Pleasures and pastimes
Creativity
idea
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
Thinking and intelligence
idea
Being alone with your thoughts is a skill you can practise
People go to extreme lengths to avoid time with their own thoughts. We’ve found some ways to make it more pleasurable
by Rémy Furrer
Pleasures and pastimes
idea
Feel free to stop striving: learn to relish being an amateur
When I rekindled my relationship with the piano and tapped into my inner amateur, I discovered a quiet room of my own
by Xenia Hanusiak
Traditional arts
idea
Could the art of ‘sashiko’ help to mend our frayed world?
The Japanese art of ‘sashiko’ celebrates the rough edges of life. Could this be the patchwork solution for our frayed selves?
by Melanie McGrath
Neuroscience
idea
The fascinating science of pleasure goes way beyond dopamine
Pleasure and happiness are too important for our mental health to be reduced to the single brain chemical dopamine
by Dean Burnett
Meaning and the good life
idea
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
Drugs and psychedelics
idea
Cigarette! Exquisite fiend, ephemeral friend, how I miss you
Melancholic and alluring, addictive and seductive, cigarettes were the excuse for a sweet pause between lovers and friends
by Caroline Eden
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
Stories and literature
idea
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
Pleasures and pastimes
idea
On the consolatory pleasure of jigsaws when the world is in bits
It’s not memory that makes us human but meaning-making. When life falls apart, jigsaw puzzles help us put some pieces back
by Melanie McGrath
Neurodiversity
idea
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
Technology and media
idea
Our need for true connection is giving rise to phone-free spaces
Phone-free events are on the rise: is the tide turning from the false intimacy of screens towards true social interaction?
by Joelle Renstrom