Fossil Men, Wisdom, and The Sex Recession | Feeding Frenzy 46
Feeding Frenzy is a weekly post that is a collection of knowledge to absorb. Every week you can expect something worth listening to, reading, watching, and pondering. Think of this as a boost of the signal above the noise!
In this edition, we have two podcasts worth listening to; first up is Kermit Pattison on JRE talking about Ardi - the oldest human ancestor. Next up, we have founder and CEO of Arena Labs Brian Ferguson. Worth reading, we have 'The Science of Wisdom' from AEON, and an interesting article from The Atlantic 'Why Are Young People have So Little Sex?' Worth watching, we have a short video called 'Weekend Wednesday' and, as always, a few more ideas for you to absorb!
Tag us in your favorite content in the week!
Worth Listening
Kermit Pattison | JRE
Kermit Pattison is a journalist; his newest book is Fossil Men, which chronicles the oldest human ancestor's story. The skeleton has been nicknamed Ardi and has been dated to 4.4 million years old.
For more, check out Britannica
Arena Labs Founder Brian Ferguson on Improving the Lives of Healthcare Workers | Whoop
Brian has spent a career in high-performance organizations, learning from leaders and decision-makers in national security, the military, and technology. His passion is in bridging ancient traditions and rituals of human flourishing with the opportunities of modern technology.
Check out more on Arena Labs.
Worth Reading
The Science of Wisdom | AEON
"In short, wisdom was highly variable from one situation to the next. The variability also followed systematic rules. It heightened when participants focused on close others and work colleagues, compared with cases when participants focused solely on themselves."
While trying to get thoughts on what wisdom was, I couldn't give a concise definition. It's easy to conjure up a character who we believe to be wise, yet putting a pin on it is more complicated. This article attempts to set a foundation on the science of wisdom.
Why Are Young People Having So Little Sex? | The Atlantic
"The internet has made it so easy to gratify basic social and sexual needs that there's far less incentive to go out into the "meatworld" and chase those things. This isn't to say that the internet can give you more satisfaction than sex or relationships, because it doesn't… [But it can] supply you with just enough satisfaction to placate those imperatives … I think it's healthy to ask yourself: "If I didn't have any of this, would I be going out more? Would I be having sex more?" For a lot of people my age, I think the answer is probably yes."
I found this article interesting. As a person who falls into the age group, I can corroborate some of the evidence here and cultural shifts. I'm curious about the impact the pandemic is having given the increased reliance on app based dating.
Here's a quick outline:
1. Sex for One
The way cultures view sex-changing. A recurring theme is the prevalence of porn and the internet.
2. Hookup Culture and Helicopter Parents
"A decline in unsupervised free time probably contributes a lot. At a basic level, sex at its best is unstructured play with friends, a category of experience that … time diaries … tell us has been decreasing for American adolescents. It takes idle hands to get past first base, and today's kids have a lot to do." - Malcolm Harris
3. The Tinder Mirage
"Unless you are exceptionally good-looking, the thing online dating may be best at is sucking up large amounts of time."
"As romance and its beginnings are segregated from the routines of daily life, there is less and less space for elevator flirtation."
4. Bad Sex (Painfully Bad)
"Modeling your behavior after what you've seen on-screen can lead to what's known as "spectatoring"—that is, worrying about how you look and sound while you're having sex, a behavior the sex researchers William H. Masters and Virginia E. Johnson long ago posited was bad for sexual functioning."
5. Inhibition
"Some observers have suggested that a new discomfort with nudity might stem from the fact that, by the mid-1990s, most high schools had stopped requiring students to shower after gym class. Which makes sense—the less time you spend naked, the less comfortable you are being naked. But people may also be newly worried about what they look like naked."
Worth Watching
Weekend Wednesday | CGP Grey
Has anyone tried this? I want to try this scheme to see if it has a benefit. I will tell you the typical two day weekend does not feel like enough during this pandemic.
Worth Pondering
"Science is the quantification of doubt" - Henry Gee
This week is a wrap and plenty to chew over for this week! Feel free to let us know any thoughts and suggestions that may contribute to these posts. It may pop-up on Feeding Frenzy or develop into a full-fledged article of its own.
Stay curious, and have a great week!
You can find previous editions here.
Recent podcast episodes you might enjoy:
Recent blogs you might enjoy:
Today on the podcast, we are joined by Joe Jackowski. Joe is a Marine Corps veteran and current graduate student at Vanderbilt University in the Cognitive Psychology in Context program. His primary interest is meaning in life, which broadly extends to problems in ethics, A.I., and culture.
In this episode, we sit down to discuss his first long-form article on his new sub stack, Apotheosis: A Philosophy for Influencers