How do barnacles move? Well, the barnacles we see don’t move. But when they’re little, they do swim, and once they’ve found their spot they basically cement themselves in place. They’re what’s known as sessile animals — ones that don’t move once settled, along with mussels and coral. Now that would be a different way of life.…How do barnacles move? Well, the barnacles we see don’t move. But when they’re little, they do swim, and once they’ve found their spot they basically cement themselves in place. They’re what’s known as sessile animals — ones that don’t move once settled, along with mussels and coral. Now that would be a different way of life.WWW…
A microlife is thirty minutes of your life expectancy. You can use it up by chilling for 30 minutes or you could start to speed through them by smoking a few cigarettes or having a few drinks. A simple way to bring difficult-to-grasp long-term, slow-burn risks into a unit that can motivate you and a handy way to compare risks. Even better, you gain a microlife with 2-3 cups of coffee. Win! Also see, micromort, the unit of death Interesting? See Microlives: A lesson in risk taking, by Cambridge University Professor of risk David Spiegelhalter. Or see his 15 min TED talk: Motorbikes, Terrorism, Heart Attacks, Sausages: Professor David Spiegelhalter at TEDxOxbridge, or the full paper.…A microlife is thirty minutes of your life expectancy. You can use it up by chilling for 30 minutes or you could start to speed through them by smoking a few cigarettes or having a few drinks. A simple way to bring difficult-to-grasp long-term, slow-burn risks into a unit that can motivate you and a handy way to compare risks. Even better, you gain a microlife with 2-3 cups of coffee. Win! Also see, micromort, the unit of death Interesting? See Microlives: A lesson in risk taking, by Cambridge University Professor of risk David Spiegelhalter. Or see his 15 min TED talk: Motorbikes, Terrorism, Heart Attacks, Sausages: Professor David Spiegelhalter at TEDxOxbridge, or the full paper.WWW…
A micromort is a one in one million chance of sudden death during the activity. You get a day of regular living for one micromort (though clearly that probably depends on what your average day is). Turns out you get a lot further per micromort by car, and that motorways are by far the safest form of road. You’ll experience 7 micromorts from running a marathon and 39,427 from climbing Everest. Introduced by Stanford Professor, Ronald Howard. Also see: Microlife, the unit of life…A micromort is a one in one million chance of sudden death during the activity. You get a day of regular living for one micromort (though clearly that probably depends on what your average day is). Turns out you get a lot further per micromort by car, and that motorways are by far the safest form of road. You’ll experience 7 micromorts from running a marathon and 39,427 from climbing Everest. Introduced by Stanford Professor, Ronald Howard. Also see: Microlife, the unit of lifeWWW…
Update: More recent research has brought into question the captivating notion of ego depletion with difficulties reproducing some key experiments and suggesting other factors may be at work. In his book You are now less dumb, David McCraney explains an concept called ego depletion with the basic idea that our brains require fuel, particularly the decision-making and glucose hungry pre-frontal cortex. Every time you have to make decisions or deal with difficult situations it tires you such that we have a sort of finite amount of will power. If you spent the morning battling to get the kids dressed and out the door, then jostling your way through a crowded commute, by the time you get to work you’re more likely to say ‘whatever’ to any decisions that come your way. Making decisions is hard work. McCraney brings up a remarkable, and slightly disturbing, study by Shai Danziger which followed eight Israeli judges as they decided on over 1,000 parole applications. The findings show that prisoners were most likely to be granted parole first thing in the morning, after a snack break, and right after lunch. If you were unlucky enough to be up for parole just before lunch, bad luck. As McCraney puts it: If you want the most control over your own mind so that you can alter your responses to the world instead of giving in and doing what comes naturally, stay fresh. Take breaks. Get some sleep. And until we understand what ego depletion really is, don’t make important decisions on an empty stomach. Here’s a nice summary of Shai Danziger’s parole study in the Economist including a remarkable chart.…Update: More recent research has brought into question the captivating notion of ego depletion with difficulties reproducing some key experiments and suggesting other factors may be at work. In his book You are now less dumb, David McCraney explains an concept called ego depletion with the basic idea that our brains require fuel, particularly the decision-making and glucose hungry pre-frontal cortex. Every time you have to make decisions or deal with difficult situations it tires you such that we have a sort of finite amount of will power. If you spent the morning battling to get the kids dressed and out the door, then jostling your way through a crowded commute, by the time you get to work you’re more likely to say ‘whatever’ to any decisions that come your way. Making decisions is hard work. McCraney brings up a remarkable, and slightly disturbing, study by Shai Danziger which followed eight Israeli judges as they decided on over 1,000 parole applications. The findings show that prisoners were most likely to be granted parole first thing in the morning, after a snack break, and right after lunch. If you were unlucky enough to be up for parole just before lunch, bad luck. As McCraney puts it: If you want the most control over your own mind so that you can alter your responses to the world instead of giving in and doing what comes naturally, stay fresh. Take breaks. Get some sleep. And until we understand what ego depletion really is, don’t make important decisions on an empty stomach. Here’s a nice summary of Shai Danziger’s parole study in the Economist including a remarkable chart.WWW…
And, let’s face it, most of us are more likely to encounter camels in the Middle East and Africa than trekking around the Gobi Desert. The wild bactrian camel is sadly on the critically endangered list. And, there is this simpler way to remember the difference that a reader passed on to me: dromedary is one hump like a D on its side, and bactrian is two humps like a B on its side. Simples.…And, let’s face it, most of us are more likely to encounter camels in the Middle East and Africa than trekking around the Gobi Desert. The wild bactrian camel is sadly on the critically endangered list. And, there is this simpler way to remember the difference that a reader passed on to me: dromedary is one hump like a D on its side, and bactrian is two humps like a B on its side. Simples.WWW…
