Sam Harris’ Thought Experiment to Induce Gratitude

I heard this recently on Sam Harris' Waking Up App:

I noticed this at dinner the other night with my family. Everyone seemed to be in a fairly mediocre frame of mind. We were all in some way disgruntled or stressed out. I had a million things I was thinking about and I suddenly noticed how little joy we were all taking in one another's company. And then I thought, "If I had died yesterday, and could have the opportunity to be back with my family, I thought of how much I would savor this moment right now." And it totally transformed my mood. It gave me instantaneous access to my best self, and to a feeling of pure gratitude for the people in my life. Just think of what it would be like to lose everything, and then be restored to the moment you're now in. However ordinary. You can reboot your mind in this way. And it need not take any time.

This is spot on. It reminds me of a thought I often have after a near-catastrophe (e.g., someone almost running their car into your car on the highway). I tell myself:

This is the same result as if the accident DID happen and I suffered great bodily injury with no hope of fully recovery. But then a magic genie appears and offers to revers time, making sure the accident didn't happen. Two versions of the same result. This helps me appreciate my good fortune of almost being maimed in an accident rather than being angry that a reckless driver almost caused me to be badly injured.

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School District in Washington State Fights Back Against Critical Race Theory

This article describers the 5-0 vote. The quoted statement is by the president of the school board:

“I know that one of the paragraphs that we put in there that was really important for the board was that we didn’t want our teachers or students being trained or taught that they’re oppressors or victims based on the color of their skin,” he said.

That paragraph reads: “All teachers, students, and support staff are equal as individuals and no one race, gender, ethnicity, or religion is superior or inferior as it relates to another. And no student, teacher, or support staff member should be taught that they are an oppressor or victim based on their race.”

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Beating Type 2 Diabetes Through Restriction of Food

I used to weigh 30 pounds more than I currently weigh. My secret is that I avoided most refined carbs, ate less overall and exercised more. One of the prime reasons I lost the weight was a concern with diabetes. This study should give hope to many other people concerned with diabetes. It was sent to me by a friend who decided to take control of his weight, losing 50 pounds early in the pandemic. The title: "Nutritional basis of type 2 diabetes remission."

Type 2 diabetes mellitus was once thought to be irreversible and progressive, but a series of clinical studies over the past 12 years have clarified the mechanisms that cause the disease. We now know that the processes that cause type 2 diabetes can be returned to normal functioning by restriction of food energy to achieve weight loss of around 15 kg.1 Around half of people who are within the first 10 years of diagnosis and manage to follow food energy restriction can stop all diabetes medication and return to non-diabetic glucose control.23 Remission is achieved when haemoglobin A1c concentrations of 48 mmol/mol are recorded after weight loss and at least six months later without any anti-diabetic medications (box 1).4 Here we summarise the new understanding of type 2 diabetes and consider how different changes to food intake can achieve the necessary weight loss and maintenance required for remission of diabetes.

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