A. J. Jacobs
A. J. Jacobs
Arnold Stephen "A. J." Jacobs, Jr.is an American journalist, author, and lecturer best known for writing about his lifestyle experiments. He is the editor at large for Esquire and has worked for the Antioch Daily Ledger and Entertainment Weekly...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionJournalist
Date of Birth20 March 1968
CountryUnited States of America
adventure dull-life should
I know that you should always say yes to adventures or you'll lead a very dull life.
compassion years practice
The year showed me beyond a doubt that everyone practices cafeteria religion... But the important lesson was this: there's nothing wrong with choosing. Cafeterias aren't bad per se... the key is in choosing the right dishes. You need to pick the nurturing ones (compassion), the healthy ones (love thy neighbor), not the bitter ones.
exercise feel-better goal
My goal? To test out every diet and exercise regimen on planet earth and figure out which work best. I sweated, I cooked, I learned to pole dance. In the end, I lost weight, lowered my cholesterol and doubled my energy level. I feel better than I ever have.
too-much plant paraphrase
The best we can do, to paraphrase Pollan, is to eat whole foods, mostly plants, and not too much.
moving technology tvs
Paintings! They're like TV, but they don't move.
procrastination voice today
How do you gag the voice in your head that says, 'You don't have to [do it] today. There's always tomorrow.'?
self improvement obsession
I'm addicted to self-improvement. The thing is, there's so damn much about myself to improve.
dna history focus
I know that history is simultaneously a bloody mess and a collection of feats so inspiring and amazing they make you proud to share the same DNA structure with the rest of humanity. I know you'd better focus on the good stuff or you're screwed.
play wimbledon bad-mood
It's hard to be in a bad mood when you're walking around looking like you're about to play the semifinals at Wimbledon.
nice health southern
My immune system has always been overly welcoming of germs. It's far too polite, the biological equivalent of a southern hostess inviting y'all nice microbes to stay awhile and have some artichoke dip.
writing years fans
I’m not a fan of ‘write what you know.’ If you don’t know, find out. I knew nothing about the Bible before I started writing ‘The Year of Living Biblically.’ That was kind of the point – to learn.
uplifting mean feel-better
I find placebos uplifting and exhilarating. It means that taking action--no matter what the action is--might help you feel better.
crazy chocolate doe
There's a lot of food restriction in the Bible, but it does say you're allowed to eat crickets, grasshoppers, and locusts. I decided to take advantage of that and eat a cricket. It was chocolate-covered, and I'm not sure that's the way they were served in Moses' time. But this was a rule that seemed crazy on the outside, then actually turned out to be pragmatic and compassionate.
ideas insane passionate
There's a very passionate pro-chewing movement on the Internet called Chewdiasm. They say that we should be chewing 50 to 100 times per mouthful, which is insane. I tried that. It takes like a day and a half to eat a sandwich. But their basic idea is right. If you chew, you'll eat slower and you will get more nutrients.