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Reading Roulette
Stories to Flex Your Brain Muscles
This week: magic mushrooms, ‘impossible’ puzzles, and sure bets
At Human Parts, we spend our days scouring the Medium platform for essays and perspectives we think our audience would love. Along the way, we stumble upon countless stories that surprise us — proof of the internet’s enduring ability to deliver what we didn’t know we needed. Each week, we’ll share a few of our favorites in a roundup we call ‘Reading Roulette.’ If you come across anything we missed, let us know in the responses!
We’re hardwired to prefer the devil we know to the one we don’t; rarely do we question whether it’s helpful — or realistic — to frame such choices as binary. In “The Story of Psilocybin: Western Society’s Struggle with the Unknown,” Kyle Giffin explores how uncritical acceptance of the familiar created persisting controversy around psychedelics, and invites us to reexamine our fears about the unknown.
In need of a win? A party trick for your next Zoom sesh? Both? Matthew Cannalte offers a crash course on probability in “How to Bet on Anything.”
In these unprecedented times, it’s tempting to freak out — but doing so is not our only option. In “Ancient Philosophy for Modern Emergencies,” emergency doctor Dan Dworkis, MD PhD shares the Stoic principles that help him access his life-saving knowledge while under immense pressure.
Speaking of pressure: Many of us are caught somewhere between wanting to make the most of our time at home, and knowing that pushing ourselves will only make a hard time worse. Can’t we find a happy medium between satisfaction and distraction, between self-improvement and self-compassion? Yes, we can. It’s called learning to solve a Rubik’s Cube freaking finally — and thanks to this guide from Jørgen Veisdal, it’s never been easier.
