“How ‘Inside Out’ and its sequel changed therapy”

Amazing to see how an animated movie is having such an impact, helping both mental health practitioners and educators, as well as parents.

“Return-to-office mandates hurt employee retention, productivity, survey says”

Surprise, surprise: forcing people back into offices may not have the effect employers are hoping for.

…remote workers were 23 percent more likely to say they have “a psychologically and emotionally healthy workplace,” 19 percent were more likely to cite “high levels of cooperation,” and 18 percent were more likely to say that people avoid office politics and backstabbing.

‘Free speech’ and online offences

Today’s briefing in the Guardian explores what we can learn from the recent UK riots about the criminal justice system.

British courts have long held that freedom of speech does not entitle people to incite violence. Part of the outrage may be due to a perception that online behaviour is somehow exempt from this general principle; these sentences may change that.

Cassia Rowland, a researcher focused on criminal justice at the Institute for Government, added:

I think most people have been aware for some time that online behaviour may be illegal. But they may not see that their own behaviour can qualify to be taken seriously as a criminal offence, especially in this kind of context.

What it feels like living in a tourist hotspot

Locals against tourist stories have been in the news a lot lately. This is a thoughtful article, recognising some of nuances that are involved.

Tourism is very important, and if it disappears, we’ll be poorer. But we want to preserve the island and have a better quality of life and better access to housing. Diversifying [the economy] is the obvious answer, but that’s really hard at this point.

“The Marshmallow Test does not reliably predict adult functioning”

We’ve all likely heard about the Marshmallow Test. Kids are given an option of a marshmallow now, or more marshmallows later. And, supposedly, the kids who resist eating the marshmallow now do better in life. Delayed gratification is, we were told, a key indicator of various success measures later in life. I was never totally convinced about this to be honest. And it appears to have now been debunked:

Using a preregistered analysis, Marshmallow Test performance was not strongly predictive of adult achievement, health, or behavior… No clear pattern of moderation was detected between delay of gratification and either socioeconomic status or sex. Results indicate that Marshmallow Test performance does not reliably predict adult outcomes.

“Consensus is the enemy of greatness”

Brian Halligan, co-founder and former CEO of HubSpot, on why he stopped looking for consensus:

“For a long time, I looked for consensus. I think consensus is really the enemy of scale, and so I used to say, “Whenever we’re making an important decision, there should be winners in the room and losers. We shouldn’t find that negotiated settlement that everyone is happy with. Somebody should be unhappy, three or four people should walk out unhappy, and one should walk out happy, and we’re all going to be good with it.” As you get bigger, the gravity pulls you towards consensus, and I think consensus is the enemy of greatness.”

“Hopefulness is the warrior emotion that can lay waste to cynicism”

Beautiful and moving response by Australian musician Nick Cave to a letter from a fan feeling empty and cynical.

Unlike cynicism, hopefulness is hard-earned, makes demands upon us, and can often feel like the most indefensible and lonely place on Earth. Hopefulness is not a neutral position either. It is adversarial. It is the warrior emotion that can lay waste to cynicism. Each redemptive or loving act, as small as you like, Valerio, such as reading to your little boy, or showing him a thing you love, or singing him a song, or putting on his shoes, keeps the devil down in the hole. It says the world and its inhabitants have value and are worth defending. It says the world is worth believing in. In time, we come to find that it is so.

Do we no longer want to be unique?

Fascinating study showing that fewer people want to stand out in public.

The study looked at three dimensions of uniqueness: concern about other people’s reactions, desire to break the rules and the willingness to defend beliefs publicly. All three facets declined but the most dramatic were people being hesitant to defend their beliefs publicly (a 6.52% decline) and becoming more concerned with what people think about them (a 4.28% decline).

This data suggests that individuals see that expressing uniqueness might compromise their ability to fit in with others or may even lead to being ostracized.

