The Age Of Envy: How To Be Happy When Everyone Else’s Life Looks Perfect
We live in the age of envy. Career envy, kitchen envy, children envy, food envy, upper arm envy, holiday envy. You name it, there’s an envy for it. Social media has created a world in which everyone seems ecstatic – apart from us. Is there any way for people to curb their resentment?
How Silicon Valley Ruined Work Culture
More and more offices are adopting the work culture invented by the technology upstarts. These are not the offices where your grandparents worked, clocking out at 5 sharp, eyeballing the corner office. There is no corner office here—just “hot desks” and open floor plans, wide as the prairie.
What Would Happen If Facebook Were Turned Off?
Facebook is blamed for all sorts of social horrors: from addiction and bullying to the erosion of fact-based political discourse and the enabling of genocide. New research—and there is more all the time—suggests such accusations are not entirely without merit. It may be time to consider what life without Facebook would be like.
We’re Getting Closer To The Quantum Internet, But What Is It?
Instead of the bits that today’s network uses, which can only express a value of either 0 or 1, the future quantum internet would utilize qubits of quantum information, which can take on an infinite number of values. A quibit is the unit of information for a quantum computer; it’s like a bit in an ordinary computer.
Former FBI Agent Explains How To Read Body Language
Former FBI agent and body language expert Joe Navarro breaks down the various ways we communicate non-verbally. What does it mean when we fold our arms? Why do we interlace our fingers? Can a poker player actually hide their body language?
What To Do When You’re Feeling Lost
If you’ve ever pushed hard or cared deeply about something then you’ve probably experienced a feeling of being lost. Perhaps this manifests as being unsure of what to do next; unsure of how to do it; or even unsure of why you’re doing what you’re doing in the first place.
To The Driver Who Hit Me And Ran
I was biking home when you barreled into me with your car and left me to die. And I would have died if Tim Gillach, a cyclist and insurance salesman from Colorado’s Front Range, hadn’t caught a fleeting glimpse of my face as he drove past.
The Education Of Natalie Jean
For years, Mormon mommy blogger Natalie Lovin curated a picture-perfect life. Natalie’s job was being a lovably quirky wife and mother who documented her idyllic life online. Then she left the church—and her husband.
How You End Up In And Survive A Cult
How do well-meaning, intelligent people end up in a cult? EnlightenNext was an organization, founded by self-styled guru Andrew Cohen, that aimed to facilitate spiritual awakening. Cohen’s most devoted students meditated for hours—at times, months—on end, were often celibate, and lived together.
There’s A Better Way To Get Smarter Than Brain-Training Games
Most of the rapid cognitive enhancers currently being peddled are not very effective. Brain-training games like Lumosity and Posit Science (Brain HQ) won’t boost your IQ, but a host of strategies can improve your cognitive abilities one piece at a time.
“Quadrangle”, Award-Winning Doc About Marriage And Divorce
A documentary about two ‘conventional’ couples that swapped partners and lived in a group marriage in the early 70s, hoping to pioneer an alternative to divorce and pave the way for how people would live in the future.
Why America Doesn’t Win Wars Anymore
Dominic Tierney believes the US can still successfully fight the wars of yesteryear — World War-style conflicts — but hasn’t yet mastered how to win wars against insurgents, which are smaller fights against groups within countries. The problem is the US continues to involve itself in those kinds of fights.
Confirmation Bias: Why You Make Terrible Life Choices
Confirmation bias is the human tendency to seek, interpret and remember information that confirms pre-existing beliefs. It is insidious. It affects every choice you make. Every. Single. Day. The things you choose to buy, your health, who you choose to marry, your career, your emotions, and your finances.
In A Disaster, Humans Can Behave… Pretty Well, Actually
In his new book, Jon Mooallem tells the story of the Great Alaska Earthquake and Genie Chance, the woman whose voice on the radio held everyone together. It’s a beautiful exploration of how people tell stories on the radio, on stage, in books, and generally to each other.
Why Prices Differ Around the World
If you have ever traveled somewhere, especially to countries that are either a good deal richer or poorer than your own, you might have noticed that some places are certainly a lot more expensive than others. There seems to be a strong correlation between the average wealth of a country and the cost of goods and services.
How Tiny Changes In Words You Hear Impact Your Thinking
In a fascinating look at language, Professor George Lakoff lays out how political parties can sway supporters with tiny tweaks in word choice. When trying to get your point across, refrain from using the other side’s language. Doing so will activate and strengthen their frames and undermine your own views.
If You’re Trying To Decide What Food To Grow Yourself, Here’s Where To Start
A lot of first-timers are making the same mistake: They’re listening to experts. Experts can make things grow that you can’t, because they are experts. What you need is a terrible gardener to tell you what anybody can grow.
Former FBI Agent Explains How To Detect Lying & Deception
There are a number of myths about detecting deception. Fidgeting, looking away, touching your mouth, all of these things are commonly thought to be practices that indicate deception. Jim Clemente, former Supervisory Special Agent for the FBI, explains why that isn’t always the case and how people like him can decipher what these indicators really mean.
The Soul-Expanding Value Of Difficulty
You must think that something is happening with you, that life has not forgotten you, that it holds you in its hand; it will not let you fall. Why do you want to shut out of your life any agitation, any pain, any melancholy, since you really do not know what these states are working upon you?
Ladies In Waiting
In the most memorable scene of the 2002 film Secretary, nothing happens. For over ten minutes, a period that represents entire days in the movie’s internal timeline, protagonist Lee remains faithfully immobile, wetting herself in the process. Waiting, which renders everything provisional, which suspends progress or conclusion of any kind, is worse than clarity.
What It’s Like to Live In A California Ghost Town
To be an off-season caretaker of Bodie, California (winter population: 5), you need a high tolerance for cold, solitude, and two-hour grocery runs.