Welcome to Issue #81 of ThinkSpace Thursday
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📚 Light Reading
In Praise of Idleness by Bertrand Russell: Should you want to work?
Hard work is generally seen as virtuous, and those who work hard are morally praiseworthy. Conversely, idleness is seen as a vice, and the idle are deserving of blame. However, what if that isn’t the case? What if idleness is praiseworthy?
Linear thinking in a nonlinear world
The human brain likes simple, straight lines. As a result, people tend to expect that relationships between variables and outcomes will be linear. But nonlinear phenomena are all around us, and if you don’t recognise when they’re in play, you’re likely to make poor decisions.
Open-mindedness
What helps us accurately determine whether our beliefs are true or not? Many philosophers who study the nature of human knowledge and belief—epistemology—think open-mindedness is crucial to this.
🔎 Study of the Week
The psychological dark side of the American Dream
In a recent study with over 70K people, seeking fame or money (above a certain threshold) did not contribute to life satisfaction. The findings indicate that when individuals prioritise extrinsic goals, they tend to report lower levels of subjective well-being, psychological well-being, physical health, and prosocial behavior. This was a consistent finding regardless of age or culture.
📺 Video of the Week
George Carlin on euphemistic language (2 min.)
🎙 Podcast Episode
Morgen Housel posits that there’s an “ideal” net worth for everyone when money not only stops bringing pleasure but becomes a social liability. And that number is probably lower than most people think.
🗣 Quote of the Week
“Sometimes I lie awake at night and I ask, ‘Is life a multiple choice test or is it a true or false test?’ ...Then a voice comes to me out of the dark and says, ‘We hate to tell you this but life is a thousand word essay’”. - Charles M. Schulz
👀 Perception Watch
😲 WTF
Sitting in front of you are two glasses of water that are identical except for one thing: The water on your left is hotter than the water on your right. Place both of these glasses in the freezer. Which will freeze faster? You’d think the colder glass on the right would, but that might not be the case. Hot water can freeze faster than cold water.
The Mpemba Effect is named after a Tanzanian student who observed it in 1986 while freezing milk to make ice cream.
😁 In the Memetime
📖 Book Club
David Hume (1711–1776) is perhaps best known for his ideas about cause and effect and his criticisms of religion, but he is rarely thought of as a philosopher with practical wisdom to offer. Yet Hume's philosophy is grounded in an honest assessment of nature—human nature in particular. This book is an engaging account of how Hume's thought should serve as the basis for a complete approach to life.
🤔 Contemplation Corner
A friendship recession has been growing since 1990.
15% of men and 10% of women now report having no close friends.
🎧 The Song of the Week
“Without music, life would be a mistake.” — Nietzsche
Listen to the ThinkSpace Thursday playlist on Spotify.
🧠 Go Deeper with ThinkSpace
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August Masterclass:
👍 Thanks for Reading
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Live well, and I’ll see you next week.
John