What Makes a Good Life? Lessons from the Longest Study on Happiness

The Secret To Creativity, Intelligence, And Scientific Thinking There’s a key difference between knowledge and experience and it’s best described like this: The image is from cartoonist Hugh MacLeod, who came up with such a brilliant way to express a concept that’s often not that easy to grasp. The image makes a clear point—that knowledge alone is not useful unless we can make connections between what we know. Whether you use the terms "knowledge" and "experience" to explain the difference or not, the concept itself is sound. Lots of great writers, artists and scientists have talked about the importance of collecting ideas and bits of knowledge from the world around us, and making connections between those dots to fuel creative thinking and new ideas.

Loneliness twice as unhealthy as obesity for older people, study finds Loneliness can be twice as unhealthy as obesity, according to researchers who found that feelings of isolation can have a devastating impact on older people. The scientists tracked more than 2,000 people aged 50 and over and found that the loneliest were nearly twice as likely to die during the six-year study than the least lonely. Compared with the average person in the study, those who reported being lonely had a 14% greater risk of dying. The figure means that loneliness has around twice the impact on an early death as obesity. Poverty increased the risk of an early death by 19%. The findings point to a coming crisis as the population ages and people increasingly live alone or far from their families. 3D Printing of a Living Tissue with Stem Cell Bio-Ink Scientists at the University of Bristol have developed a new kind of bio-ink. This discovery could allow the production of complex tissues for surgical implants. The new stem cell-containing bio-ink allows 3D printing of a living tissue, also known as bioprinting. This bio-ink contains two different polymer-based components.

Take the 28-Day Kindness Challenge and Restore Your Faith in Humans Make February your month to flex your kindness muscle. Studies show that just one random act of kindness a day reduces stress, anxiety, and depression[1]. According to David R. Hamilton, Ph.D., one small act of compassion invigorates your body with feel-good hormones like serotonin — making you calmer, healthier, and happier. Kindness accompanied by emotional connection also releases oxytocin, which in turn is cardioprotective as it lowers blood pressure.

We are now witnessing Elon Musk’s slow-motion disruption of the global auto industry This is the first in The Vanishing University, a four-part series exploring the tech-driven future of higher education in America. Right now, this very morning, thousands of young adults in the United States are scrambling through the same minor hell. They’ve woken up to the very last in a series of half-futile phone alarms. Made, and likely abandoned, an attempt to shower. U.K. appoints a minister for loneliness: ‘It’s proven to be worse for health than smoking 15 cigarettes a day’ LONDON — Since Britain voted to leave the European Union more than a year ago, Europeans have mockingly said that the decision will result in an isolated, lonely island nation. But Britain, in fact, already has a serious problem with loneliness, research has found. More than 9 million people in the country often or always feel lonely, according to a 2017 report published by the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness. The issue prompted Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday to appoint a minister for loneliness.

The End of Meaningless Jobs Will Unleash the World's Creativity From time to time, the Singularity Hub editorial team unearths a gem from the archives and wants to share it all over again. It’s usually a piece that was popular back then and we think is still relevant now. This is one of those articles. It was originally published April 1, 2015. Why Friendship Can Save Your Life with Mark Hyman, MD and Lissa Rankin, MD We live in an era in which individualism is rewarded and collectivism is seen as weak. We raise our children to be independent and self-reliant. It’s so hard for us to ask for help. Interestingly, we also practice medicine this way.