social
We Picked Right with Einstein
Our intellectual role model should be the most moral person we can find that’s at least passable as a “smart person”. What we got is a moral sage that’s passable as the most influential mind of all time.
4 min readPsychological Debt
In coding there's an idea called "technical debt." The same exists for psychology -- spend now, pay later....
3 min read
Social
Rags-to-Riches of the Century: Francis Ngannou
He nearly bled to death in the desert and crossed the Mediterranean on a pool toy. It'd be movie-worthy if he became an accountant in Cleveland, but instead, he became World Champion.
13 min readHappiness Is Two Scales
The common way to talk about happiness is as a single scale: unhappy at one end, neutral in the middle, happy at the other end. I think that model is wrong.
2 min read
Science
The Best Prediction Ever: Darwin and the Founder Effect
How did Charles Darwin make the best prediction ever? Why are there more accents in the UK than in the US? Why are there yellow watermelons in Africa? Weirdly these all have the same answer.
3 min read
Social
Common Pretense
Nobody is fooled, and nobody is fooled about anyone else's fooled-ness.
2 min read