Thinking about one’s birth is as uncanny as thinking of death

Do we suffer from birth anxiety like we suffer from death anxiety?

Christian Bowen / Unsplash

Many people feel anxious about the prospect of their death. Indeed, some philosophers have argued that death anxiety is universal and that this anxiety bounds and organises human existence.

Keep reading Show less
death emotions fear self neuroscience psychology

Self-liberation and the watershed moment of coming out

Sally Susman explains how to use truth-telling moments to your future benefit.

  • The biggest decision of Pfizer executive Sally Susman's life was to come out as gay in 1984, when society was not as accepting as it is now.
  • She was told she would never have a spouse, a career, or children; those were the fears told to her by the people who loved her most.
  • Defying that prediction became her personal north star, and 31 years later she has done it. Susman used that truth-telling moment of coming out as a way to focus her ambitions and plant the seeds for her future.



lgbt happiness success communication gay family identity love relationships self women work

The future of the mind: Exploring machine consciousness

What if consciousness is just a blip in the universe, a momentary flowering of experience that is unique to life in early technological civilizations—but eventually vanishes?

  • The hard problem of consciousness, as coined by the philosopher David Chalmers, asks: Why must we be conscious? Given that the brain is an information processing engine, why does it need to feel like anything to be us?
  • The problem of AI consciousness is equally complicated. We know humans are conscious, but when it comes to AI, the question is: Could the AIs that we humans develop be conscious beings? Could it feel like something to be them? And how could we possibly know for sure, short of them telling us?
  • How might superintelligence render consciousness extinct? Over 6 chapters in this video, philosopher and cognitive scientist Susan Schneider explores the philosophical problems that underlie the development of AI and the nature of conscious minds.
Keep reading Show less
ai technology consciousness self brain future engineering innovation robots machine learning

Youth brain: How does your office view aging?

Getting older — see: looking older — is not ideal in the workplace culture of youthfulness.

  • Professional biohacker Dave Asprey says the healthier you are, the better you're paid at work. So taking care of yourself doesn't just serve the ego, it can also provide for your family.
  • This can differ between men and women, however, as the latter face age discrimination more heavily.
  • Taking measures to benefit the health of your mind and body can get you ahead in the workplace culture of youthfulness.
Keep reading Show less
work brain aging youth health biology human body science self

Psilocybin 'markedly' boosts feelings of self-transcendence during meditation

The more research conducted on psychedelics, the closer we get to new therapeutic models.

Photo credit: Thư Anh on Unsplash
  • During a mindfulness retreat, participants that tried psilocybin reported having a richer cognitive and emotional experience.
  • The effects of psilocybin were prominent even four months after the retreat.
  • The combination of psychedelics and meditation is a field that's ripe for study in therapeutic settings.
Keep reading Show less
meditation psychology self creativity depression mindfulness