[BR]

finished up Demian today, 4 more books to go!

my intepretation is mostly the attractive forces in the universe (think manifestation) coupled with the internal morality battle between good and evil

fav quotes:

When we hate a man, we hate in him something which resides in us ourselves. What is not in us does not move us.

Whoever is too lazy to think for himself and to constitute himself his own judge simply conforms to the taboos, whatever they happen to be.

3.5/5

People often say that in your 20s, you have much less to lose than you think if you fail.

But they don't tell you that you also have much more to lose than you think if you don't try.

https://x.com/mrjasonchoi/status/1987576896960569726?s=46&t=nluSw7cwYGx8zFxfoYi5Iw

[cc]

a little peek into Niel Bohr's cognitive abilities from George Gamow's Memoir

would be surprising to most since his thinking and behaviour does not fit the conventional one of a high IQ individual

[cc]

Universe 25

Eventually, several factors combined to doom the experiment. The beautiful ones’ chaste behavior lowered the birth rate. Meanwhile, out in the overcrowded common areas, the few remaining parents’ neglect increased infant mortality. These factors sent the mice society over a demographic cliff. Just over a month after population peaked, around day 600, according to Distillations magazine’s Sam Kean, no baby mice were surviving more than a few days. The society plummeted toward extinction as the remaining adult mice were just “hiding like hermits or grooming all day” before dying out, writes Kean.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-old-experiment-with-mice-led-to-bleak-predictions-for-humanitys-future-180954423/

an interesting read

lots of parallels can be drawn to society, albeit not 1:1

it probably is a hyper-accelerated version if we keep trodding down this path

Now, interpretations of Calhoun’s work have changed. Inglis-Arkell explains that the main problem of the habitats he created wasn’t really a lack of space. Rather, it seems likely that Universe 25’s design enabled aggressive mice to stake out prime territory and guard the pens for a limited number of mice, leading to overcrowding in the rest of the world.

Toward Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch (1795)
by Immanuel Kant

Kant argues that although war and conflict are deeply ingrained in human and state behaviour, perpetual peace is a rational ideal we ought to strive for. It cannot be assured by sheer force or chance, but requires the right institutional structures and moral will.

feels idealistic, but its nice to think that eventually humanity will be able to achieve perpetual peace, instead of cyclical war and peace times

https://www2.hawaii.edu/~freeman/courses/phil320/21.%20Perpetual%20Peace.pdf

don't think we should live in binaries ie. take life seriously or don't

it is always good to have a balance and such extreme takes are usually to generate some form of virality

a balance is always necessary (物极必反)

the jester can also take his life and craft seriously

your information diet should also be filled with reading stuff “no one” else is

Get good, be known.

lots of great articles linked within to get lost in as well

https://thatvastvariety.substack.com/p/your-goal-isnt-really-to-get-a-job

imposter syndrome and how to (partly) overcome it

https://80000hours.org/2022/04/imposter-syndrome/

Berlin Paradox

the more people chase their best self, the further they drift from their real self

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRNAKfjjSPp/?igsh=MWFkMTdmMmk0eG9icA==

watching Instagram Reels or Youtube Shorts is twice as bad for you as TikTok

edit: a better conclusion would be that multi-app usage is worse than using tiktok alone

https://x.com/ctbeiser/status/1991334026419032148

24 experiments: Students learn more and get better grades after taking notes by hand than typing. It's not just because they're less distracted—writing enables deeper processing and more images.

https://x.com/AdamMGrant/status/1991514257515749382

a better conclusion would be that multi-app usage is worse than using tiktok alone

think i’m guilty of the Berlin Paradox as i felt called out during the video

a good friend of mine couldn’t have said it better

sometimes you gotta put down the self-help content and choose to live instead of learn

spent some time thinking about it today and my question now is:
how do i unwind my mentality to “let go”?

Do more real life shit. Do shit that scares you. In the good way. The shit that scares you because you care. The shit that you're scared of because you don't want to fuck it up.

Take real risk.

dos and don’t when interacting w suicidal/depressed people

https://www.reddit.com/r/SGExams/s/fdS8V7jYBl

[cc] sharing a response from a friend on how to “let go” of self-help:

1) The content I consume

I don’t read self-help / personal development anymore

I also scroll past this kind of content on IG

I just read and watch things because I enjoy them. I stopped feeling the need for everything to be productive or meaningful. I can actually say I have hobbies now — things I do for fun with no ROI

2) Stop focusing on myself

Shifting my attention to clients, the people I talk to at the gym, my grandma etc

Volunteering has helped me channel my energy towards community too

Being intentional about my relationships

4) Mindfulness practices

Meditating and running in silence has trained me to separate myself from my thoughts

There’s a difference between rumination and reflection

Your brain will always feed you thoughts, not every thought deserves your attention

5) Embracing distractions

I used to think that I always had to be present, aware of my thoughts and feelings etc

But that just led to more rumination and emotional dysregulation

In Dialectical Behavioural Therapy, we teach clients that they don’t need to feel their feelings all the time. That’s just exhausting. Distracting yourself occasionally is ok

E.g. I learned that it’s ok to scroll to turn off my mind and numb my feelings. I’d even argue that it’s been a lifeline for me when I’m in distress haha

6) Keeping myself busy

Therapists usually advise against this if it’s an avoidance strategy

But I think the opposite is also true — if you’re too free, your life feels like it lacks meaning and purpose

Which is why retirees usually end up depressed

So I became really intentional about having “side quests”

E.g. I used to read very specific research papers about non-work topics I’m curious about

I’ve been seeing lots of content about creating your own curriculum:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQmiEOrkWgQ/?igsh=MXNxb3Fyamp5eTA3MQ==

7) Intentionally adding novelty into my life

It can be very simple stuff:

Running a different route

Going somewhere new for a walk

Trying something new for my healthy meals

Going to a different gym

Or new experiences:

like I attended the Singapore TEDx talks with my friends last week

Joining a running club

Going to my client’s temple to attend Buddhist classes

Novelty helps you break out of living on autopilot mode

[cc]

when energy has nowhere to go but inward, it eats itself alive. purpose gives it somewhere to flow.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQUmbg-jMFg/?igsh=dHlveXp2OW9zOHho)

the rise of a selfish (and disconnected)society

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRNeGvcEhv1/?igsh=dnkxOHNpNmhpcHF2