How it feels to be a British Jew after October 7

Many on the Left most energised by Israel and Palestine can’t accept they could ever be anti-Semitic because they believe they’ve always fought racism. Well-meaning people end up being anti-Semitic by accident, susceptible to peer pressure, half-truths and outright falsehoods. That means that those who have convinced themselves they possess the facts – let alone the armies of previously uninterested and ignorant newbies – feel their desire to be morally right outweighs the sensitivities of those they see as wrong.

I’m hesitant to even venture near the subject of Israel and Palestine. Sadly, for many it is become a black and white, either or issue. Reality is always more nuanced.

“If cynicism was a pill, it would be a poison.”

An interview in New Scientist with a recovering cynic on what science tells us about the impact of being cynical.

Cynicism hurts us in basically every way a scientist can measure. Cynics suffer in terms of their mental health. They are more depressed and anxious. They tend to abuse substances like alcohol more; their relationships are shorter-lived and less satisfying. Their health is worse – everything from cellular inflammation to coronary disease to diabetes, all these are predicted by cynicism. They do worse financially.

Rude disregard for female teachers is unprecedented

Alarming, anonymously written, piece in The Times by a senion pastoral leader at a school in England.

I had a lesson recently where Andrew Tate was mentioned by a boy who remarked on all the cars and money he seemed to have as a reason that he was someone to emulate. One of the girls tried to cut in and say, “But you do understand that he’s a bad person?” And the boy said, “Well, you can’t say that; he’s doing pretty well for himself.” At this point I added, “He’s also someone awaiting trial for sexual offences. And I think we’re going to shut this conversation down.” Wealth equals good in class, with little regard for how it is achieved.

Tim Harford on AI and plausible bullshit

Not for the first time, we learn that large language models can be phenomenal bullshit engines. The difficulty here is that the bullshit is so terribly plausible. We have seen falsehoods before, and errors, and goodness knows we have seen fluent bluffers. But this? This is something new.

Long Way Home: New motorbike adventure with Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman

The new season follows Ewan and Charley as they ride lovingly refurbished vintage motorbikes from Ewan’s home in Scotland to Charley’s in England — but rather than take the shortest route, they go the long way! They head across the North Sea to Scandinavia, all the way up to the Arctic Circle and then down to the Baltics and through continental Europe, before eventually hopping back over the English Channel two months later. It’s an adventure that will take them to more than fifteen countries, through spectacular scenery and along some of the greatest driving roads in the world. Along the way they’ll immerse themselves in each country’s culture, meet the locals and try their hand at unique and eclectic activities.

I’ve loved all three of the previous adventures; can’t wait to follow along with this one.

Adam Peaty: Why silver is better than gold

As soon as you define your whole life by medals, you’ll have no one to share it with. I’d rather get silver and have someone to share it with than gold and be on my own.

Quite a remarkable transformation.

People with type 1 diabetes may soon only need to give themselves insulin once a week

Scientists have found a solution that experts say comes as close to a cure for type 1 diabetes as any drug therapy could: smart insulin that lies dormant in the body and only springs into action when needed.

This would be transformative for so many people.

Be nice – but not too nice – to chatbots

Using polite prompts…can produce higher-quality responses from a large language model (LLM)—the technology powering AI chatbots. But there’s a point of diminishing returns; excessive flattery can cause a model’s performance to deteriorate, according to the paper.

“Trump and Musk share tips on running companies into ground”

“I think the key to turning any business into a disaster is simple,” Musk opined. “You have to take a brand that people love and make it toxic. I don’t mean to brag, but that’s kind of my superpower.”

“That’s true up to a point, but you also have to make sure that the product itself is horrible,” Trump responded. “Ask anyone who’s stayed at one of my hotels and found it infested with bedbugs.”

😂

Season four trailer for Slow Horses

One of the best productions to have emerged from Apple TV+ is, undeniably, Slow Horses, the TV adaption of the books by Mick Herron.

Grab a subscription and catch up ahead of the release of season four on 4 September. You won’t regret it.

“Mother Father God”

In Fr. Richard Robr’s daily meditations this week he is reflecting on the life and teachings of Julian of Norwich. This recent post on God as ‘mother’ is brilliant.

