Don’t fall victim to the Peter Principle
You mustn’t assume that the skills that served you well in the past will be enough for any new challenges that lie ahead
by Christian Jarrett
Understand
All Notes to Self
What runners call the ‘pain cave’
Widely discussed in running circles, there’s a place you go when your body gives up and there’s only mental strength left
by Richard Fisher
My year of slow-reading War and Peace
Reading a chapter a day of War and Peace shows how a manageable, regular habit can build into a much bigger accomplishment
by Freya Howarth
The ancients dreamt the same dreams as us
There is something comforting about realising that, even in Homer’s day, people wondered what the hell their dreams meant
by Sam Dresser
A way to enjoy more positive mental images
Psychologists have tested a way to seed ‘involuntary positive mental images’ in the brain. You can try it for yourself
by Christian Jarrett
What style of curiosity do you practise?
New research shows that people satisfy their curiosity in different ways. Are you a hunter, a busybody or a dancer?
by Richard Fisher
Forgetting in ancient Greece and China
Forgetting can be frustrating, even scary. The ancient Greeks certainly thought so. But Daoism offers a more hopeful view
by Sam Dresser
How slow breathing calms down your brain
Researchers studied the effect of slow breathing on people’s brain activity while they experienced anticipatory anxiety
by Christian Jarrett
Are you saying ‘thank you’ too effusively?
Research suggests that people who express their gratitude more effusively are judged as lower status and less influential
by Christian Jarrett
Seeing all the parts of a tough situation
Taking a difficult experience and inspecting its elements might help us feel better about it
by Matt Huston
The value of scribbling in the margins
Marginalia is far from inessential. It would be a shame if it died off in the digital age
by Richard Fisher
Why ‘false authenticity’ is so unsettling
The Old Town of Würzburg seemed to offer a real connection to the past. But none of it was authentic
by Sam Dresser
The eerie phenomenon that keeps popping up
Ever feel like a word or person you just learned about has been showing up repeatedly? There’s a term for that
by Hannah Seo
Where are you on the ‘happiness curve’?
When I came across the U-shaped happiness curve, I knew I had to act if I wanted to buck the midlife average
by Richard Fisher
Embrace the monotony
A museum guard’s tale of long, slow hours on the job changed how I think about seemingly empty stretches of time
by Hannah Seo
Motivation is good, but discipline is better
The Ukrainian boxing champion Usyk’s recent claim that ‘discipline is better than motivation’ was psychologically astute
by Christian Jarrett