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Pleasures and pastimes

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

A man sits on grass in a park with others around and a bridge in the background on a sunny day.

Thinking and intelligence

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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

Close-up of hands playing a piano, with a focus on a ringed finger pressing the keys.

Pleasures and pastimes

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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

A denim jacket with a patch sewn on with red thread, with a needle with thread resting on the jacket

Traditional arts

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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

Smiling woman wearing a blue headscarf looks to the side, with a black background and colourful patterned clothing.

Neuroscience

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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

Technology and media

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Why teenagers are deliberately seeking brain rot on TikTok

Talking to teens reveals a hidden sophistication to their media use. Rather than policing it, maybe we could learn from it

by Emilie Owens

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 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 two women in swimsuits, one lighting the other’s cigarette while holding a towel, vintage style.

Drugs and psychedelics

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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

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

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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

Illustration of a closed café with a person sitting alone, chairs stacked, abstract art on walls, dimly lit interior.

Emotion regulation

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Solitude can be profoundly restorative. Here’s how to savour it

Time alone offers unique psychological benefits, once you learn to embrace these quiet moments rather than escape them

by Thuy-vy Nguyen

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