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The Wedge: Evolution, Consciousness, Stress, and the Key to Human Resilience.
From the New York Times Bestselling author of "What Doesn't Kill Us" "Crazy good writing" - Wim Hof , "The Iceman", Dutch extreme athlete Thrive or That's the rule of evolution. Despite this brutal logic, some species have learned to survive in even the most hostile conditions. Others couldn't—and perished. While incremental genetic adaptations hone the physiology of nearly every creature on this planet, there's another evolutionary force that is just as the power of choice. In this explosive investigation into the limits of endurance, journalist Scott Carney discovers how humans can wedge control over automatic physiological responses into the breaking point between stress and biology. We can reclaim our evolutionary destiny. In his New York Times bestseller, What Doesn't Kill Us , Carney submerged himself in ice water and learned breathing techniques from daredevil fitness guru Wim Hof. It gave him superhuman levels of endurance and quieted a persistent autoimmune illness. At the core of those methods is a technique called The Wedge that can give a person an edge in just about any situation. In this thrilling exploration of the limits and potential of the human body, Carney searches the globe for people who understand the subtle language of how the body responds to its environment. He confronts fear at a cutting-edge neuroscience laboratory at Stanford, and learns about flow states by tossing heavy weights with partners. He meets masters of mental misdirection in the heat of a Latvian sauna, experiments with breathing routines that bring him to the cusp of transcendence, searches his mind in sensory deprivation tanks, and ultimately ends up in the Amazon jungle with a shaman who promises either madness or universal truth. All of this in service of trying to understand what we're really capable of. What can we accomplish when we there are no true human limits?
312 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2020
273 people are currently reading
1470 people want to read
About the author
Scott Carney
19 books383 followersScott Carney is an investigative journalist and anthropologist whose stories blend narrative non-fiction with ethnography. He has been a contributing editor at Wired and his work also appears in Mother Jones, Foreign Policy, Playboy, Details, Discover, Outside, and Fast Company. He regularly appears on variety of radio and television stations from NPR to National Geographic TV. In 2010 he won the Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism for the story “Meet the Parents” which tracked an international kidnapping-to-adoption ring . His first book, “The Red Market: On the Trail of the World’s Organ Brokers, Bone Thieves, Blood Farmers and Child Traffickers” was published by William Morrow in 2011 and won the 2012 Clarion Award for best non-fiction book. He first traveled to India while he was a student at Kenyon College in 1998 and over the course of several years inside and outside the classroom he learned Hindi. In 2004 he received a MA in anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. All told, he has spent more than half a decade in South Asia. He lives in Long Beach, CA.
Source: http://www.scottcarney.com/
Source: http://www.scottcarney.com/
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
December 31, 2019
This book is the result of three years of research, pain, suffering, experimentation, writing and quite a lot of rewriting. It's been through three different publishers (Rodale, Penguin Random House, and now Foxtopus Ink), and I'm completely relieved to be able to share the story the way that I always wanted to. This is my blend of investigative journalism, ethnography and maybe a touch of philosophy/spirituality. The Wedge, by which I mean, the concept of the Wedge, is something that should be intimately familiar to just about everyone. It's a basic interface between our bodies, our minds and the environment that we've all been working on since the moment we were born. It's what allows us to make space between stimulus and response. And it connects our minds to the world at large. However, many of us stop using the power of the Wedge once we have figured out the parameters of how we want to be in the world. But, if we try to push ourselves, there are truly impressive depths to human physiology and consciousness. I really hope that this speaks to you as much as it spoke to me. I'd love to hear about it if it has. You can find me and all the weird things that I get up to at my website
June 28, 2020
I read this book because Scott Carney's previous book, What Doesn't Kill Us had a deep impact on my life. In a way, it's a book that changed my daily habits (now I do cold showers every day), and an outlook on life. Compared to his previous book, this felt like a letdown. It felt more like a hodgepodge of different weird experiences; listening to this was like listening to my friend (who has also been to ayahuasca ceremony, incidentally), telling about all her random experiences across the world. It is entertaining, but there was not much more in it than that. Scott reveals much of his outlook on life, but sadly, this worldview is something I've heard around quite a bit, and it feels rather empty. Scott seems like just like another new-age guy who thinks Eckhart Tolle is a serious thinker.
However, it was interesting to see his take on Latvian sauna (pirts), something that I've done with my family since childhood. The author actually visited some self-titled shamans in Latvia, who , I don't doubt, are very good at sauna rituals, but trust me, it had nothing to do with any "ages old" Latvian tradition. They are modern day experimenters. For me sauna is more of a traditional hygene/physical wellness ritual rather than a shamanistic practice. For many other Latvians, sadly, it's just a reason to get drunk..
However, it was interesting to see his take on Latvian sauna (pirts), something that I've done with my family since childhood. The author actually visited some self-titled shamans in Latvia, who , I don't doubt, are very good at sauna rituals, but trust me, it had nothing to do with any "ages old" Latvian tradition. They are modern day experimenters. For me sauna is more of a traditional hygene/physical wellness ritual rather than a shamanistic practice. For many other Latvians, sadly, it's just a reason to get drunk..
May 2, 2020
So thrilled to write the first reader review of The Wedge! I'm going to start by saying that it's definitely not a book for everyone. Though it's objectives are clearly to improve the human experience, it does not attempt to do this through some golden bullet or life changing hack. Instead, the techniques described require patience and discipline but have deep transformational potential.
The Wedge is described as the space between stimulus and response. The book contains the author's experience with 8 techniques that range from mundane to esoteric. Each of these attempts to give us the potential to chose how we respond to stimulus rather than it being a result of conditioning.
The book includes throwing kettlebells, breathing exercises, sensory deprivation and saunas. However, the author takes us through each experience explaining how to change our reaction to stimulus.
As a lifelong searcher of peace, I have tried practicing most of these techniques before. However, I found the book both informative and inspiring and I am already changing my daily practice.
I'd like to thank the author for his time and research into a subject that is arguably the highest calling of mankind.
The Wedge is described as the space between stimulus and response. The book contains the author's experience with 8 techniques that range from mundane to esoteric. Each of these attempts to give us the potential to chose how we respond to stimulus rather than it being a result of conditioning.
The book includes throwing kettlebells, breathing exercises, sensory deprivation and saunas. However, the author takes us through each experience explaining how to change our reaction to stimulus.
As a lifelong searcher of peace, I have tried practicing most of these techniques before. However, I found the book both informative and inspiring and I am already changing my daily practice.
I'd like to thank the author for his time and research into a subject that is arguably the highest calling of mankind.
