The Courage To Be Yourself: E.E. Cummings On Art, Life, And Being Unafraid To Feel
E.E. Cummings (October 14, 1894–September 3, 1962) — an artist who never cowered from being his unconventional self. “To be nobody-but-yourself — in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else — means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight.”
How Psychology Is Just Catching Up With The Effects Of Online Hate
Lindsay Ellis is a video essayist. She makes videos commenting on films, TV shows, and other media. More than 860,000 people subscribe to her YouTube channel. But there is also this difficult aspect to what Ellis does: online hate.
Can I Boost My Immune System?
The germs we are exposed to over a lifetime, as well as lifestyle factors like stress, sleep, diet and exercise all play a role in the strength of our immune response. Here’s what works — and what doesn’t.
The Big Business Of Loneliness
Capitalism abhors a vacuum, and into this collective social void has stepped a fleet of companies and entrepreneurs selling an end to social isolation. Over the past decade, on-demand connection has become both a big business and a powerful marketing opportunity.
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.
The Healing Power Of Nature
River guides might know that nature is transformative for the human body and psyche; but the mechanism behind such profound change is less universally agreed upon and understood. The idea that immersing yourself in forests and nature has a healing effect is far more than just folk wisdom.
The Secret Life Of A Professional Statue
For several years in my 20s, off and on, I was a professional statue. Statue was both a noun and a verb. I was a statue; statuing was what I did. My job was, basically, not to react. Unless one of the tourists gave me what I wanted — a tip in the plastic lemonade pitcher at my feet — I gave them nothing.
Death On Demand: Has Euthanasia Gone Too Far?
Countries around the world are making it easier to choose the time and manner of your death. As the world’s pioneer, the Netherlands has also discovered that although legalizing euthanasia might resolve one ethical conundrum, it opens a can of others – most importantly, where the limits of the practice should be drawn.
What Makes A Masterpiece?
What do we mean when we call an artwork a masterpiece? Who gets to decide what becomes one? Who makes them? And is it still a constructive label to dole out when we talk about art? What Makes a Masterpiece?
Is Our Brain Hard-Wired To Be Optimistic?
Psychologists have found that 80% of people have, what they define as an optimism bias and that’s regardless of whether they believe themselves to be more pessimistic or realistic. The optimism bias is our tendency to underestimate the likelihood of negative events and overestimating the likelihood of positive events.
Overcoming Despair To Discover The Meaning Of Life
“Sick Souls, Healthy Minds” offers us a lifeline at this moment. As we tell each other what to watch, what to cook, what to read and what exercises to do, John Kaag invites us to ask, together with America’s greatest philosopher, William James, what makes life worth living.
I Escaped the Cult. But I Couldn’t Escape the Cult Mentality.
After leaving the Children of God, I was so proud to join the Army. But then I had to ask myself: Was I trading one culture of blind obedience for another?
How 17 Outsize Portraits Rattled A Small Southern Town
Newnan had prided itself on its quiet charm. It offered small-town living just 40 miles southwest of Atlanta and had earned the nickname “City of Homes” for its antebellum architecture. The town decided to use art to help the community celebrate diversity and embrace change. Not everyone was ready for what they saw.
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.
The Lonely City: Adventures In The Art Of Being Alone
Loneliness is difficult to confess; difficult too to categorize. Like depression, a state with which it often intersects, it can run deep in the fabric of a person, as much a part of one’s being as laughing easily or having red hair.
The Dark Side Of Charisma
Charisma is a force that can rally people during difficult times, but it can also blind people and lead them to accept unwise actions, policies or conditions. And when it comes to leadership, political and professional, charisma matters more than we’d probably like to admit.
Learn How To Avoid Distraction In A World That Is Full Of It
If distraction becomes a habit, we are unable to sustain the focus required for creativity in our professional and personal lives. Worse, if we are constantly pulled away from friends and family by distractions, we miss out on cultivating the relationships we need for our psychological well-being.
Pay Attention: Practice Can Make Your Brain Better At Focusing
Practicing paying attention can boost performance on a new task, and change the way the brain processes information, a new study says. This might explain why learning a new skill can start out feeling grueling, but eventually becomes more natural.
Ring And Nest Helped Normalize American Surveillance And Turned Us Into A Nation Of Voyeurs
The allure of monitoring people silently from afar has also proved more tempting than many expected. Customers who bought the cameras in hopes of not becoming victims joke that instead they’ve become voyeurs.
What Romance Really Means After 10 Years Of Marriage
After a decade of marriage, if things go well, you don’t need any more proof. What you have instead — and what I would argue is the most deeply romantic thing of all — is this palpable, reassuring sense that it’s okay to be a human being.