Issue #26

Hey friends 👋🏽,

Welcome back to Thought Caffeine, a weekly newsletter where I share my favourite discoveries during the week.

Apologies for my absence these past couple of weeks. I’ve just entered my first major rotation in Pediatrics and found it slightly overwhelming to juggle revisions and shift schedules with writing. Last week, I came across two cases of dextrocardia (a rare condition where the heart sits on the right side of the chest), and I was lucky enough to triage these patients for further evaluation by the cardiologist.

🎈 Matt D’Avella’s 10 lessons from 10 years as a minimalist

Matt’s been upping his email game these past few months and I thought I’d share one that particularly resonated with me (I’ve fallen prey to some of these sins too in the past).

It’s not a religion. Some people take minimalism way too seriously. From the way some people speak about it online, you’d think it was a cult. But just because you’ve personally found minimalism life-changing, doesn’t mean you need to judge people, impose your beliefs on others, and talk about it with a sense of superiority. Did minimalism help you? Cool. Let’s go get some tacos.

You don’t need to marry a minimalist. I remember being worried I wouldn’t be able to find a partner who would understand my lifestyle. I assumed I was limited to being with someone who also identified as a minimalist. But thankfully, that wasn’t true. I just needed someone who was open-minded, a good listener, and who respects the fact I’m going to wear the same outfit in every photo we take. When you share those values, most of the friction in your relationship will fade away.

🍦 Try This If Diets Don’t Seem To Work For You

Learn why:

• Diets paradoxically predispose you to gain weight
• Conscious eating becomes fleeting and irrelevant when you are starved
• It might be worth to try intuitive eating

Click here to read more

💉 5 reasons why COVID-19 herd immunity is probably impossible

I found this read from Nature quite interesting. Christie, who also columns frequently in Elemental, lists down why global COVID-19 herd immunity might be a pipe dream. I’ve summarised the main points here, but do read the original for the context.

1. It's unclear whether vaccines prevent transmission: Our Covid-19 vaccines may reduce disease severity, but it doesn't mean you can't still spread it to others.
2. Vaccine roll out is uneven: Thanks to the complex interplay of politics, geography, and anthropology.
3. New variants change the herd-immunity equation: The vaccines may not be as effective against the mutated variants as they are to the original strains.
4. Immunity might not last forever: This partly explains why we can get the flu over and over again (and why we are recommended to get the annual shot)
5. Vaccines might change human behaviour: Some people think they're superman once they receive their dose.

📚 BOOK GIVEAWAY!

I’ll be giving 5 books away for my newsletter subscribers for free this month!! Terms and conditions will be posted through my social media and in the next newsletter issue (Follow my Instagram and Twitter for the latest).

Enter the Contest 📚

🙂 Other things I've been enjoying

1. Show: Explained on pandemics. This episode was initially aired in Nov 2019, one mere month after COVID-19’s patient zero was identified in China. It predicted that pandemics are inevitable, and warned how wet markets – where multiple animal species and kept and killed within close proximity – increase the risk of mutant viruses to emerge.
2. Song: Generation Why by Conan Gray. Catchy tune aside, I can’t help but also notice the pun in the title.
3. Book: Jumped straight to Hal Elrod’s Miracle Morning after (finally) finishing Tim’s monster masterpiece in 4HWW. The contrast is stark. Hal’s book imparts with wisdom that everyone knows but never does. It’s a real slap in the face sort of read. 

📸 Photo of the Week

Here's a quick (rare) pic of me during one of my rotations in the paediatric cardiology wards.

📖 Quote of the Week

"What humans require in our ascent is purpose and realism. Purpose, you could say, is like passion with boundaries. Realism is detachment and perspective"

From Ego Is The Enemy by Ryan Holiday. Resurfaced via Readwise.

That's all for this week's issue. If you think your friends would enjoy receiving emails like these on the weekly, please share this with them by hitting <Forward> and have them click on the button below to subscribe to Thought Caffeine 🚀

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Hope you have a great week! 👶🏻

John