Frontal lobe or midbrain? How to take control.
One of the popular pseudo-scientific questions people like to ask is “Are you left-brained or right-brained?” or if they have a slightly better understanding of nuance, then maybe “Do you favour the...
View ArticleWinning at Arguments by Enlarging your PNS
Here’s a video of me. It might be helpful to read the text below before watching the video. Actually, on second thought, this post was adapted from an email to a friend who said “I am grinning ear to...
View ArticleMy Songwriting is On Fire
The song isn’t actually about hot air balloons… right? A month ago, a friend and I decided that we’d write a song each month with a preset title. This is kind of like Songfight, but I find that a month...
View ArticleFlow vs Deliberate Practice
Flow and Deliberate Practice are rather popular concepts these days. This shouldn’t be surprising, as everyone wants to be fulfilled in their work and play, and many people want to become an expert in...
View ArticleThe scientifically-validated way to align urges and goals: Implementation...
“Implementation Intentions” is a tool from psychology literature that has been conclusively shown to increase the tendency of people to actually carry out actions towards their goals. Feel free to read...
View ArticleMindfulness Field Training
I’m excited. I’m excited, because it’s working. I’ve been trying for years to develop my sense of mindfulness and mental control, and I’m starting now to get a very direct taste of what that feels...
View ArticleTrust-powered feedback loops
This is a followup to my two previous posts on what I’ve been calling mindfulness field training. Essentially, the underlying idea is to practice noticing your thoughts and not getting caught up in...
View ArticleHow to eliminate words from your idiolect
Motivation Why I’m writing this I’m writing this a post because a friend and I were talking about how I’ve removed several words from my idiolect (the particular set of words used by an individual—kind...
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Cozy (and CoZE) Cuddle Parties: a Q&A
On a facebook comment thread about cuddle parties, I gave a few tips on hosting one, and said “if you have any other questions, feel free to message me.” Well, one of my friends took me up on that...
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What I Learned From 20 Weeks of Habit Hacking
Finding myself one-third of the way through my 2014 Habit-a-week challenge, I decided to look back and critically assess the success of my various habits. You might want to keep that link open in a new...
View ArticleHabit Models: Routines vs Defaults
I feel like it’s valuable to distinguish between two types of behavior change: routines & defaults. Both of these are based on creating a new pattern of action given a certain trigger. The...
View ArticleNot with a bang, but with a yawn.
This post is a lightly-edited transcript of part of the recording of the Monday evening gathering of culture-nudgers. I’m sharing it because a lot of people are curious about the workings of the...
View ArticleTwo Ways to Make Your Language More Conducive to Growth Mindset
Growth mindset is a thing. You can read lots more about it elsewhere, including Mindset by Carol Dweck, which a 4.5 star rating with >500 reviews. I’m not here to explain in-depth what it is or why...
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Growing a Garden with a Broken Bodum
It didn’t occur to me to take the picture until after I cleaned up the broken glass. This post isn’t about gardens or bodums. It’s about thinking and mindset. Last July (~15 months ago) I had an...
View ArticleCycles of Breath and Feedback
Disclaimer: this was a very stream-of-consciousness post, tapping into something I had just learned when I wrote it, yesterday. I don’t necessarily think that what I suggest here makes sense for...
View ArticleAbstracting from Experience
A few weeks ago I was talking with a friend, Ruby, over skype. Our conversation drifted to letters one might send to one’s past self, from say 1-2 years ago. Aside from the obvious tip-off’s about...
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“What’s it like to be you?”
At burning man this year, I spent a day exploring that question, from the inside and from the outside. “What’s it like to be you?” I asked someone sitting at the Tea House at my camp. They said...
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A ritual to upgrade my Face
One of the easiest times to change your personality (to become less shy, for instance) is when you move somewhere new. Personalities are interfaces, so those who are familiar with you will have...
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Introducing the Cast (of Malcolm Ocean)
Hi! I’m Interface. You may remember me from A ritual to upgrade my Face. I’m the part of Malcolm that navigates most social situations, and represents the bulk of his personality. I also like...
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Towards being purpose-driven without fighting myself
Lots of more abstract writing in the works, but in the meantime, an update on my personal learning process: I’m currently working on shifting out of a meta-oscillation between being intensely...
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