Julian helps me finally understand one major aspect of my own Catholic culture: why in heaven’s name, for centuries, did both the Eastern and Western Churches attribute so many beautiful and beloved places, shrines, hills, cathedrals, and works of religious art in the Middle East and Europe, not usually to Jesus, or even to God, but to some iteration of Mother Mary? I’ve always thought it was scripturally weak but psychologically brilliant. Many people in Julian’s time didn’t have access to scripture—in fact, most couldn’t read at all. They interpreted at the level of archetype and symbol. The “word” or logos was quite good, but a feminine image for God was even better.

“How to do one thing at a time”

Chris Guillebeau outlines a helpful, simple process:

1. You must identify the one thing.

2. It must be specific and measurable.

3. You must commit to doing only the one thing.

Simple doesn’t mean easy though!

Graham Thorpe’s daughter: We’re not ashamed of talking about his suicide

I grew up watching Graham Thorpe play cricket for England. It’s devastating to read of his mental health illness that led to the taking of his own life.

I love what his daughter had to say about why they’re sharing more details about his illness and death though:

We are not ashamed of talking about it. There is nothing to hide and it is not a stigma.

Archbishop Justin Welby: “Christian iconography that has been exploited by the far right is an offence to our faith”

…the Christian iconography that has been exploited by the far right is an offence to our faith, and all that Jesus was and is. Let me say clearly now to Christians that they should not be associated with any far-right group – because those groups are unchristian. Let me say clearly now to other faiths, especially Muslims, that we denounce people misusing such imagery as fundamentally antichristian.

Prima Facie play coming back to UK cinemas

Jodie Comer has announced that the recording of her performance of Prima Facie is coming back to cinemas from 12 September.

Having watched this with my wife last year, I can confirm this is not to be missed.

One of the most remarkable performances I’ve ever seen.

More details on the dedicated website.

Adam Grant on why he was wrong about the Olympics.

“You can love your people without hating others.”

He also adds:

I used to think the ideal state of the world was striving to transcend borders altogether. The Olympics reminded me that rejecting negative nationalism doesn’t require us to abandon positive patriotism

“Inside the ‘cult’ of the Far Right”

This interview with Kaelin Robertson, a former friend and ally of Tommy Robinson is insightful and definitely worth listening to. The journey of how someone became radicalised is informative. The comments below are undeniably worrying though.

“Somebody that is tweeting the things that he’s tweeting, he doesn’t believe half of it, but it doesn’t matter because the truth is totally irrelevant to him, will genuinely disrupt normalcy in the UK. The majority of people that have been protesting and rioting in the last few days who are far right have done so because they saw his tweets. What we saw with the riots in the last few days, I genuinely think is just the beginning.

Somebody that doesn’t care about the truth and somebody that doesn’t care about anything other than blowing up their own profile, regardless of what happens to Britain, is extremely dangerous.”

“Concentrate! How to improve your focus”

Lots of good tips and reminders in this article in The Times.

We tend to think mostly of behaviour around screens, but being able to focus is as much about what we eat and drink, sleeping well, and exercising.

What lies beneath: the growing threat to the hidden network of cables that power the internet

Fascinating article in The Guardian looking at how the internet really works, and the threats that would cause havoc if realised.

Turns out a quantum leap isn’t what I thought it was. (Who knew ‘quantum’ doesn’t mean huge? I didn’t!) And the significance of this to our personal development is fascinating. Love this latest article – The Quantum Self – by AleXander McManus.

What would it mean to be done for the day?

What you realise, the moment you ask “what would it mean to be done for the day?”, is that the answer can’t possibly involve doing all the things that need doing – even though that’s the subconscious goal with which many of us approach life, driving ourselves crazy in the process. If there are a thousand things that need doing, you’re going to need to arrive at some definition of “finished” that doesn’t encompass them all. Maybe it’s two hours on your main current project, and three detailed emails you’ve been meaning to write, plus a couple of quicker tasks? Your definition of “done” may be very different, of course, depending on your work, energy levels, and existing commitments. But merely by asking the question you’ll be leaving behind the daily quest to do more than you can – which systematically prevents you taking satisfaction in whatever you do manage to accomplish.

