TCP008 | ⏰~7min read | 🔗 read online
Welcome to The Contemporary Polymath Newsletter, where you broaden your horizons, feed your curiosity, and spark new ideas on Thursdays
📧 In This Issue
- 🚪 Liminality: the creative power of in-between phases
- 🍵 Hygge: comfort rituals that ground you
- 🌹 How scent shapes memory and mood
- 🧠 Neuroplasticity: shifting your patterns
- 💻 Stroke survivor speaks again using a brain-computer implant
👋🏾 Hey there, friend!
I’ve been sitting in a strange kind of limbo lately—what you might call a liminal space. Not everything in my life is figured out right now. I’m not settled in where I live. I’m not sure yet if I’ll stay in New York or return to Europe. I’m at a point where I’m genuinely open career/work wise—if the right connections and opportunities come through here in the next few months, I’ll stay. If not, I know I’ve felt more at peace abroad. Either way, I’m in a season of figuring things out.
But I’m not just floating through it. I’ve been actively trying to move forward—attending one or two networking events each week, reaching out to people I’ve worked with in the past, testing what feels possible here. Inspired by Anne-Laure Le Cunff’s book on tiny experiments, I’ve been treating these efforts as experiments of my own. No pressure to have all the answers, but also no passivity either.
And in the meantime, I’m doing small things to stay grounded. Lighting my favorite eucalyptus candle. Sitting in stillness. Writing without music, either outside in the park or at home in total quiet. I don’t have full control over my space or my situation right now, but I can still create moments of peace. These tiny rituals are how I make room for calm—my own version of Hygge.
This week’s newsletter comes out of all that. The tension of liminality, the comfort of ritual, the way scent can pull you through time, and how our brains subtly respond to beauty, memory, and transition. These aren’t just topics I researched—they’re things I’m living right now.
🌍This Week’s Explorations
Written by Us
Psychology
🧘🏾 Feel stuck between your old life and what’s next? Liminality can transform those awkward transitions into surprising catalysts for growth, creativity, and self-discovery.
🧠 Neuroplasticity reveals how your brain rewires itself every day—shaped by what you think, repeat, and believe. You’re not stuck with the same mental patterns forever—and that changes everything.
🍵 Ever wish you could bottle that serene feeling of a cozy evening spent with loved ones? Hygge, the Danish secret to everyday happiness shows how intentional moments of comfort and connection can refresh our souls—no grand gestures required.
🌹 Most people don’t realize how deeply scent influences mood, memory, and mental state. This post explores the science of aromachology and how fragrance can be used intentionally to improve focus, relaxation, and emotional balance.
Science
🌸 Spring isn’t just a visual refresh—it’s a neurological one. Neuroaesthetics explains how colors like green, yellow, and blue quietly shift your mood, energy, and even brain function.
🔍 Intriguing Finds
A curated selection of news and discoveries
- 🤖 How AI can enhance the start of spring helping you with gardening, workout plans, and more!
- 😊 5 Japanese Mindsets That Instantly Lighten Your Heart!
- 🧠 A stroke survivor speaks again with the help of an experimental brain-computer implant
- ⏰ Changing your clock? Research in October showed that ‘falling back’ had a negative impact on women, especially mothers
📖 Books We Are Reading
Book recs for this week
📚 The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking
Uncover the Danish art of creating joy and coziness in life’s everyday moments. This guide offers practical steps to bring warmth and comfort into your daily routine, enhancing overall happiness.
🎨 The Secret Lives of Color by Kassia St. Clair
Delve into the rich histories and anecdotes behind 75 captivating shades, dyes, and hues. This book intertwines art, history, and culture, revealing how colors have shaped societies and trends.
🧠 The Extended Mind by Annie Murphy Paul
Explore the concept that intelligence isn’t confined to our brains but is influenced by our bodies, environments, and relationships. This work challenges traditional notions of cognition, offering insights into enhancing our thinking processes.
👥 Readers Corner
We are looking to interview some polymaths to feature in our newsletter, if that interest you, hit the button below:
💭 How Inquisitive
🔙 Answer to last week’s question
🦍 What’s the name of the cognitive illusion where people believe they notice more in their environment than they actually do—an illusion so powerful, it’s been used to challenge eyewitness accounts in major legal cases?
It’s called The Invisible Gorilla Effect—a term born from a famous psychology experiment where participants focused on a basketball game completely missed a person in a gorilla suit walking through the scene. It’s a striking example of inattentional blindness (we’ll talk more on this next week), and a reminder that our brains often miss what’s right in front of us when we’re focused on something else.
⏭️Question for next week
📱 What’s the name of the brain phenomenon where people feel their phone vibrate—even when it didn’t—just because they expected it?
Loved this issue or have ideas for future topics? I’d love to hear from you! And of course i’ll give you a shout out for your contribution.😊
🇳🇴Ta vare på deg selv. Ha en fin dag, kveld eller natt – hvor enn du er. Vær snill!
🇺🇸 Take care. Have a wonderful day, evening, or night wherever you are. Be kind!
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Thank you to my recent supporters: Anne, Benjamin, Victoria, and J.
Best,
Naya
