The Weekly Dose...

...the latest from Dr Karan

  Here is your weekly dose...  

Hi all!Here is your weekly dose of the Sunday Six! A list of what I'm pondering and exploring. If you enjoy this please feel free to forward this to friends. families and enemies alike!**You'll find more in depth analysis of some of these subjects on my social platforms in the links just below, including Dr Karan Investigates! for deep dives into interesting topics on my YouTube channel.**

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My New Habits... 

In 2007 I was in Munich on a German exchange. Whilst over there the final Harry Potter book came out and I read all 759 pages of it in two days! I just couldn't put it down. Over the years I've been swamped with medical, science and surgical textbooks and have barely had the chance to read book just for pleasure.

However, to turn things around I've set myself the task of reading one book a week... I'm starting with a book called 'Superintelligence' by Nick Bostrom. A philosophical look at what role AI will have in orchestrating mankind's future. (Full review next week!)

Habits are important for us, they help keep us focused and having just a little structure in our life will help our mental health. 

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What I'm Watching...

Untold: Breaking PointNetflix

Netflix have a series called

'Untold:...'

 , I watched

The Girlfriend Who Didn't Exist

episode which I spoke about last week. This week I watched

 Breaking Point

 which talks about how former US number 1 men's tennis player

Mardy Fish

sacrificed his own mental health to reach this level in professional sport. Seeing somebody in the public eye, we tend not to consider what they are going through, or what they have gone through. But mental health is something that can affect anybody, and the fact that it's becoming more openly discussed is great as it allows more exposure and normalises people seeking the help they need.

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What I'm Listening to...

Lo-fi Covers of Popular SongsSpotify

I've recently got into Lo-Fi. Essentially instrumental songs that offer an alternative to vocals and step away from loud abrasive tunes and instead provides a unique soundtrack that's both calming enough to enhance studying whilst its low intensity allows you to focus on the task at hand!

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What's in the News this Week...

A headline that caught my eye this week was one insinuating that an old medicine called Minoxidil will give people a head full of hair. Minoxidil was sold in the 80's, it was a hair repair remedy that had to be massaged into the scalp.

Minoxidil was initially a drug used to help with blood pressure. One side effect of the drug was that patients were growing hair in quite random places. From this, researchers developed a way to use the drug to help male pattern baldness - hence applying it directly to the scalp as a cream.

Now, for 40 years or so the results of using Minoxidil haven't changed. The percentage of those who had favourable results though. are low. Of course, like a lot of these types of drugs, Minoxidil has a few side effects including leaving an itchy, blistered scalp and even developing acne. Some have also mentioned the drug causing more hair loss!

Do you're own research 

before using anything like this. Social Media seems to avoid giving full information about certain things in order to get attention, and can therefore be dangerous!

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What I've Been Doing...

You may have seen that I'm in Portugal this week. I was actually invited to speak at the IFS (International Fitness Summit) which is in Lisbon over this bank holiday weekend. I've been asked to join a plethora of wonderful people to talk about my rise on Social Media whilst continuing to work 60 hour weeks for the NHS.  It's an absolute honour to take to the stage alongside other fantastic Content Creators who just want to spread their knowledge. 

So I want to take this moment to say thank you to you, my extraordinary fans for your support. To know I'm able to help makes this journey worthwhile.

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Quote Me on That...

'Beliefs are hypotheses to be tested, not treasures to be guarded'Philip Tetlock

This is a quote I actually mentioned in my talk this weekend, it took me a while to understand what it meant but now I do it's an important 'idea' to follow. Basically it means be willing to be wrong. Trying to be right all the time is painful and can be emotionally draining, plus you learn more by being wrong!

As always, please give me feedback on Twitter. Which of this weeks Sunday six is your favourite? Is there something you want more, or less of? I'm open to any suggestions so please let me know! Just send a  tweet to @drkaranrajan and use the hashtag #theweeklydose at the end so I can find it!

Have a wonderful week, all.

Much love,

Karan