Psychology

There’s a horror story that has circulated online for years, known as “The Russian Sleep Experiment” or “The Soviet Sleep Experiment.” The story goes like this: In the 1940s, Soviet researchers sealed five political prisoners in a chamber and used an experimental gas to keep them awake for 15 days straight. By day five, the subjects became paranoid and stopped talking to each other. By day nine, they were screaming. By day 15, they had mutilated themselves and were begging the researchers not to let them sleep. ...

Imagine waking up one morning absolutely convinced that you are dead. Not metaphorically dead. Not feeling empty or numb or depressed. Actually, literally, medically dead. You can see yourself breathing. You can feel your heart beating. You can touch your skin and feel warmth. But your brain insists, with total certainty, that you are a corpse. You try to explain this to your family: “I’m dead. I don’t exist anymore.” ...

A woman looks at her husband of 30 years. She recognizes his face. She knows it’s him. The features, the voice, the mannerisms-everything looks exactly right. But she knows he’s not her husband. She’s absolutely certain. This person is an imposter. An identical copy. A replacement. Her real husband has been taken, and this lookalike has been put in his place. She knows how it sounds. She knows it’s irrational. But the certainty is overwhelming. ...

Obscure methods and mental models that change how you think about thinking. Each one a tool most people never discover. The Zettelkasten Method Note-taking system that builds a “second brain.” The origin: German sociologist Niklas Luhmann used it to write: 70 books 400+ academic articles In 40 years He said his productivity came from his Zettelkasten (slip-box). How it works: Fleeting notes: Capture ideas immediately Literature notes: Summarize what you read (in your own words) Permanent notes: One idea per note, written clearly Link notes: Connect related ideas Index: Entry points to chains of thought The magic: Your notes become a thinking partner. ...

In March 2013, a woman in the village of Kalachi, Kazakhstan walked into her kitchen to make breakfast. She felt suddenly drowsy. Overwhelming exhaustion washed over her. She lay down on the couch “just for a moment.” She didn’t wake up for six days. When she finally regained consciousness, she had no memory of what happened during those six days. No dreams. No sense of time passing. Just… nothing. She wasn’t the first. She wouldn’t be the last. ...

On August 28, 1887, a man was found wandering the streets of Norristown, Pennsylvania, disoriented and unable to say who he was. He knew his name was “A.J. Brown.” He knew he was a stationer. But he had no memory of where he came from, why he was there, or how he’d arrived. Eventually, his identity was discovered: he was Ansel Bourne, a 61-year-old preacher from Rhode Island. Two months earlier, Ansel had left his home to run errands. He withdrew $551 from the bank, boarded a train, and vanished. ...

Small concepts that rewire how your brain works. Each one short enough to read in minutes, powerful enough to change everything. Forcing Functions Designing irreversible commitments that make failure impossible. Burn the ships. Make public declarations. Put money on the line. When Cortés arrived in Mexico in 1519, he burned his ships. His soldiers couldn’t retreat. They had to win or die. Modern versions: Tweet your goal publicly Bet money you’ll finish Sign a contract with financial penalties Delete the escape route The fancy term: Ulysses contracts - named after Odysseus who tied himself to the mast to resist the Sirens’ song. ...

A woman hears the word “Derek” and immediately tastes earwax. Another person sees the number 5 as inherently, unavoidably red. Not because of any association or memory-it’s just red, the way the sky is blue. A musician feels violin notes as textures on his skin-high notes feel smooth and cool, low notes feel rough and warm. A painter sees every letter and number in specific colors. A is red, B is blue, C is yellow. She’s never seen them any other way. ...

On the night of February 1, 1959, nine experienced hikers cut their way out of their tent from the inside and fled barefoot into the Ural Mountains winter. The temperature was around -30°C (-22°F). They were dressed only in underwear or light clothing. They had functioning equipment, warm clothes, and a secure shelter. They abandoned all of it and ran. Search teams found their bodies weeks later, scattered across the mountainside. Some had died from hypothermia. Others had massive internal injuries-broken ribs, fractured skulls-with no external trauma. ...

I once spent $299 on a course I never watched. Not because I needed it. Not because I researched it. Not because it fit my learning style. I bought it because I saw “47,329 students enrolled.” My brain did the math: “47,000 people can’t be wrong. This must be good.” Spoiler: It wasn’t good. For me, anyway. The content was basic, the pacing was wrong, and I could’ve learned the same material for free. ...