Happiness is a horrible myth [links]
Feb. 25th, 2022 09:37 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rebeccmeisterIf you substitute in something slightly different for the word and concept of "happiness," this interview still has some great points to make: https://web.archive.org/web/20220221231131/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/02/21/magazine/laurie-santos-interview.html
For instance, I've been getting increasingly annoyed at myself for my levels of doomscrolling, so I'm going to try and adopt at least some of that "WWW" concept.
Related, but maybe somewhat less insightful, an interview with the author of a new book about the ability to sustain attention and focus: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/16/well/mind/focus-johann-hari.html
I always have mixed feelings about this sort of book. These books do seem to be helpful to a lot of people, but I have to wonder how much of the book will consist of a churn of prior ideas and insights versus actually new and different information. I'd think back to that book on sleep as a contrasting example: by the time Why We Sleep was written, there had been major changes to our understanding of sleep physiology, so there was actually something to learn.
Meanwhile, a friend posted this 2015 article on social media: https://hbr.org/2015/08/the-research-is-clear-long-hours-backfire-for-people-and-for-companies
Apropos to what I wrote above, this is far from a new concept, but it does seem like a good idea to occasionally remind ourselves of this point.
This article made me feel somewhat vindicated about my personal financial musings: https://www.npr.org/2022/02/18/1081751190/first-time-homebuyers-are-getting-squeezed-out-by-investors
For instance, I've been getting increasingly annoyed at myself for my levels of doomscrolling, so I'm going to try and adopt at least some of that "WWW" concept.
Related, but maybe somewhat less insightful, an interview with the author of a new book about the ability to sustain attention and focus: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/16/well/mind/focus-johann-hari.html
I always have mixed feelings about this sort of book. These books do seem to be helpful to a lot of people, but I have to wonder how much of the book will consist of a churn of prior ideas and insights versus actually new and different information. I'd think back to that book on sleep as a contrasting example: by the time Why We Sleep was written, there had been major changes to our understanding of sleep physiology, so there was actually something to learn.
Meanwhile, a friend posted this 2015 article on social media: https://hbr.org/2015/08/the-research-is-clear-long-hours-backfire-for-people-and-for-companies
Apropos to what I wrote above, this is far from a new concept, but it does seem like a good idea to occasionally remind ourselves of this point.
This article made me feel somewhat vindicated about my personal financial musings: https://www.npr.org/2022/02/18/1081751190/first-time-homebuyers-are-getting-squeezed-out-by-investors
