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Pleasures and pastimes

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A woman jogging along a paved riverside path with modern buildings and a cloudy sky in the background. She is wearing a grey hoodie, black leggings, and trainers while listening to music on earphones.

Goals and motivation

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So-called ‘SMART goals’ are a case of style over substance

From fitness to finance, the SMART goal-setting method is ubiquitous, but often detrimental. There are better approaches

by Christian Swann

A black-and-white photo of a man in a suit and tie smiling while a woman in a glittery dress and gloves laughs beside him. They are at a social gathering.

Sex and sexuality

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Everything I know about flirting, I learned from the Cold War

The rewards of flirtation go beyond sex or romance. But, as in other exchanges, you have to know where the red line is

by Youngbin Yoon

A woman sits at a cafe at night with a beer and a cigarette

Addiction

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You can want things you don’t like and like things you don’t want

The distinct neurochemistry of wanting and liking is helping to make sense of addiction – and more everyday behaviours

by Shayla Love

A person in a yellow jacket skipping stones at the beach during sunset, with calm water and rock formations in the distance.

Play

idea

All you need to know to start skipping stones like a pro

With the right attitude, stone skipping is a rebellious act that will leave you feeling like you have glitter in your veins

by Julie Benda

Black-and-white photo of three men smiling and holding a large inflatable globe in a small room with shelves.

Creativity

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A life of splendid uselessness is a life well lived

Like the fertile soil of a well-kept garden, a life of splendid, utter uselessness yields abundance beyond our immediate aims

by Joseph M Keegin

People using virtual reality headsets and controllers in an immersive gaming setup, with others in the background also engaged with VR devices.

Play

idea

A game is not a game without a special kind of conflict

From 5,000-year-old boardgames to last year’s video-game blockbusters, all games feature a kind of collaborative conflict

by Eric Zimmerman

Man holding a glass of beer, inspecting it in front of stacked wooden barrels in a dimly lit cellar.

Pleasures and pastimes

idea

The brewer, the yeast, and the boundaries of human agency

The brewer and the yeast: why brewing beer sheds light on the philosophical debate about the boundaries of human agency

by Andrei A Buckareff

Aerial view of a swimmer in a blue swimming pool with marked lanes, water ripples, and reflection. Only one swimmer is visible in the middle lane.

Sacred places

idea

I swim to think and to stay afloat in an ever-wetter world

‘The Beames my Bones, my flesh the plankes’: in pools, I glimpse the future of our terrestrial bodies in an ocean world

by Steve Mentz

A surfer rides a large blue wave, with white spray and foam around them under a dark, dramatic sky.

Meaning and the good life

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What surfing says about the importance of serendipity in life

What surfers call the elated state of ‘stoke’ is really a celebration of life and the meaningful serendipities it brings

by Aaron James

Black and white photo of a woman at a table by open windows, overlooking a mountainous village with scattered houses and a winding road.

Stories and literature

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On the pleasures of hand-writing letters you’ll never send

Hand-writing letters you’ll never send takes the heat off feelings and lets you look back on drafts of a previous self

by Anandi Mishra

Young man does a skateboard trick in a street with graffiti, with protestors and signs in the background, set against a city skyline.

Sports and games

idea

Sisyphus, skateboarders, and the value in endless failure

Skateboarders regularly fail at their chosen activity. But that doesn’t make it a meaningless task of Sisyphean proportions

by Andrei A Buckareff

Magnifying glass enlarging a large yellow beetle on a display board with various pinned insects and butterflies in the background.

Neurodiversity

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Why neurodiversity and entomology so often go together

Science has neglected to study the passions of autistic people like me. Here’s why so many of us are drawn to insects

by Alice Laciny