Spartan wealth
One of the surprising benefits of making respectable money is you stop lusting for a lot of the frivolous junk you thought would make you happy when you were not yet wealthy. Unless you live in a...
View ArticleJust what the internet needs – another armchair geostrategist. The Syria strike.
You should probably not take your serious geopolitical analysis from a drunken essayist . That being said, for entertainment purposes, here’s my take. On Tuesday, someone in Syria dropped nerve gas on...
View ArticleElon Musk’s brain-computer interface startup – let’s do even better.
Fellow time-travelling artificial intelligence uploaded into a passable, but not entirely convincing human body Elon Musk has unveiled a new company – Neuralink. Ever the man to go after whatever...
View ArticleSelf-improvement secret: fix flaws first
There is an overwhelming temptation in any programme of self-improvement to focus on things you’re already amazing at, instead of facing your flaws. But your weak points are precisely where the most...
View ArticleLook whom you judge, and you’ll see how to improve yourself
One of the best windows into a person’s heart and head – including your own – is looking at whom they judge disproportionately, because it shows where they are secretly feeling deficient. It shows...
View ArticleNail the basics – and nothing else is necessary. Fail the basics – and...
I have good news for you, and bad news for lazy people. By and large, there are no secrets, shortcuts or silver bullets. The stuff that actually works is simple and you probably already know it. This...
View ArticleFragments from Sumerian wisdom texts
It’s simultaneously amazing, humbling and endlessly entertaining to read humanity’s oldest known writings. You feel a deep kinship with all of civilization, and people thousands of years ago, and get...
View ArticleHumans in space and the founder effect
Humanity will probably not remain a single species in the future. There’s a thing called the founder effect, which “…occurs when a small group of migrants that is not genetically representative of the...
View ArticleFind the strength to follow self-help advice – moving against your inner monkey
Guest post from www.positive-psychology-blog.com. (Wisdomination’s note: you’ll notice some “doctrinal differences” between this guest post and my correct way of seeing things. Indulge the heretic, and...
View ArticleHunting dragons
There are two basic ways you can face your demons. One is: “I sure hope I don’t run into any resistance as I’m trying to get the important thing done.” The other, much better way is, you hunt the...
View ArticleWhat do you really want?
What do you want? Don’t worry, it’s a trick question. I mean really, really want? Aside from ziga zig ha. When you ask yourself this, the answer will be layered. What’s virtually certain is that the...
View ArticleScrew instant gratification, stay hungry and get the real thing
We live at a time of fakes. Anything you want, there’s an easy way to get something a bit like it, but not quite. Those distract from the real stuff. Here are some examples: Wants to feel a sense of …...
View ArticleHow western establishments lost moral nerve and turned undemocratic
Imagine a western mandarin at a G20 summit. He drives a Volkswagen, has a grey suit, mediocre salary, a plain wife and only one mistress. Then he meets his Saudi counterpart. Who arrives in a Maserati,...
View ArticleA psychological theory of hipster fashion
Maybe the fundamental reason your barista wears a waistcoat is a creeping collective sense that civilisation got derailed in the early 20th century, and we need to restore it to the last known good...
View ArticleOf course you have time to exercise
People will spend hours arguing with complete strangers on the internet why they don’t have twenty minutes for a workout. I imagine there are people – about five – who really can’t squeeze a few hours...
View ArticleSelf authoring program
Thinking about your life is valuable, and makes it more valuable. There have been roughly three traditional methods, all compatible: Therapy. Sitting in front of the fire in your study on the moors,...
View ArticleMinimum effort weight loss (or “sexiness gain”)
Your weight is probably generally stable, which means you’re within a few calories per day of getting thinner. That means relatively small and easy changes in your lifestyle can achieve great results....
View ArticleHave you tried going for a walk?
There’s a sort of exoticism that people expect from effective advice – it must be terribly complicated and surprising and insightful. I am increasingly convinced, however, that for most people, the...
View ArticleWhy I’m done with Apple
In short, because their products are now mediocre, and their business practices are evil. I’ll be the first to admit being, for a time, a giant Apple fannoun (I’m not sure we’re allowed to say “boy”...
View ArticleMy islamist Uber driver and modern slavery
Profound political incorrectness ahead. Uber gets fairly criticised for unethical business practices, and unfairly criticised by taxi drivers scared of superior competition. There are, however, at...
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