Mastery

The suffix '-ness' can transform a plain word into something stranger and affectingly abstract. For example, 'dark' is factual, whereas 'darkness' is more graphic and poetic.

Other words that already follow this form: the unvisitedness of our parents and grandparents. The unembracedness of our friends. The egglessness of our pantries.

To show the depths of your connection with a place or feeling, simply adding an 'r' or an 'er' to the end of a noun can show a new existential title.
Jane Austen christened a group of random gamblers around a casino table, all coming from the 'outside,' as 'outsiders.' In her novel Emma, she turned the word 'sympathy' into 'sympathizer,' the first recorded use of that word.

The environment has a large effect on personality and mental health. However, genetics may drive us to extract aspects of the environment that match our actual predispositions.

Genes and the environment work together as a dynamic system. Because of that, you can always change it through psychological therapies that can teach you techniques to cope.

Shyness in itself is quite common and normal, but it can become a problem if it develops into social anxiety where you avoid things that need to be done. You might not be able to talk to people at work or have difficulties socializing.

Businesses can categorize employees:

• Location-independent. Knowledge workers are not dependent on location and don't need to be in an office.
• Location-frequent. These people spend half their time in an office and half remote. They need an in-person base to use for coordination and physical meetings. These are often salespeople, marketing people, back-office services (IT, HR, finance), and creative jobs.
• Mandatory in-office jobs. These involve specialized equipment that you can't put in an employee's home, such as manufacturing jobs.

Far more job functions can be done remotely if company leadership will accept it. But, remote work is not for everyone. Some jobs are tied to physical locations or equipment. Some people also do not want to work from home.

In-office employees that transition to remote work need to be equipped. Spending recommendations are:

• A one-time stipend to purchase some office furniture and other miscellaneous work equipment.
• Basic ergonomic training.
• The same class of laptop or workstation they'd get in the office.
• A monthly stipend to offset some or all home broadband costs.
• IT support costs.
• Basic, yet complete tech loadout, such as laptop, secondary monitor, mouse, keyboard, wired earbuds, USB hub, chair that meets ergonomic needs.

... or the collection addiction, was first spotted in Thomas Frognall Dibdin’s novels and it describes the unstoppable act of collecting first editions and illustrated copies of literature. 

Later on, the same term would describe a person who is more passionate about rather than obsessed with building up a collection of literature.

Though both terms are used in order to describe behaviours related to readers, Tsundoku implies the idea of having as goal to read books rather than to simply collect them, while Bibliomania refers to the will to collect books, rather than to read them.

The Pokémon craze was in full bloom when the first movie of the franchise debuted in 1999, though the parent company Nintendo made huge waves with the innovative, crazy-good NES console in 1983. The games were imaginative and beautiful, becoming extremely popular all across the world.

In 1989, Nintendo’s handheld console, Game Boy, in which many games including Pokémon debuted, changed the way games were consumed both by adults and children.

• The game is set in a fictional village where players explore the rivers and forests searching for creatures(or monsters) which are for taming and training.
• The game was designed to compel the player to seek out other players and network with them to complete their mission.
• American companies like Atari provided a primitive gaming experience when compared to the explorative, dream-like atmosphere and playing complexity provided by Game Boy.
• The game was originally considered too cute for American gaming customers, where macho men and femme fatales were preferred to school children and ‘Hello Kitty’ styled monsters.

A high-protein diet is essential for us to help our body grow and repair. We have been told to eat approximately 55 gm of protein daily for males, and 45 gm for females, based on average weights.

Not eating enough of protein can also have side effects like hair loss.

The protein supplement market had a valuation of USD 12.4 billion in 2016.

The way protein is packed in everything from candy bars to ‘high protein’ versions of staple products, it is becoming clear that it is an ongoing health fad. Many experts believe that products with ‘inflated protein’ are a waste of money.

When we're bored, two key things are happening in our minds: One is a 'desire bind' where someone wants to do something but not anything that's on offer. The other is when your mind is itching to be engaged.

Our first instinct when we experience some boredom is to fill it with Netflix lists, Instagram feeds, and TikTok videos. Riding out this boredom is vital though.

Boredom is not in itself creative. It's what it leads to that is significant. In the gap of boredom, you're motivated to look for something else, and there's a real chance you'll discover something new.

• Banks are better able to handle a financial crisis than a decade ago. The 2008 recession was about the housing market and shares, which affected higher income groups.
• The present crisis seems to be hitting the lower-income groups, the vulnerable workers, young, and less skilled. It is similar to the late 70s, early 80s recession, which affected young and unskilled workers.
• Another lesson from 2008 is that recessions don't always lead to significant numbers of job losses. Layoffs were concentrated among a small number of people, and they stayed unemployed for a long time.
• In this recession, far more workers will be at risk if social-distancing rules remain in place over a long period.

• A drop in GDP was expected during the 2020 lockdown. Shops and businesses were closed, and the total value produced by goods and services decreased. In turn, this affected the staff of those businesses earning less money.
• Furloughs. At its peak, about nine million people in the UK were paid a furlough - the government paid 80% of their salaries, and the employer could choose to top up the rest. Other countries have similar state-backed furlough schemes. These schemes will be coming to an end, and employers will have to decide if they have to lay off employees permanently.
• The losses are not yet crystalising. People are taking mortgage and credit holidays. It means the losses are pushed further down the road. The financial sector bubble will burst, and we will see real turmoil again.

Imagine living in a world without rules. 

• Language follows rules. Breaking away from the rules of language makes us incoherent.
• Consider the rules of sport or games, the rules of chess or football. Without the rules, chess wouldn't be chess. A game without rules is no game at all.
• Daily norms tell us what we can and can't do and make our social interactions run smoothly.
• Rules about driving on the left or the right, not littering, queueing are the building blocks of a harmonious society.

Some people would prefer a society without government, where individual freedom comes first.

However, a world that promotes anarchy is inherently unstable. Humans continually make new rules to govern and do so as quickly as old rules are overturned.

Whenever you feel like you are spending way too much time on your screen, consider setting clear boundaries: it is not the same to work and to just waste your time by watching things that might even end up increasing your anxiety.

Therefore, try using a separate device for work and personal activities and, the most important, make sure to set a limit to the amount of time spent while checking news on social media.

Whenever you choose to spend your time on checking social media, make sure this is not a wasted time.

So why not trying to learn something useful during the days when you cannot leave your house due to different reasons?