Cheating Death

Someday, you’re going to die. This is an obvious, unavoidable fact of life—yet almost everyone in modern society has implicitly agreed to ignore it. According to spiritual teacher Sadhguru, this reluctance to acknowledge death leads to enormous and unnecessary suffering. He argues that if you form a peaceful relationship to your own death, you’ll be empowered to live a more balanced, joyful life. More than that, it’ll help you prepare for your death—and what comes afterward.

In this guide, we’ll explain Sadhguru’s vision of the universe, including the nature of the human spirit and the afterlife. We’ll also detail some of the spiritual practices he suggests to soften and overcome death-related fears. In our commentary, we’ll compare Sadhguru’s spiritual ideas to those of major Eastern religions, including Hinduism and Buddhism, to build a bigger picture of what people believe about death. Additionally, we’ll draw on psychological research that offers a more secular perspective on Sadhguru’s ideas.

How much do you know about the universe you live in? Thanks to scientific discoveries of the twentieth century, scientists have gained insight into many of nature’s secrets, from the origin of the universe to the nature of space and time. In A Brief History of Time, physicist Stephen Hawking explains these insights for a general audience.

In this guide, we’ll present Hawking’s exposition of modern physics through the lens of five big questions that the book answers: Is reality relative or absolute? Is the future predetermined? How did the universe begin? What is the nature of a black hole? And can you build a time machine? Where applicable, we’ll also examine how Hawking’s assertions and predictions stack up to new data that scientists have collected since the book was published.

Since humans first looked up, we’ve wondered about our place in the cosmos, yet everything we’ve learned has shown that our ignorance still outstrips our knowledge. While to some that may seem disheartening, science educator Neil deGrasse Tyson finds it exciting to know there’s so much left in the universe to discover. The study of astrophysics, he says, gives us a valuable perspective on ourselves while revealing the nature of the universe in which we live.

Tyson explains in layman’s terms how physicists use the fundamentals of science and the full range of visible and invisible light to unravel the mysteries of the cosmos. He then goes on to cover the three biggest mysteries in astrophysics today—the origin of the universe, dark matter, and dark energy—while making a case for the benefits of understanding where we fit in the universal scheme. In this guide, we’ll also provide the historical context for astronomy’s groundbreaking discoveries and explain in more depth the current theories that are guiding astrophysics’ progress.

Though we don’t like to think about it, we’re all going to get old. But in Ageless, physicist-turned-biologist Andrew Steele contends that aging isn’t as inevitable as it seems. Steele argues that we can treat—and even cure—aging. He explains that scientists are on the cusp of discovering anti-aging therapies and treatments that could lengthen the human lifespan and enable us to live many more years in good health, thus ensuring our health is no longer dependent on our chronological age.

In this guide, we’ll examine Steele’s explanations of the processes that make us grow sicker and slower as we age, the treatments you can expect to see in the future, and the scientifically proven steps you can take right now to slow your own aging process. We’ll also put Steele’s ideas into the context of the latest research in the field, and we’ll compare his predictions to those of other experts. (Spoiler alert: Steele is very optimistic about your chances of living a long and healthy life!)

For all of recorded history, people have seen aging as an inevitable fact of life. Biologist and geneticist David Sinclair disagrees: He believes that old age is a deadly disease, and he’s dedicated his life to curing it.

Sinclair is a professor of genetics and co-director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for Biology of Aging Research at Harvard University. He argues that it’s not only possible—but inevitable—that we’ll learn to overcome the aging process. New medicines and technologies will increase our maximum lifespan and years of health until eventually humans won’t have a maximum lifespan—we’ll stay young and healthy forever.

In Lifespan, Sinclair discusses why aging happens, how we can prevent it, and how we might create a world where nobody has to die of old age. This guide explains Sinclair’s ideas and provides background information to make complex biological concepts more accessible to the average reader.

Most people believe that mental and physical deterioration go hand in hand with aging. They assume that, with every year that passes, they’ll look and feel older, suffer more aches and pains, and become more susceptible to debilitating diseases that nudge them closer to death.

Entrepreneur, Silicon Valley investor, and best-selling author Dave Asprey argues that you can grow older in years and extend your lifespan without suffering these ill effects. In Super Human, he draws on advancements in anti-aging science to explore ways to slow down and reverse the aging process, optimize your mental and physical health, and extend your lifespan.

