A "Hack"

I am re-reading The War of Art, a book I read about 6 years ago and blogged about back then.  

I find the book a fascinating and moving read for many reasons.  Today I just want to make a note of Pressfield's account of what he calls "the hack".  This insight really resonates with me and is one that  I have tried to sustain for a quarter of a century in my academic writing, I believe it is the reason why my motivation for research and writing today burns just as passionately today as it did when I first completed my PhD. 

A hack (p. 152):  someone who second guesses their audience.  A hack doesn't write from their heart, but rather asks "what is the market looking for?"  The hack writes hierarchically, which means they write what they think will play well in the eyes of others versus what they authentically want to write or think is important.  In writing hacks function like politicians who first ask the public what they want before taking a position on such matter.  They pander to their audience.  

Cheers, 

Colin   

Taurine and Aging

Science has a new study on the effects of taurine on aging.

The editor's abstract:

Some studies (including work published in 2023 by Singh et al.) have indicated that taurine concentrations decline with age, and supplementation has been suggested to improve both healthspan and lifespan. Fernandez et al. now report results in mice, nonhuman primates, and three distinct large human cohorts studied longitudinally (i.e., with repeated measurements of the same individuals) that yield a more complex picture. The authors found large interindividual variation in circulating taurine concentrations and an increase in taurine concentrations with age for women. There was also no clear association of taurine concentrations with measures of health status. Thus, the possible beneficial effects of taurine supplementation are likely to depend on a range of variables and individual context. —L. Bryan Ray

Nature news has a news item as well. 

Cheers, 

Colin