TCP007 | ⏰ ~7min read | 🔗 read online

Welcome to The Contemporary Polymath Newsletter, where you broaden your horizons, feed your curiosity, and spark new ideas every Thursday

📧 In This Issue

• 🧠 5 Japanese philosophies that support mental clarity
• 🧼 How spring cleaning rewires your mood, focus & energy
• 🧫 Why a theory isn’t just a fancy guess (and how to explain the difference)
• 🏡 Study on age differences in one’s psychological home

👋🏾 Hey there, friend!

Last week, I mentioned we’d be diving into psychology and the subtle ways technology rewires our brains. That topic’s still on the way—but this week, I felt called to shift focus as I realized spring has arrived.

Lately, life has felt a little chaotic. And whenever things feel overwhelming, I instinctively return to something that’s long been part of my grounding practice: the quiet wisdom of Japanese & Swedish philosophy and the simple act of decluttering.

🧘🏾 Simplicity as a Cognitive Tool
Whether I had my own apartment or was living out of a suitcase, I’ve found that I think more clearly when my environment reflects a space that is physically clean and pure (like the meaning of my name Naya 😁). It’s never about perfection. It’s about creating small pockets of peace—wherever I am. Philosophies like Wabi-Sabi, Kaizen, and Shinrin-Yoku have helped me realize that simplicity, intentionality, and letting go aren’t just aesthetic values. They’re tools for thinking. They help me quiet the mental clutter and stay grounded, even when life around me isn’t.

🛌 Beauty as a Reset
The images featured in this week’s issue are from a solo trip I took—a time when I felt most happy, still, clear, and fully present. I recently ran them through ChatGPT’s which converts images to  Ghibli-style, and seeing those familiar scenes through a new lens brought me so much calm. Sometimes just pausing to look at images of the best times in the can be something beautiful—something real you’ve experienced—can help reset your nervous system.

🔍 This Week’s Focus
This week’s issue is about clearing space—not just in your home, but in your head. With the arrival of spring, I’ve been reflecting on how the season naturally invites us to reset—not just our surroundings, but our thought patterns too. We’ll explore Japanese philosophies that support mental clarity, how spring cleaning affects your emotional regulation, and a timely reminder of what scientific theories actually are—because no, a theory isn’t just a guess, and that misunderstanding affects more than we realize.

It’s a small shift from last week’s theme, but a meaningful one. Because before we make room for new ideas, we have to clear out what’s no longer serving us—mentally, emotionally, and physically.

🌍This Week’s Explorations

Articles By Us

Psychology

 🇯🇵 A new season is a good reminder that mental clarity deserves just as much attention as your environment. These five Japanese philosophies offer research-backed ways to reduce stress, shift perspective, and approach personal growth through small, actionable steps.

🧼 Spring cleaning isn’t just about aesthetics—it can support both mental clarity and emotional reset. Clearing physical clutter reduces stress, improves focus, and boosts energy, especially when paired with movement. A few small changes in your space can lead to bigger shifts in how you feel.

🏡 In 2022 research showed how clutter affects our feelings, thoughts, and reactions to our psychological home differs across age groups, showing that younger adults experience significantly stronger negative impacts than older adults.

Science

🧫 Theories and hypotheses are not the same. One explains; the other tests. The distinction affects how people talk about science, share ideas, and recognize misinformation.

🔍 Intriguing Finds

A curated selection of news and discoveries

•  📋 A Comprehensive Checklist for Deep Cleaning Your House
•  🌱 Japan’s record-breaking life expectancy is rooted in a unique blend of cultural, dietary, and lifestyle habits that hold the key to a longer, healthier life
• 🗑️ 15 Proven Ways to Silence Mental Clutter teaches you how to declutter your mind and find calm in the midst of chaos with effective techniques
• 🇩🇪 In perfect timing for us Polymaths that love language learning, Super Easy German shared: Decluttering in Slow German
• 🌳 Our natural connection to the world around us, known as Biophilia, is a vital part of what makes us human and makes up an essential part of our well being

📖 Books We Are Reading

👥 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

📱 Could AI-powered algorithms subtly shape your thoughts?

AI algorithms can quietly influence your thoughts by shaping what you see, believe, and trust—often without you realizing it. By personalizing content and mimicking social cues, they affect decision-making and perception, highlighting the need for stronger digital awareness.

⏭️Question for next week

🦍 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?

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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 hand om dig. Ha en underbar dag, kväll eller natt – var du än är. Var snäll!
🇺🇸 Take care. Have a wonderful day, evening, or night wherever you are. Be kind!

Best,
Naya

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🍵 If you enjoy any of my work, writing, thinking, etc. I always enjoy a nice cup of matcha 😁 or kind and uplifting words 🫶🏾.

Thank you to my recent supporters:

Anne, Benjamin, Victoria, and J.

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