Behavioral Stoicism, Books, Dreaming
Links and recommendations
This note drew a lot of amusing reactions. I couldn’t resist replying to this one.
Wall Street Journal:
I have a new piece out in the WSJ.
Remaining Calm Doesn't Win Every Argument
In moments of intense disagreement, you’re signaling what kind of person you are.
In a new paper, Zihan Yang and Cory Clark at the University of Pennsylvania examine how others interpret those signals. The results are striking. Remaining calm, what the authors call a “stoic display,” consistently improves how others see you. Crying and yelling, by contrast, damage your reputation.
This may seem obvious. But the researchers also discovered something more interesting. How you react during a conflict doesn’t only change how others see you. Your reaction also changes how observers see the person with whom you’re arguing. Making someone cry makes you look cold or insensitive. So tears can damage the other side’s reputation. There’s a catch, though. The person who cries is also seen as less competent, less professional and less desirable as a friend or colleague.
Read the whole thing here.
The Only Reading App I Use:
I’ve been using Readwise since April of 2021.
If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter/X, you’ll know I regularly share screenshots like this from books or articles I’ve read:
These screenshots come from my Readwise app.
Readwise aggregates your reading highlights from various sources like Kindle, Apple Books, Substack, Twitter, and so on. It stores your highlights in one place, making it easier to stay on top of your reading.
Each morning, it emails me 8 random excerpts from different books I’ve read. Since 2021, that daily message has been a quiet ritual for me: fragments from books I half‑forgot are resurfaced, like my own past self giving me a tap on the shoulder.
Moreover, when I’m thinking about a particular topic, a quick search pulls up not just my notes but every highlighted Kindle passage I’ve ever saved on the topic.
Exclusive Offer for My Readers
Use this link → https://readwise.io/robkhenderson/ to try Readwise free for 60 days (double the length of the standard free trial).
I suspect, like me, you’ll wonder how you ever read without it.
Links and recommendations:
My friend Alex runs one of my favorite newsletters about books. Strongly recommended. Check it out here
Blue Cities Are Finally Showing Sanity on Drugs and Crime by Keith Humphreys
How ‘Harm Reduction’ Fails Families by Emily Putnam-Hornstein and Sarah Font
How the American Healthcare System Rewards Psychiatric Overdiagnosis by Adam Omary and Jeffrey A. Singer
Follow me on Instagram here. The platform is less volatile and more chill than Twitter/X, so I post some spicier excerpts from my readings on my IG stories
You can follow me on TikTok here
Three interesting findings:
1. People higher in the belief that words can harm tended to be younger, female, non-White, and politically liberal. People with higher “words can harm” scores also rated themselves as higher in intellectual humility, empathy, moral grandstanding, and the belief in the importance of silencing others. (source).
2. California has long depended on a small number of ultrawealthy taxpayers to fund a large share of its government. According to the Legislative Analyst’s Office, the top 1% of taxpayers generate roughly 40% of the state’s personal income-tax revenue. (source).
3. What Nietzsche was looking for in a wife (source: I Am Dynamite!: A Life of Nietzsche by Sue Prideaux):
The paperback version of Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class is now available.
If you have gained any value from this newsletter and want to support my work, please buy a copy today. For yourself. For a friend or a loved one. If you can’t afford it, please support your local library.
Order your copy now:
Audible (I narrated the audiobook myself)
I loved your Dostoyevsky essays!