In this column I share articles, books, research, and thoughts related to the science of self-help, along with experiments and random rabbit holes I’ve gone down across the previous month.

This last month I was traveling, stopping in San Antonio, Albuquerque, and in the Texas Hill Country for about 3 weeks. I took my new weight set, and promptly injured my knee and shoulder, so I’ve been doing and learning a lot about mobilizing and proper form for both body parts. 

I’ve been thinking a lot about how to deliberately fall in love with activities - even ones you hate. I’m also curious if passionate activities can act as a better class of breaks during the work day, and hope to start a few experiments on that. 

I’ve been reading about tantra, and found what I think is an excellent book on the subject - Christopher Wallis’ Tantra Illuminated. Tantra is the most fascinating form of emotional regulation I’ve found. It’s the one that has had the most impact on me day-to-day, and one that actually uses negative states to fuel the process. I’ve also been looking more into data analytics, A.I., machine learning, and evolutionary algorithms. I think the way those systems work could have a huge impact on experiments in self development. 

Interesting Articles

• Parkinson’s Law suggests that we naturally fit projects to finish in the time we assign them, which seems to fly in the face of a lot of issues I’m running into with advanced planning. But Cal Newport’s got it covered in a detailed rebuttal (CalNewport.com)

• Reading fiction improves the brain. Research suggest that it boosts empathy, improves verbal abilities, positively effects moral values, changes brain structure, provides inspiration, and surprisingly boosts social skills (The Emotion Machine)

• A discussion on the Batman Effect (BBC)

Research

• Different meditation styles effect creativity differently (study)

Experiments and Things I’m Looking Into

• Genetic Algorithms - a class of evolutionary algorithms inspired by biological systems to come up with faster solutions to problems using mutation, crossover, and selection operators. To me, this method shares a lot with complex lifestyle issues with many variables - like sleep, depression, planning, and weight loss. Finding the right set of key variables quickly is important, and self-development could greatly benefit from this type of approach.

• Forme - clothing backed by science that automatically and unobtrusively trains better posture.

Social

• A theory on how to mechanically fall in love with any activity, even ones you dislike (Reddit)

• Roald Dahl and how to meditate better (Instagram)

• How to regain focus across a day (Reddit)

• Started stacking elements - described two techniques, The Flash Diet and Tiny Habits (Instagram)

• Why itches are a gateway to enlightenment (Reddit)

• Started my Big List of Emotional Regulation exercises, including gratitude and mental realty (Instagram)

• How to actually train mental visualization ability (Reddit)

• Awkward Turtle Meditation, or how to train meaningful social endurance (Instagram)

• How create a routine when every day is different (Reddit)

• The problem with sleep clinics (Reddit)

• How to deal with sleep anxiety (Reddit)

Miscellaneous & Esoteric

• How to learn a cross cultural skill in the internet age. Alex, a popular food blogger, tries to learn how to use a wok in a professional kitchen. He can’t find much on YouTube, which is his go-to for skills. So he embarks on an epic quest to to find teachers demonstrating the nuances on a Chinese streaming site. What I like is how it’s like an updated version of Tim Ferriss’ The 4 Hour Chef as a metaphor for learning anything. I like the detail he’s going after in order to really learn the skill - he has to figure out searching in a different language and then zone in on the little things that he’s after. It’s definitely a video to pattern when launching into online learning in general.

If you’ve got any interesting links, books, comments, or suggestions, shoot me an email at scienceofselfhelp (at) gmail.com. I’d love to hear from you!