October 13, 2020
I read The Wedge as a sequel to Carney's earlier book What Doesn't Kill Us, which reported about his dive into the Wim Hof Method. The Wim Hof Method involves a combination of cold exposure and intense breathing and breath-holds that seem to allow the nearly impossible in terms of control over autonomic functions in the body. What Doesn't Kill Us was intriguing, to say the least, as Carney had begun his inquiry with the idea of debunking the wild-eyed Dutchman. But by the end of his time with Wim Hof, Carney concluded that Wim Hof was on to something, and Carney was all in. And when I say "all in,' this includes a climactic climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro in near-record time while dressed only minimally--and even in the heart of Africa, it gets mighty cold there. This experience triggered Carney to look more deeply into what happens with the Wim Hof method and how it might be duplicated in some measure by other techniques. And thus, The Wedge.
Carney lays out his hypothesis upfront in clear, simple (but not too simple) prose:
So what is the Wedge, exactly? The most comfortable way to think about the Wedge is that it is a choice to separate stimulus from response. . . . The Wedge is the measure of control that we all have to insert choice into the space between sensation of the outside world and the physiological responses that it triggers. . . [I]nevery situation a human might get themselves into, there’s always a tension between the challenge (stress) and the built-in automatic reactions. The Wedge intercedes and introduces a measure of control in things that otherwise feel uncontrollable.
Carney then compares this "wedge" space with our normal ego as it functions:
The tricky thing about understanding the Wedge, and what makes it so incredibly difficult to explain, is that you—or rather, your ego—is not always the thing in charge. Remember, there is no self. All the parts of an individual and environment work together to generate an illusion of a self. Ego is just a perspective on the reality that we’re part of a superorganism.
Carney continues with some greater in-depth thoughts about how the wedge may work, and he notes three different pathways by which the wedge might operate: at the point of stress (from the environment), at the point of (bodily) sensation, and in our "mindset" or "orientation;" that is, "your mental attitude, expectations, emotions and disposition at the time that you receive sensation from your nervous system." From this deployment of a mindset, one can in some sense pre-load one's responses to stresses and sensations to allow a wedge to form. Carney also makes an important point about emotions, writing that
Emotions create a symbolic link between what’s happening in the world and what occurs inside of our bodies. And because evolution is a rather slow process, it would be hubristic to think that the sensory and emotional tools that Homo sapiens have access to appeared fully formed when the first member of our species started walking the Earth between 200,000 and 300,000 years ago.
Indeed, Carney argues
Inserting a wedge requires learning the language that your body uses to communicate information about the environment. Its syntax and grammar aren’t made of words; they’re sensation, emotion, and keen observation of the links between your mind and the external world.
Before I conclude this summary tour of Carney's thoughts and theories about the Wedge before he jumps into a series of concrete instances of its manifestations, I must note his discussion of fear, that most potent and often vexing emotion.
How we resolve the tension between risk and reward defines who we are. And fear is a guidepost for how we use the Wedge. It is as much an involuntary response to a prediction of the future as it is a sensation that immobilizes our biology and stops us from taking action. Mastering fear doesn’t mean ignoring danger, but rather finding a reason that makes danger worth it—separating the stimulus from the response.
Andrew Huberman, a Stanford neuroscientist, uses video from divers who investigate great white sharks to elicit fear in test subjects in his lab. (It would work for me.) Carney quotes and summarizes comments from Huberman about fear:
Fear would have meant he [the diver] was out of control. No choices. So maybe he wasn’t exactly afraid in the moment. It was something else. Huberman decides to paraphrase the great horror writer Stephen King: Fear has a lot to do with time frames. Before the event, a person experiences the dread of anticipation; during the event, there’s terror when they’re helpless in the moment; and after it’s over, a person remembers the experience as horror.
Carney continues:
Fear is an excellent inflection point to demonstrate the physiology of the Wedge. It’s powerful, visceral, has a strong influence on our behavior, and yet also preserves our ability to make choices about our actions. We experience fear on both a biological and psychological level. It triggers the fight-or-flight response just as reliably as the cold does, issues a burst of adrenaline, secretes sweat, dilates pupils and ramps up the heart rate. However, with fear, our bodily reactions are based on sights, sounds and our own idiosyncratic assessment of how things are changing around us in a bad way. It starts in the mind, not the body. And this is why I hope that his research into fear can help me dissect every other emotional and environmental interface that contributes to the Wedge.
I spend a good deal of space quoting Carney on fear because it seems to me that in our world--and certainly its always been so in the human world--fear drives much of our behavior. Indeed, even though we no longer face man-eating beasts or the like regularly, we suffer less tangible but more chronic fears that lead to more subtle reactions, such as "anxiety." Perhaps we do live in "The Age of Anxiety" as suggested by the W.H. Auden poem and the Scott Stossel non-fiction book. My own conclusion is that fear is an excellent and necessasry warning system but a terribly unreliable guidance system. But because it's such a primal emotion, it's not easily corraled by the thinking brain. If Carney's book proves to have any value--and I certainly believe that it does--it's because of his theme of dealing successfully with fear is the crux of the Wedge.
Lest I give you the wrong impression, Carney's book isn't simply an extended essay conjecturing about how the world and our bodies work. The other part of the book is a series of personal experiences and reporting on ideas and techniques about how we can deal with our world, especially fear-creating or uncomfortable experiences, in a manner that improves our resilience. One of the activities that Carney experiences and reports upon is playing catch with a heavy kettlebell. (A kettlebell is an iron ball with a handle attached that allows the user to swing it and thereby create a ballistic motion. It's an increasingly popular form of exercise imported from Russia, and, I must add, an excellent addition to any home gym.) Playing catch with a heavy object that will wreck havoc if it lands on the wrong place (such as your foot) requires an intensity of mind that must move beyond fear to successfully negotiate such a high-stakes game of catch. Carney also explores a variety of breathing techniques in addition to the standard Wim Hof method that he's been working with now for several years. He explores "the potatoe diet" and the use of saunas (in Lithuania, no less), flotation tank experiences, and two drugs: MDHD (ecstacy) and ayayuasca. In undertaking the latter to experiences, Carney expresses the most hesitation. As he notes with all of his other wedge experiences and experiments, he could bail at any time, such as simply halting a breathing technique or quitting a game of kettlebell catch. But during a drug trip, Carney knew he couldn't simply stop and get off at any time that he wanted. He was therefore prudent. With the MDHD (ecstasy), he took the drug along with his wife and under the guidance of two experienced therapists. They used the occasion as an opportunity for couples therapy. Carney also went to Peru to try ayahuasca, and again Carney expresses and practices what seems a reasonable degree of prudence in dealing with a substance in a land and culture far from his own.
I found the two experiences with the two different drugs the least informative, but I don't say that to denigrate those experiences or to criticize Carney. From what he says and my understanding of those types of experiences in general, I believe that they are the most complex to predict and describe. Most of the other experiences that he undertakes to explore and expand his wedge hypothesis are simpler and easy to "do at home," and he provides self-practice advice in a section on the end about "Techniques" for the (non-drug) practices.
