English edition

Mouton

A personal archive. I try things I'm curious about, make things, and keep a record of the process. I write about philosophy and how to live, the body, food, and work, checking papers and data along the way.

These essays were first written in Japanese. Product recommendations in the original articles point to Japanese shops, so the English edition describes what to look for without shop links. 日本語版はこちら

Journal — 59 articles

Philosophy

2026.10.07 Can you be happy when every day is the same? Camus wrote that we must imagine the man who pushes a boulder forever as happy. 3 min read 2026.10.07 Condemned to be free A paper knife has a purpose. A person doesn't. Sartre's lecture on the weight of choosing. 3 min read 2026.10.07 Are you worrying too much about what you can't change? What's up to you, and what isn't. Thinking from the first line the Stoics drew 2,000 years ago. 4 min read 2026.10.06 Books to read when you want to change your habits Six books chosen with research in mind, with the caveats later studies found. Pick by problem. 5 min read 2026.10.06 Books to read when you want to think about how to live Meaning, freedom, other people's judgment. Four books for going deeper into the questions in these essays. 3 min read 2026.10.06 Can you stop comparing yourself to others? Comparison won't go away. But you can choose who you compare with, and what you do with it. 4 min read 2026.10.06 Why do denim and leather get better with age? Materials that take your shape as you wear them. Dyeing, material tests, and life-cycle assessments. 8 min read 2026.10.06 Should you spend less time on social media? An experiment limiting social media, and one where people quit Facebook for four weeks. The case for cutting back. 3 min read 2026.10.05 Does music make life richer? What remains even if it doesn't make you smarter Music's value can't be measured in IQ. Pleasure, emotion, connection and quality of life, through the research. 9 min read 2026.10.05 Is doing nothing really a waste of time? Memory, creativity, planning. What happens in the brain while we zone out? 7 min read 2026.10.05 You don't stop caring about being disliked. It just drops in priority Other people's eyes don't disappear. Your purpose becomes more important, and their opinion moves down the list. 6 min read 2026.10.04 We are shaped by everything around us Don't deny influence. Decide where you're headed, and have your own way of tuning yourself. 3 min read 2026.10.04 Refined taste makes it harder to be satisfied The more good things you know, the higher your standards climb. From art to pornography. 4 min read 2026.10.04 A goal without a system goes nowhere Break a goal down into daily actions, and design them as habits and routines. 6 min read 2026.10.04 Why trying to please everyone makes you cheap Rather than being lightly liked by a hundred people, I want to live with something I can call my own. 2 min read 2026.10.03 I respect David Goggins, a strange man He isn't normal. That's why he's cool. A man who keeps pushing himself past what anyone would call sensible. 5 min read 2026.10.03 I want freedom, not love Love lives outside you; freedom lives inside. Where do you keep the standard for your life? 7 min read 2026.10.02 Maybe fear is discomfort, not danger When you feel afraid, is it really dangerous, or just uncomfortable? 4 min read 2026.10.02 What kind of person do you want to be? Before changing what you do, think about who you want to be. 5 min read 2026.10.02 Self-image changes long-term behavior How you see yourself affects how many times you try, and how much experience you build. 4 min read 2026.10.02 Is "Think and Grow Rich" actually true? Not "wish and it comes true." Reading it as a book about how thinking changes what you do. 4 min read 2026.09.30 God is dead. So why do we keep living? In a world where no meaning is handed to us, what will I leave behind? 2 min read

Body

2026.10.07 How to choose earplugs and an eye mask How to cut bedroom noise and light. Choosing by earplug material and eye mask shape. 5 min read 2026.10.07 First impressions form in 0.1 seconds. And sleep loss shows on your face A tenth of a second was enough to judge a face. How does a sleep-deprived face look to others? 4 min read 2026.10.06 Do blue-light glasses help with eye strain? What a systematic review and eye-doctor associations say about screen eye strain. 3 min read 2026.10.06 Can you change being a morning or night person? Genes, age, and light. How much of your chronotype is fixed, and how much can move? 3 min read 2026.10.06 How to choose an antiperspirant or deodorant Stop sweat or stop odor? Reading active ingredients, and what safety assessments say about aluminum. 3 min read 2026.10.06 How to choose a mini trampoline for home Space and diameter, weight limit, bungee or springs, handrail. What to decide before you buy. 5 min read 2026.10.06 How long should a nap be? Experiments comparing nap lengths and adding caffeine, on how to nap well. 3 min read 2026.10.06 How to choose tools for bad breath Tongue cleaners, interdental brushes, mouthwash. How to choose and use them, from systematic reviews and public information. 3 min read 2026.10.06 Can you catch up on lost sleep on the weekend? A mortality study and a metabolism experiment gave different answers. Putting them side by side. 5 min read 2026.10.05 Most bad breath comes from the mouth, not the stomach Data from 2,000 halitosis-clinic patients on tongue coating, gum disease, saliva, and what works. 10 min read 2026.10.05 Start odor care with your armpits and the soles of your feet Underarms: genetic differences. Feet: humidity and microbes in your shoes. How body odor works. 6 min read 2026.10.05 How much does smell shape how people see you? That vague sense that someone seems nice can depend on smell too. Likability, emotion, attraction, pheromones and memory. 6 min read 2026.10.01 Why does blood sugar matter so much for health? Blood sugar, blood vessels, and your future health. Thinking about how they connect. 6 min read 2026.09.30 When did grown-ups stop jumping? Looking into trampolines, I started to see what "stamina" really is. 7 min read 2026.09.30 I cut back on strength training, and somehow got more stamina Thinking about stamina not as strength, but as the reserve left over in daily life. 3 min read

