Indeed.

This is how the cycle perpetuates itself.

In addition to all the other flaws with our reasoning, we are also lousy judges of our own happiness.

That being said, there are certainly degrees of human misery, with some being markedly less miserable than others, but the objective evidence would suggest that we are all, in fact, quite unhappy most of the time.

This tough pill to swallow is one of the many ways in which our biology has tricked us into perpetuating the species beyond its typical limits.

This is true. Probably two of my most important core values. So far, they have served me well.

That said, there are times where I am able to rely on someone else, namely my spouse, but this is very much the exception and certainly not my preference.

In my opinion, very much so.

But many people think differently on this topic which is something that makes me question the validity of my opinion on the matter.

So far though, I haven’t found anyone on the other side of the argument that can convince me having kids isn’t selfish or awful without resorting to non sequiturs like “god wants me to have kids” or “fill the earth”.

I’d legitimately be happy to be wrong, but so far, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

I have a good friend who is extremely smart and talented. He also happens to be a devout Mormon.

The natural inclination that we, as humans, have when we encounter such a paradox is to say “huh, he might not be as smart as I thought” (since I think Mormonism is mind-bogglingly ridiculous).

The more interesting way to approach this though, since we all think we are so above such paradoxes in ourselves, is to consider what beliefs we ourselves hold that others might see as ridiculous.

For instance, I personally think that every religion is absurd and that people who have kids are awful and selfish human beings (and possibly worse than murderers).

Even though these are some of my most core beliefs, I maintain some measure of uncertainty and distance from these thoughts as a necessary exercise. That way, I can remain at least somewhat open to valid arguments against my beliefs.

Beyond simply patting myself on the back for my “advanced thinking” though, I’m curious if anyone has any other helpful tricks for avoiding so called “siloed thinking”.

It’s really hard to believe anything once you learn about all the ways in which we truly suck at reasoning.

#thinkdangerously

#grownostr

Oh the irony of discussing cognitive dissonance and religion in the same post.

I recommend the book “Being Wrong” by Kathryn Schulz. If you are interested in the ways humans engage in flawed thinking, it’s a really good read.

The ability to identify things we are bad at is very uncommon but extremely necessary for growth and improvement as you point out.

Congrats on moving forward and leaning into your weaknesses instead on retreating from them. :)

So I just got back home from a two week trip to one of the last truly wild places on earth.

I have been to this place several times but every time I go, it leaves me with the same uneasy feeling: there are just too many damn humans on this planet.

Wilderness is, by definition, a place where few (if any) people exist. So it stands to reason that not many will get to experience its power and singular majesty in their lifetime. Being one of the few who does get to experience it, I find this both immensely sad and something that I want to keep closely secret out of an intense fear that others will realize the value of the experience and ruin these places for me by extension.

The modern world is such a terrible bastardization of the way we could (and likely should) be living. Not because of our inventions, but precisely and uniquely because of our categorically absurd numbers.

What is it in us that drives this intense need to create ever more meaningless life? Every additional mouth literally dilutes the experience of living for the rest of us and yet fools continue to think to themselves “but my child will be different”. This blindness will never cease to puzzle me.

As it stands, we are collectively nothing more than stupid, anxious animals outgrowing our environment. We fill our lives with garbage experiences, sell our bodies for a pittance, and happily swallow whatever lies some smooth talking salesman with a catchy jingle (or religion) has in store for us.

The alternative is a life of fullness and plenty, free from the endless worry about offspring and their pathetic and trivial survival.

Sadly, I just don’t see this kind of world ever happening for our species. Our flaws are just too great and our capacity for perspective too hopelessly narrow to accommodate any concept of reality beyond the ones we are sold and readily trade our lives for.

We are so afraid and unprepared for the possibility that our lives are meaningless, that we essentially forgo the experience of living at all.

What a shame.

#thinkdangerously

#grownostr

#childfree

There are very few “right” answers to many of life’s toughest questions. Worry about finding the best answers for yourself and allow others the same courtesy/privilege of exploring the options and making mistakes along the way. Just because something works for you doesn’t mean it will work for everyone else.

Free yourselves from the unnecessary burden of other people’s problems and poor judgement.

#grownostr

This is an excellent observation.

I personally find the research into how cellular and dna repair mechanisms are dependent on the melatonin sleep/wake axis most convincing and concerning.

That is to say nothing about all the other practical ways in which working nights can be disruptive.

Indeed. It seems like it has a clear dose response relationship, like radiation.

No exposure is best, very limited exposure (like second shifts or late shifts) may be tolerable, but extended exposure (involving frequent switching back and forth from day/night schedules, or years of shift work) is just plain terrible for you from a physiologic standpoint.

