#03 Friday’s Findings
Discover more from The Meandering Mind
#03 Friday’s Findings
Special happenings, The science of humor and more.
Hello everyone! Happy Friday.
I would like to consider today a particularly special Friday. This is because it is the birthday of a dear friend of mine. Happy birthday, and best wishes! A lot has been going on for me this past week, so I will try to encapsulate it here.
I guided an open house this Monday, and it was quite interesting to experience it from the other side of the table so many years later. It made me see my friends in an entirely new way, as we drove aimlessly toward the night sky when closing it up, merely appreciating the moment. To be in the now, and to appreciate the wonders of life—like the sun being out today.
Oh, what a life! It seems that we have been eaten up by nothing.
One cannot afford to miss the special happenings of their life. Even the silly ones. Even the moments that you perhaps deem insignificant at the time, you will, with time, come to appreciate them—perhaps even miss them. I know that I have come to miss some of my traditions.
I do not know much, but perhaps I will grow to learn that one’s surroundings are what matters.
Tomorrow, I want you to be aware that I will spend time with my family. Tomorrow, and for most in peace, I shall cherish this strange thing that we are all so fortunate to possess.
There has never been a better time. Never has there been a better time to appreciate the sun—never a better time to remember that you must die. For it is then that the important things will shine.
I hope you enjoy the weekend, and that you consider what is important to you.
Suggested readings
The very serious science of humor: ‘Philosophers James Beattie, Immanuel Kant, Arthur Schopenhauer, Søren Kierkegaard, and others postulated that we find amusement in things that are at odds with our expectations, a contradiction between the setup and the punchline. In contemporary humor, the joke teller sets the scene in the buildup; the part that makes us laugh is often a pivot away from the path we thought we were on.’
Building Habits Strategies To Try (After Failing To Build Habits In The Past): ‘Habits mean suddenly dropping what you’re doing and impatiently reaching for your phone that’s inside your pocket. You do this with haste, so you can see what God-given piece of information arrived at your phone and produced a beeping sound while reaching the destination.
Habits are also the unconscious selection of the largest beer plus the most fat-intensive meal when you are seated at a restaurant without even looking at the menu. Yes, you simply automatically order junk food because your brain is predisposed to want sugar and artificial additives – both of which taste delicious.’
Here’s what being filthy rich in Europe looked like in 1000 BC, 1 AD, and 1000 AD: ‘The city of Pompeii, which was incredibly well-preserved under a thick coat of ash produced by the 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius, provides a clear window into what it like to be well-off during the turn of the millennium. Once again, data analysis of archaeological sites around the volcano shows that social inequality increased as time went on and the Roman Empire became more technologically advanced.
If you were a rich Pompeiian, you didn’t live in a house but in a domus. The average domus had a surface area of 3,000 square meters. They usually included an atrium, multiple bedrooms and living rooms, servants’ quarters (wealth in Rome was displayed primarily through your servants), studies, and a garden decorated with flowers, frescoes, and sculptures. Oh, and farmland. Lots of farmland.’
Three visuals worth sharing
From Laurel Buchanen:
From 2x4:
From Ashley Stock:
A quote I’m contemplating: "Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is" ― Albert Camus
Insightful proposals
I. The Marshmallow Test— I suggest you try watching this video. This is a video empirically testing delayed gratification. Studies showed decades later that the longer the kid could wait for the second marshmallow, the better they did in the SAT scores.
II. Love Again (Spotify) — I recommend you to listen to this new song on your commute home, which I find has a very nice cling to it.
III. I encourage you to consider how a person’s behavior will change when they are being observed. This is the study of Ethnography (observational research)
p.s. congratulations sailer, you made it to friday
Until next time,
Magnus