The Best Brain Pickings Articles of the Year
by Maria PopovaThe psychology of the perfect daily routine, how to criticize with kindness, the creative purpose of boredom, Kafka on what books do for the soul, and more.
After the annual reading list of the year’s best books overall, it’s time for the annual summation of the best Brain Pickings articles of the year — “best” meaning those most read and shared by you, as well as those I took the most pleasure in writing. Please (re)enjoy and have an inspired, stimulating, infinitely rewarding new year.
1. An Antidote to the Age of Anxiety: Alan Watts on Happiness and How to Live with Presence
Read the article here.
* * *
2. Fixed vs. Growth: The Two Basic Mindsets That Shape Our Lives
Read the article here.
* * *
3. How to Criticize with Kindness: Philosopher Daniel Dennett on the Four Steps to Arguing Intelligently
Read the article here.
* * *
4. Ursula K. Le Guin on Being a Man
Read the article here.
* * *
5. How to Be Alone: An Antidote to One of the Central Anxieties and Greatest Paradoxes of Our Time
Read the article here.
* * *
6. The Hidden Brain: How Ocean Currents Explain Our Unconscious Social Biases
Read the article here.
* * *
7. 7 Life-Learnings from 7 Years of Brain Pickings, Illustrated
Read the article here.
* * *
8. Kafka on Books and What Reading Does for the Human Soul
Read the article here.
* * *
9. The Benjamin Franklin Effect: The Surprising Psychology of How to Handle Haters
Read the article here.
* * *
10. The Shortness of Life: Seneca on Busyness and the Art of Living Wide Rather Than Living Long
Read the article here.
* * *
11. E.B. White’s Beautiful Letter to a Man Who Had Lost Faith in Humanity
Read the article here.
* * *
12. Debunking the Myth of the 10,000-Hours Rule: What It Actually Takes to Reach Genius-Level Excellence
Read the article here.
* * *
13. Why We Hurt Each Other: Tolstoy’s Letters to Gandhi on Love, Violence, and the Truth of the Human Spirit
Read the article here.
* * *
14. What It Takes to Design a Good Life
Read the article here.
* * *
15. Fictitious Dishes: Elegant and Imaginative Photographs of Meals from Famous Literature
Read the article here.
* * *
16. March 28, 1941: Virginia Woolf’s Suicide Letter and Its Cruel Misinterpretation in the Media
Read the article here.
* * *
17. Legendary Psychoanalyst Adam Phillips on Why the Capacity for Boredom Is Essential for a Full Life
Read the article here.
* * *
18. The Psychology of Writing and the Cognitive Science of the Perfect Daily Routine
Read the article here.
* * *
19. Why Haters Hate: Kierkegaard Explains the Psychology of Bullying and Online Trolling in 1847
Read the article here.
* * *
20. Famous Writers on the Creative Benefits of Keeping a Diary
Read the article here.
Donating = Loving
In 2014, I poured thousands of hours and tons of love into bringing you (ad-free) Brain Pickings. But it also took some hefty practical expenses to keep things going. If you found any joy and stimulation here over the year, please consider helping me fuel the former and offset the latter by becoming a Supporting Member with a recurring monthly donation of your choosing, between a cup of tea and a good dinner.
You can also become a one-time patron with a single donation in any amount.
Brain Pickings has a free weekly newsletter. It comes out on Sundays and offers the week’s best articles. Here’s what to expect. Like? Sign up.
