Grant Gochnauer: Awesome Humans — Issue #197
Really packed edition this week. I hope you enjoy!
Awesome Human
Secretary-General’s Address to the General Assembly @ The United Nations
This is an eloquent and sobering speech about the current state of affairs and our need to come together, as a global community, to solve our collective problems and improve the world for our children.
The Age of Envy: How to be Happy When Everyone Else’s Life Looks Perfect — getpocket.com
“Social media has created a world in which everyone seems ecstatic — apart from us. Is there any way for people to curb their resentment?”
Accept The Awkwardness: How To Make Friends (And Keep Them) — www.npr.org
“Friendship is hard, but the best way to tackle it is to talk about it. In this episode, you’ll learn from the experts about how to make new friends and deepen your existing relationships.”
Healthy Human
The Fasting Cure Is No Fad — www.wsj.com
I have been trying intermediate fasting over the last few months with great results! I feel better, I look better, and it’s actually pretty simple to follow. I use the Zero iOS app to track. It does require a little extra planning. I don’t go too extreme — 14–16 hour fasts — no food between 3:15pm and 6:45am on average.
“There is a logic to it. When we eat, our body releases insulin. That disrupts the process of autophagy (from the Greek, meaning “self-devouring”), by which cells deconstruct old, damaged components in order to release energy and build new molecules. Autophagy helps to counteract the aging of cells and builds immunity. Fasts stimulate autophagy and allow the full molecular process to take place, as a team led by Frank Madeo at the University of Graz in Austria found in 2017.”
I tried Prolon’s starvation diet so you wouldn’t have to — www.technologyreview.com
“A diet based on caloric restriction might make you live longer. It’ll certainly feel like longer.”
MDMA treatment for alcoholism could reduce relapse, study suggests
I’ve been reading (and listening to podcasts) a lot more about the therapeutic uses of MDMA. Here is yet another area of research:
“Most addiction is based on underlying trauma, often from childhood, explained Sessa. “MDMA selectively impairs the fear response,” he said. “It allows recall of painful memories without being overwhelmed.
“MDMA psychotherapy gives you the opportunity to tackle rigidly held personal narratives that are based on early trauma. It’s the perfect drug for trauma-focused psychotherapy.”
Human Builders
Shareholder Value Is No Longer Everything, Top C.E.O.s Say — www.nytimes.com
“Chief executives from the Business Roundtable, including the leaders of Apple and JPMorgan Chase, argued that companies must also invest in employees and deliver value to customers.”
Reach Out, Stay in Touch and Deepen Your Connections with This Essential Networking Advice — firstround.com
“Networking isn’t a race to rack up contacts — it’s a practice of cultivating authentic connections over time. We’ve rounded up six tactics from the most well-connected people in the business on cutting past the small talk, nailing the follow-up and investing in relationships that thrive.”
How to Build Good Software — www.csc.gov.sg
This is fantastic! A must read for anyone building software whether you are an engineer, product management, or in the C-Suite.
“Software has characteristics that make it hard to build with traditional management techniques; effective development requires a different, more exploratory and iterative approach.”
“Customer First” Healthcare — abovethecrowd.com
“As mentioned in the introduction, we have a strong belief that change is afoot in the U.S. healthcare market. Specifically, we believe a number of factors are coming together simultaneously that will drive healthcare providers to respond to market forces and adopt a “customer-first” mindset. Recognizing patients as “true customers,” service providers will provide unprecedented responsiveness, conveniences, service levels, and information transparency. Those that adopt this mentality will find new levels of productivity, and as a result, will deliver higher quality care at lower and lower prices. Those that choose not to align with this new reality will fall behind, eventually losing customers to these more nimble and responsive providers. Here are a list of the new forces pushing the U.S. healthcare system to be customer-first”
Staying Connected is Key to Your Startup’s Survival — Here’s How to Nail Internal Comms — firstround.com
“Even the smallest startups have a lot to gain from getting internal comms right. We’ve rounded up the Review’s six most effective tactics for crafting crystal-clear messaging and facilitating feedback from your most important audience.”
Future Humans
Physicists find new state of matter that can supercharge technology — bigthink.com
“A group of physicists has discovered a new state of matter that can lead to significant advancements in quantum computing and device storage. The state is called topological superconductivity and can be utilized to tremendously speed up calculations.”
How Will Our Religions Handle the Discovery of Alien Life? — getpocket.com
“Then again, the greatest religious impact of first contact could be a newfound understanding of ourselves. Perhaps confronting the fact that we are not unique and our planet is not the only one to harbor life will encourage us to let go of the notion that we are superior to others and that an individual human’s personal worth in the eyes of the God is not diminished if ET does not follow the same religious practices as you and me. Is it possible that learning of alien life will encourage us to tolerate the religious beliefs of our fellow humans, too? One can hope.”
Scientists Are 99% Sure They Just Detected a Black Hole Eating a Neutron Star — www.vice.com
“If it turns out to be right, then we’ve confirmed a new type of star system. It’s that fundamental.”
Researchers are creepily close to predicting when you’re going to die — arstechnica.com
“The test was ~83% accurate in an analysis involving data on 7,600 people.”
One More Thing
2019 EDELMAN TRUST BAROMETER — Global Report
“The 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer reveals that trust has changed profoundly in the past year — people have shifted their trust to the relationships within their control, most notably their employers. Globally, 75 percent of people trust “my employer” to do what is right, significantly more than NGOs (57 percent), business (56 percent) and media (47 percent).”
