Why are polyglots so damn nice?
The cognitive benefits of learning a foreign language are well studied and publicised. Learning a foreign language makes you smarter, better at multitasking, helps to delay Alzheimer’s and dementia,...
View ArticleNo Hot Showers
Ah, ah – ooh, ooh – eee! No, these are not the lyrics to the latest chart-topping teenybopper execration. They are instead the chimp-like sounds of me showering, at least since I started my most recent...
View ArticleNo Pressing the Open Door Button on Public Transportation
This might sound like a small thing, but it’s really not. Wait a minute – my mistake – yes, it is a small thing. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t a satisfying and worthwhile positive constraint. My case...
View ArticleNo Facebook
I joined Facebook on April 27, 2007. I left, over six years later, on September 22, 2013. Contrary to my friends’ expectations, I have survived the last two years almost unscathed. This is the story of...
View ArticleNo Clothes
When I’m on my own. When I come in from work. When I’m hot. When I sleep. When I wake up and stumble to the bathroom. I take every opportunity to be as naked as possible. I’m writing this, dear reader,...
View ArticleNo Stuff
My name is David Charles and I own 975 things. That figure would be comfortably over 1000, but those other bits and pieces are scattered around other people’s houses so I’m going to ignore them for the...
View ArticleWhat Makes a Person Do a Thing?
This question has fascinated me for a long time. Why does anyone do a Thing, when doing no-thing is so much easier, more secure, and more comfortable? What makes a middle-aged man with a young family...
View ArticleVictor Frankl and Man’s Search for Meaning
I read a lot of books. Not a ridiculous quantity, like my sister, but a lot. I also make a lot of spreadsheets. Not a ridiculous quantity, like my dad, but a lot. Putting those two aspects of my nature...
View ArticleIt’s a wonderful life – isn’t it?
It’s not every day that the premise for a Hollywood film gets turned into a psychology experiment designed to make you feel more satisfied with your life. But that’s what has happened to Frank Capra’s...
View ArticleOverwhelming Kindness
Everyone knows that it’s nice to be kind, but the Prof taught me something interesting: it’s even nicer to be overwhelmingly kind, to be so intensively kind on one single day that it blows your little...
View ArticleHow to Make Happy Memories
There is a lot going on in our lives and our poor little brains are just not big enough to remember every detail of all the things that we experience. So they engage in a bit of reductionism. We...
View ArticleHow to Avoid Regret
This is a moderately long article (2000 words). If you’re short on time, you can get straight to the point by going to the summary at the bottom of the page. The Disaster Paradox The human cons itself...
View ArticleHow to be Amazingly Happy!
Here’s a list of the most pleasurable (legal) things humans can do: Have sex. Suck on a piece of dark chocolate (minimum 60% cocoa). Have a relaxed lunch with a friend. Learn something new. Go...
View ArticleHow to be Happy, in 59 Seconds
This is taken from 59 Seconds by Richard Wiseman, a book that wants to make your life better – in 59 seconds or less. It is all based on scientific research. If you like that sort of thing. Here is...
View ArticleIs this the Secret to a Bigger Life?
Life is what we remember. Most of your life isn’t spent now; it’s spent then – in memories. To get a bigger life, therefore, you might think we need bigger memories. But our memories are selective. To...
View ArticleSeize the Weekend!
Welcome to your fourteenth weekend of the year. What are you going to do with it? What have you done with your weekends so far this year? Could you do better? For a lot of people, weekends are...
View ArticlePalestinian Jokes: No Laughing Matter
There’s a Arab proverb that says: “I laugh, therefore I exist.” So here are some jokes from Palestine, proving that they do – still – exist. The Hebronites The Palestinians tell jokes about the...
View ArticleSmile or Die Trying
At the risk of sounding like a laughter yogi… smile! It will: Give you a more fulfilling and longer lasting marriage. Give you a greater sense of well-being. Make you more inspiring to others. Make you...
View Article36: A thought experiment to kick your ass
Yesterday I was 28. Today I am 36 years old. I woke up this morning and I’d lost 8 years in a dreamless sleep. In the mirror, my face was a little more lined, a little thinner, my eyes a little duller....
View ArticleGet More Sex #1: Wealth
If you want to have more sex, get rich or get poor. People on very low incomes and those on very high incomes have sex more frequently than anybody else. Men earning a middle class income of £45,000...
View ArticleGet More Sex #2: Religion
Religion can be a minefield when it comes to having sex. But what are the stats? A US study shows that Jews and agnostics are 20% more sexually active than Catholics and Protestants. They also found...
View ArticleGet More Sex #3: Politics
Great news for anarchists! Sexual activity is higher among self-defined political liberals than among moderates or conservatives, and it is highest among those who describe themselves as ‘extreme...
View ArticleMoney
Money’s a funny thing. It seems to be the most important thing in all the world, essential to feeding and loving and living. Then, just when it seems more important than ever, you realise that it isn’t...
View ArticleSleep Long: Be Awesome
Sleep 10 hours or more every night and you will reap huge benefits on your physical and mental performance and, not surprisingly, you’ll feel great! (You’ll also be less likely to get fat and die…)...
View ArticleWhat a to do! Suggestions for list-makers
I have a problem with TO DO lists. They are impossible. Not only that, but – being optimists – we don’t even realise it. It’s almost tragic, our list-making. Bob Dylan’s TO DO list. What I mean to say...
View ArticleFacebook Zen
Do you have a problem with information overload? Are you frequently lured to Facebook AGAINST YOUR WILL by the evil cookie monster, ‘Cool link, dude’? Do you confuse looking through your Facebook News...
View ArticleNo Money Mondays
This is something I’ve been working with for a while. The premise is simple: don’t spend any money on Mondays. This is a fairly meaty post, so I’ll cut to the chase: Why No Money Mondays? It helps me...
View ArticleHow to Make a Good First Impression: The Scientific Way
Do you smile a lot? Do you wear a suit? Is your hair combed? Do you wear loud ties? We are judging you! Unfair, but true. The good news is that we can use the science of first impressions to subvert....
View Article10 great excuses to avoid making your dreams come true
Worried that you might be about to embark on the trip of a lifetime? Looking for some excuse not to step out of your front door? Scared that perhaps you might finally become the person you always...
View ArticleMost Living and the Meaning of Life: Sailing 3,500 Miles for Syria
On Saturday the 12th of July, Simon Moore and Maria Gallastegui stepped aboard ‘Rumi’, the sixteen-foot Wayfarer dinghy that they hope will carry them 3,500 miles by sea, from London to Lebanon. A few...
View ArticleDr Vandana Shiva: We Need to Elevate
This is the fourth in a daily series of articles taken from Elevate #10. I hope you enjoy the read – and come back tomorrow for more! CLICK HERE FOR PAY WHAT YOU LIKE DOWNLOAD OR £10 IN PAPERBACK Dr...
View ArticleNo Mobile Phone
I have had a mobile phone since 2001, over thirteen years, but for thirty days, from Tuesday the 10th of February until the 12th of March, I shall live without. The big question is: Why? This project...
View ArticleAdventures in Approach and Avoidant Motivation
Have you ever read about approach and avoidant personalities? This is the idea from psychology that people are born with a tendency to motivate themselves either positively (approaching a goal for its...
View Article