At one point in thinking about writing this review I was going to describe the book as having two parts: one part, which is represented by the several quotes at the beginning of this review, center on the wedge hypothesis and its grounding in science, and the other part about Carney's experiences and observations. But I realized that the book it too integrated to describe it this way. Carney's self-experimentation, observations, reporting, conjectures, and hypotheses are distributed throughout the book and make it an integrated whole. This scheme makes the book a delight to read and ponder. I believe that Carney is on to something here (and "it" has been "here" for all of human history), and he's bringing what has been largely lost (especially in modernity) back into focus. Thus, it's a book that is at once enlightening and entertaining, and well worth the read.
Carney lays out his hypothesis upfront in clear, simple (but not too simple) prose:
So what is the Wedge, exactly? The most comfortable way to think about the Wedge is that it is a choice to separate stimulus from response. . . . The Wedge is the measure of control that we all have to insert choice into the space between sensation of the outside world and the physiological responses that it triggers. . . [I]nevery situation a human might get themselves into, there’s always a tension between the challenge (stress) and the built-in automatic reactions. The Wedge intercedes and introduces a measure of control in things that otherwise feel uncontrollable.
Carney then compares this "wedge" space with our normal ego as it functions:
The tricky thing about understanding the Wedge, and what makes it so incredibly difficult to explain, is that you—or rather, your ego—is not always the thing in charge. Remember, there is no self. All the parts of an individual and environment work together to generate an illusion of a self. Ego is just a perspective on the reality that we’re part of a superorganism.
Carney continues with some greater in-depth thoughts about how the wedge may work, and he notes three different pathways by which the wedge might operate: at the point of stress (from the environment), at the point of (bodily) sensation, and in our "mindset" or "orientation;" that is, "your mental attitude, expectations, emotions and disposition at the time that you receive sensation from your nervous system." From this deployment of a mindset, one can in some sense pre-load one's responses to stresses and sensations to allow a wedge to form. Carney also makes an important point about emotions, writing that
Emotions create a symbolic link between what’s happening in the world and what occurs inside of our bodies. And because evolution is a rather slow process, it would be hubristic to think that the sensory and emotional tools that Homo sapiens have access to appeared fully formed when the first member of our species started walking the Earth between 200,000 and 300,000 years ago.
Indeed, Carney argues
Inserting a wedge requires learning the language that your body uses to communicate information about the environment. Its syntax and grammar aren’t made of words; they’re sensation, emotion, and keen observation of the links between your mind and the external world.
Before I conclude this summary tour of Carney's thoughts and theories about the Wedge before he jumps into a series of concrete instances of its manifestations, I must note his discussion of fear, that most potent and often vexing emotion.
How we resolve the tension between risk and reward defines who we are. And fear is a guidepost for how we use the Wedge. It is as much an involuntary response to a prediction of the future as it is a sensation that immobilizes our biology and stops us from taking action. Mastering fear doesn’t mean ignoring danger, but rather finding a reason that makes danger worth it—separating the stimulus from the response.
Andrew Huberman, a Stanford neuroscientist, uses video from divers who investigate great white sharks to elicit fear in test subjects in his lab. (It would work for me.) Carney quotes and summarizes comments from Huberman about fear:
Fear would have meant he [the diver] was out of control. No choices. So maybe he wasn’t exactly afraid in the moment. It was something else. Huberman decides to paraphrase the great horror writer Stephen King: Fear has a lot to do with time frames. Before the event, a person experiences the dread of anticipation; during the event, there’s terror when they’re helpless in the moment; and after it’s over, a person remembers the experience as horror.
Carney continues:
Fear is an excellent inflection point to demonstrate the physiology of the Wedge. It’s powerful, visceral, has a strong influence on our behavior, and yet also preserves our ability to make choices about our actions. We experience fear on both a biological and psychological level. It triggers the fight-or-flight response just as reliably as the cold does, issues a burst of adrenaline, secretes sweat, dilates pupils and ramps up the heart rate. However, with fear, our bodily reactions are based on sights, sounds and our own idiosyncratic assessment of how things are changing around us in a bad way. It starts in the mind, not the body. And this is why I hope that his research into fear can help me dissect every other emotional and environmental interface that contributes to the Wedge.
I spend a good deal of space quoting Carney on fear because it seems to me that in our world--and certainly its always been so in the human world--fear drives much of our behavior. Indeed, even though we no longer face man-eating beasts or the like regularly, we suffer less tangible but more chronic fears that lead to more subtle reactions, such as "anxiety." Perhaps we do live in "The Age of Anxiety" as suggested by the W.H. Auden poem and the Scott Stossel non-fiction book. My own conclusion is that fear is an excellent and necessasry warning system but a terribly unreliable guidance system. But because it's such a primal emotion, it's not easily corraled by the thinking brain. If Carney's book proves to have any value--and I certainly believe that it does--it's because of his theme of dealing successfully with fear is the crux of the Wedge.
Lest I give you the wrong impression, Carney's book isn't simply an extended essay conjecturing about how the world and our bodies work. The other part of the book is a series of personal experiences and reporting on ideas and techniques about how we can deal with our world, especially fear-creating or uncomfortable experiences, in a manner that improves our resilience. One of the activities that Carney experiences and reports upon is playing catch with a heavy kettlebell. (A kettlebell is an iron ball with a handle attached that allows the user to swing it and thereby create a ballistic motion. It's an increasingly popular form of exercise imported from Russia, and, I must add, an excellent addition to any home gym.) Playing catch with a heavy object that will wreck havoc if it lands on the wrong place (such as your foot) requires an intensity of mind that must move beyond fear to successfully negotiate such a high-stakes game of catch. Carney also explores a variety of breathing techniques in addition to the standard Wim Hof method that he's been working with now for several years. He explores "the potatoe diet" and the use of saunas (in Lithuania, no less), flotation tank experiences, and two drugs: MDHD (ecstacy) and ayayuasca. In undertaking the latter to experiences, Carney expresses the most hesitation. As he notes with all of his other wedge experiences and experiments, he could bail at any time, such as simply halting a breathing technique or quitting a game of kettlebell catch. But during a drug trip, Carney knew he couldn't simply stop and get off at any time that he wanted. He was therefore prudent. With the MDHD (ecstasy), he took the drug along with his wife and under the guidance of two experienced therapists. They used the occasion as an opportunity for couples therapy. Carney also went to Peru to try ayahuasca, and again Carney expresses and practices what seems a reasonable degree of prudence in dealing with a substance in a land and culture far from his own.
