For my music studio I’ve enjoyed the M1 mini since it is totally silent and am eager to read some noise tests on the new M4 mini.

FWIW, I have a similar athletic history & am about 9 years into chronic fatigue syndrome. Mine’s likely post viral, but I can also remember a 24 hour race where I finished not feeling like myself anymore. I’ve had extreme exercise intolerance and all of the typical CFS symptoms. I’ve been to dozens of doctors and several top institutions with no answers yet.

3 years into it, I was diagnosed with mild sleep apnea — even though I’m not overweight.

I’m finally feeling somewhat better after eliminating all caffeine (I only had 1 8oz cup every morning), plus 4 months off of any exercise, work, and as much stress as possible. Some of my mysterious and long-lasting symptoms, such as various food intolerances & dizziness, suddenly resolved.

I stopped drinking alcohol a long while ago too, thinking even my occasional drinking could impact my sleep and recovery.

I still experience post-exertional malaise if I go above zone 2, but I can now tolerate zone 2 workouts without the typical crashes that would occur 24-48 hours after exercise and would last for days.

I’ll likely be on a nice e-bike soon, so that I can keep my heart rate more stable and low over hilly terrain.

The linked article and others have convinced me that CFS can be caused by viruses.

There's one important and tricky question: is a viral infection necessary to trigger CFS in humans (such as long COVID or in this linked article), or is an extremely stressful series of events (which could include the physical stress of a severe viral infection) sufficient?

Giving a certain interpretation of their comment, I think the physician could be stating that they've seen patients with CFS that has been triggered by stressful events alone. I think this can coexist with the linked research if CFS can be triggered by stress OR a virus.

When chronic stress is mentioned as a factor, that should not be interpreted as being a psychological predisposition ("it is all in their head"). Instead, it is a predisposition on a cellular level.

The brain regions involved in central sensitization are tightly linked with those involved in chronic stress. Animal models of chronic stress lead to central sensitization of pain, as do animal models of chronic illness. Chronic stress causes an immense amount of remodeling in the brain and the rest of the body.

Proving or disproving that CFS can be triggered by chronic stress alone is difficult because CFS is a diagnosis of exclusion. Diagnosis can take a long time. We humans are always getting viruses and occasionally enduring stressful life events, so it is difficult to untangle the two.

If we look at my personal history, my diagnosis took several years (above average for CFS patients). I can point to 3 stressful life events and 2 viral illnesses that might have preceded CFS onset. The cause for my CFS remains a mystery.

Without a mechanism and diagnostic test for CFS, I think this question will remain unanswered.

I think it is contentious to say that CFS is an endpoint of central sensitization. It might be, but it also might be related to mitochondrial dysfunction or another mechanism-- too soon to tell, in my opinion. Central sensitization is certainly a component, but I do not think it is proven to be the only component. I should say that I'm extremely biased towards believing in central sensitization as the cause of many things because that was the primary focus of my research.

Again, without a mechanism and a diagnostic test for CFS, much is murky. Viral infection can at least be a cause. I think we're far away from having a tidy answer like the story of H. pylori and ulcers though.

My friend's brother has absolute pitch. I've played 10 note chords for him & he can pick out every note and also tell me if each note is in tune, sharp, or flat.

He is a high school band director. I can imagine that this is a very useful skill for his job.

I had always assumed they could still intuitively match pitch and just had an extra information overlay.

Do these people you know who dislike transposed covers also dislike genres of music with dissonant elements, such as certain types of jazz or microtonal music?

Otherwise, yeah probably a multiple battery solution.

I don't really see myself caring about the movies during a flight use case.

For working during a flight, I'd greatly prefer the Vision Pro, as I am easily distracted by my surroundings and would value the improved ergonomics over being hunched over a laptop (I'm flying in coach). And for reading PDFs and web browsing, ergonomics again seem superior to a smartphone or tablet.

Interestingly, the Quest 2 seemed less buggy when I had one.

"Practical Electronics for Inventors" is another good one that I found much more approachable and also more inspiring.

This occurred prior to the official training that's occurring now but after the decriminalization of drugs in Oregon. The guide was not a licensed clinician, but she had guided 100s of clients.

My mother-in-law found it incredibly helpful in processing traumas from childhood and in getting "unstuck" in thinking patterns. She described the experience as a seismic shift.

She had been in therapy for her entire life. I suspect that her prior therapy had laid the groundwork for understanding the thinking patterns that weren't serving her.

My wife and I have noticed a subtle personality change. She seems happier and more open to new ideas. This personality change seems to have faded slightly with time. These are of course just our observations, which could be completely off.

Psilocybin mushrooms grow everywhere here in the Pacific Northwest-- I see them all of the time in mulch around our city. I've had many friends take them recreationally, and none of these friends have had such an impactful experience. All of this is anecdotal of course, but it leads me to believe that working with a therapist might be essential for efficacy of the therapy.

I'm a neuroscience researcher, and I'm hopeful that these treatments will be helpful for many people. It is tragic that there haven't been more clinical trials. I'm hesitant to try them myself until there's more data. If I was suffering from intractable depression or anxiety, I'd feel differently.