Always enjoy reading and pondering on Oliver Burkeman’s thoughts and perspectives.

UK disorder: What’s Elon Musk’s game?

Mr Musk has highlighted his concerns that the media doesn’t hold power to account any more. And yet most of the time, when I want to ask questions of both him and of X - there is no response from the social media company.

Good article by Marianna Spring.

“Hope has two beautiful daughters; their names are Anger and Courage. Anger at the way things are, and Courage to see that they do not remain as they are.”

I love this quote from the Catholic saint, Augustine, quoted by Steve Chalke today in his ‘Pause for Thought’ on BBC Radio 2. And then what Steve went onto add was great too:

“…one of the ancient words the Bible uses for ‘hope’ is ‘tikvah’, which comes from the word for a ‘multi-stranded rope’.

That’s what Martin Luther King understood. Hope has to be tangible! When you’re down a deep hole, you need a strong woven rope to climb out with, rather than empty optimism. That’s what he and his friends gave their lives to weaving.”

The far right riots, Starmer’s response, and the role of Elon Musk

This episode of The News Agents is a helpful take on the recent rioting, the far right, policing, disinformation, and more.

And I thought this comment on the two-tier policing accusation was apt:

“…this accusation of like two-tier policing, one of the things that’s come out in the last 24 hours is to say, oh well, the police were much gentler when looking at what was happening with the Gaza protests over the course of the last year or so.

It’s like, hello, this is sort of crazy critique. Yes, some of the things that were said on those Gaza protests were distasteful. They were racist, they were anti-Semitic, anti-Semitic tropes.

They reported that on that at the time. Sometimes, they were intimidating to Jewish people who were there. But they weren’t going lot around orchestrating that level of violence and disorder, and they weren’t going around burning down shoe zones.

These were largely peaceful by comparison. So yeah, there’s two-tier policing in the sense that different sorts of protests and if different sorts of crimes are committed, have different sorts of responses from the police. That is kind of how justice and the law works.

You do different sorts of things, you get treated differently by the police.”

Emphasis mine.

Can’t help but enjoy this photo of Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles bowing down to Rebeca Andrade after the Brazilian beat them to Olympic gold in the floor final in Paris.

Elon Musk’s misinformation machine made the horrors of Southport much worse

We’re in danger of sleepwalking back in time to the world dissected by Hannah Arendt six years after World War Two: “The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction (ie the reality of experience) and the distinction between true and false (ie standards of thought) no longer exist.”

Whole article is worth a read. What we’re seeing across the UK following the Southport murders is horrific. And it’s hard to disagree with the premise that X is making it worse and shoulders culpability.

Appreciated this on interested versus committed from Shane Parrish’s latest post.

Most people are interested. Few are truly committed. Interested people act when it’s convenient; committed people act no matter what.

Talk to your neighbour, your barista, or the person on the bus, your health could depend on it

This is a good interview with David Robson, author of The Laws of Connection.

An important reminder to stay social if we want to stay healthy

After a ten-year hiatus, my long-time friend and mentor, Alex McManus, is back writing.

The Digital Grim Reaper - by AleXander McManus

There’s a ton of great thoughts and reflections in his article, but it’s this one line that I’ve been musing on for days:

“Utilize AI for the purposes of making the world more human.”

“It’s good to mock and make fun of people who are bad or want to do bad things. It’s also necessary politically… Good thrusting mockery cuts right through that. Yes, they’re dangerous. But they’re also insecure, stunted degenerates.”

From: Are You on Team ‘Weird’?

How decline of Indian vultures led to 500,000 human deaths

This is both fascinating and alarming in equal measure.

“Vultures are considered nature’s sanitation service because of the important role they play in removing dead animals that contain bacteria and pathogens from our environment - without them, disease can spread. Understanding the role vultures play in human health underscores the importance of protecting wildlife, and not just the cute and cuddly. They all have a job to do in our ecosystems that impacts our lives.”

–Eyal Frank, an assistant professor at University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy.