From 600+ conversations with the world’s leading thinkers.
We are scientifically naked in front of this threat. We do not have the diagnostics to quickly detect an MDR or XDR case. Once detected, we do not have the drugs to effectively treat the patient at reasonable cost, and we do not have a TB vaccine.
I told my dad from the beginning, we're fighting both disease and doubt, and we have to tackle them simultaneously.
Fear is like being shot out of a cannon. Imagine a car has fallen on someone I love—I get this clear, calm, intense bolt of energy. In that heightened state, I could lift the car off them (as has happened before in rare cases). Anxiety, on the other hand, is like being haunted. You never actually see what's scaring you—it's just a story in your head that never goes away.
HIV prevalence among injecting drug users ranges from 20-40% in some countries, and more than 40% in many others. If we estimate the number of injecting drug users worldwide as 60 million, it means that around 3 million people are infected with HIV/AIDS because of this dangerous mode of transmission.
If stem cells prove safe for use in the brain, you might use them to repair brain damage, but you might use them to increase or enhance brain function.
Surgery, like many other disciplines, is primarily about facts, your relationship with the facts, how you manage, handle, interpret and use those facts. This is something we all begin to do very early in life, in our childhood. We look at information coming in from the external world, determine what is useful, determine how we understand it, build a fuller picture and effect change. A surgical mindset is very much that.
Soldiers don't get post-traumatic stress on the battlefield, they get it when they get return. When you're there, on the battlefield, life is simple. You have a mission, a purpose, a direction, and you're trying to survive. When you come home, that's when you have to reconcile your humanity with who you are.
The real power lies in being able to apply these techniques in everyday life. Whether you're on the subway, stuck in traffic, or taking a stroll in the park, these practices are accessible.
I went to see a psychiatrists and was like 'I think there's something wrong with my brain'. He diagnosed me fairly quickly as being a born overachiever. Born overachievement complex was my issue, and he said we can work on that. I said overachievement? That's a feature, not a bug. He's like yeah but it's not tenable. And I said no, no, I'm fine, I'm totally fine and he countered with the checkmate of 'but you're here'.
Even if you're eating right, exercising regularly, and getting enough sleep, dysfunctional breathing can still hold you back. If it's dysfunctional, your body will eventually make you pay the price in terms of health and focus.
An uneducated unconscious is a perilous entity. The intuition of a seasoned doctor with 30 years spent diagnosing ailments is immensely beneficial. Conversely, the intuition of a teenager is not only unfruitful, but potentially hazardous.
I think there's a big misconception—sometimes called 'toxic positivity' or 'good vibes only'—that a happy life is one where we only experience positive emotions. But that's just patently false. Evolutionarily speaking, our negative emotions serve a really important purpose: they cue us to take action.