The Expedition: June Edition
A fantastic workout, stats on marriage and money, the ideal number of pushups, ChatGPT and BS, and more.
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Today’s post: The Expedition
This monthly series is a journey into thoughts, opinions, ideas, observations, studies, facts, figures, etc.
Good ones, bad ones, insightful ones, dumb ones, and ones you can use to live better.
It’s a roundup of all the worthwhile stuff I’ve encountered in the last month. The Expedition is a bit of an island of misfit toys. But, hey, the greatest journeys are winding.
This month, we’re covering:
Numbers on:
Who commits suicide and why.
The amount of pushups that reduces heart disease risk.
Money, marriage, and happiness.
Who wins marathons.
How changing the speed of videos impacts information retention.
The truth about expensive treadmills.
How much time we spend online.
A wild and clever three-part challenge.
A fun read about ChatGPT and its propensity for bullshit.
A thought-provoking read on a surprising source of a hidden health threat.
How to survive—and thrive—this Godforsaken heatwave.
A wild map on weight changes.
A tough, fantastic workout I did while traveling recently.
An important parting quote.
An even more important parting question.
By the numbers
9
Times higher risk of suicide faced by divorced men compared to divorced women. Relationship problems are the main reason for suicide, accounting for 40 of suicides.
96
Percent less at risk of having a heart attack firefighters were if they could complete more than 40 pushups compared to their co-workers who could complete fewer than 10.
Half
Married couples need to make half as much money as a household to get the same level of happiness a single person gets. For example, married couples who make $100,000 a year as a household generally report having the same level of happiness as a single person making $200,000.
60
Percent of major marathon events in the last 30 years that have been won by Kenyan runners from the Kalenjin tribe. They make up just 0.08 percent of the world population.
0
Difference in the ability to retain information experienced by people who watched videos of academic lectures at 2x speed compared to those who watched videos at 1x speed. Performance declined past 2x speed.
0
Difference between curved, non-motorized treadmills and motorized treadmills in how they replicate running outside.
This one is a bit niche, but a major marketing claim of (very expensive!) curved, non-motorized treadmills is that they mimic the biomechanics of running outside better than standard treadmills. This study found that claim may not be true.
41
Percent of American adults who say they're online "almost constantly." Hi, Scarcity Loop.
9-9-9
That's 9 ski runs, 9 holes of golf, and 9 innings attending a professional baseball game—all in a single day. It's a challenge created by Coloradans.
Cities where you could accomplish this glorious feat: Denver, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Reno, and Phoenix (there are probably more, but those five seem like places where it would be easiest to pull off this feat).
A fun read
Paper title: ChatGPT is Bullshit
Paper abstract:
Recently, there has been considerable interest in large language models: machine learning systems which produce humanlike text and dialogue. Applications of these systems have been plagued by persistent inaccuracies in their output; these are often called “AI hallucinations”. We argue that these falsehoods, and the overall activity of large language models, is better understood as bullshit in the sense explored by Frankfurt (On Bullshit, Princeton, 2005): the models are in an important way indifferent to the truth of their outputs. We distinguish two ways in which the models can be said to be bullshitters, and argue that they clearly meet at least one of these definitions. We further argue that describing AI misrepresentations as bullshit is both a more useful and more accurate way of predicting and discussing the behaviour of these systems.
A thought-provoking read
Article title: Recycling Plastic Is a Dangerous Waste of Time
Well, that title doesn't pull punches. This read came across my feed. The problem is microplastics, which new research is showing are linked to various health problems.
The author makes two main points:
Recycling is a major contributor to microplastics in our air and environment.
There are better things we can do to re-use our plastics—by using them as fuel.
Pull quote:
According to an emerging field of study, the facilities that recycle plastic have been spewing massive amounts of toxins called microplastics into local waterways, soil, and air for decades. In other words, the very industry created to solve the plastic-waste problem has only succeeded in making it worse, possibly exponentially so. While the study that kicked off this new field received some press coverage when it appeared last year, the far-ranging import of its findings has yet to be fully integrated into environmental science. If the research is even close to accurate, and to date it has not been substantively challenged, the implications for waste management policies across the globe will be game-changing.
A tough workout I did
I recently wrote about my talk on Mental Toughness at MTNTOUGH's TOUGHFEST.
The next day, I was scheduled to appear on the MTNTOUGH Podcast. I arrived at the MTNTOUGH lab a couple of hours beforehand to sneak in a workout.
Sarah from MTNTOUGH saw me preparing some weights and said, "Do you need a workout?"
I wanted a calm morning. But it was Friday—and Fridays are for Burning the Ships. So I said yes. It was a begrudging yes, but a yes nonetheless.
Here's what Sarah created for me:
Here's how it works:
THE BUY IN
Start by doing 15 kettlebell swings. Then, every minute on the minute (EMOM), do five calories worth of the SkiErg (if you don't have a SkiErg, just jog in place for 10-ish seconds). Then do five dumbbell thrusters. Then finish with 15 more kettlebell swings.
THE WORKOUT
Do five rounds of the following:
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift: 8 reps
1/2 Kneeling Press: 8 reps on each arm
Kneel on one knee and press a dumbbell or kettlebell overhead using the arm opposite your forward leg. So if your right leg is forward, you'd press overhead with your left arm.Single arm same side dumbbell reverse lunge: 8 reps on each leg
Do a reverse lunge holding a dumbbell on the same side as your frontward leg. So, for example, you'd hold a dumbbell in your right arm as you step backward with your left leg into a lunge.Renegade row pushup: 8 reps
In this exercise, you get into the pushup position with your hands holding dumbbells. Do a push, then row each dumbbell to your chest one at a time. That's one rep.Assault bike: 8 calories
If you don't have a fan/assault bike, you can row, run on a treadmill, or cycle on an exercise bike for 8 calories. No machine? Just run in place for 15-ish seconds.
Thoughts on the workout: It sneaks up on you—it's fine until it isn't. But in the end you'll feel worked but not crushed. That's the marker of a great workout. 10/10. Thanks, Sarah.
How to survive and thrive in this Godforsaken heatwave
I've written about the benefits of the heat.
But, as with everything, the dose makes the poison and too much is bad.
Being that ~100 million Americans are engulfed in a heatwave, here are some reminders for staying safe in extremely hot temperatures:
Don't jump in. It takes a couple weeks for your body to adapt to hot conditions. If you haven't spent much time in the heat, you will be more affected by it.
Protect your skin. It's your main cooling organ. Cover your skin with thin materials that wick moisture (that's how you stay cool). Here's my favorite piece for exercising on hot days.
Understand the difference between dry and humid heat. Each has its benefits and drawbacks. (More in the piece linked to below).
Bring water. Drink it often. Chew on ice to cool your core faster.
Here's the full write-up on how to stay safe and leverage the power of the heat.
Weight changes, mapped
Parting quote
You must live in the present, launch yourself on every way, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this.
-Thoreau
An important parting question
What do you do to relieve stress?
My answer: A long walk while listening to the Grateful Dead (this version of Eyes of the World is a current go-to). Walking outdoors while listening to music works on multiple levels—more info here.
What's your top stress relief technique? See you in the comments ...
Have fun, don't die, good luck with this heatwave.
-Michael
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