kashyapc

59 ms·

301.
by kashyapc 6y ago
I live in a small and wonderful city-town in Western EU. Unsurprisingly, much of the atmosphere is in doldrums. As a long-time remotee, I'm often used to working from the library or a pleasant coffee shop. It's tough not to hav
302.
by kashyapc 6y ago
Little over hundred years ago, the dashing Dutch Historian Johan Huizinga wrote a book called: "The Autumn of the Middle Ages", with the subtitle: "A study of the forms of life, thought and art in France and the Netherlands i
303.
by kashyapc 6y ago
Your recollection is almost close :-). He does mention how testosterone even promotes —a few notches up from "regulate"—prosocial behaviour, but only in the right setting : "In one [study], under circumstances where someon
304.
by kashyapc 6y ago
It's worth reading the full summary point from the Sapolksy's book, from a chapter titled "Hours to Days Before" [a behavior occurs] — the realm of hormones: "[...] Within the normal range, individual differences in
305.
by kashyapc 6y ago
Speaking of aggression, people often suspect the famous hormone testosterone as one of the prime causes. But Robert Sapolsky's (one of his papers is cited in OP's analysis) book, Behave shows something different: "While te
306.
by kashyapc 6y ago
Incidentally, over the weekend I listened to a two-hour-long presentation[1] by the cognitive scientist, Mark Turner[2]. The talk's main goal was to explore the question "Does cognitive linguistics offer a way forward for second
307.
by kashyapc 6y ago
Somehow I'm reminded of this classic 1841 quote by the Scottish writer, Charles Mackay, which sounds as fresh as ever: "In reading the history of nations, we find that, like individuals, they have their whims and their peculiarit
308.
by kashyapc 6y ago
So much complication. As a long-time happy and healthy vegetarian "cook", here is my utterly simple heuristic that never goes wrong: assuming you have a good-quality non-stick pan: on medium heat olive oil you can toss in any and
309.
by kashyapc 6y ago
An anecdote from a more modest realm on the unrepayable value of editors: I recently volunteered to write my first couple of articles for the always-excellent LWN.net. As expected, I went through several rounds of editing with them. This
310.
by kashyapc 6y ago
Not unexpected at all. After all, it is gratis; WhatsApp will jolly well do as they please—until regulators unleash the whirlwind. On a related note, as a regular Signal user (and I've had a modicum of success converting some friend
311.
by kashyapc 6y ago
Going to a different room may not be possible for everyone. We have to consider those who live in studio apartments and other kinds of smaller places. But your broader point stands—a decent enough separation between bed and work is critic
312.
by kashyapc 6y ago
You can kiss goodbye to your quality of life if you "work from bed". As Matthew Walker, of "Why We Sleep"[+], reminds: you want your brain to associate your bed with sleeping . A related point is that if you're no
313.
by kashyapc 6y ago
Behave—The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst , by Robert Sapolsky. I spent a good four months immersing myself in this magnum opus. It's a 720-page tome, and has an "avalanche of information", as Sapolsky himself calls
314.
by kashyapc 6y ago
• BBC's excellent 'In Our Time' series[1]. There are many themes: science, philosophy, art, and more. I've only listened to about 12 episodes of philosophy and science. It is hosted by Melvyn Bragg. The guests are a s
315.
by kashyapc 6y ago
I'd only say don't be too quick to draw conclusions without reading the book. :-) I don't play video games myself; last I played was more than ten years ago. But I don't think it is a "waste of time" at all, w
316.
by kashyapc 6y ago
Any study of "play" must take into account of the classic work, 'Homo Ludens—A Study of the Play-Element in Culture' , by the maverick Dutch historian, Johan Huzinga, from a 100 years ago. ("Homo Ludens" mean
317.
by kashyapc 6y ago
Yes! On the Tranquility of Mind is a marvellous essay. Also it is the only essay of Seneca's that has an interlocutor, a certain Serenus, who begins the essay with an excellent description of conflicting mental states he's expe
318.
by kashyapc 6y ago
Good news—I'm jubiliated to report that I haven't used any "traditional" social media in nearly eight years. Astonishing as it is, HN is the only internet forum that I occasionally frequent, for its palatable signal-to-
319.
by kashyapc 6y ago
I realize, the site's aim is to help you escape the "echo chamber". But I've recently been mulling over this other idea from Seneca (writing 2000 years ago!) on limiting the number of books you read, hard as it is, fo
320.
by kashyapc 6y ago
I recently discovered the https://openlibrary.org/ by The Internet Archive. On the face of it, their "about" page[1] sounds appealing (not least because it resonates with my open source values): One web page for
321.
by kashyapc 6y ago
Coming from a different culture myself, I wasn't aware of concept of "Advent Calendar" until 2014 when the first QEMU Advent came out. Think of the term "advent" as "the arrival of a notable person or thing&quo
322.
by kashyapc 6y ago
Also you can check out the previous three editions :-) https://www.qemu-advent-calendar.org/2018/ https://www.qemu-advent-calendar.org/2016/ https://www.qemu-advent-calendar.org/20
323.
by kashyapc 6y ago
Speaking of biology ... I'm about 60% through the 720-page tome, 'Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst' by Robert Sapolsky. "Electrifying" indeed, as a blurb at the back of the book puts it. The n
324.
by kashyapc 6y ago
One of the "nice side effects" of your shell design is that one can do away with thinking about POSIX requirements / portability, among other "potential goodies". ;-) - - - But yes, if Hell Linux exists, i
325.
by kashyapc 6y ago
Haven't heard of it; thanks for the suggestion. I'm definitely curious, after learning a decent bit about the real Cicero.
326.
by kashyapc 6y ago
On starting early, the Stoics imply what you say: it definitely plays to your advantage—the faults are not yet so deeply entrenched to the point that they're irreparable. Agree on "no sudden consolation": Let's take Cic
327.
by kashyapc 6y ago
You might want to check out the more poetically-sensible Seneca, who was born a little after his fellow Roman, Cicero, and wasn't particularly fond of him. Seneca too addresses the "growing old" topic quite often and incessa
328.
by kashyapc 6y ago
> (b) "Cicero Emotions" [...] covers the 4th and 5th disputations [...] Typo: "4th and 5th" --> "3rd and 4th" (1st, 2nd, and 5th are covered in "On Life and Death")
329.
by kashyapc 6y ago
Cicero is one of the Roman gems that people tend to miss out on. He lived more than 2000 years ago, and written many works on Greek philosophy (including the works of Plato, Stoics, Epicureans, et al); and some of his own. He often claims
330.
by kashyapc 6y ago
Another approach that can be interesting for advanced learners, i.e. you have taken classes for a couple of years[+] and are living in the target language country: If you've enjoyed a non-fiction book in English, for example, pick up t

More ›