The Epidemic of Isolation Among Young Men

In 2017, former US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy identified the most common threat to public health that he had seen: not heart disease, diabetes, or cancer—but loneliness. Isolation and weak social connections, he wrote in Harvard Business Review, “are associated with a reduction in lifespan similar to that caused by smoking fifteen cigarettes a day and even greater than that associated with obesity. Loneliness is also associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, depression, and anxiety.” Murthy was supported by a large body of research, culled from more than 200 studies involving more than 3 million subjects worldwide, that showed that we are in the midst of a loneliness epidemic. The culprits are manifold and include the fluidity of modern life (we move and change jobs more), the weakening of community institutions such as service organizations and faith groups, the gig economy, and our increasing reliance on social media.

- The Walrus

How Time Flies: Growing Up, Growing Older, and the Perception of Time

“It seems like yesterday.” This statement, or something close to it, was repeated many times by survivors interviewed by media outlets on the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Indeed, to most people old enough to remember that day, it does seem like yesterday. Except it was not yesterday; it is a full decade-and-a-half later. In that same period of time, 3-year olds grew into full-fledged adults. Clunky Blackberries, carried by a few, evolved into sleek smartphones carried by almost everyone. Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter all went from nonexistent to ever-present.

- Brain World

Will your partner cheat?

Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, but will they cheat on you? Is your "committed" partner predisposed to searching for affection or adventure with someone else? Researchers believe that they've found a way to tell.

We are living in an age of sexual liberation and shifting values when it comes to long-term relationships and romantic commitment. We are now, more than ever before, starting to speak out in favor of polyamory, the practice of being in a consensual relationship with several partners at once. Some people will even argue that monogamy is an artificial concept, owed to our species' "strategic behavior" at a time when we needed to ensure economic stability for both ourselves and our children.

- Medical News Today

Jules et Jim, une histoire vraie

Saviez vous que le fameux film de Truffaut “Jules et Jim” est tiré d'un roman de Henri-Pierre Roché qui formait en 1915 avec Marcel Duchamp et Beatrice Wood un trio amoureux ? Adepte de l’amour libre, Duchamp n’était ni fidèle, ni jaloux.

Lorsque Roché rencontre Duchamp, celui-ci est connu pour refuser la notion de mariage monogame. Ainsi que l’explique Bernard Marcadé, son biographe : «de la même manière qu’il ne veut pas posséder de femmes, Duchamp ne veut pas posséder d’argent. Il ne veut pas être propriétaire. Il écrit à la fin de sa vie qu’il “veut vivre en locataire”. C’est assez révolutionnaire.» Roché le formule ainsi : «Il a besoin de femmes. Il n’a pas besoin d’une femme. Ni d’enfants. Il doit être seul, c’est un solitaire, un méditant, un penseur. C’est un prédicateur à sa façon. Il travaille pour une morale nouvelle.» La morale de Duchamp se situe à rebours des injonctions sociales propres au système bourgeois qui encouragent les individus à cumuler des possessions pour se donner de la valeur. Duchamp ne veut rien posséder : ni épouse, ni famille, ni maison, ni voiture… 

- Libération

Yale's "Happiness 101" Course Is Available Online For Free — Here's How You Can Take It

What’s the secret to happiness? You could soon find out for free. One of Yale’s most popular classes — not just this school year, but in the university’s history — is all about the psychology of happiness. For those of us who don’t have the plans or the test scores to attend the Ivy League school, we can still learn the secret to happy living, as Yale’s “Happiness 101” class is available online for free. I guess money can’t buy happiness so long as a free version is accessible on the internet.

- Busle

L’ivresse de la joie

Ce qui est bien avec la joie, c’est que même avec l’Alcootest, on ne peut pas vous confisquer votre permis de conduire. Vous avez beau être sous influence, la joie n’affiche pas l’évanescence du plaisir, ni le contentement du bonheur. La joie est exubérante et jaillit, telle une source vive ; du THC pur dans les veines et dans le cerveau. On ne parle pas de filles de joie pour rien…

- Le Devoir

Am I Addicted to Sex Addicts?