I found the two experiences with the two different drugs the least informative, but I don't say that to denigrate those experiences or to criticize Carney. From what he says and my understanding of those types of experiences in general, I believe that they are the most complex to predict and describe. Most of the other experiences that he undertakes to explore and expand his wedge hypothesis are simpler and easy to "do at home," and he provides self-practice advice in a section on the end about "Techniques" for the (non-drug) practices.
At one point in thinking about writing this review I was going to describe the book as having two parts: one part, which is represented by the several quotes at the beginning of this review, center on the wedge hypothesis and its grounding in science, and the other part about Carney's experiences and observations. But I realized that the book it too integrated to describe it this way. Carney's self-experimentation, observations, reporting, conjectures, and hypotheses are distributed throughout the book and make it an integrated whole. This scheme makes the book a delight to read and ponder. I believe that Carney is on to something here (and "it" has been "here" for all of human history), and he's bringing what has been largely lost (especially in modernity) back into focus. Thus, it's a book that is at once enlightening and entertaining, and well worth the read.
May 3, 2020
He meanders between personal experience and scientific writing like a breath. Probably deliberate and it makes me want to live my life like a breath. Very cool book.
August 2, 2021
I'll preface this review by saying this book is not for everyone. For a lot of people this may seem like an obnoxious travelogue by a white middle aged dude who thinks he's cracking some hidden code and on the way to enlightenment.
However, I absolutely loved this book.
I read Scott Carney's previous book, "What Doesn't Kill Us" and it was the catalyst for my newfound interest in (although not necessarily a belief in) unconventional wellness. This book takes it all a step further, exploring trends such as float therapy, saunas, hallucinogenics in addition to the breathwork and cryotherapy of "What Doesn't Kill Us". These experiences and the premise of the book is framed around Carney's concept of the "Wedge"; that is, the ability to create space between stimulus and response. Having a wedge allows us to think about and exercise control over our own reactions.
I found this book to be absolutely fascinating and highly entertaining. It's lighter on the science than I would normally like, but Carney does interview real scientists and leading thinkers in their fields and cites sources some of these methods. However, these can seem like (and often are) just footnotes to his otherwise new-age way of talking. It also occurs to me many times while reading that the "Wedge" and meditation are basically the same thing, meditation being a lot less costly, much less risky and much more accessible than the methods pursued in this (and his previous) book.
Highly recommended for those who are open minded and have an interest in health and wellness from an unconventional angle, biohacking etc.
However, I absolutely loved this book.
I read Scott Carney's previous book, "What Doesn't Kill Us" and it was the catalyst for my newfound interest in (although not necessarily a belief in) unconventional wellness. This book takes it all a step further, exploring trends such as float therapy, saunas, hallucinogenics in addition to the breathwork and cryotherapy of "What Doesn't Kill Us". These experiences and the premise of the book is framed around Carney's concept of the "Wedge"; that is, the ability to create space between stimulus and response. Having a wedge allows us to think about and exercise control over our own reactions.
I found this book to be absolutely fascinating and highly entertaining. It's lighter on the science than I would normally like, but Carney does interview real scientists and leading thinkers in their fields and cites sources some of these methods. However, these can seem like (and often are) just footnotes to his otherwise new-age way of talking. It also occurs to me many times while reading that the "Wedge" and meditation are basically the same thing, meditation being a lot less costly, much less risky and much more accessible than the methods pursued in this (and his previous) book.
Highly recommended for those who are open minded and have an interest in health and wellness from an unconventional angle, biohacking etc.
April 6, 2021
I am a transformational coach, uses breathwork, ice bath and other mindfulness practices to help people reconnect with themselves. I trained more than 3000 people in Bali.
The reason I mention this is to show you I know what I am talking about, not to brag.
I am a huge fan of SCOTT CARNEY and love his books. I have sent the Wedge to friends, recommended it to everyone I meet. I learned so much from reading it, play now with kettlebells, commit even more to floating (fuck it is hard to do nothing) and can t wait to experience ayua !
Scott is fun, authentic and relatable. Just a normal guy exploring consciousness. Such a must read for everyone. Please do yourself a favour and read it and also what doesn't kill us.
much love
Alex
breathingcoldbali
The reason I mention this is to show you I know what I am talking about, not to brag.
I am a huge fan of SCOTT CARNEY and love his books. I have sent the Wedge to friends, recommended it to everyone I meet. I learned so much from reading it, play now with kettlebells, commit even more to floating (fuck it is hard to do nothing) and can t wait to experience ayua !
Scott is fun, authentic and relatable. Just a normal guy exploring consciousness. Such a must read for everyone. Please do yourself a favour and read it and also what doesn't kill us.
much love
Alex
breathingcoldbali
January 3, 2022
This book was an eye-opener, to say the least. Scott Carney elucidates the innerworkings of the body's limbic system, and how we can place "a wedge" between stimulus and response. As I read this book, I was in awe at how intuitive the knowledge was...and yet, almost all of the content had never occurred to me. This book was far from a re-treading of the same material in "What Doesn't Kill Us," and it was a phenomenal read in its own right. If you're interested in how to leverage your environment for better physical and mental health, pick this up!
January 2, 2021
This is God awful, it spouts nonsensical and arrogant claims by the author that he reenforces with nothing.but confirmation bias.
That is IF you can get by being treated like an unworthy reader every other sentence.
That is IF you can get by being treated like an unworthy reader every other sentence.
March 3, 2022
Really interesting book, taking you through several possibilities to put a wedge between stimulus and reaction. From high to low temperatures, internal and external ways to alter one's mind and many more.
January 26, 2022
What an awesome book. I really enjoyed the journey and some of the practice ideas. I won’t be climbing Everest shirtless anytime soon.
May 4, 2020
A really well written expansion on his previous book, What Doesn't Kill Us.
It's an up close and personal exploration of "The Wedge", his name for the space between stimulus and response, and our ability to widen that space with practice and mindset.
I'm not personally interested in pushing my wedge to the extremes he did in this book (with the use of phychodelic drugs for one.)
I was fascinated with the chapter on the placebo effect. The fact that your body can make desired changes with a sugar pill instead of a drug, surely has to make you question whether the drug is necessary at all. Not all drugs, of course, but if the placebo effect is so common, are we sure we're not dishing out drugs to treat symptoms unnecessarily? Could we instead take a more holistic approach, learn to be better in tune with our bodies and help them to respond appropriately and automatically without the sugar pill? It does sound like the body can be trained. It's an interesting concept at the very least.
And if enduring a bit of discomfort is all it takes to train your body and mind to be more resilient to stressers, well then everyone's a winner.
Basically, take a cold shower. It's good for you. And it gets easier.
It's an up close and personal exploration of "The Wedge", his name for the space between stimulus and response, and our ability to widen that space with practice and mindset.
