Altered traits
by Daniel Goleman · first published 2017
64% recommend27% neutral9% critical
Why HN recommends it
Summarizes the research on meditation, separating the many weak studies from well-controlled ones and covering different practices' distinct effects. Suits readers wanting evidence-based science over hype.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
More than forty years ago, two friends and collaborators at Harvard, Daniel Goleman and Richard Davidson were unusual in arguing for the benefits of meditation. Now, as mindfulness and other brands of meditation become ever more popular, promising to fix everything from our weight to our relationship to our professional career, these two bestselling authors sweep away the misconceptions around these practices and show how smart practice can change our personal traits and even our genome for the better. Drawing on cutting-edge research, Goleman and Davidson expertly reveal what we can learn fro
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…me from wandering into dangerous territories by accident. I'd have to make an effort to go past them. I won't do that. Had enough of it already. I know what's good or bad for me. I recommend the book "Altered Traits". It looks at some benefits of meditation documented using scientific methods. But it also says that it may not be good for everyone. Specifically, it may be dangerous for people struggling with depression.
on “What adolescents think of mindfulness in schools” ↗The book they mention, Altered Traits, is a great read for those interested in what hard facts the numerous studies on the subject have yielded so far (+ some nice stories about "olympic level meditators"). The authors make a point of painstakingly…
on “The Remarkable Brain Waves of High Level Meditators [video]” ↗Mindfulness meditation still does nothing. Read "Altered Traits" - the author practiced for 10 years and then ended up taking medication to control blood pressure.
on “Can you warm yourself with your mind?” ↗Different types of meditation actually have very different outcomes. This is well researched. If you want to dive into the topic, I can recommend the book "Altered Traits".
on “Study suggests daily meditation slows brain aging” ↗There is actually a decent book written on this subject Altered Traits. It starts pointing out that there are thousands of studies on meditation, but many of them are pretty poor quality, lack controls, etc. so they only discuss the ones worth studying.
on “Study suggests daily meditation slows brain aging” ↗…including yoga and buddhism empathize breathing. Couple great books that touch on this are: Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art https://www.amazon.com/Breath-New-Science-Lost-Art/dp/073521... and Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Brain https://www.amazon.com/Altered-Traits-Science-Reveals-Medita...
on “Why the vagus nerve is so exciting to scientists” ↗There is a lot of research. Check out the book “Altered Traits”.
on “Study links mindfulness and meditation to narcissism and “spiritual superiority”” ↗> I think it is safe to assume that Long Term Happiness changes the brain "permanently" in the same manner. Good intuition, and now we have hard scientific data to support it: https://www.amazon.com/Altered-Traits-Science-Reveals-Medita... Please note I am using a somewhat more general meaning of the word "happiness" than usually understood. Also, in your statement I would replace "same manner" with "similar…
on “Long Term Depression Permanently Changes the Brain” ↗…reaching full detachment (Nirvana). You can also do both together." The stated goal of Buddhism is lack of desire. The stated goal of modern meditation is a reduction in cortisol/blood pressure(source: Altered Traits) and improvements in the frontal cortex(source: Kelly McGonigal). Neither of these work better than medicine for the former or say, athletic training, for the latter. Meditation is magic to HN. It's…
on “Wim Hof’s teachings about breath work and the health benefits of cold plunges” ↗The book Altered Traits goes over a lot of the scientific results, I think it's two chapters of the book that cover this stuff. One of the studies they cover studied people who had never meditated, people with 10,000 hours and…
on “The effect of meditation on brain structure (2012)” ↗…by asceticism and a way to let go of wordly desires and ignore the outside world, to ease suffering. Everything else is fluff by pseudo-intellectuals who will flood below this post. As a side note "Altered Traits" was a useless, garbage, author-self-promotion book with no actual info, thanks for nothing HN.
on “Life Is Made of Unfair Coin Flips” ↗I read Altered Traits at the behest of someone here. All I got of it was "I studied meditation for months to reduce my blood pressure, it didn't do anything, so I took some pills, and that was great, but you should meditate."…
on ““Really successful people say no to almost everything”” ↗This is a valid concern. Most likely meditation doesn't do anything at all. If you trust "Western Research", e.g. reading "Altered Traits", it either did nothing, or changes were noticeable after years. Concrete example - the author (or one of) practice meditation for 2 years to reduce his blood pressure and then ended up just taking some…
on “Meditation and the Unconscious” ↗Go through my profile - I have been posting on this topic for a while, including in this thread. I recently read "Altered Traits", as a result of threads like these. Unfortunately, instead of the promised research, it was tripe that culminated in "I started taking medication for my high blood pressure because meditation doesn't…
on “Breathing habits are related to physical and mental health” ↗…Dislikes also let you discover funny trends among the people here. For example, if you say meditation doesn't work, that's one. Even though there is evidence that it doesn't, and if you read something like "Altered Traits" by leading meditation research, they essentially admit as much. There are a couple other trigger topics, but I can't remember at this time. Oh, one is asking about salary, but I guess that's sort of…
on “The Silence Is Deafening” ↗