Surprising Rise

The Rise Of Hyperpleasures

Samuel C. Heard | Mere Orthodoxy | 5th June 2024 | U

Why do activities like reading or conversation feel less fun than technology-enabled pastimes like videogames or smartphone use? These are "hyperpleasures", it is argued, and they change how we enjoy things. If reading registers at nine on a pleasure scale of one to ten and gaming scores a thousand, what once felt like 9/10 will now feel like 9/1000. The solution? A "reorientation of the will" (2,900 words)

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Reality Has A Surprising Amount Of Detail

John Salvatier | 13th May 2017

To become better at thinking clearly, it is vital to cultivate the habit of noticing what you have not yet noticed. Surprising yet meaningful detail is a "near universal property" of reality. Everything that seems simple or straightforward to you today was once made up of fiddly elements and snags, now mastered. If you aren't seeing new details all the time, you may be "intellectually stuck" (2,400 words)