Dr. Andrew Belaveshkin

Randy Pausch shot to great fame with his “last lecture,” in which he teaches all the things he learned from life shortly before he departs it. In this writing, I would like to take the opposite approach, and instead present the “first lecture,” or things I have learned from coming to consciousness in life. By coming to consciousness I mean that I was born, my intelligence matured, and then I had to decode the world I live in, since no word means what it seems it should and hidden motivations lurk around many corners. So after years of consciousness, I was finally able to discover a true self-consciousness, and when I had overcome that, a world-consciousness.   Along the way, many steps could have been eliminated and many delays saved had there been in place some social order to pass along to me the learning of past generations. But in a society dominated by conflict, with no clear cultural path, instead you are thrown to the wolves if you ask others for assessments o...

“Those who can make you believe in absurdities can make you commit atrocities” (Voltaire 1763).     Science may seem far from creativity, but that is not always true. In the past, many scientific experiments were public performances. Anatomical dissections could be witnessed in a theater by purchasing a ticket, and many physics demonstrations were conducted in public squares in front of crowds. Anyone could personally witness a scientific experiment rather than just read about it in a book. As for the social sciences, ancient Greek dramas were initially conceived as entertainment and therapeutic exercises.    By exploring intense emotions and the strengths and weaknesses of characters, audiences learn to see these traits in themselves. The Greeks considered catharsis a vital therapeutic tool—"purification" or "cleansing," often referring to releasing emotions through their expression.       Today, we see the close relationship between Philip Zimbardo...

 The 12 Stoic Commandments 1.  Who to compete with?  Compete with yesterday's Self. Strive to surpass yourself, going to bed even just a bit smarter and stronger than you were the day before. “The greatest victory is the victory over oneself,” and “one who conquers himself conquers the entire world.” 2. Whom to command?    Command yourself. The person who cannot command himself is a slave. "Who cannot obey himself will be commanded." "He who cannot command himself must obey. Some can command themselves, but still lack much to know how to obey themselves." Control yourself and observe the Stoic dichotomy of control - "You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength." 3. Who to listen to?  Listen to your reason and be inspired by the emotions it generates through rational vision. "A person must conquer his passions, or they will conquer him." You will rule over many if your mind rules over you. Reason...

 Belarusians celebrate Dziady (Дзяды), an ancient tradition of honoring ancestors. Like any true tradition, it should be a fire that we pass on, not ashes we simply revere. Let’s explore how knowing one’s genealogy supports health and well-being.     1. Increasing resilience to stress.    Studies show that people who know their family history often have greater resilience to stress. Knowing family stories helps us better understand our own identity, which in turn helps us respond more steadily to life’s challenges. People with a good understanding of their family history generally show higher confidence levels than those less familiar with their roots.    Family history research is correlated with a stronger internal locus of control, higher self-esteem, a better family atmosphere, closer bonds, less anxiety, fewer behavioral issues, and more effective stress management. Family history works as therapy. Studies show that those who participated in famil...

The dopamine-serotonin swing: from drugs to  ideologies. Our brain uses different neurotransmitter systems to interact with what lies at a distance from us. There's the “here-and-now, accessible” the liking system (oxytocin, endorphins, serotonin) – and the “future, not-here, unavailable” system – the wanting system (dopamine). The first system is active when we’re mindful, accepting reality, and present. When we slip into rumination, anxiety, or fantasy, the second system kicks in. Typically, we live mostly in the present, occasionally switching to the dopamine system for goal-setting, desires, forecasting, and planning, and then return to the present (this is a simplified explanation). Historically, escaping from reality was difficult due to its intense demands – survival, food gathering, mating, navigating threats – forcing us to remain grounded in the “here-and-now” with only brief ventures into fantasy. This created a vulnerability in our brains: a lack of brakes when consciou...

 Gray in the beard, devil in the rib - the elderly devouring their children’s future. There’s a common belief that politicians become more conservative, cautious, and less inclined to make impulsive decisions as they age. Indeed, the prefrontal cortex, the brain region involved in decision-making and impulse control, matures only around age 25. Yet experience is also necessary for wisdom, so in ancient times, one could only become a Roman consul after 42. However, for psychopathic politicians who see others merely as tools or enemies, the story is different. Research shows that after age 50, 93% of psychopaths not only fail to improve but tend to worsen in traits and behaviors (99% increase in manipulativeness, 94% in antisocial behavior, 93% in emotional abuse, 84% in psychological abuse, 58% in financial abuse, and 47% in cruelty). Psychopaths are driven to constantly raise the threshold for self-stimulation to maintain the excitement they crave, leading to a continuous increase ...

Do not mix or the hedonic escalation effect. A single dopamine trigger often has a mild impact by itself. However, a combination of triggers can create the effect of a "sum of pleasure" or "hedonic escalation," where the combined impact becomes intense, leading to uncontrolled consumption. This could involve certain pastimes (like binge-watching a series with alcohol and pizza) or specific recipes (such as salted caramel), and so on. How does it work?  We can get satiated with one or two triggers when they’re not constantly available. For example, fruits and honey are only accessible in autumn, fruits start sour and later turn sweet, and meat is fatty. This is why we quickly become oversaturated when we eat just one ingredient: pure sugar, caffeine, or salt. But carefully crafted combinations break this natural satiety. When industries combine many unpredictably strange, stimulating ingredients into a single product, it creates the effect of "sum of pleasure...

 Walking past the beautiful Bank of England building one day, I was reminded of a curious principle named after Charles Goodhart, a former advisor to the Bank of England. In 1975, he formulated a rule now known as Goodhart's Law: "Any observed statistical regularity tends to break down once pressure is applied to it for control purposes." In essence, when we set a target to achieve a certain metric, the old patterns that once made that metric meaningful stop working. Simply put, "when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure."     Epigenetic age: When we replace hard endpoints in research with biomarkers, we risk making critical errors. For example, epigenetic age can be reduced by taking vitamin D, growth hormone, folate (B9), B12, and consuming certain foods (like poultry). However, none of these interventions reduce mortality or extend lifespan.   The Vitamin D paradox: High levels of vitamin D in the blood are strongly linked to lower risks...

  Memory and five kinds of mental garbage. It ensures that we never forget how to ride a bike — a truly wonderful aspect. But it also means we can’t escape the far less pleasant memories: the sting of a shameful failure, the deep roots of ideological indoctrination, learned helplessness, addiction, and our entrenched beliefs and judgments. All this mental debris accumulates over time, making us more rigid, narrow-minded, and less curious. We miss out on opportunities and lose the joys available to us. As Alvin Toffler wisely noted, “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”   Throughout our lives, we accumulate significant “mental garbage.” Consider the following: 1. Seligman’s dog or learned helplessness. Like Harlow’s monkeys in the “pit of despair”, we fail to act in situations where we have all the necessary means because past actions were punished or rendered futile. The ...