I'm not personally interested in pushing my wedge to the extremes he did in this book (with the use of phychodelic drugs for one.)
I was fascinated with the chapter on the placebo effect. The fact that your body can make desired changes with a sugar pill instead of a drug, surely has to make you question whether the drug is necessary at all. Not all drugs, of course, but if the placebo effect is so common, are we sure we're not dishing out drugs to treat symptoms unnecessarily? Could we instead take a more holistic approach, learn to be better in tune with our bodies and help them to respond appropriately and automatically without the sugar pill? It does sound like the body can be trained. It's an interesting concept at the very least.
And if enduring a bit of discomfort is all it takes to train your body and mind to be more resilient to stressers, well then everyone's a winner.
Basically, take a cold shower. It's good for you. And it gets easier.
February 2, 2021
Interesting life/wellness ideas following on from similar veins of Scott's previous book. I thoroughly enjoyed What Doesn't Kill Us so I very much looked forward to reading this book. I was not disappointed. It is an easy read whilst giving the information to the reader clearly. I like Scott Carney as a person from what I can gather from social media and the like so it was very easy for me to enjoy this book which may have skewed my review to being more biased but I enjoyed it and would definitely recommend this to people interested in health and wellbeing but want to look at new ideas, however I would recommend What Doesn't Kill Us first but if you've read that one then this is a great next read.
May 15, 2020
Highly entertaining. Carney is one of those peak performance experimentalists and writers like Tim Ferriss except Carney is the better writer. He can build tension like a good mystery writer and then deliver a satisfying ending. "The Wedge is the measure of control that we all have to insert choice into the space between sensation of the outside world and the physiological responses that it triggers." He uses shamans, kettlebells, breathing, sensory deprivation and hallucinogens to test his idea. He provides good arguments that we have let the modern digital world separate us from nature and we're all miserable because of it.
Also check out his "What Doesn't Kill us."
Also check out his "What Doesn't Kill us."
May 17, 2020
A lot of interesting and useful information, while not quite being what I was looking for. Still, it was a great book and there's a lot to digest here. I'd recommend it.
June 1, 2020
Takes you on a life adventure
Each chapter is a further life adventure. Well worth the read. Starting with breathing and then covering exercise, adventure, relationships and drugs, the author presents many life hacks to explore. Some chapters get a bit long winded and could be tightened up but were easy to skim to get the gist. Overall highly recommend for those looking to expand their life horizons.
Each chapter is a further life adventure. Well worth the read. Starting with breathing and then covering exercise, adventure, relationships and drugs, the author presents many life hacks to explore. Some chapters get a bit long winded and could be tightened up but were easy to skim to get the gist. Overall highly recommend for those looking to expand their life horizons.
September 20, 2020
Thank you Scott Carney, really enjoyed this. To the point and helpful all around. Will read whatever Carney puts out next.
August 23, 2020
Fantastic, I loved this book. Carney just has a great way of getting his experience across that draws you in. I've recommended this to several people
January 11, 2021
Really enjoyed The Wedge, kept me up late reading stories and practices that push the human mind and body to its limits.
Highly recommended! Here's a link to buy it https://amzn.to/3bq7oBd
Highly recommended! Here's a link to buy it https://amzn.to/3bq7oBd
July 8, 2024
Dug this one but, gotta-be-honest, not as much as his first one. Still worth a read and tons of good takeaways, such as....
- "The point of being alive is to have experiences that make it all worthwhile. Death is the greatest teacher, because it offers us a stake that defines what kind of life we want to have. "
- "The goal of the Wedge is to separate stimulus from response"
- "...that what we perceive as an uninterrupted conscious experience is in reality entirely dependent on context. We are the sum of minute interactions inside our bodies—a happenstance of neurology and our relationship with the larger environment all at the same time"
- "Luckily, there is a compass through this philosophical morass—two indicators that define who we are and, more importantly, who we could be: stress and choice."
- The Wedge is the measure of control that we all have to insert choice into the space between sensation of the outside world and the physiological responses that it triggers.
- "The Wedge inserts an element of choice into this sensory pathway and alters how we experience the world. I mostly think of it as a proper noun (the Wedge) on a conceptual level—as the choice to intercede between stimulus and response. But it can also be a wedge, by which I mean a specific technique, object or intervention that you use to insert that control. So, for example, in the case of cold exposure, an ice bath is a wedge, but the Wedge is the mental trick we use to suppress a shiver response."
- "for example, in the case of cold exposure, an ice bath is a wedge, but the Wedge is the mental
trick we use to suppress a shiver response."
- "Remember, we no longer live in a world where our lives are constantly in danger. Most of the stresses are not going to kill us. So inserting the Wedge here, in the split second that transpires between the external cause of pain and feeling the pain, allows us to act out of deeper purpose and make better choices. We get more resilient, both physically and psychologically stronger."
- "A typical Wim Hof session revolves around three or four rounds of rapid controlled breaths followed by empty-lung breath holds—a variation of what I’d been doing in Lee’s class. The super-ventilation alters the ratio between carbon dioxide and oxygen, which tricks the body’s sensory system and pushes off the urge to gasp. It’s a physical wedge that creates space between stimulus and response. With each repetition, the breath holds lengthen until, for me, after the third round I hold for about three minutes. On the fourth round, you do something different. Instead of just holding your breath on the mat, you get up and start doing push-ups (or any other similar exercise) while holding your breath on an exhale. Most people discover that push-ups are much easier after hyperventilating. When I first tried the method, I doubled my push-ups after just one breathing session—going from 20 to 40 in a matter of minutes. After a few months, I worked my way up to occasionally hitting a breathless 80."
- "At a neurological level, sympathetic and parasympathetic impulses travel through the body on the two opposing branches of the vagus nerve, the twisted central conduit for most of our unconscious neural responses. Resting, it turns out, doesn’t mean simply lowering the volume of the nervous system; rather, it entails activating a different branch of the vagus nerve. While both sides of the vagus stay on in continual operation most of the time, one branch takes precedence over the other depending on the situation at hand."
- "As a general rule, if you take more air in than you let out, you up-regulate your body, giving yourself an energy boost and heightened alertness. If you let out more air than you take in, you down-regulate, meaning you will relax and fall asleep easier."
- "If you improve your CO₂ tolerance, you won’t just be a better athlete, but you are likely to be more emotionally stable, too, which translates to making better decisions on and off the athletic field."
-"...ideally, a person should be able to recover to a resting BPM of 100 in under two minutes."
