Nat's Notes

What I learned from The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker

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Get Two Months Free of Readwise

Readwise is my favorite reading tool. I use it to automatically extract my highlights from physical books, and I use their Reader to read and highlight everything I find online.

Then they automatically organize all of my notes and send them directly to my note-taking tool, so I can immediately look up anything I loved in past books I read.

It's a total game changer for getting the most out of every book you read, and if you love books, you need to be using it.

(00:00) Why Do You Do What You Do? (02:07) How Do You Feel Heroic? (11:22) The Fear of Death (15:07) Evolution and Anxiety (17:34) Why Aren't We More Courageous? (21:36) Struggle as a False Sense of Control (24:10) Automatic Cultural Man (NPCs) (28:03) The Foundation of Self Belief (31:10) Cosmic Heroism (33:36) Looking for Meaning (38:01) How to Live

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What I learned from 4,000 Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman

Join the Nat's Notes Newsletter to get my top highlights from the book.

Get Two Months Free of Readwise

Readwise is my favorite reading tool. I use it to automatically extract my highlights from physical books, and I use their Reader to read and highlight everything I find online.

Then they automatically organize all of my notes and send them directly to my note-taking tool, so I can immediately look up anything I loved in past books I read.

It's a total game changer for getting the most out of every book you read, and if you love books, you need to be using it.

[00:58] The Deeper Problem with Productivity [03:19] Our Relationship with Time [08:51] Fixating on Control Leads to Misery [13:20] Distraction and Relaxation [17:09] Living Out of the Moment [20:29] Leisure as the Center of Life [23:52] You Only Get 4,000 Weeks

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What I learned from Montaigne's Essays

Join the Nat's Notes Newsletter to get my top highlights from the book.

Get Two Months Free of Readwise

Readwise is my favorite reading tool. I use it to automatically extract my highlights from physical books, and I use their Reader to read and highlight everything I find online.

Then they automatically organize all of my notes and send them directly to my note-taking tool, so I can immediately look up anything I loved in past books I read.

It's a total game changer for getting the most out of every book you read, and if you love books, you need to be using it.

[02:47] Reason Over Escapism [05:59] Staying Unattached to Society [08:05] True and Fake Pleasures [12:16] Having Ideas vs. Regurgitating Others [13:43] How to Learn [17:54] Wealth and Ambition [22:30] Ambition vs Contentment [28:29] Controlling Your Will [36:16] The Value of Challenge [38:13] Managing Fear of Loss [40:40] Educating Children

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What I learned from Count Down: How Our Modern World Is Threatening Sperm Counts, Altering Male and Female Reproductive Development, and Imperiling the Future of the Human Race by Dr. Shanna H. Swan

Join the Nat's Notes Newsletter to get my top highlights from the book.

Get Two Months Free of Readwise

Readwise is my favorite reading tool. I use it to automatically extract my highlights from physical books, and I use their Reader to read and highlight everything I find online.

Then they automatically organize all of my notes and send them directly to my note-taking tool, so I can immediately look up anything I loved in past books I read.

It's a total game changer for getting the most out of every book you read, and if you love books, you need to be using it.

TIMESTAMPS

[03:32] How Bad Is It? [09:29] Disastrous Changes in Sperm Count [11:32] Consequences of Low Testosterone [15:11] The Rise in Miscarriages [18:51] How Your Fertility is Determined in the Womb [25:34] Effects of Alcohol, Marijuana, and Opioids [30:53] Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals and Gender Dysphoria [35:38] The Effects of Pesticides and Herbicides [40:00] How to Protect Your Fertility

If you enjoyed this show, please let me know on Twitter (@nateliason) or Instagram (@nat_eliason)

What I learned from Schopenhauer's Essays and Aphorisms

Join the Nat's Notes Newsletter to get my top highlights from the book.

Get Two Months Free of Readwise

Readwise is my favorite reading tool. I use it to automatically extract my highlights from physical books, and I use their Reader to read and highlight everything I find online.

Then they automatically organize all of my notes and send them directly to my note-taking tool, so I can immediately look up anything I loved in past books I read.

It's a total game changer for getting the most out of every book you read, and if you love books, you need to be using it.

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I take their beef liver capsules almost every single day since I know how good organ meat is for me, but I don't want to have to cook liver.

If you aren't getting any organ meat in your diet, this is a great way to add it. And they're giving 15% off to listeners of Nat's Notes.

[01:28] Schopenhauer's Philosophy [03:00] Philosophical Pessimism [07:21] Schopenhauer's Life [09:39] The Drudgery of Work [17:03] Experience, Representation, and Perception [22:00] Is Life Suffering [25:26] Desire and Boredom [27:36] The Wisdom and Folly of Mindfulness [33:46] Wealth is Unfulfilling [36:49] Thinking for Yourself [43:19] Why Our Education System is Broken [45:38] Good vs. Bad Writing [50:32] Struggle, Set Goals, or Contemplate

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What I learned from Finite and Infinite Games by James P. Carse

Join the Nat's Notes Newsletter to get my top highlights from the book.

Get Two Months Free of Readwise

Readwise is my favorite reading tool. I use it to automatically extract my highlights from physical books, and I use their Reader to read and highlight everything I find online.

