Latest news with #ArthurC.Brooks
Atlantic
29-06-2025
- Science
- Atlantic
Five Sunday Reads
This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here. This weekend, read about why cosmologists are fighting over everything, how to make the most of your professional decline, and more. The Nobel Prize Winner Who Thinks We Have the Universe All Wrong Cosmologists are fighting over everything. By Ross Andersen Your Professional Decline Is Coming (Much) Sooner Than You Think Here's how to make the most of it. (From 2019) By Arthur C. Brooks Elon Musk Is Playing God The tech billionaire wants to shape humanity's future. Not everyone has a place there. By Charlie Warzel and Hana Kiros The Computer-Science Bubble Is Bursting Artificial intelligence is ideally suited to replacing the very type of person who built it. By Rose Horowitch The Questions We Don't Ask Our Families but Should Many people don't know very much about their older relatives. But if we don't ask, we risk never knowing our own history. (From 2022) By Elizabeth Keating The Week Ahead Jurassic World Rebirth, an action movie about a team that makes a disturbing discovery while on a mission to retrieve DNA from dinosaurs (in theaters Wednesday) Season 2 of The Sandman, a show about a cosmic being who controls dreams and finally escapes a more than century-long imprisonment (Volume 1 premieres Thursday on Netflix) Dictating the Agenda, a book by Alexander Cooley and Alexander Dukalskis about the resurgence of authoritarian politics around the world (out Monday) Essay America's Coming Smoke Epidemic By Zoë Schlanger For 49 straight days, everyone in Seeley Lake was breathing smoke. A wildfire had ignited outside the small rural community in Montana, and the plume of smoke had parked itself over the houses. Air quality plummeted. At several moments, the concentration of particulate matter in the air exceeded the upper limit of what monitors could measure. Christopher Migliaccio, an associate professor of immunology at the University of Montana, saw an opportunity to do what few have ever done: study what happens after people get exposed to wildfire smoke. More in Culture Catch Up on The Atlantic Photo Album An estimated 11 million metric tons of plastic enter oceans each year, according to the U.S. State Department. These photos show how some of it accumulates in highly visible ways.
Atlantic
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Atlantic
How to Deal With Insults
This is an edition of The Wonder Reader, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a set of stories to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Sign up here to get it every Saturday morning. Being offended can make a person feel powerless. Someone says (or posts) something hurtful, and the sting comes fast. It doesn't dissipate just because you tell it to. But there are some ways to control our experience when we feel insulted. One of the simplest is to laugh it off: 'This is a very good option because it makes you the judge of how severe the offense is, rather than cede that judgment to some outside arbitrator,' Arthur C. Brooks wrote recently. Today's newsletter collects some advice for dealing with insults and anger. On Insults The Strength You Gain by Not Taking Offense By Arthur C. Brooks We all face uncivil behavior or insulting comments at times, but you can choose how to react. Read the article. The Worst Insult I Ever Heard as an Opera Singer By James Parker I'm not sure how to recover from this. Read the article. I Gave Myself Three Months to Change My Personality By Olga Khazan The results were mixed. Still Curious? Trolls aren't like the rest of us: Online jerks and offline jerks are largely one and the same. Here's how to keep them from affecting your happiness. Stop firing your friends: Just make more of them, Olga Khazan wrote in 2023. Other Diversions What porn taught a generation of women The new old sound of adult anxiety The dumbest phone is parenting genius P.S. I asked readers to share a photo of something that sparks their sense of awe in the world. Joyce T., 71, shared this image of Copalis Beach, Washington.
Atlantic
19-06-2025
- General
- Atlantic
The Art of Self-Control in the Face of Provocation
Want to stay current with Arthur's writing? Sign up to get an email every time a new column comes out. Unless you inhabit a hermit cave with no internet access, you'll know that we live in the Age of Offense. With high levels of polarization and innumerable ways to broadcast one's every thought to strangers far and wide, it is easier than ever to lob insults and to denigrate ideological foes. Not surprisingly, according to a 2024 Pew Research Center study, 47 percent of Americans believe that people saying things that are 'very offensive' to others is a major problem in the country today, whereas only 11 percent say it is not a problem. (The remainder says it is a minor problem.) You might conclude that the solution is for people to stop offending others—good luck with that!—but consider another statistic in the same poll: A larger percentage of Americans (62 percent) says another big problem is 'people being too easily offended by things others say.' These are not at all mutually exclusive findings; they suggest that we are simultaneously too offensive and too thin-skinned. The second issue, however, is the one on which I wish to focus, because, for most people, being too easily offended is worse for one's own quality of life than being obnoxiously rude. So instead of spending your efforts trying to stamp out what you find offensive, you should work on being less offended in the first place. Arthur C. Brooks: The bliss of a quieter ego The foundational study on the psychology of taking offense—one still frequently cited today—was written in 1976 by the psychologist Wolfgang Zander. He argued that we get offended in three stages: First, we identify when we're insulted or harshly contradicted; second, we assess how extreme the offense is; finally, we respond emotionally or in some behavioral way. Say, for example, a colleague at work says in a meeting, in front of your boss, that your latest proposal is stupid. You identify this as a contradiction of your ideas; you assess this as mildly annoying; you decide to register your unhappiness in an appropriate manner with your colleague after the meeting. I chose this example because research has found that such a negative judgment from another person is precisely what we typically deem most offensive. Scholars in 2018 showed in a survey of 129 people that 73 percent of cases of offense-taking was for threats to dominance or competence. The other 27 percent of instances related to attacks on goodwill or appearance. This reminded me that someone on social media once called me a bald guy who writes bad columns. The first part reminded me of something I don't love, but it didn't offend me—hey, the truth is the