- "Mouth breathing during intense workouts allows a person to blow off CO₂ too quickly. This helps buffer the intensity of the pain of exertion and artificially lowers blood acidity. Nasal breathing does the opposite: Acid levels rise sharply during the workout compared to hyperventilation. It’s a little counterintuitive. Part of me thinks that more acid in the workout means more acid in recovery, and thus more soreness afterward. But that isn’t what happens. According to Mackenzie, soreness occurs because the body has to restock the lost CO₂ that it blew off during the workout so that during recovery, acid levels actually go higher. It’s sort of like a hangover after the euphoria of being drunk: Every chemical high gets balanced out with a chemical low over time. The high-intensity exertion pushes the body into a sympathetic state, and since you can’t blow it off quickly, CO₂ builds up in the system. The body has to develop a tolerance to the acid, and during recovery, you don’t have to compensate and restock levels as much."
- "In the modern world, where changing environments is as easy as pressing a button, homeostasis is also an addiction."
-"...it’s important to realize that “feeling sick” often isn’t the sensation of a pathogen, but the sensation of our body fighting back. All of those cold symptoms are actually evolutionary in-built actions of the innate immune system to help kill cold viruses. Mucus membranes make it hard for viruses to propagate, while fevers raise the body temperature to a degree that makes it harder for them to survive."
- "The words 'mind-altering drug' don’t sit well on the American palate. When a person seeks out an altered state, we reflexively think of it as a moral failing."
- "We may not always think about our death, but we sense death constantly on a cellular level. Evolution gave us this morbid gift. We are built to propagate the species. Every hormonal response, reflex, sensation and cognitive ability exists to serve this purpose. Every emotion, from fear, love and happiness to sadness, ambivalence and ennui, confers critical information that helps us stay alive."
- "A person can choose a life path of muted sensations, avoiding pain and living indoors protected by a cocoon of technological comfort. That person can work a 40-hour work week, fully fund a retirement plan, carry acceptable insurance, dutifully pay taxes, have a few children and ultimately die comfortably in bed. This is the default life plan that many Americans follow. But it’s not as risk-free as it seems. On the one hand, we all risk the ordinary misfortunes of the modern world: cancer, car accidents, heartbreak, economic downturns and bankruptcy. On the other, by pathologically avoiding failure, we can miss out on the opportunity for unexpected rewards. The great paradox of life is that there’s no obvious meaning to it. And so we need to supply our own meaning. If we don’t, then life itself becomes unlivable. Purposeless. "
- "Success doesn’t happen if you only act when you are sure of a positive outcome. Real success means risking failure. We succeed only after we accept that we might fail and plan for the worst."
- "The point of being alive is to have experiences that make it all worthwhile. Death is the greatest teacher, because it offers us a stake that defines what kind of life we want to have. "
- "The goal of the Wedge is to separate stimulus from response"
- "...that what we perceive as an uninterrupted conscious experience is in reality entirely dependent on context. We are the sum of minute interactions inside our bodies—a happenstance of neurology and our relationship with the larger environment all at the same time"
- "Luckily, there is a compass through this philosophical morass—two indicators that define who we are and, more importantly, who we could be: stress and choice."
- The Wedge is the measure of control that we all have to insert choice into the space between sensation of the outside world and the physiological responses that it triggers.
- "The Wedge inserts an element of choice into this sensory pathway and alters how we experience the world. I mostly think of it as a proper noun (the Wedge) on a conceptual level—as the choice to intercede between stimulus and response. But it can also be a wedge, by which I mean a specific technique, object or intervention that you use to insert that control. So, for example, in the case of cold exposure, an ice bath is a wedge, but the Wedge is the mental trick we use to suppress a shiver response."
- "for example, in the case of cold exposure, an ice bath is a wedge, but the Wedge is the mental
trick we use to suppress a shiver response."
- "Remember, we no longer live in a world where our lives are constantly in danger. Most of the stresses are not going to kill us. So inserting the Wedge here, in the split second that transpires between the external cause of pain and feeling the pain, allows us to act out of deeper purpose and make better choices. We get more resilient, both physically and psychologically stronger."
- "A typical Wim Hof session revolves around three or four rounds of rapid controlled breaths followed by empty-lung breath holds—a variation of what I’d been doing in Lee’s class. The super-ventilation alters the ratio between carbon dioxide and oxygen, which tricks the body’s sensory system and pushes off the urge to gasp. It’s a physical wedge that creates space between stimulus and response. With each repetition, the breath holds lengthen until, for me, after the third round I hold for about three minutes. On the fourth round, you do something different. Instead of just holding your breath on the mat, you get up and start doing push-ups (or any other similar exercise) while holding your breath on an exhale. Most people discover that push-ups are much easier after hyperventilating. When I first tried the method, I doubled my push-ups after just one breathing session—going from 20 to 40 in a matter of minutes. After a few months, I worked my way up to occasionally hitting a breathless 80."
- "At a neurological level, sympathetic and parasympathetic impulses travel through the body on the two opposing branches of the vagus nerve, the twisted central conduit for most of our unconscious neural responses. Resting, it turns out, doesn’t mean simply lowering the volume of the nervous system; rather, it entails activating a different branch of the vagus nerve. While both sides of the vagus stay on in continual operation most of the time, one branch takes precedence over the other depending on the situation at hand."
- "As a general rule, if you take more air in than you let out, you up-regulate your body, giving yourself an energy boost and heightened alertness. If you let out more air than you take in, you down-regulate, meaning you will relax and fall asleep easier."
- "If you improve your CO₂ tolerance, you won’t just be a better athlete, but you are likely to be more emotionally stable, too, which translates to making better decisions on and off the athletic field."
-"...ideally, a person should be able to recover to a resting BPM of 100 in under two minutes."
- "Mouth breathing during intense workouts allows a person to blow off CO₂ too quickly. This helps buffer the intensity of the pain of exertion and artificially lowers blood acidity. Nasal breathing does the opposite: Acid levels rise sharply during the workout compared to hyperventilation. It’s a little counterintuitive. Part of me thinks that more acid in the workout means more acid in recovery, and thus more soreness afterward. But that isn’t what happens. According to Mackenzie, soreness occurs because the body has to restock the lost CO₂ that it blew off during the workout so that during recovery, acid levels actually go higher. It’s sort of like a hangover after the euphoria of being drunk: Every chemical high gets balanced out with a chemical low over time. The high-intensity exertion pushes the body into a sympathetic state, and since you can’t blow it off quickly, CO₂ builds up in the system. The body has to develop a tolerance to the acid, and during recovery, you don’t have to compensate and restock levels as much."
- "In the modern world, where changing environments is as easy as pressing a button, homeostasis is also an addiction."
-"...it’s important to realize that “feeling sick” often isn’t the sensation of a pathogen, but the sensation of our body fighting back. All of those cold symptoms are actually evolutionary in-built actions of the innate immune system to help kill cold viruses. Mucus membranes make it hard for viruses to propagate, while fevers raise the body temperature to a degree that makes it harder for them to survive."
