Weekly Reads: Air, Light, and Human Nature
Practical steps to improve your environment and relationships.
Welcome to this week's reads - three pieces with practical changes you can actually implement this weekend to improve your health and understanding of others 👋
Better air quality is the easiest way not to die
We spend most of our time indoors and in vehicles, where air quality is surprisingly worse than outside. This overlooked problem has solutions we can actually implement.
Here are some numbers: we're indoors 87% of the time, in vehicles 11%, and truly outdoors only 2%. Indoor PM levels consistently exceed outdoor levels, and these tiny particles enter our bloodstream through our lungs, triggering immune responses.
The health impact is severe. Lifelong exposure to 33.3 PM₂.₅ costs one disability-adjusted life year. At 2500 PM₂.₅, you're losing healthy time in real-time. A 2013 study found each 28.5 μg/m³ costs a full year of life.
Simple changes make a difference:
Don't use ultrasonic humidifiers.
Open your windows; ideally all day.
Use range hoods when cooking (frying spike levels to 424 μg/m³, broiling to 1256 μg/m³).
Minimize incense, candles, and hairspray.
Avoid subway systems when possible.
Invest in air purifiers and masks.
Why indoor lighting is hard to get right and how to fix it
Our lighting dramatically affects circadian rhythm, mood and alertness, and sleep quality. Most of us get inadequate light exposure, leaving us feeling tired during the day, alert at night, and struggling with seasonal depression in winter.
Natural light runs circles around artificial lighting -- often 5x brighter than indoor lighting, even on cloudy days. Artificial light has major spectral gaps compared to sunlight.
The fix mimics natural light patterns:
Target 1000+ lux across the room while working (bright enough that your computer screen looks dim).
Use 5300-6000K color temperature bulbs with high CRI (95+).
Light your full visual field, not just your desk
Switch to under 3000K lighting around 7pm
Use very dim, warm lights the last hour before bed
Buy recommendations here, here, and here.
People Are Different
We consistently underestimate how differently others think compared to us. This creates chronic misunderstanding because we assume others interpret things the same way we do.
The differences run deep - perception, thinking, feeling, taste. We communicate informally and misunderstand each other more than half the time. Are these differences from self-centered barriers to empathy? From individual backgrounds and experiences? Or inherent differences we can't possibly develop empathy for?
The practical solution isn't perfect empathy - it's making awareness of human differences a constant mental framework. This requires intensive practice until it becomes instinctual. Even when we can't empathize, we can leave room for incomprehensible differences.