My Grandma Is A Very Badass Woman, And Since I Broke My Cellphone We Are Only Able To Converse Through

They asked if I had a hobby

A cousin asked if I had any hobbies. I said, "I got an $18 Ukulele." Now, I have to learn how to play the damn Portuguese Instrument from the free Ukulele lessons I signed up for about a month ago, but have yet to surpass the introductory phase.

Gentle reminder - Trump and Elon musk are just human. They are not above you. They may have political power but they do not control your heart or mind. They are mortal. You grant them more hold over you if treat them as unmovable forces. They are morally corrupt men but that is all they are - they aren’t invincible.

"Tomorrow come early." - James Vega, Mass Effect 3

you know a fic is good when it has this

Five Timeless Techniques for Mastering Knowledge

1. Spaced Repetition

Steps:

Identify Key Information: Select the material you need to learn.

Create a Study Schedule: Space your study sessions over increasing intervals (e.g., 1 day, 3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks).

Review Regularly: Revisit the material at each scheduled session.

Scientific Basis: Spaced repetition leverages the spacing effect, a phenomenon where information is more easily recalled when study sessions are spaced out over time. Research shows this technique enhances long-term retention compared to cramming.

2. Cornell Method

Steps:

Prepare Your Paper: Divide your paper into three sections: a narrow left column for cues, a larger right column for notes, and a summary section at the bottom.

Take Notes: During lectures or readings, jot down key points in the right column.

Cue Column: After the session, fill in the left column with questions or keywords related to your notes.

Summarize: At the end of your notes, write a brief summary of the main points in the bottom section.

Review: Use the cues to test your recall and understanding.

Scientific Basis: The Cornell Method promotes active engagement with the material and encourages self-testing, which are both linked to improved memory and understanding through the retrieval practice effect.

3. SQ3R Method

Steps:

Survey: Quickly scan the material to get an overview.

Question: Formulate questions based on headings and subheadings.

Read: Read the material carefully to find answers to your questions.

Recite: Summarize the information in your own words.

Review: Go over the material again to reinforce learning.

Scientific Basis: SQ3R is based on principles of active reading and metacognition. By engaging with the material in multiple ways, learners can deepen their understanding and retention.

4. Priming

Steps:

Preview Material: Briefly look over the material before diving into a detailed study session.

Set Goals: Define what you want to achieve with your study session.

Contextual Exposure: Expose yourself to related concepts and ideas in everyday life.

Scientific Basis: Priming relies on the brain's ability to make connections between related pieces of information. It can enhance learning and recall by creating a mental framework that makes new information easier to integrate.

5. Metacognition

Steps:

Plan: Before starting, plan your approach to the study session.

Monitor: Keep track of your understanding and progress during study.

Evaluate: After the session, assess what you've learned and how well you understood it.

Scientific Basis: Metacognition involves thinking about one's own thinking processes. It encourages self-regulation and reflective practices, which research shows can significantly enhance learning outcomes by promoting deeper understanding and strategic use of cognitive resources.

just went to my first drag show and at one point the whole audience was clapping and singing along to a hazbin hotel song like it was gospel i need to go again immediately

“ dopamine detox ,, and why you should delete all your social media right now

"just five more minutes" and then you end up scrolling on instagram or tiktok for hours. i know that feeling. even if you know rationally that focusing on the really important things ( such as studying, working, learning from books or whatever ) is much healthier for you and your future, you can't help it.

you know that start studying for the exam you have next week will benefit you much more in the long run, but you still prefer watching tiktoks and scrolling on instagram. you could say that is pretty obvious: one activity is easy, and doesn't require much effort, whereas the other one is difficult and implies that you are focused.

but it's actually like this? so then why some people manage to be consistent in studying, or working, or exercising? they simply just have more motivation than you? and how can you start having the same motivation as them?

to answer this question, we have to take a look to a very important molecule produced by our brain: dopamine.

dopamine is often considered a pleasure molecule, but it's a false belief. dopamine is actually the molecule that makes us desire things, and it's that desire that gives us the motivation to complete every kind of task. for example, your brain doesn't release dopamine while you're eating a cheesburger, it releases it while you're going to mcdonald's to buy it, because you anticipate that the food will make you feel good, even if it actually makes you feel worse.

to your brain, it doesn't matter if the high-dopamine-activity is damaging to you.

your brain organizes priorities based off how much dopamine is expecting to get:

if an activity releases too little dopamine, you won't have the motivation to accomplish it.

if an activity releases a lot of dopamine you'll be motivated to do it, and repeat it over and over

so, which activities releases dopamine? basically, any activity where you can get an immediate potential reward releases an high amount of dopamine. but if you know that there's not an immediate reward invoved ( such as in studying, where the reward is in the long run ) your brain will not expect to release much of it and you'll be less motivated to do that task.

nearly everything releases some amount of dopamine, even drinking water when you're thirsty, but the highest amount of it is released when you're getting a reward randomly, for example while playing on a slot machine. even if you loose money, you eventually expect to get a bigger reward.

therefore it is not so surprising that the most additive social networks ( tiktok, instagram, pinterest ) are designed as slot machines. you don't know what the next post or video will be, but you expect something great, so your brain releases a large amount of dopamine.

in today's society our brains are overloaded with stimuli that induce an unnatural production of dopamine ( scrolling on social media, playing video games, watching internet pornograhy, etc. ).

it's frightening that people don't know how harmful this lifestyle is: our bodies have a biological sistem called homeostasis, which means that our bodies keep the internal physical and chemical conditions at a balanced level, whenever an imbalance occurs, our bodies adapt to it, for example, when it's very hot our body temperature rises and we start sweating to cool down.

but homeostasis manifests through tolerance too. for example, someone who hardly ever drinks alchool will be tipsy after one beer, on the other hand, someone who drinks alchool on a regular basis will need two, three, four beers in order to get drunk, because their body has developed a tolerance to it. it's not much different with dopamine.

so if you get used to large amounts of dopamine, you won't be able to do the things that you did before, because they don't produce as much dopamine and it's more difficult to motivate yourself to do them. once your dopamine tolerance gets too high, you are no longer able to enjoy low dopamine activities.

as if you were a drug addict, there's only one way to get out of it: you have to perform a dopamine detox. you have to avoid all high dopamine activities in order to allow your body to adjust to a normal level of dopamine production and start finding motivation again in the things that improve your personal growth.

it's not easy, you will be nervous and frustrated, maybe you won't make it through a full day without social media, but day by day it will get better and better, and eventually you'll be able to appreciate small things again.

imagine that you're eating your favorite food - for example, chocolate cake - every single day. after a while, chocolate cake doesn't taste good as before, even if it's literally the same cake. on the other hand, if you eat it once a month, it will taste great, because it's not something you've gotten used to.

this is exactly what dopamine detox does. be safe guys, and start recovering now.

[ source: https://youtu.be/9QiE-M1LrZk ]

How to work hard and respect all living things?

I know, but I don't. I am the worst type of person. More than I actually know.