After years of dating, I’ve finally worked out my type: a skinny guy with a big nose and a manic sexuality. The schnoz and the lanky limbs are the constants, but the manic component is the variable—whether the guy has ten girls on rotation, or is caught up in a sex scandal, or is just overtly sexual in a way that makes some people uncomfortable, the takeaway is: Nothing gets me wet like sexual compulsion. It can’t be a coincidence that I’ve now dated four regulars of Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous.

- Vogue

What It’s Like to Visit ‘Dr. M,’ New York’s Erotic Masseur for Women

For the last 15 years, a studio apartment in uptown Manhattan has been a go-to destination for women who are looking for a little one-on-one … relaxation. The “sensual touch” service (which comes with a happy ending) is administered by “Dr. M,” a 40-something man with a day job and apparently very, very skilled hands. The Cut spoke with three of his regular female clients about the experience of getting a happy ending.

- The Cut

1980s Teenagers and Their Bedroom Walls

Desire, adoration, safety, identity and escape are all there on the teenager’s bedroom walls. In the 1980s, these teenagers were photographed in their bedrooms – the place where they go to dream.

Every morning, even before I open my eyes, I know I am in my bedroom and my bed. But if I go to sleep after lunch in the room where I work, sometimes I wake up with a feeling of childish amazement — why am I myself? What astonishes me, just as it astonishes a child when he becomes aware of his own identity, is the fact of finding myself here, and at this moment, deep in this life and not in any other. What stroke of chance has brought this about?
– Simone de Beauvoir (January 9, 1908–April 14, 1986), All Said and Done

- Flashbak

The Last Inn on the Sea

This house might look just a tad precarious for a weekend escape to the beach, but it has quite the story to tell that I thought I might share with you. The photograph above was taken in 2009 when the house had been reluctantly declared a nuisance and condemned by the Rodanthe community on Hatteras Island in North Carolina. Locally nicknamed “Serendipity”, the house had also just finished starring in a Hollywood movie alongside Richard Gere and Diane Lane, called Nights in Rodanthe.

- Messy Nessy Chic

The Narrowest Streets in the World

At what point does a street cease to be a street? According to the Guinness Book of Records, the narrowest street in the world is located in the old town of Reutlingen, in Germany. It is actually a narrow alley, called Spreuerhofstraße, between two closely built houses. The “street” is only 31 centimeters wide at its narrowest point and 40 centimeters wide on the average. The street isn’t particularly long either — just 3.8 meters. But since it is located on municipal land, the folks of Reutlingen insist it’s a public street.

- Amusing Planet

An Architect Who Illustrates The Secret Life Of Giants In The Streets Of Turkish Cities

According to an artist Hakan Keleş: “I am an architect, academician and illustrator living in Turkey. I started to draw big characters on street photos I took with my smartphone, named “Lilliputs series”. The name comes from the novel “Gulliver’s Travels”, the city of dwarfs. Here, we, real people, become dwarfs. Some of them are kind of monsters, some of them are influenced from real people and the others are a bit humorous. They are from different urban areas I visited in Turkey.”

- Design you Trust

I Took Two Tinder Dates to a Montreal Swingers' Club

I can't think of a scene where I would feel more out of place than a swingers' club. I've always imagined these dark orifices with potbellied 40-year-olds doing coke and lots of people wearing annoying hats. But I've also felt equally intrigued by it. I wanted to know what happens inside those dingy walls, where failing marriages gasp for air and people try to reclaim their sense of sexual adventure.

I decided to go this Valentine's Day, and went on Tinder to try to find some company to help curb the weirdness. In the spirit of polyamory, I set out to find two dates who would be down with the whole situation and go with me.

- Vice

POLYAMOUR : AIMER AU PLURIEL

Le polyamour est une façon différente, mais sérieuse de vivre les relations amoureuses. C’est aimer plusieurs personnes simultanément. Rencontre avec des polyamoureux qui démystifient leur mode de vie.

