Dan Collison MD

Reflections on the healing arts, endurance training, the humanities, & tech

[Dan Collison MD @currens_vitae]

@doctorinigo Very well put.

In a league with the best music and the best writing.

Sun, soil, and the judgment of a vintner.
—
Wine is a living clock

[Dan Collison MD @currens_vitae]

💯
Feeling “secure enough” engages the ventral vagal system—lets us stay non-defensive and open.
How to get there?
1.Reduce life stress relentlessly; benefits compound
2. Make it low-stakes/ turn it into play
3. Build skills privately first
4. Use rituals: “What if…” or “Suppose…”
What works for you?

[Dan Collison MD @currens_vitae]

@swyx can anyone help - is “always reflect” a typo for “always relocate”?

[Dan Collison MD @currens_vitae]

@bryan_johnson It looks like low quality sci-fi horror fan fiction. All that’s missing are red eyes, sharpened teeth, a bloody grin, and a jump scare.

[Dan Collison MD @currens_vitae]

@hjluks “Industry” may be key:
- conveniences
- entertainment
- fitness
- pharm

JFK did a 1st pass at coord. efforts betw. gov’t & business - even before taking office!

(Zach Even - Esh has a fascinating YT: ‘President JFK Wages War against "The Soft American"’)

Mrs. Obama tried, too

[Dan Collison MD @currens_vitae]

It’s largely due to geology -> fertile soil.

The plantation South had a few different ultra-fertile zones:
•The Mississippi Delta alluvial plain (thick river-deposited silt).
•The Black Belt prairie soils (Cretaceous chalk/limestone-derived along ancient inland sea coastline) in AL/MS/GA.
•Coastal rice/sugar regions (tidal marsh and alluvial soils) in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Louisiana.

All of these drew plantation agriculture, and all ended up with high African-American populations. That’s why the map shows several dark clusters: in the Delta, along the Black Belt, and in parts of the low-country/coastal plain.

[Dan Collison MD @currens_vitae]

That’s part of it.

The plantation South had a few different ultra-fertile zones:
•The Mississippi Delta alluvial plain (thick river-deposited silt).
•The Black Belt prairie soils (Cretaceous chalk/limestone-derived) in AL/MS/GA.
•Coastal rice/sugar regions (tidal marsh and alluvial soils) in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Louisiana.

All of these drew plantation agriculture, and all ended up with high African-American populations. That’s why the map shows several dark clusters: in the Delta, along the Black Belt, and in parts of the low-country/coastal plain.

[Dan Collison MD @currens_vitae]

@michael_nielsen If not already recommended:
"Monkeyluv: And Other Essays on Our Lives as Animals" by Robert M. Sapolsky.

3 parts:
1. Genes and Who We Are
2. Our Bodies and Who We Are
3. Society and Who We Are

[Dan Collison MD @currens_vitae]

@JohnHellemans The way of the philosopher, the artist

The way of social man

The way of the innocent, the friendless, the poor

[Dan Collison MD @currens_vitae]

Each has a shadow side. Reflection turns to vapor if it never touches ground. Imitation slides—clean and heedless—off the cliff to the canyon floor. And experience, supposedly bitter, is the sweetest of all when we choose our practices and our companions and repeat the rituals that fulfill us.

So the hierarchy isn’t fixed; each takes its turn and indeed each needs each other

Give reflection friction and let it learn from the best.

Give imitation perspective—gain models, not masters.

Give experience design—settings and companions chosen on purpose. The grace distilled from the others leads to more fulfillment and joy.

[John Hellemans @JohnHellemans]

'By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third, by experience, which is the bitterest.' (Confucius)

[Dan Collison MD @currens_vitae]

Seeking meaning? It’s seeking you. You’re here to meet—and make something together.

😁

[Dan Collison MD @currens_vitae]

@JohnHellemans Just like endurance: most understand it’s great to have, until they are faced with having to earn it.

But once truly earned, like forgiving, you realize the feeling is worth every bit of the effort.

[Dan Collison MD @currens_vitae]

@JohnHellemans For sure, and kindness seems to be at the Venn intersection of all of those as well.

Maybe modesty, gratitude, & humor are there, too.

I keep pondering it; I have always had a hard time distinguishing between the chicken & the egg; maybe kindness is the first of all 😁 🙏

[Dan Collison MD @currens_vitae]

@EleanorKonik It also might reflect on the seer, not the seen. When light falters, it is not the world that dims, but our eyes. So darkness is the chance to let our hearts & souls be the lanterns by which we see - that we might learn to distinguish & appreciate in the bright of day as well.

[Dan Collison MD @currens_vitae]

From an essay on co-creating with AI by Kevin Kelly:

“I think of a walk in a garden, or a hike in the high mountains – a hike that is not necessary for transportation reasons – as an act of co-creation. Together with nature, we are co-creating the moments of beauty we might find. Most of the beauty in the world is never seen by anyone. When we encounter these glimpses of a vista, or an exquisite way something is backlit, we are an audience of one. The joy is in discovering it; sharing is an afterthought.”
- KK

PS, Michelangelo also used tools: chisels, brushes, etc.

https://t.co/AYTdrpgfE8

[Dan Collison MD @currens_vitae]

@feelthebyrn1 @JohnHellemans ... but you can change your mind and get back to the green eye whenever you want

[Dan Collison MD @currens_vitae]

@feelthebyrn1 @JohnHellemans This diagram drives home a few points:
1) any of the quadrants (but for the green eye) can reflect the continuum of over-reaching <> over-training <> acute OTS <> chronic OTS
2) consider not only "snapshots" but "movies"
3) records are crucial
4) there are many roads to hell ...