- "The words 'mind-altering drug' don’t sit well on the American palate. When a person seeks out an altered state, we reflexively think of it as a moral failing."
- "We may not always think about our death, but we sense death constantly on a cellular level. Evolution gave us this morbid gift. We are built to propagate the species. Every hormonal response, reflex, sensation and cognitive ability exists to serve this purpose. Every emotion, from fear, love and happiness to sadness, ambivalence and ennui, confers critical information that helps us stay alive."
- "A person can choose a life path of muted sensations, avoiding pain and living indoors protected by a cocoon of technological comfort. That person can work a 40-hour work week, fully fund a retirement plan, carry acceptable insurance, dutifully pay taxes, have a few children and ultimately die comfortably in bed. This is the default life plan that many Americans follow. But it’s not as risk-free as it seems. On the one hand, we all risk the ordinary misfortunes of the modern world: cancer, car accidents, heartbreak, economic downturns and bankruptcy. On the other, by pathologically avoiding failure, we can miss out on the opportunity for unexpected rewards. The great paradox of life is that there’s no obvious meaning to it. And so we need to supply our own meaning. If we don’t, then life itself becomes unlivable. Purposeless. "
- "Success doesn’t happen if you only act when you are sure of a positive outcome. Real success means risking failure. We succeed only after we accept that we might fail and plan for the worst."
July 8, 2020
The concept of the wedge seemed a bit gimmicky at first, especially after reading the introductory chapter. However, after continuing to read, it quickly became apparent that the author is not trying to sell anything or offer a specific program. He is an investigative journalist using the term wedge to help clarify a concept that may be difficult to some readers unfamiliar with cognitive therapy.
Essentially, the wedge is just a branch of cognitive based therapy, specifically exposure therapy. In the book Carney participates in multiple methods designed to induce discomfort so that it can be dissected mentally and eventually rendered harmless (or at least less harmful). The most effective method for controlling the mind and body response seems to be the Wim Hof method. This is the practice he refers to most often regardless of the main topic being discussed. And there is an appendix at the end as a resource for those wanting to put some of his findings into practice.
Essentially, the wedge is just a branch of cognitive based therapy, specifically exposure therapy. In the book Carney participates in multiple methods designed to induce discomfort so that it can be dissected mentally and eventually rendered harmless (or at least less harmful). The most effective method for controlling the mind and body response seems to be the Wim Hof method. This is the practice he refers to most often regardless of the main topic being discussed. And there is an appendix at the end as a resource for those wanting to put some of his findings into practice.
September 11, 2021
I’ve been on a Scott Carney binge recently, and this might be my new favorite because of how far reaching it is! Made me want to try a few more things to see where I can go internally…
November 6, 2020
What a fascinating book! Scott Carney masterfully narrates a personal voyage into the cosmos of consciousness, as he tries such wildly disparate things as kettlebells, breath control, hallucinogens, and potato diets, and synthesizes them into a compelling common theme: the space between stimulus and response contains perhaps limitless potential. Carney infuses his writing with infectious curiosity and healthy skepticism, assuming the role of an intrepid explorer who seeks the truth, whatever it may be, and by any available means. This book was a page-turner for me both due to the subject matter and to Carney's writing style. But more than that it inspired me to experience a sensory deprivation float firsthand!
September 22, 2020
Easy to read account of trends in "bio hacking," with evidence (both anecdotal and scientific) slickly woven into the narrative.
Covers a variety of topics while never going too deep into each as to lose sight of the theme of The Wedge. Sometimes would feel a little too travelogue-y (eg the chapter on Ayahuasca) but overall an enjoyable and interesting read for anyone interested in human performance, psychology, and a bit of "woo."
Covers a variety of topics while never going too deep into each as to lose sight of the theme of The Wedge. Sometimes would feel a little too travelogue-y (eg the chapter on Ayahuasca) but overall an enjoyable and interesting read for anyone interested in human performance, psychology, and a bit of "woo."
February 5, 2021
A follow on from what doesn't kill us and it's in keeping with the awesomeness of it! Once again I thoroughly enjoyed it and Scott' ideologies are similar to my own. If you want a good read I highly recommend this
October 28, 2020
If I were to give one advice to readers (and writers) of biohacking books it would be to buy Stan Beecham's ”Elite Minds” - because that's the only one I have come across (except maybe for Christopher McDougall's ”Born To Run”) that I was able to read in one sitting, and remain excited about BOTH the content and the crystal clear quality of the writing.
An appropriate analogy here I think would be to say that Stan Beecham has mastered the art of using his words as a transformative Wedge between the content and the reader.
He's also a brilliant speaker in the same way, and you can find that out for yourself if you track down some of his podcast guest apparences on some of the few sports performance podcasts where the host is good enough to spar with him.
Many, many others (including Scott Carney here) has the interresting gods to write about, but aren't really able to deliver above the mean because the current fad writing technique required are so damn boring. I think that in part stems from everyone in several nearby genres write pretty much the same way now; popular science, biohackers, real scientists and sports journalists - and that makes it incredibly hard to separate the wheat from the chaff, the serious writers from the charlatans, and also it has made it monotonous and predictable to an ever increasing extent.
For what it's worth I think Scott Carney wants to be one of the serious ones, and I bought this book because his previous one, ”What Doesn't Kill Us” did try to emulate ”Born To Run” to such a degree that it might as well could have been called ”Born To Breathe”. It wasn't as good as BTR, but the ambition was clearly there.
Unfortunatelly ”The Wedge” mostly feels like leftovers that were cut from that book, and the final (jungle) adventure this time is such a biohacking genre currently popular cliché that I fear his writing can only go downhill from here.
But there are two parts that stand out as breaking new territory and also being written above average. The first is pages 153-157 where we learn that real science has proved that depressed people often have a lessened ability to sweat. Now obviously the author himself found that interresting because ”Someone should write a book” hints at that being his next project. The other is the whole chapter about placebos and nocebos. Nothing new to me since I've read Joe Dispenza (another one of these authors who got the gods, but mostly drenches it in word salad), but that part of this book is also for some reason a better read than the rest.
To summarize: I probably won't buy the next book from this author - but there's still a chance that I might. If nothing happens to the writing technique in the genre(s) as a whole I'm pretty much prepared to cut down on buying books and move over to listening to podcasts.
An appropriate analogy here I think would be to say that Stan Beecham has mastered the art of using his words as a transformative Wedge between the content and the reader.
He's also a brilliant speaker in the same way, and you can find that out for yourself if you track down some of his podcast guest apparences on some of the few sports performance podcasts where the host is good enough to spar with him.
