Month: April 2020

Japan, Literature, Philosophy, PsychologyLeave a comment

On Reading Basho with My Ten-Year-Old

Fernando Kaskais

By Marie Mutsuki Mockett  In the column “Inside Story,” parents share the books they are reading with their children to get through these times. By late February of this year, the virus had made me sufficiently nervous that I began packing to leave San Francisco. I wanted to go to my family home on the coast of California where I had grown up. It was isolated and my parents had always kept a pantry stuffed with dry goods, plenty of toilet paper, and two freezers filled with food in the garage. This semi-survivalist attitude had seemed an extreme and eccentric way … Continue reading On Reading Basho with My Ten-Year-Old

Brain, Curiositys, Psychology, ScienceLeave a comment

HOW DO YOU READ PEOPLE’S EMOTIONS? SCIENTISTS POINT TO 2 CLUES

Fernando Kaskais

“The face is not enough to perceive emotion. by STEPHEN J. BRONNER Whether you’re planning a project with your manager, on a first date, or playing a game of poker, it’s vital to possess the ability to read others’ emotions. But according to two studies, it’s not nearly as simple as looking for tells in their facial expressions. “In the presence of both will and skill, people often inaccurately perceive others’ emotions,” said Dr. Michael Kraus of Yale University, whose research was published by the American Psychological Association. “Our research suggests that relying on a combination of vocal and facial cues, or solely … Continue reading HOW DO YOU READ PEOPLE’S EMOTIONS? SCIENTISTS POINT TO 2 CLUES

Curiositys, Health, Psychology, Science, SexLeave a comment

This Is What it Means if it Takes You Forever to Ejaculate

Fernando Kaskais

Yeah, it’s an actual problem. By Seamus Kirst This article originally appeared on VICE US. The ScenarioYour friend has seen tons of pop culture references about erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation, but he hasn’t noticed too many plotlines about the issue he’s having: delayed ejaculation. He has noticed that it takes him a really long time to reach orgasm during both oral and penetrative sex, if he even ejaculates at all. Your friend gets that people enjoy having sex with someone who can “last for a long time” but he has a feeling that people don’t want to have to stop … Continue reading This Is What it Means if it Takes You Forever to Ejaculate

Buddhism, Living, Philosophy, PsychologyLeave a comment

See Ovid, 19

Fernando Kaskais

A Zen practitioner reflects on transformation in the age of COVID-19. “Everything changes.” —Suzuki Roshi By Taylor Plimpton When the World Health Organization first named this disease COVID-19, I lay in bed, awake, and wondered if the letters spelled out a dark reference to Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The next morning I looked up line 19: Cold things fight with hot things, wet things with dry things, which wasn’t quite as sinister as I had, for some strange reason, hoped. (The Latin, Frigida pugnabant calidis, umentia siccis, sounds more foreboding.) Still, upon further consideration, I realized it was a pretty good description of what happens in a body … Continue reading See Ovid, 19

Corruption, Freak U.S.A, Mafia, Money, PoliticsLeave a comment

REOPENING SMALL BUSINESSES IS JUST A PYRAMID SCHEME FOR THE RICH

Fernando Kaskais

by Eddie Kim  The government put us in this position by failing to prepare and provide aid. Now they want small businesses and workers to carry the load of the recovery? The money disappeared before my parents ever had a chance. Turns out, $350 billion isn’t much under the weight of a COVID-19 pandemic that’s reshaping the American economy. My dad laughs as he tells me their little Italian restaurant in a Hawaii suburb, a 40-minute drive from downtown Honolulu, feels like a metaphoric dinghy in a storm.  We don’t know what to do with the news that Congress is set to … Continue reading REOPENING SMALL BUSINESSES IS JUST A PYRAMID SCHEME FOR THE RICH

Brain, Health, Living, Psychology1 Comment

My psychosis

Fernando Kaskais

It was one terrifying, exciting night of delusions, hallucinations and paranoia. What would it teach a future psychologist? Tom Hartley is a senior lecturer in psychology at the University of York. Edited by Christian Jarrett What does it feel like to lose your grip on reality? I know the answer. Thirty years ago, I experienced an intense and terrifying episode of psychosis that lasted around 24 hours. It turned out to be a one-off, but it left me shaken and it permanently changed my attitude to my own mental health. As a psychologist and neuroscientist, I often wondered whether my experience … Continue reading My psychosis

Health, Living, Psychology, ScienceLeave a comment

Decades of data suggest parenthood makes people unhappy

Fernando Kaskais

Decades of studies have shown parents to be less happy than their childless peers. But are the kids to blame? by KEVIN DICKINSON Folk knowledge assumes having children is the key to living a happy, meaningful life; however, empirical evidence suggests nonparents are the more cheery bunch. The difference is most pronounced in countries like the United States. In countries that support pro-family policies, parents can be just as happy as their child-free peers. These findings suggest that we can’t rely on folk knowledge to make decisions about parenting, on either the individual or societal levels. How does one live … Continue reading Decades of data suggest parenthood makes people unhappy

Curiositys, Health, Living, Psychology, SexLeave a comment

Sex Addicts Talk About How They’re Dealing With Lockdown

Fernando Kaskais

“When I go food shopping and walk past guys, I feel the urge to approach them, even though I know we need to keep our distance.” By Thibault Hollebecq This article originally appeared on VICE France. Being on lockdown can be very tough for people with addictions and compulsions. The constant isolation can highlight our destructive relationship with a substance of choice, whether it be food, drugs, gambling or sex. But while we can still stock up on food or have drugs delivered (at your own risk), getting laid is very much at odds with social distancing measures. People might be feeling extra horny in isolation but sex addiction (or hypersexuality disorder), isn’t the same … Continue reading Sex Addicts Talk About How They’re Dealing With Lockdown

Brain, Curiositys, Humor, Psychology, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Why Do We Use Dark Humor to Deal With Terrifying Situations?

Fernando Kaskais

by Daniel Kolitz Life’s hard for the humorless—loved ones die, hurricanes and infections ravage the planet, and all they can do is sit around and grieve about it. Some of us, meanwhile, watching our houses burn down and our spouses succumb to hazily-understood pancreatic ailments, can at least leaven the pain with a well-timed joke. As distraction, coping mechanism or aid to acceptance, dark humor has helped millions through crushing personal and/or world-historical ordeals. For this week’s Giz Asks we reached out to a number of experts to suss out the reasons behind this dark phenomenon. Peter McGraw Professor of Marketing at … Continue reading Why Do We Use Dark Humor to Deal With Terrifying Situations?

Brain, Curiositys, Living, PsychologyLeave a comment

Why Incompetent People seem more Confident

Fernando Kaskais

by Kal Psych The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.” — William Shakespeare I was on one of those huge red coaster buses heading home from a friend’s place. I opted to seat the farthest end of the bus to be as far away from the rest of the passengers. This was during the earliest onset of the COVID-19 virus, and I was wary of human contact. I attempted to make myself as invincible as I could manage by sitting cramped into a corner, with my nose hidden behind a book. … Continue reading Why Incompetent People seem more Confident