Thanks for the thought-provocation, Justin. Enjoyed this episode.
On health, spirituality, biological health being upstream of mental health, and seriously challenging Western convention, have you heard of the book Radical Wholeness by Philip Shepherd? About listening to your whole body rather than only your head. Would love to hear your thoughts on it.
On light / sun exposure, don't you think the fresh air also plays a part? Whatever the cause, I'm with you on the benefits. If you meet a skeptic, give them a baby to look after. The difference in mood between being inside vs outside is remarkable. Maybe they're extra sensitive because they've yet to be desensitized by our modern way of living?
I've also been trying to spend more time in sunlight - after staying in a room for while with low natural light, it's been amazing. And regardless of effects on how you feel, <it just feels good>.
On light, totally agree it plays a huge role in health! I think there are also studies that show that exposure to light at night increases hunger, leading to food cravings - which is related to the mice study you mentioned. The body probably gets the signal that it's day and it should be eating. This is yet another reason to dim the lights at night - not just for better sleep, but to eat less too.
Personal story on light: Earlier this year, I was in NZ for a month in a camper van and spent all my days outside, getting a lot of light. I felt great, so now I've started spending my mornings outside too. I also put up a desk in my backyard to work outside if I want to! Just an idea! :)
Regarding big pharma and capitalism, it's not the system of capitalism that's to blame in this situation. The incentive and political structures are erroneous. Because of the DGA and other regulatory bodies (and how they have Conflict of interest), it's not a free market system. It'd be better for the DGA not to exist or exist in a more restricted capacity, and let the free market decide. That would be closer to capitalism. The way pharma works is by thwarting competition by lobbying regulators, and it's the regulation that is stopping free-market activity. So, error-correction is hard is such a system. Mises and Murray Rothbard have some good stuff on this. Check this out: https://mises.org/mises-wire/regulation-free-market-its-not-what-most-people-believe
Would recommend their books too. Different but related tangent, if you're interested Rothbard's books The Case Against the Fed and History of Money and Banking are great. Explain why this regulation is not good.
I appreciate your two-sided take on capitalism. some people use the word to describe good things, others to describe bad things. Pointless debate ensues. We all are 90% in agreement about the things that are good or bad.
Great post! "The End of Craving" was one of the most memorable books I've ever read, and I'm surprised more people haven't read it. Looking forward to the next one!
i know i messaged you last time about patents being a root problem with big pharma. regulatory capture and the FDA, i agree with you also. i also think that our land-use policy prevents us from living more efficiently, more communally, and more densely, thus providing more open land for better agricultural use. i read your article about the difficulties of lab grown meat vs how we could be feeding our cattle grass, but tend to opt for corn, and how this could be quite a problem. anyway, thanks again for the blog!
Excellent post Justin!
Thanks for the thought-provocation, Justin. Enjoyed this episode.
On health, spirituality, biological health being upstream of mental health, and seriously challenging Western convention, have you heard of the book Radical Wholeness by Philip Shepherd? About listening to your whole body rather than only your head. Would love to hear your thoughts on it.
On light / sun exposure, don't you think the fresh air also plays a part? Whatever the cause, I'm with you on the benefits. If you meet a skeptic, give them a baby to look after. The difference in mood between being inside vs outside is remarkable. Maybe they're extra sensitive because they've yet to be desensitized by our modern way of living?
I've also been trying to spend more time in sunlight - after staying in a room for while with low natural light, it's been amazing. And regardless of effects on how you feel, <it just feels good>.
The book you mention, Health and Light, is almost impossible to buy online - however there is a PDF of the study, available here: https://www.ratical.org/ratville/AoS/HealthAndLight.pdf
On light, totally agree it plays a huge role in health! I think there are also studies that show that exposure to light at night increases hunger, leading to food cravings - which is related to the mice study you mentioned. The body probably gets the signal that it's day and it should be eating. This is yet another reason to dim the lights at night - not just for better sleep, but to eat less too.
Personal story on light: Earlier this year, I was in NZ for a month in a camper van and spent all my days outside, getting a lot of light. I felt great, so now I've started spending my mornings outside too. I also put up a desk in my backyard to work outside if I want to! Just an idea! :)
Regarding big pharma and capitalism, it's not the system of capitalism that's to blame in this situation. The incentive and political structures are erroneous. Because of the DGA and other regulatory bodies (and how they have Conflict of interest), it's not a free market system. It'd be better for the DGA not to exist or exist in a more restricted capacity, and let the free market decide. That would be closer to capitalism. The way pharma works is by thwarting competition by lobbying regulators, and it's the regulation that is stopping free-market activity. So, error-correction is hard is such a system. Mises and Murray Rothbard have some good stuff on this. Check this out: https://mises.org/mises-wire/regulation-free-market-its-not-what-most-people-believe
Would recommend their books too. Different but related tangent, if you're interested Rothbard's books The Case Against the Fed and History of Money and Banking are great. Explain why this regulation is not good.
I'll be at Edge Esmeralda too!
I appreciate your two-sided take on capitalism. some people use the word to describe good things, others to describe bad things. Pointless debate ensues. We all are 90% in agreement about the things that are good or bad.
Great post! "The End of Craving" was one of the most memorable books I've ever read, and I'm surprised more people haven't read it. Looking forward to the next one!
i know i messaged you last time about patents being a root problem with big pharma. regulatory capture and the FDA, i agree with you also. i also think that our land-use policy prevents us from living more efficiently, more communally, and more densely, thus providing more open land for better agricultural use. i read your article about the difficulties of lab grown meat vs how we could be feeding our cattle grass, but tend to opt for corn, and how this could be quite a problem. anyway, thanks again for the blog!