Many, many others (including Scott Carney here) has the interresting gods to write about, but aren't really able to deliver above the mean because the current fad writing technique required are so damn boring. I think that in part stems from everyone in several nearby genres write pretty much the same way now; popular science, biohackers, real scientists and sports journalists - and that makes it incredibly hard to separate the wheat from the chaff, the serious writers from the charlatans, and also it has made it monotonous and predictable to an ever increasing extent.
For what it's worth I think Scott Carney wants to be one of the serious ones, and I bought this book because his previous one, ”What Doesn't Kill Us” did try to emulate ”Born To Run” to such a degree that it might as well could have been called ”Born To Breathe”. It wasn't as good as BTR, but the ambition was clearly there.
Unfortunatelly ”The Wedge” mostly feels like leftovers that were cut from that book, and the final (jungle) adventure this time is such a biohacking genre currently popular cliché that I fear his writing can only go downhill from here.
But there are two parts that stand out as breaking new territory and also being written above average. The first is pages 153-157 where we learn that real science has proved that depressed people often have a lessened ability to sweat. Now obviously the author himself found that interresting because ”Someone should write a book” hints at that being his next project. The other is the whole chapter about placebos and nocebos. Nothing new to me since I've read Joe Dispenza (another one of these authors who got the gods, but mostly drenches it in word salad), but that part of this book is also for some reason a better read than the rest.
To summarize: I probably won't buy the next book from this author - but there's still a chance that I might. If nothing happens to the writing technique in the genre(s) as a whole I'm pretty much prepared to cut down on buying books and move over to listening to podcasts.
January 24, 2024
Thrive or die: That's the rule of evolution.
Despite this brutal logic, some species have learned to survive in even the most hostile conditions.
Others couldn't—and perished.
While incremental genetic adaptations hone the physiology of nearly every creature on this planet, there's another evolutionary force that is just as important: the power of choice.
As I age, I am becoming more and more curious to find out what I'm capable of. So, be curious, and then test your capabilities and push your limits.
Carney examines an expanded concept that he calls “the Wedge,” involving a variety of uncomfortable or unsettling regimens that disrupt one’s climate-controlled routines and foster more creative and healthy responses to stress.
He revisits breathing exercises and ice-water baths, which he credits with curing his own autoimmunity-related mouth cankers, and endures agonizing heat in a broiling sauna, which he says cleanses his mind; saunas could also be useful, studies suggest, in alleviating depression.
Drugs, he writes, are a multifaceted Wedge; he took Ecstasy with his wife and resolved thorny marital issues in a blissful rapture, thus achieving the equivalent of “eight months of weekly [couples] therapy in just the course of two or three hours,” and drank a Peruvian shaman’s hallucinogenic ayahuasca brew, which initiated a psychedelic trance that, he says, ended his addiction to video games.
He also lost five pounds on the “Potato Hack,” a blandly filling all-potato diet that, he asserts, severs the link between hunger and instinctual noshing on tasty food.
Despite this brutal logic, some species have learned to survive in even the most hostile conditions.
Others couldn't—and perished.
While incremental genetic adaptations hone the physiology of nearly every creature on this planet, there's another evolutionary force that is just as important: the power of choice.
As I age, I am becoming more and more curious to find out what I'm capable of. So, be curious, and then test your capabilities and push your limits.
Carney examines an expanded concept that he calls “the Wedge,” involving a variety of uncomfortable or unsettling regimens that disrupt one’s climate-controlled routines and foster more creative and healthy responses to stress.
He revisits breathing exercises and ice-water baths, which he credits with curing his own autoimmunity-related mouth cankers, and endures agonizing heat in a broiling sauna, which he says cleanses his mind; saunas could also be useful, studies suggest, in alleviating depression.
Drugs, he writes, are a multifaceted Wedge; he took Ecstasy with his wife and resolved thorny marital issues in a blissful rapture, thus achieving the equivalent of “eight months of weekly [couples] therapy in just the course of two or three hours,” and drank a Peruvian shaman’s hallucinogenic ayahuasca brew, which initiated a psychedelic trance that, he says, ended his addiction to video games.
He also lost five pounds on the “Potato Hack,” a blandly filling all-potato diet that, he asserts, severs the link between hunger and instinctual noshing on tasty food.
December 18, 2022
Hmmm, The Wedge. An interesting descriptor of an elusive concept. The author's definition is somewhat broad: that space between your environment and your reaction to a sensation or stimulus that has been shaped by your life experiences. Despite the concept being a little hard to initially latch onto, the author did a really good job of showing, rather than telling. He describes several scenarios which demonstrate how he uses the wedge to redefine his experience. The scenarios range from Wim Hof breathing methods, cold water submersion, hot sauna therapy, sensory deprivation salt water floating, mdma couples therapy, and also several doses of ayahuasca in South America. I loved his stories and perspectives and am intruiged to read other books by this author(/investigative journalist). I'm also further intruiged to learn more about Wim Hof breathing, as it becomes somewhat of a central theme of this book and also of another book I read this year Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art.
May 15, 2023
The book is ok, it's interesting. The narrator (author) is agreeable and likable. If you have never heard of Wim Hof, ayahuasca, present-day shamanistic rituals, sensory deprivation tanks, etc. this book will be very rewarding indeed. But I would suspect that most readers come to Carney from previous books, podcasts and other media sources where this information is a regular topic. For these readers, like me, the book is but an interesting and valuable personal account of his experiences. I had trouble the whole time with his "wedge" concept. I felt it lacked unity. I couldn't square all of his illustrative experiences with what he wants to convey with this term. Sometimes "the wedge" is nothing more than eustress, sometimes it's sensorial experimentation. If by "the wedge" we are to understand conscious awareness for extreme situations, I would have preferred more takeaways, or hacks, on how to achieve this capacity: how to move my mindset --put a wedge-- from a comfortable everyday experience to the extreme and edgy.
December 14, 2020
Don Juan revisited
History is full of stories of people seeking spiritual experiences with the help of a change in environment. The human is built for amazingly harsh conditions that the average person can’t imagine, let alone experience. Scott is really good at telling a story. Several times while reading I was sucked into the omnipotent observer and away from being simply a reader. Performance athletes and Special Operations people have developed a way to get their conscious mind in the middle of the loop between stimulus and response. Scott calls this “ The Wedge.” I encourage other to read this book. Step out of yourself for an hour or two in this book, and maybe find yourself forever.
History is full of stories of people seeking spiritual experiences with the help of a change in environment. The human is built for amazingly harsh conditions that the average person can’t imagine, let alone experience. Scott is really good at telling a story. Several times while reading I was sucked into the omnipotent observer and away from being simply a reader. Performance athletes and Special Operations people have developed a way to get their conscious mind in the middle of the loop between stimulus and response. Scott calls this “ The Wedge.” I encourage other to read this book. Step out of yourself for an hour or two in this book, and maybe find yourself forever.
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