Samuel, Anne-Marie et Élodie s’aiment depuis un an. Ils forment un « trouple », qu’on appelle aussi une triade. Il s’agit d’une relation amoureuse consensuelle à trois. Ils sont polyamoureux et polyfidèles. Leur cercle est fermé.

- ici Radio-Canada

Stephen Hawking's warnings: What he predicted for the future

Stephen Hawking's fame was founded on the research he did on general relativity and black holes. But he often stepped outside his own field of research, using his recognition to highlight what he saw as the great challenges and existential threats for humanity in coming decades. His pronouncements drove headlines in the media, which sometimes proved controversial.

- BBC

This Tiny Chapel is Home to Some of the Greatest Marble Sculptures in History

Located in the heart of Naples’ historic district is Cappella Sansevero, a small chapel/museum that is home to some of the greatest marble sculptures ever carved.

Cappella Sansevero houses 28 works of art by many of the leading Italian artists of the 18th century. The chapel’s patron, Raimondo di Sangro, Prince of Sansevero, played a prominent role in shaping the design, direction and themes of the works and chapel.

- Twisted Sifter

Paul Ehrlich: 'Collapse of civilisation is a near certainty within decades'

Fifty years after the publication of his controversial book The Population Bomb, biologist Paul Ehrlich warns overpopulation and overconsumption are driving us over the edge.

A shattering collapse of civilisation is a “near certainty” in the next few decades due to humanity’s continuing destruction of the natural world that sustains all life on Earth, according to biologist Prof Paul Ehrlich. In May, it will be 50 years since the eminent biologist published his most famous and controversial book, The Population Bomb. But Ehrlich remains as outspoken as ever.

- The Guardian

Cette journaliste veut que vous n'ayez plus peur de la solitude

Et si la solitude était bonne pour la santé ? Maggie Puniewska est journaliste, spécialiste de la santé mentale. Pour commencer 2018, elle a décidé de prendre soin de la vôtre en s’attaquant, sur le site américain The Cut, à quelque chose qui fait flipper nombre d’entre vous : la solitude.

Gros sujet. Selon une étude sortie en 2014 dans Science, il existe même des gens (particulièrement des hommes) qui préféreraient s’auto-administrer de courts chocs électriques plutôt que d’être contraints à affronter leurs seules pensées pendant plus de 15 minutes.

- Rue89

Manger seul au resto : honteux et tabou. Pourtant on peut adorer ça

En général, par précaution, j'appelle la veille pour réserver. Je dis : "Une table pour deux, s'il vous plaît !" La vérité, c'est que je vais venir seule. Mais je mens. Par peur de me  retrouver coincée sur une table branlante, dans un recoin paumé du restaurant gastronomique (paraît que c'est un truc de certains inspecteurs du guide Michelin).

- Rue89

What smartphone photography is doing to our memories

Sharing photos may subtly change what — and how — we remember. 

Though they may appear crystal clear in our minds, our memories are not a carbon copy of the events we witnessed. Every time we recall a memory, we may accidentally alter it or diminish its accuracy. Even trivial memories are easily corrupted with mere suggestions. The psychologist Elizabeth Loftus once found that when people are told cars “collided” instead of “hit,” they recalled a car accident as being more severe than it was.

- Vox

The Sensual And Ultra-Colorful NSFW Paintings Of Teresa Duck

With a world mixing sensual bodies, pop culture and Japanese inspirations, the British artist Teresa Duck unveils striking paintings, combining her ultra-realistic female models with everyday objects, cartoon characters or elements from the kawaii culture.

- Design you Trust

The Internet Is In Shock After This Guy’s Post Reveals How Much Facebook And Google Knows About You

Most of us likely have that nagging feeling that all the entertainment and convenience that we get online and take for granted must be paid for somehow. We know that companies like Facebook and Google collect our data, and it gets used to target us better for advertising. So what? I can just ignore the ads anyway, can’t I? I have nothing to hide!

- Bored Panda