truth—but the second part stung a little. People react to offenses in different ways. That same study found that women, when offended, are more likely than men to experience sadness and bitterness, whereas men are more likely to experience pride (manifested as indignation) and anger. Another study found that when an offense is highly hurtful, the most common reaction is acquiescence, which might involve tearfulness or even apologizing. When an offense is less hurtful, the most common reaction is to laugh or ignore it. However we react, our response can be less under our conscious control than is perhaps implied by the example that I gave of Zander's three-stage process. That's because an offense triggers parts of our ancient brain, notably the limbic system, which indicates a threat. The workings of this strong primal structure raise the possibility of more-drastic action: fighting, verbally or physically. Here, too, reactions differ by gender. Males are more likely than females to respond to an offense with aggression, including violence. Fortunately, this outcome is unusual for either sex because the brain's executive center—the prefrontal cortex—inhibits the amygdala's fight response. The way this works in practice is that when someone says something offensive, you initially feel furious (limbic system), but then you tell yourself Don't freak out (prefrontal cortex), and you manage to act calmly. As you may have noticed, some people exhibit more effective inhibition than others. Scholars have shown that the likelihood of a violent response to an offense is far higher among people with substance-use disorders—especially when that condition is paired with mental illness. By the same token, men convicted of violent crimes have been shown to have weaker-than-average connectivity between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex when they face a personal insult. The point of describing the neurological and psychological mechanisms that underpin taking offense is that knowledge is power. If you know what's happening to you when you feel offended, that's the first step toward controlling how you respond. Arthur C. Brooks: The beauty that moral courage creates Naturally, life is happier if you're not being offended. One strategy is to try avoiding anyone who might offend you and put up barriers against any exposure to them. If this involves curating your friendships to shun someone who's liable to hurt your feelings repeatedly, that's fine. But if taking measures against being offended means shutting down free speech on your college campus, that is less likely to go well for you or serve your purpose. Those techniques involve trying to control your environment, but the more you try to expand the scope of that control, the less effective and the more costly it will become for you and others. Better by far to control yourself —by learning to be less offended. The studies I mentioned above suggest several strategies to do just that and help you live more happily as a result. 1. Laugh it off. Remember that when an offense is not grave, the most common reaction is to ignore it or laugh. This is a very good option because it makes you the judge of how severe the offense is, rather than cede that judgment to some outside arbitrator. You don't have to laugh in a defiant, bitter way; on the contrary, you can usually effectively neutralize another's jab with self-deprecating humor. (I'm bald? Tough but fair.) Doing so can actually raise your self-esteem. Scholars have also shown that, especially if you are a team leader, this kind of joke can actually increase others' trust in you and boost their perception of your effectiveness. You can imagine how this could work in business or in sports, but you can use the same tactic to maintain your position in other situations. 2. Use your prefrontal cortex. I teach my business-school students that the most important management job they have is self -management—to understand their emotions and act independently of them. Admittedly, this skill is harder for some people than others, but we can all improve with determination and practice. Many techniques for activating your brain's executive center exist: prayer, journaling, meditation. If you're facing an interaction with a troublesome person, I'd recommend reading this passage from the Stoic classic Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius: It is the privilege of human nature to love those that disoblige us. To practice this, you must consider that the offending party is of kin to you, that ignorance is the cause of the misbehavior, and the fault is involuntary, that you will both of you quickly be in your graves; but especially consider that you have received no harm by the injury, for your mind is never the worse for it. 3. Tune out the offense-making machines. You can't eliminate all offense from your life, but you certainly don't have to go looking for it. Yet that is effectively what you're doing when you consume a lot of controversial, limbic-system-triggering media content. If you are spending an inordinate amount of time reading political opinions or watching cable-news talking heads, for example, you are probably outraged constantly—even more so if you are very online as well. One way to feel less aggrieved about what other people are saying or posting is simply to cut all that out of your life: Turn off the TV; delete the app. Arthur C. Brooks: A defense against gaslighting sociopaths One more aspect of offense-taking is worth considering, especially in today's contentious ideological environment. A novel recent experiment tested participants for whether they were more prosocial or more pro-self (a way to test for narcissistic tendencies). The researchers then randomly administered electric shocks to 5 percent of participants, and offered a monetary reward to those who got one. Payment was on the honor system, though, so the researchers paid up when participants said they'd received a shock, whether it was true or not. The high pro-self participants were by far the most likely to lie, saying they'd been shocked when they hadn't, and take the money. Surprising, right? Not really. Scholars have noted that people with a 'proclivity to be offended' tend to be poor performers at work and prone to all kinds of counterproductive behavior. Such prickly people are very likely to be narcissists, because their offense-taking is driven by an overweening sense of entitlement and an unwillingness to overlook any sleight; they may even feign being offended— shocked, even—to gain advantage. So, of course, you should be sensitive and empathetic if you see others being harmed around you. But especially when the hurt is nothing more than a speech act, also consider that being offended may not be reliable evidence of true offensiveness. It might instead be evidence that a person who claims to be offended is not acting in good faith.
