This episode’s vocabulary
Physiology
noun — (the scientific study of) the way in which the bodies of living things work.
Hooked
adj. — strongly attracted to something or someone.
Fiction
noun — literature in the form of prose that describes imaginary events and people.
Nonfiction
noun — writing that is about real events and facts, rather than stories that have been invented.
Well-informed
adj. — having extensive knowledge especially of current topics and events.
Discerning
adj. — showing good judgment, especially about style and quality.
Misinformation
noun — wrong information, or the fact that people are misinformed.
To plough through something
phrasal verb — to go through a substance or an area of something with difficulty.
To pique
verb — to excite or cause interest.
Confluence
noun — a situation in which two things join or come together.
Questions and answers
I've actually taken a real interest in physiology lately. That's the study of how living systems like the human body work. Usually, it's only doctors or other medical professionals that deal with things like this, but I saw a few books being recommended on Instagram last year, and this influencer was going on about how they could be really helpful to read for understanding how the body works. So I picked them up, and I've been hooked on it ever since, actually. I always think it's a good idea to read about different things, and so I try and balance my fiction and nonfiction reading. So this came quite naturally to me. It was also helped along by the fact that I've been doing a lot of yoga and other kinds of exercise of late. So I thought it would be useful to help build up my knowledge in that area to, well, just to support my understanding of how things can or should work. I suppose it's also nice to just know things as well. Actually, now I think about it, I remember reading about how knowing facts is a great foundation for skill building, so it also makes sense from that perspective. Anyway, when it comes to the where and when of it all, I usually get some input when I go to my yoga classes. The teachers there are reasonably well-informed and do a good job of explaining how different things work and move. I also get a lot from videos online. There's this genre of content on YouTube that gets called science-based fitness, or bro science, if you aren't a great fan of it. And I pick up a lot from there. I think I have to be a bit more discerning with the online content because of all the misinformation these days. Lastly, like I said, I bought a few books on the matter as well, and I've been ploughing through them in a bid to understand a bit more about how things should go together. I'm not sure what piqued my interest in particular. I suppose it's the confluence of things. Everyone wants to be healthier these days, and I'm quite into exercise and fitness, and I love knowing and learning about things, so it all just came together quite nicely. If I hadn't made the effort to earn about it, I think I'd be a lot worse off.
And what about your friends? Do they enjoy this subject?
We've discussed it briefly, but I don't know if they enjoy it a great deal.