Social Kinetic Energy & The Roseto Mystery (From Outliers)

I was waiting at the pharmacy at the local market today and a thought struck me like a hard rock thrown at my head. The idea was “Social Kinetic Energy”. I define it as the level of interactivity between individuals within a community (usually a town, city, or family).

I believe that the more interactions a person makes with someone, the more likely they are to be happy. This is because they are in touch with the world, the society around them. For example, working at the Guess! retail store has forced me to become more social, and greet all the customer that come in. Whether or not I am having a bad day, the very role of my job in greeting people makes me more social, and more happy. Imagine yourself in your daily life. Are you someone who interacts with a lot of people during the day? Or do you feel alone as you go about your day? Are the guy who people come to at work to chat about life or ask for help? Don’t these people seem to hold more power at work too, even if their positions do not have as much authority? Even leaders are more open and more aware of what is going on when they interact with more people.

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One step at a time

A few days ago I was in a depression. My definition of depression is: “a state of being where you feel trapped, restricted, lost, and/or otherwise not living up to your full potential”.

Part of this is due to Accutane. 60 mg a day does takes it toll on the body. For the most part, the drug was considered a miracle drug when introduced over 2 decades ago, as the only “cure” for acne breakouts. While there has been no conclusive scientific study that links depression or suicidal thoughts to the drug, many patients have acknowledged a known depression curve when on high doses of Accutane. For me, this feeling just means that if you do nothing or have nothing exciting going on in your life, you will feel a little “blue”. Thus, a normal person with a healthy social life need not worry for the most part.

The medicine, at best, is a slight influence on how I feel. It tends to enhance any negative thoughts that you currently have. Behavior and conscious thought is still personal choice, as we deliberately control and direct them. Read more