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- Yahoo
The Challenges and Opportunities of Midlife
The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here. This is an edition of The Wonder Reader, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a set of stories to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Sign up here to get it every Saturday morning. In a 2019 article, Arthur C. Brooks delivered some bad news: 'If your profession requires mental processing speed or significant analytic capabilities—the kind of profession most college graduates occupy—noticeable decline is probably going to set in earlier than you imagine.' How does a person manage professional decline when it comes for them—and, for that matter, the many other changes that midlife may bring? One idea that Brooks landed on in his research: a reverse bucket list. 'My goal for each year of the rest of my life should be to throw out things, obligations, and relationships until I can clearly see my refined self in its best form,' he writes. Today's newsletter explores the challenges and the opportunities of midlife. On Midlife Your Professional Decline Is Coming (Much) Sooner Than You Think By Arthur C. Brooks Here's how to make the most of it. (From 2019) Read the article. The Real Roots of Midlife Crisis By Jonathan Rauch What a growing body of research reveals about the biology of human happiness—and how to navigate the (temporary) slump in middle age (From 2014) Read the article. The Two Choices That Keep a Midlife Crisis at Bay By Arthur C. Brooks Middle age is an opportunity to find transcendence. Read the article. Still Curious? Why making friends in midlife is so hard: 'I thought I was done dating. But after moving across the country, I had to start again—this time, in search of platonic love,' Katharine Smyth writes. How an 18th-century philosopher helped solve my midlife crisis: In 2006, I was 50—and I was falling apart,' Alison Gopnik writes. Other Diversions Alexandra Petri: So, what did I miss? Another side of modern fatherhood The cowardice of live-action remakes P.S. I asked readers to share a photo of something that sparks their sense of awe in the world. 'I recently returned to Badlands National Park with my now adult daughter,' Erick Wiger, 67, from Minneapolis, writes. 'It is a place of stark, and sometimes magical beauty.' I'll continue to feature your responses in the coming weeks. If you'd like to share, reply to this email with a photo and a short description so we can share your wonder with fellow readers in a future edition of this newsletter or on our website. Please include your name (initials are okay), age, and location. By doing so, you agree that The Atlantic has permission to publish your photo and publicly attribute the response to you, including your first name and last initial, age, and/or location that you share with your submission. — Isabel Article originally published at The Atlantic
Atlantic
14-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- Atlantic
The Challenges and Opportunities of Midlife
This is an edition of The Wonder Reader, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a set of stories to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Sign up here to get it every Saturday morning. In a 2019 article, Arthur C. Brooks delivered some bad news: 'If your profession requires mental processing speed or significant analytic capabilities—the kind of profession most college graduates occupy—noticeable decline is probably going to set in earlier than you imagine.' How does a person manage professional decline when it comes for them—and, for that matter, the many other changes that midlife may bring? One idea that Brooks landed on in his research: a reverse bucket list. 'My goal for each year of the rest of my life should be to throw out things, obligations, and relationships until I can clearly see my refined self in its best form,' he writes. Today's newsletter explores the challenges and the opportunities of midlife. On Midlife Your Professional Decline Is Coming (Much) Sooner Than You Think By Arthur C. Brooks Here's how to make the most of it. (From 2019) Read the article. The Real Roots of Midlife Crisis By Jonathan Rauch What a growing body of research reveals about the biology of human happiness—and how to navigate the (temporary) slump in middle age (From 2014) Read the article. The Two Choices That Keep a Midlife Crisis at Bay By Arthur C. Brooks Middle age is an opportunity to find transcendence. Still Curious? Why making friends in midlife is so hard: 'I thought I was done dating. But after moving across the country, I had to start again—this time, in search of platonic love,' Katharine Smyth writes. How an 18th-century philosopher helped solve my midlife crisis: In 2006, I was 50—and I was falling apart,' Alison Gopnik writes. Other Diversions P.S. I asked readers to share a photo of something that sparks their sense of awe in the world. 'I recently returned to Badlands National Park with my now adult daughter,' Erick Wiger, 67, from Minneapolis, writes. 'It is a place of stark, and sometimes magical beauty.' I'll continue to feature your responses in the coming weeks. If you'd like to share, reply to this email with a photo and a short description so we can share your wonder with fellow readers in a future edition of this newsletter or on our website. Please include your name (initials are okay), age, and location. By doing so, you agree that The Atlantic has permission to publish your photo and publicly attribute the response to you, including your first name and last initial, age, and/or location that you share with your submission.
