smartial_arts

Previews are v slow to load for some reason

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiqEhJJqtbc

Very unlikely, as the concentrations would be quite minute. Nick Lane expands on this in "The Vital Question" book.

Also, traps along the Yarra river https://www.google.com/maps/@-37.818863,144.9708563,51m/data...

There you go https://www.google.com/maps/@-38.011524,145.1053701,47m/data...

Incorrect, you do need to provide an email address (bogus one works fine) and tick the Ts&Cs box.

Meditation brought about some massive changes for me: increased focus, better and more acute introspection; I became way less irritable and my stress levels reduced.

I briefly outlined my before and after experience in this blog post: http://nimblegecko.com/you-are-batshit-crazy/

Frankly, Github did a very poor job at communication this breaking change.

I only recently discovered that most of my post got broken.

Apparently it's no longer legit to use "#Title", you need to "# Title" (and god knows what else).

Linking is broken too - in Jekyll 2 there was no difference if a URL ended in "/" or not - you were just taken to the page, now this is a massive, although fixable pain (see https://github.com/jekyll/jekyll/issues/4440)

As a result my site experienced 500% drop in organic search referrals from Google.

I got no single email from then announcing this change. Very unhappy with how github handled it.

Not sure how the search suggestions are meant to work, but when typing "Drunkard's Walk" I can see the book at the top of the result's list, although when typing the author's name, "Leonard Mlodinow" I get no matches for his books at all.

No it is not, but I get redirected to it on my Android phone after clicking on book covers or graph.

Is this some sort of a promo trap? When clicking on book links I get taken to pages like this one http://www.freebie.guru/au/starwars/starwars625.html

Said the whale from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Not your fault, but I find it quite annoying that most of those documents are not digitised and you have to order the items to be delivered into library's reading rooms.

main discussion https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10433318

Just finished, in the following order:

- Blindsight

- Echopraxia

- Colonel

by Peter Watts. Though I should've read the 'Colonel' before 'Echopraxia' in the hindsight.

Previous discussion here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9833375

Not sure what's the equivalent for the steps 3-7 here in Australia, but getting a referral from a GP and then getting a portable testing machine, that you're supposed to wear at home, is very straightforward. It also doesn't cost much - think it's something like $80 after getting the Medicare rebate.

Although this is very tangentially related, one may want to consider taking a multi-species probiotic also, based on "A randomized controlled trial to test the effect of multispecies probiotics on cognitive reactivity to sad mood" [1]:

"Compared to participants who received the placebo intervention, participants who received the 4-week multispecies probiotics intervention showed a significantly reduced overall cognitive reactivity to sad mood, which was largely accounted for by reduced rumination and aggressive thoughts.

Conclusion: These results provide the first evidence that the intake of probiotics may help reduce negative thoughts associated with sad mood. Probiotics supplementation warrants further research as a potential preventive strategy for depression."

[1] http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159115...

That would be fantastic - and admittedly people like yourself or some other folks I can think of (Paul Whiteley of "Questioning Answers" fame comes to mind) are doing really great job on explaining the complex subjects in lay terms.

Please do this!

Interestingly enough, f.lux[1] has been around for a while (a cool app that adjusts the colour temperature of your screen(s) as the day progresses, based on your lat & long.

I also noticed a similar functionality in one of the latest CyanogenMod (CM12) - under "Settings -> Display & Light -> LiveDisplay" - you can adjust colour temps too for day and night times. Not sure if it takes lat & long into account.

[1] https://justgetflux.com/

All I have to say re sleep is: get enough of it, or suffer.

How much is 'enough' depends on your chronotype (lark/own type of thing) - see http://brainrules.net/sleep for more.

TLDR (from PDF):

As this article demonstrates, print books are still the best suited to the optical, cognitive, and metacognitive requirements of the reading brain. While e-paper technology has been shown to be the optical equivalent of print on paper, e-readers still are lacking in the physicality that has been shown to be so important for comprehension. E-readers also lack the haptic qualities that readers enjoy about books, and seem only willing to give up only when convenience and portability are at a premium. In terms of metacognition, ereaders provide limited opportunities for text interaction, while virtual page turning has been demonstrated to discourage review of previously read material. Computer-read texts have all the limitations of e-readers without the superior optics of e-paper, and the added cognitive disadvantage of distractions from multitasking. Hyperlinks, once thought to streamline the learning process, have instead proven to interrupt the seamlessness of the reading process from perception to thought processing, and this is when they are passed over. If links are actually followed, the lack of textual linearity is sure to lead to confusion. When learning from a text is the objective of reading, printed books will remain the preferred format.

The bone marrow studies look at implanted, not orally consumed material.

Just in case anybody assumes "If I eat more bone marrow I'll get new brain cells built from the cells I eat".

HN discussion https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8437470

"Zebras don't get ulcers" by Robert Sapolsky [ http://amzn.to/1kFszdH ] Great book on stress, it's evolutionary role and how it's screwing us up now, in the modern environment that's quite different from our evolutionary past.

"Brain Rules" by John Medina [http://amzn.to/UCgCPG] John, a molecular biologist, looks at things such as health and cognitive development and performance of kids and adults from an evolutionary perspective. He highlights problems with our approaches to work and study, how these are at odds with the way our brains evolved to work and what we can do about it. Great collection of actionable advice backed up by current research. See more at http://brainrules.net/

"The world until yesterday" by Jared Diamond http://amzn.to/1AAJjNL Great book on how "traditional" societies handle trade, war and interpersonal conflicts. Lots of thing to consider taking on board in "modern" societies - such as restorative justice.

"The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking" by Oliver Burkeman http://amzn.to/1rITiKX Great overview of pitfalls that "positive thinking" approach brings and how one can start employing alternative ways of attaining happiness.

Wow, and I get downvoted for saying how amazing that patio11 is so quick to react. Somebody's being an off-topic nazi?

Dude you, like, live in here!

Tracy, that's a great initiative, I wish you all the best with the book!

I wonder what the thought process was behind the decision though - i.e. how did you decide to write a book, whether you tested/researched the market in any way?

Why would they?

Personally, being taxed close to 37% (in Australia) already, I don't have any issues with my tax money being spent on that cause.

1. Chaos: Making a New Science [ http://amzn.to/1fbmC73 ] still makes an awesome read despite its age.

2. Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers [ http://amzn.to/1kFszdH ] - great book on stress and its effects by Robert Sapolsky (have you seen his lectures on behavioural biology? Fascinating stuff, even if you always thought 'meh, biology' - the guy is an amazing lecturer)