Then they automatically organize all of my notes and send them directly to my note-taking tool, so I can immediately look up anything I loved in past books I read.

It's a total game changer for getting the most out of every book you read, and if you love books, you need to be using it.

Timestamps

[05:21] Your limits are self-imposed [09:53] How we give laws power [10:58] Infinite games are playful [13:46] The limitations of being serious [15:19] Power vs. strength [17:17] Competition is a choice [18:15] Avoiding zero-sum thinking [23:45] Poise, vision, and laughter [24:31] Time and freedom [27:55] The machine vs. the garden [33:36] Stories spread organically

If you enjoyed this show, please let me know on Twitter (@nateliason) or Instagram (@nat_eliason)

What I learned from Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky

Join the Nat's Notes Newsletter to get my top highlights from the book.

Get Two Months Free of Readwise

Readwise is my favorite reading tool. I use it to automatically extract my highlights from physical books, and I use their Reader to read and highlight everything I find online.

Then they automatically organize all of my notes and send them directly to my note-taking tool, so I can immediately look up anything I loved in past books I read.

It's a total game changer for getting the most out of every book you read, and if you love books, you need to be using it.

It also has the best-in-class article reader for saving everything I find online. You gotta try it out.

Timestamps

(02:15) Why a Book About Salt? (04:50) Why Civilization Depended on Salt (07:15) Salt and Fertility (09:18) Ancient China (11:02) Ancient Egypt (13:39) Salt's Impact on Early Trade Routes (15:25) Ancient Rome (17:43) Venice's Salt Monopoly (24:00) The Hanseatic League (29:12) Early American Civilizations (32:59) North American Colonies & Revolution (37:15) The French Revolution (39:13) The American Civil War (41:27) Salt's Impact on Energy (43:46) The Decline of Salt (44:31) Is Salt Healthy?

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What I learned from Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche

Join the Nat's Notes Newsletter to get my top highlights from the book.

Get Two Months Free of Readwise

Readwise is my favorite reading tool. I use it to extract my highlights from physical books, and I use their Reader to read and highlight everything I find online.

Then they organize all of my notes and send them directly to my note-taking tool, so I can immediately look up anything I loved in past books I read.

It's a total game changer for getting the most out of every book you read, and if you love books, you need to be using it.

Timestamps

(2:30) Readwise (03:40) God is Dead (06:28) What Do You Worship (08:41) Creating Something Beyond Yourself (10:27) No Soul, No Free Will (12:45) Worshipping the State (13:59) The Superman (16:43) Old Virtues Are Cowardice (19:25) The Good and Bad of Christian Morals (21:25) The Myth of Equality (26:16) Marriage and Children (30:41) The Will to Power (Power Motivates Us) (33:19) Good and Evil Don't Exist (36:15) Eternal Recurrence

Books Mentioned

This is Water: https://geni.us/this-is-water-nat The Fourth Turning: https://geni.us/fourth-turning-nat Straw Dogs: https://geni.us/straw-dogs-nat The Denial of Death: https://geni.us/denial-death-nat Man's Search for Meaning: https://geni.us/mans-search-nat The Comfort Crisis: https://geni.us/comfort-crisis-nat The Lessons of History: https://geni.us/lessons-history-nat Letters from a Stoic: https://geni.us/letters-stoic-nat

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What I learned from Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans and Other Animals by John Gray.

Join the Nat's Notes Newsletter to get my top highlights from the book.

Books Mentioned in the Episode: The Fourth Turning: https://geni.us/fourth-turning-nat Meditations: https://geni.us/meditations-nat Works and Days: https://geni.us/works-days-nat The Drama of the Gifted Child: https://geni.us/drama-gifted-nat Atomic Habits: https://geni.us/atomic-habits-nat Power of Habit: https://geni.us/power-habit-nat Darwin's Dangerous Idea: https://geni.us/darwins-idea-nat Denial of Death: https://geni.us/denial-death-nat

Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (01:34) Why This Book (03:00) Progress is a Myth (05:52) We're Not That Different from Animals (10:03) Science is a Form of Faith (13:48) The Self is an Illusion (20:02) Morality Moves in Cycles (23:15) Our Obsession with Control (26:51) We're Terrified We're Useless (29:13) We Use Productivity as Escapism (33:13) The Purpose of Life

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What I learned from What Your Food Ate: How to Heal Our Land and Reclaim Our Health by David R. Montgomery and Anne Bikle.

Join the Nat's Notes Newsletter to get my highlights and notes from the book.

(1:25) Nutritional Differences in Organic vs. Conventional Foods

(4:09) The Effects of Plowing on Food Quality

(8:10) Why Glyphosate Might Be Killing You

(11:11) The Risk of Artificial Fertilizers vs. Manure

(15:16) Nutritional Differences in Whole vs. "White" Grains

(18:31) Effects of Pesticides and Herbicides on Mental Health

(22:41) Is Milk Healthy?

(26:33) Why Some, But Not All, Meat is Bad for Your Health

If you enjoyed this show or have any feedback, please let me know on Twitter (@nateliason) or Instagram (@nat_eliason)