Articles — Choosing Well

Work & Learning

In Defence of the Unoccupied Mind

Few findings in psychology capture what we have gradually lost as sharply as a 2014 University of Virginia study. Researchers led by Timothy Wilson left participants alone in an empty room for between six and fifteen minutes with nothing to do but think, then gave them the option of self-administering a mild electric shock instead. A striking number chose the shock, two-thirds of the men and a quarter of the women, even though they had earlier said they would pay money to avoid that very shock.

by Nithya Kishore

Choosing Well

Is Gen-Z More Self-Aware But Not Always Self-Directed?

Young people talk about themselves in a markedly different way, and I find myself more relieved than worried. It is now common to hear a seventeen-year-old say that a conversation left them anxious, or that they need clearer boundaries with friends, or even that a sharp reaction was a trauma response rather than simple rudeness. When I was their age, we felt all these things just as deeply, but rarely had the words for them. Most of us settled for saying we were “fine.” There is a kind of relief in hearing this new generation name their experiences so precisely. They have a language we never did, and it opens up possibilities we could not have imagined.

by Nithya Kishore

Work & Learning

Is Learning Finally Getting Democratised, Or Are We Opening A New Pandora’s Box?

Amit Shekhar’s journey is one I often think of when I consider what democratised learning can mean. He found himself with a civil engineering degree he never truly chose, feeling as if those years had slipped away. Yet his turning point did not come from another formal qualification, but from a free online book, and then a trail of tutorials, blogs, and forums he followed on his own. Within a year, he had learned enough to solve a startup interview problem and land a job.

by Nithya Kishore

Choosing Well

What Betting Is Teaching Our Children

A few months ago, a parent I have known for a few years reached out to me, sounding worried. Her sixteen-year-old son had become absorbed in fantasy cricket apps. I asked if it involved money. But she was rather troubled by the way his mood seemed to rise and fall. I did not have a ready answer then. Yet her question lingered, opening up a much larger conversation: one that stretches far beyond a single app or a single child.

by Nithya Kishore