The Long Game 59: The Health Challenges of Spaceflights, Startup Mental Health, Inner Circle
The Long Game 59: The Health Challenges of Spaceflights, Startup Mental Health, Inner Circle🛸 Fermi Paradox, UFOs, Comfort, Emojis, Tribe, Belonging, One-Child Policy, Bad Apple, Exploding Topics, and Much More!Hi there, it’s Mehdi Yacoubi, co-founder at Vital, and this is The Long Game Newsletter. To receive it in your inbox each week, subscribe here: In this episode, we explore:
Let’s dive in! 🥑 Health👨🚀 The Health Challenges of SpaceflightsI’m getting increasingly interested in space exploration. I think we’re going to witness a fantastic Space Race during this century. This week I read a few things about the challenges of spaceflights, and I understood that on top of the engineering challenges related to getting from one point the other, the health challenges for astronauts are real. If we want to explore the cosmos (with humans), we’ll need to find a way to travel through space without damaging human health. I found this article from NASA explains well the situation and the five risks the human body faces:
🌱 Wellness⭕ Inner CircleWe live in a ‘bigger is better’ era. This might not be working for all areas of your life. Especially for your inner circle. This great article by Scott Gerber makes a case for a purposefully small inner circle.
🧠 Better Thinking👻 Comfort Makes us SoftWe should be wary of the unintended consequences of the technology we are building. One thing that seems to only worsen by the years is our addiction to comfort and having it easy. Thankfully, we have figures like David Goggins, Cameron Hanes, and others who are leading the way in showing that embracing discomfort is the best way to live your life and achieve your potential (even David Sinclair, more recently.) ⚡️ Startup Stuff🛣 Startup Mental HealthThis week’s edition of Suma Positiva was so good and important that I had to share it here. It’s about the common mental health-related mistakes and problems founders usually make and encounter. When it comes to health and mental health, I’m always for prevention. You’d better think about your mental health when things are going well to make sure things stay as good as possible for the long game. The part I found most interesting is about vulnerability. On social media, and in life in general, people think that showing vulnerability makes you weak. It’s actually the opposite. Vulnerability is a strength. I’m sure you’ll enjoy a little bit of Spanish for this Sunday 🇪🇸
I recommend this great complimentary read from James Beshara: Mental Health is Wealth. Here’s the TL;DR:
📚 What I Read👥 Tribe: On Homecoming and BelongingI started Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging by Sebastian Junger recently, and I really like the book. It explores the problems that were raised when our societies became more individualistic. At the beginning of the book, the author explains that during the conquest of the United States by the English, many settlers seemed to prefer the Indian society to their own. I found this part fascinating:
Here are a few more quotes from the book to give you an idea:
🍎 Bad AppleAn excellent piece by Antonio García Martínez on his recent “cancellation” by Apple:
👽 Government Report Can't Explain UFOs but Offers no Evidence of AliensA summary of the recent UFO report to Congress. I still find it unbelievable that so many people take this with contempt and ridicule. We have sightings of objects that the US military can’t understand. Whether it’s from an alien civilization or not is beyond the point. Understanding what’s happening should be a top priority. No matter what we assume it is, the story should be groundbreaking. Mike Solana has a great piece about the impossibility of some people to accept reality.
🎙 Podcast Episodes of the WeekThis week I finished the excellent Kings of Kings series from Hardcore History. It’s very long but really worth it. I will continue down the history path with the Supernova in the East series next week. Here’s another more timely episode I recommend:
🍭 Brain Food🧬♾ The Evolving, Unexpected Power of the EmojiMarshall McLuhan coined the phrase “the medium is the message” to explain that a communication medium itself, not the messages it carries, should be the primary focus of study. He showed that the characteristics of media (not only the content) affect society. Today, emojis might be changing the way we communicate and thus the way we think.
More importantly, every movement needs codes and symbols to rally around. Like the ideas described in The Metaphors We Live By, Balaji recently asked for the right emoji for life extension. Having a dedicated symbol could trigger more mainstream interest in the field and speed up the progress. While we’re waiting for this new emoji, the best alternative seems to be 🧬♾, or 👴➡️👨. What's the right emoji symbol for life extension? Maybe an iteration on this DNA infinity symbol. 🧬♾
cc @davidasinclair @celinehalioua @VitalikButerin @vita_dao @elidourado @realNathanCheng @QwQiao @primalpoly @Mehdiyac @timrpeterson @DoveyWan
balajis.com/the-purpose-of…
🎥 What I’m Watching🛸 Unsettling Theories About Potential Aliens (& Solutions to The Fermi Paradox)I can’t get enough of the Fermi Paradox. This video explains the potential reasons we think we’re alone in the Universe. I can’t help but think we would never understand an advanced civilization. Think of a tribe of prehistoric humans from 20,000 years ago trying to detect us and understand us from a different planet. 🇨🇳 The Chinese React to New 3-Child PolicyAfter decades of the disastrous one-child policy, the Chinese are now allowed to have three children (and will soon be allowed to have as many children as they want) as their government understood the looming demographic catastrophe waiting for them. Watch some young Chinese citizens react to this. I find it quite depressing to see young people not interested in having kids anymore. I hope the West will not reach this point. 🔧 The Tool of the Week📈 Exploding TopicsI’ve already mentioned Exploding Topics multiple times, but I think it’s worth checking this website regularly if you want to be aware of the latest trends. The concept is simple; it surfaces rapidly growing topics before they take off. I like to keep an eye on the “Health” and “Fitness” categories. Some recent health trends are ultraviolet index, Sweetgreen, Dry Drinker, non-alcoholic drink, and more! It’s very aligned with the no/low-alcohol movement we mentioned two weeks ago. 🪐 Quote I'm Pondering
If you enjoyed this newsletter, make sure to subscribe if you haven’t 👇 👋 EndNoteThanks for reading! If you like The Long Game, please share it on social media or forward this email to someone who might enjoy it. Podcast reviews are also gratefully received. You can also “like” this newsletter by clicking the heart just below this, which helps me get visibility on Substack. Feel free to email me or find me on Twitter if you have any feedback or questions. Until next week, Mehdi Yacoubi PS: Lots of newsletters get stuck in Gmail’s Promotions tab. If you find it in there, please help train the algorithm by dragging it to Primary. It makes a big difference. If you liked this post from The Long Game by Mehdi Yacoubi, why not share it? |
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