I'm not formed of myself alone

The way I explain it to my patients is that our neurons don’t regenerate. They make connections with each other and that’s it. If you don’t use your brain, they make fewer connections and, if one of them dies, you’re gonna miss it, because that was the only one that knew how to do X. Now, if each one of them has many, many connections, you won’t notice the difference when one of them dies. The others pick up the slack.

As of 2024, 45% of dementia risk factors are modifiable. Relevant to this conversation, 5% for less education and 5% for social isolation.

We absolutely are going to see the reflection of this, but it’s gonna take decades and it’ll be too late. So, for the love of your brain, pretend that it’s a muscle and make it work. People complain about “when am I ever gonna use this maths formula in my life?” You’re not. You’re teaching your brain to think logically. Those sinapses will be there for when you need to figure out your week’s schedule. English classes taught me how to interpret data and how to convey it in this text so it’s clear and you understand what I’m saying, not because I needed to justify why the curtain is blue.

Make your brain know how to do different things. Logic games, puzzles, taking care of a garden even if small, planning a church’s event or birthday, learn a new instrument, learn a few words in another language, look at a calendar every day, do some manual labor if possible. Do not, I repeat, do not let your brain get rid of sinapses by letting AI do everything. Your brain uses 20% of your body’s energy — do you really think it’s going to maintain connexions that aren’t in use?

Most cases of Alzheimer’s are sporadic, meaning no family history. Family history of a first-degree relative with Alzheimer’s starting before they were 80yo increases your risk in 2-3x on average.

- O. Children: really amazing goth music, Black lead singer, they aren’t making music anymore but what they’ve put out is amazing

- Overthrust: a death metal band from Botswana (Botswana has a real cool metal and rock culture, just real fun to look into outside of listening to it)

- Jhariah: an amazing Black alternative artist, I love all of their music, I grew up listening to them to be honest

- Sepultura: Brazilian heavy metal band, one of the main singers is Black, their music is epic

- Filth: another amazing metal band, I believe from somewhere in America, one of the singers is Black, and they’ve got a real cool album called “Southern Hostility”

- Loathe: yet another metal band, but they’re actually metalcore band I’m pretty sure, one of the main singers is Black and their music is less headbangy and more smooth and sad

- Zulu: an all Black metal band, their music very cool, I personally like their song “Protest Song ‘68”

- Move BHC: really epic metal, main singer is Black and their music is very political (in a good way) it really helps when the world feels like it sucks to put them on and just feel the anger

- Living Colour: of course! We have to include them, my favorite band of all time, I got to see them live recently actually :D their music is funk metal- just so amazing

- Public Enemy: for people who aren’t as into metal but still are into political and well worded music, their music is great (I’m sure everyone knows since they’re so popular lol but I felt like I needed to include them)

- Mon Rovia: really great folk music that still has a political undertone, I especially like his song “Heavyfoot” it addresses a lot of current issues in a tactful and beautiful way

- This isn’t a specific artist but “Dinner Party: Dessert” is an amazing album that has so many talented Black artists on it, my favorite song is “From My Heart and My Soul”

- Also not a specific artist but the whole Sinners album (both theatrical soundtrack and score)

- Also not an artist but the “Summer of Soul” documentary’s album, just chefs kiss

- Meshell Ndegeochello: AMAZING MUSIC, my favorite album is “The Omnichord Real Book”

- Burna Boy: need I say more? I will, his music is absolutely beautiful and I’d recommend it to anyone who asked

- 24-7 Spyz: funky heavy metal, their music is amazing, I so recommend!!!

- Tyler, the Creator: just an amazing artist! Recommend his music lots!!!!

- Stevie Wonder: obviously! He got so popular for a reason! His music is amazing

- Vieux Farka Touré: Amazing music, my favorite song of his is “Diaraby Magni”

- Soul Glo: an all Black hardcore band from Philadelphia!! My favorite song of theirs is “Gold Chain Punk”

Ok so I may have written way too much I apologize

Hope this helps anyone trying to diversify their music tastes, ESPECIALLY metal fans, there are always Black people in all music forms, stop saying “oh there’s no Black people in metal” YES there is!!! And their music is amazing!

The familiar, hierarchical sequence of math instruction starts with counting, followed by addition and subtraction, then multiplication and division. The computational set expands to include bigger and bigger numbers, and at some point, fractions enter the picture, too. Then in early adolescence, students are introduced to patterns of numbers and letters, in the entirely new subject of algebra. A minority of students then wend their way through geometry, trigonometry and, finally, calculus, which is considered the pinnacle of high-school-level math.

But this progression actually “has nothing to do with how people think, how children grow and learn, or how mathematics is built,” says pioneering math educator and curriculum designer Maria Droujkova. She echoes a number of voices from around the world that want to revolutionize the way math is taught, bringing it more in line with these principles.

The current sequence is merely an entrenched historical accident that strips much of the fun out of what she describes as the “playful universe” of mathematics, with its more than 60 top-level disciplines, and its manifestations in everything from weaving to building, nature, music and art. Worse, the standard curriculum starts with arithmetic, which Droujkova says is much harder for young children than playful activities based on supposedly more advanced fields of mathematics.