This guide explores Asprey’s advice for improving your health now while ensuring you live a longer, healthier, and more youthful life in the future. Additionally, we’ll expand on each of his ideas with research, advice, and actionable ideas from health practitioners and longevity specialists.

Why do we get sick? Why hasn’t natural selection, over millions of years, prevented us from getting cancer, heart disease, and depression?

The science of evolutionary medicine says that our bodies have evolved over millions of years as a set of compromises, largely in pursuit of reproductive fitness. Put concisely, whatever gets you to survive and have kids is going to persist in the gene pool, even if it causes you lots of disease and pain in adult life. Learn more about the evolutionary roots of obesity, infectious disease, aging, and depression.

Though we don’t like to think about it, we’re all going to get old. But in Ageless, physicist-turned-biologist Andrew Steele contends that aging isn’t as inevitable as it seems. Steele argues that we can treat—and even cure—aging. He explains that scientists are on the cusp of discovering anti-aging therapies and treatments that could lengthen the human lifespan and enable us to live many more years in good health, thus ensuring our health is no longer dependent on our chronological age.

In this guide, we’ll examine Steele’s explanations of the processes that make us grow sicker and slower as we age, the treatments you can expect to see in the future, and the scientifically proven steps you can take right now to slow your own aging process. We’ll also put Steele’s ideas into the context of the latest research in the field, and we’ll compare his predictions to those of other experts. (Spoiler alert: Steele is very optimistic about your chances of living a long and healthy life!)

Even though we’re all human, most of us don’t understand what drives people (including ourselves) to feel and behave the way we do. In The Laws of Human Nature, author Robert Greene looks at several laws that explain, among other things, why we self-sabotage, behave differently in groups, and want the wrong things.

Armed with the knowledge of these fundamentals of human nature, you can manage toxic people, become more empathetic, make people like you, and control your own nature.

Why does life work the way it does? Are life’s features the product of random genetic mutations, or did organisms have to evolve a certain way to overcome specific physical and chemical challenges? In The Vital Question, Nick Lane argues that genetics can’t give us the answer by itself. To explain the origin of life, we have to understand how cells make use of energy and what environmental conditions gave rise to the molecular power plants found in every living thing.

In this guide, we’ll explore the biochemistry of cells and how it may have developed on the very young Earth. We’ll explain why Lane believes all complex life emerged from a single instance of symbiosis between two very different single-celled creatures. We’ll expand on fundamentals of biology and genetics, discuss alternate views to some of Lane’s proposals, and point to the directions research is now taking to gain a fuller understanding of life’s origins.

What can you learn from 5,000 years of history? Are we in truly novel times, or do we face the same problems that the Romans and Egyptians faced 2,000 years ago?

Will & Ariel Durant, Pulitzer Prize winning historians, are famed for writing The Story of Civilization, a massive 9766-page, 11-volume treatise of the entirety of Western history. They compiled the most important recurring patterns in this book. Ray Dalio, founder of the world’s largest hedge fund Bridgewater, considers this one of his 3 must-read books.

Learn how human nature hasn’t changed over thousands of years, how societies cycle between inequality and redistribution like a heartbeat, and why eventually all civilizations fall.

The Beginning of Infinity is a counterargument to the belief—advanced by numerous scientists and philosophers throughout history—that there is a finite amount of knowledge in the universe. Theoretical physicist David Deutsch rejects the idea that humanity will someday know everything there is to know, and he explains why this belief is not only wrong, but harmful.

Deutsch argues instead that there’s no limit to knowledge, because rather than simply “finding” it, we constantly create it through questions, studies, and calculations. And because there’s no limit to the knowledge we can create, there’s no limit to how much we can improve the world.

In this guide, we’ll provide background information and real-world applications to support Deutsch’s more complicated ideas, and we’ll compare his theories to those of other scientists and disciplines.

What’s out there in the vast reaches of space? Are we alone in the universe? Renowned astronomer Carl Sagan offers some insight into these questions and many more in his widely acclaimed book, Cosmos.

Sagan is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and perhaps the greatest astronomer of our age. In this book, he provides a comprehensive description of the science, philosophy, and history of astronomical discovery, from ancient Ionia to the time of the book’s publication in 1980.

In this guide, we’ll delve into Sagan’s theories about the possibility of interstellar travel, the search for extraterrestrial life, and man’s quest for understanding the mysteries of the universe. As we go along, we’ll update the information with the most recent scientific discoveries and provide perspectives from other experts in related fields.