I should add that there will necessarily be some for whom working nights offers advantages from a scheduling standpoint. Each person has unique circumstances after all.

The point of the post however is to highlight the fact that night shift work is hazardous with a capital H, with some calling it analogous to asbestos exposure. At the same time, it is a hazard that is drastically underplayed by employers and their media/academia puppets seeking to push profits yet again at the expense of employee health.

Night owls exist. That is true. But the shift is limited. No human is designed to work throughout the night. Our biochemistry precludes it. There are ways to trick these systems partially but they are imperfect. And yes, you are strictly speaking correct when it comes to mortality (not studied), but domestic violence and relationship stress in general is a significant source of morbidity for shift workers.

A final thought for today.

If you are a shift worker, ie: someone who works more than 3 night shifts per month, stop doing this as soon as possible. It’s not worth it. Full stop.

Shift work is a carcinogen. While the World Health Organization has defined it only as a “likely carcinogen”, the data tells an otherwise very clear story. Working nights shortens your life (by approximately 7 years according to best available estimates) and can literally kill you in a myriad of ways ranging from accidents, domestic violence, suicide, and good old cancer.

There is a hilarious shift that occurred in the published narrative on this topic when the first lawsuit was brought against an employer by a night shift nurse who developed breast cancer. All of a sudden, all the research into the negative health effects of shift work “shifted” (pun intended) to ways in which night shift personnel could make lifestyle modifications to lessen its impacts. Nowhere, for many years, has any published paper substantially addressed ways in which employers should improve or be held accountable for the damage they are causing by requiring workers to endure such physiologically unsound working conditions.

So yes, if you work nights, STOP. Your pathetic shift differential is not worth it. Nothing is worth it. Put the onus back on the employers to come up with meaningful solutions and resist the temptation to sell yourselves so cheaply.

#grownostr

#thinkdangerously

Warning for anyone who is lucky enough to be in a position to retire or cut back to part time early.

Do not wait. There is a vast world of experiences and opportunity beyond what your career can provide. And no, you will most likely never see age 95 or 100. Even if you did, the odds of you wanting to be alive at that age are even more slim.

In the last few years, I have seen a disturbing number of mass media content (Ie propaganda) centered on “do you have enough money to retire if you live to be 95? 100?” etc. I’m combination with state level efforts to raise the retirement age, the goal appears to keep us generating yield for the masters until we die.

Note, chronological life expectancy does not tell the whole story. What matters more is useful life expectancy. This is how long you can live independently and able to do the things you want to do. While chronological life expectancy has increased slightly over the last several decades (until Covid took a bite out of it), useful life expectancy has been much more difficult to assess and is pretty much not studied at all.

Central to this is, is that it remains extremely challenging to perform academic research without financial support these days. This is entirely by design as sufficient funding can usually only come from industry now, which then sets the agenda and narrows the scope of any planned studies that could jeopardize the status quo. This is to say nothing about the fact that editorial narrow networks are always hard at work shaping whatever message is big brother approved. Academic institutions have been nearly fully captured by industry as have federal research funding sources like the NIH (to an even more striking degree).

So please, do not fall for this trap. Do not sacrifice your functional years in your 40s or 50s for an employer when the promise is for shitty “trust me bro” years in your 80s or 90s.

If you are in a position to get out or even just cut back to part time, do so. You will find an incredible world out there waiting for you. You may even find time to think for yourself which is the most dangerous and infectious thing a person can do these days.

#grownostr

#thinkdangerously

Welcome to Nostr!

#nostr lets you speak your mind without censorship.

All other social media by contrast tells you what to think.

The sad truth is that many will still prefer to be told what to think. But at least there is now a viable alternative for those of us who prefer to think for ourselves.

#grownostr

#thinkdangerously

Getting to the point where exercise is just a routine and necessary part of your day is so awesome. Now that’s a goal we can agree on. :)

As I type this I’m getting ready to go on a nice hike of some Swiss mountains. Hard to argue with that. :)

Hard to imagine a scenario since I think it already works great as it is.

With growth will come more hive mind dumb-dumbs but they have a purpose too I suppose.

I’ll miss the days of screaming into the void though.

This is the time budget neutrality that I’m referring to. :)

Exercise stops (or stores) time in a way.

That’s fair.

The beauty of function directed exercise though is that you typically get back whatever time you invest in it (barring injury of course). It literally makes you more efficient at everything you do. I experienced this myself in medical school when I thought I was too busy to exercise. The sleep quality gains are priceless by themselves. :)

I think of vanity based approaches kinda like a shitcoin (if you’ll forgive the analogy). They don’t last because we all get old and our bodies necessarily change over time.

Function based exercise is like Bitcoin though. Seems slow and boring at first but in the end, is just far superior to everything else. :)