Work

2026.10.06 Books to read when you start thinking about changing jobs What you want, judging companies, pay, a long life. Four books, by stage of doubt. 4 min read 2026.10.05 Why are Sunday nights so heavy? What weekends fill in us, and what research says about switching off from work. 3 min read 2026.10.05 When fear keeps you from changing jobs Living with the fear of changing jobs, through research on loss aversion and regret. 3 min read 2026.10.05 Where do you start when changing jobs? Reasons and priorities, taking stock, the market, applying, checking the offer, resigning. Six steps in order. 4 min read 2026.10.05 How many recruitment agents should you use? Why two or three, how to combine them, the rules for using several, and how to decline. 3 min read 2026.10.05 What to know when you can't bring yourself to say you're quitting The two-week rule, handling attempts to keep you, and three kinds of resignation services, under Japanese law. 5 min read 2026.10.05 "I'm not cut out for this job": how true is it? Is it the work, or the workplace? Research on fit, and job crafting. 4 min read 2026.10.05 Does changing jobs raise your pay? 40.5% of job changers in Japan earned more, 29.4% earned less. What makes the difference? 4 min read 2026.10.05 Is wanting to quit your job running away? Breaking down whether to quit or change, with research on job demands, resources and burnout. 5 min read 2026.10.05 Will changing jobs make you happy? Satisfaction rises right after a job change, then falls. The honeymoon-hangover research. 4 min read 2026.10.05 Why are recruitment agents free? Know the habits their fee structure creates, and be the one using them, not the one being used. 4 min read

Food & Science

2026.10.06 How to choose and brew coffee Brewing method changes the effect on cholesterol. Paper filters, decaf, and spotting sugary drinks. 3 min read 2026.10.06 Is coffee really bad for you? An umbrella review, safe caffeine limits, and a sleep experiment: how many cups, and until what time. 4 min read 2026.10.06 How to choose dark chocolate What the cacao percentage doesn't tell you. Labeling rules, processing, and heavy metals. 4 min read 2026.10.06 How to choose olive oil What "extra virgin" on the label doesn't tell you. Five guidelines from standards and research on light damage. 5 min read 2026.10.06 How to choose protein powder How much you need, whey versus soy, and reading the label. From a meta-analysis and dietary reference intakes. 4 min read 2026.10.04 Are blueberries really that special? Anthocyanins, vessel function, cognition, blood pressure, blood sugar, gut bacteria. How far human research goes. 7 min read 2026.10.04 Is dark chocolate really good for you? Cocoa flavanols, vessel function, blood pressure, cardiovascular events, heavy metals. How far the trials go. 6 min read 2026.10.04 Is olive oil really good for you? EVOO, cardiovascular disease, blood sugar, and heating. How far human trials and meta-analyses go. 7 min read

Books & guides

2026.10.06 Know how pleasure works, and you'll see why you can't stop Why I recommend David J. Linden's The Compass of Pleasure. From food and alcohol to gambling and giving, thinking about behaviors we can't stop through the brain mechanisms of pleasure. 3 min read 2026.10.04 Understanding why you can't change, through how habits work Why I recommend Russell Poldrack's Hard to Break: Why Our Brains Make Habits Stick. The themes to know before reading, and ways to connect it to your own daily work and behavior. 2 min read 2026.10.04 Turning busyness into results Why I recommend Dan S. Kennedy's No B.S. Ruthless Management of People and Profits. The themes to know before reading, and ways to connect it to your own daily work. 2 min read