Issue #2 · November 9th, 2015 · View in your browser

1. Lost at sea: the man who vanished for 14 months

Salvador Alvarenga was stranded on a boat drifting across the Pacific for 14 months. He was found 7000 miles away from where he initially set sail. He ate birds raw, dealt creatively with loneliness and conversed with dead people. This unbelievable story is, in itself, a strong case for survival. Interestingly, the reason why he did not take his life was because his mother told him people who killed themselves wouldn't go to Heaven. Still, I'm not so sure this was worth it. 

• Hakai Magazine: there's probably garbage in your fish—the same levels of human debris were observed on fish sold in California and Indonesia.

2. Death rates are rising for white middle-aged Americans 

Contrarily, death rates are falling for every other ethnic or age group. These deaths are not caused by the usual suspects such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and the like. The problem comes from a rise in suicides and illnesses stemming from substance abuse (like alcohol, heroin and pills). Both the lack of financial stability and the scarcity of mental health institutions are to blame.

3. Indecision is sometimes the best way to decide

Conventional wisdom says the faster you make a decision, the more competent you must be. How fast we deal with information—what psychologists call “fluency”—affects how we assign value to things and how we feel about our decisions. Fluent statements inspire trust. Companies with easily pronounceable names generally fare higher in the stock market. With “Blink”, Malcolm Gladwell argued that quickly-made decisions “can be” just as good as more deliberate ones. Steve Fleming thinks otherwise. Indecision underpins decision-making by slowing down our brains. A little bit of extra time greatly helps. Otherwise, why would they have invented the “undo” feature when sending emails in Gmail? 

• Farnam Street: the simplest way to achieve simplicity is through thoughtful reduction

4. Why creativity is a process, not an event

If you believe creativity comes from connections between seemingly unrelated ideas there are a couple of things you can do to improve it, according to James Clear. One nonobvious idea (the others being better/more sleep, broadening your knowledge and adopting a growth mindset) is to let go of the fear of shame and embarrassment that comes from learning new skills. Children are much more creative than adults and this seems to be because non-creative behaviour is learned. Don't fear being foolish. Be free. 

+ Brain Pickings: fixed vs. growth, the two basic mindsets that shape our lives

• Space° | Science: To get you inspired, an amazing illustration of how Jupiter protects the Earth from asteroids

*Thanks, 

Ulysse

PS. Only four links on this issue, hopefully there'll be another one this week.*