JEREMY CÔTÉ

In the early 19th century, psychologists feared that imaginary friends could be a sign of emotional unstability or psychological problems in children.

But over the last two decades, scientists have learned that invisible friends are really a sign of positive developmental progress.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb defines a Stoic as someone who, “transforms fear into prudence, pain into transformation, mistakes into initiation and desire into undertaking.”

Buying stuff, big or small, seems like an end goal, a fulfilment of our desires. In reality, any purchase transforms into a never-ending list of problems, as stuff needs to be fixed, returned, consumed, or bought again.

A product bought for leisure and comfort demands more of our time, ene...