We adapt to everything.͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
| | | | | | | | | One human constant is that we adapt to everything. We move toward homeostasis constantly. Even in really dire circumstances, like war or famine, we adapt and "get used to" otherwise objectively horrible situations. This goes the other way, too. Hedonic adaptation describes how humans get used to pleasurable stimuli if we get them on a regular basis. They stop being so pleasurable; we "adapt" to the hedonic stimulus. The counter is to take a break from the stimulus, to reset our hedonic baseline. If you stop eating refined sugar, natural sources of sugar like fruit end up tasting like dessert. If you spend all day in the cold rainy wilderness, a hot shower when you return feels like heaven. This applies to everything. What about basic modern living? Look around at the average house or apartment and, on a historical level, it's sheer luxury. We're more comfortable than kings and emperors. We have ice and refrigeration on demand, heat that comes through ducts at the push of a button. Flip a switch and night turns to day. Boredom doesn't exist anymore; you can just scroll Instagram or Twitter and have incredible sights and sounds and content beamed into your brain. And yet we don't really appreciate it. It's normal. It's baseline. It's homeostasis. And because it's our constant day-to-day existence, it becomes that much more important (and impactful) if we can figure out how to break up that hedonic adaptation. But how? Every week or two, do a night or two of "low tech living." Turn off the lights and wifi. Shut down the devices. Light some candles. Light a fire. Use blankets. Snuggle up with some board games and books. Go low tech—eliminate as many examples of modern technological comfort as possible. Then, when you come back to using all your technology and modern comforts, see how much you appreciate it. If you try this, or have ever tried it before, let me know how it goes for you in this week's New and Noteworthy. |
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Mark's Daily Apple 1101 Maulhardt Ave. Oxnard, CA 93033 |
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