Obsessing over obsession + a thing I’ve been working on!

Ok — I absolutely forgot that for a while I would also post my Substack articles on Medium. Only after opening Medium and opening my Notifications did I realise that I had forgotten about Medium!

Anyway.. Here’s a post I wrote a couple of weeks ago.

This is issue 41 of Carved, my attempt to understand and document how to improve the research and literature review process. To read the previous issue, click here.

For the past few weeks I’ve been stuck on this problem of exploratory research. Why is it so difficult to read, understand, and analyse academic papers? I do a bit of paper reading and literature review for every Carved issue (I hope it’s reassuring to readers that I’m not just making things up as I go along). My first thought on it was captured on issue 39 of Carved. It was my first attempt to unpack the issue (for me, at least) and understand how other people do any kind of research that involves reading academic papers.

I’m no expert in this. The truth is I don’t find reading academic papers, or understanding a particular research topic, any easier than when I started as a student at university. It was difficult then, and it’s difficult now. Some papers are more beginner-friendly than others. This one left an impression on me: a study on how peer pressure can increase productivity. This was one of the first Behavioural Economics papers I read. I could confidently say that I understood the paper and the experimental design with no issue!

I wish more papers were written that way. But alas, that’s not the case. It also doesn’t help that finding relevant papers often leads you down a rabbit hole, making it even harder to get a solid understanding of all of the different angles on a research question. Surely in a world where AI is slowly slowly taking over, there must be a better way to do this?

Okay, have I lost you yet? It’s not the world’s most exciting topic, but it’s something I haven’t stopped thinking about. It’s almost addictive working on this, trying to understand how other people handle their research, and if they have this problem at all?!

Helloooo Kernel!

Ben and I attended a Generative AI hackathon a couple of weeks back, and teamed up with a brilliant developer and data scientist, Paul and Saul, to build what eventually became Kernel. It started off as a fun project to tackle within 24 hours, but we’ve been trying to keep it going — it’s available to try now! We’d appreciate your help in making it better.

It’s our attempt to simplify academic research, to help people explore related questions and navigate the literature easily. It’s still rough around the edges, but I’m using it to write this issue of Carved and explore the topic of obsession (the very thing that got us to start working on Kernel!).

So back to the main question: why do people obsess over things? It’s a loose term that we often use in daily conversations, but what does it actually mean to have an obsession? What’s the mechanism behind it? Are there any psychological and benefits of obsessing over something?

What does it mean to have an obsession?

This article defines obsessions as thoughts and images that continue to exist in a person’s mind, even if they’re unpleasant. When talking about obsession in the context of mental health, it comes with a serious undertone, often considered as a symptom of several mental health disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. This kind of obsession is often accompanied by compulsions, or repetitive actions one does in the hope of neutralising their anxiety. For some, this can be a sensitive subject. Obsessions can negatively impact mental health and cause distress, potentially crippling those affected by it.

This isn’t what most people mean when they say they’re obsessed over something. They might be referring to certain (mild) characteristics of having an obsessive personality. A lot of people (myself included) think about obsessive personality traits in the context of work. Traits of obsessive personality include being preoccupied by certain thoughts, and being focused on the details and organisation of those thoughts (Sadr Bafghi et al., 2007; Dotson, 2009).

Are obsessions in this context ever healthy? What, if anything, are the benefits of this?

Are there any benefits of having an obsessive personality?

If you look up the benefits of obsessions, you probably won’t have much luck finding anything, but you can find something if you dig deep enough! 🙃

This study found some associations between obsessive personality and high conscientiousness, which is also linked with success in academic as well as work performance. Obsessive personality traits are also positively associated with high productivity and achievement levels, seeing as they’re likely to be more organised and detail-oriented.

Of course the relationship isn’t as straightforward as that — there are other variables at play. As this study suggests, influences in early years can also play a part in determining one’s likelihood for success. Different types of job will also interact differently with this kind of personality. People with jobs that require a higher level of detail and organisation are more likely to benefit from this.

The negative consequences of having a (work) obsession

It won’t be a surprise that obsessions are more strongly linked with negative effects. It’s common knowledge now that obsessing over work can be extremely unhealthy, leading to work addiction and burnout.

Work addiction can be especially damaging when other aspects of life are neglected, such as physical health and social relationships.

Interestingly, compulsive personality traits, which are associated with obsessions, are also positively linked with purchase addiction. This fits the pattern, as addiction to purchase is a form of obsession. Quite alarming for me to read as I don’t shy away from shopping opportunities… 😅 But again, the relationship between the two may not be strictly linear, as obsessive purchase is also significantly associated with extraversion personality traits as well as anxiety. I’m not clear on why exactly extraversion has any effects on shopping addiction, but it kind of makes sense for someone to use shopping as a way to alleviate their anxiety, making them more prone to getting addicted to it.

What I’ve been up to

We just came back from a weekend in Yorkshire with Sam’s grandparents. Naturally, we spent a lot of time eating. It was indulgent, and it was delightful. We also somehow ended up watching a lot of snooker. Not something I would have ever thought I’d enjoy! But it was surprisingly enjoyable and relaxing to watch!

Anyway.

Everything else is same old same old. I’m still interested in learning about how people do research or read academic papers… If you’re interested in trying out Kernel, do sign up! You can do multiple searches at once and get insights from academic papers without the hassle of reading them yourself. If you do decide to try it out… let me know how you get on! 😊

What’s on my radar

Guns, Germs, and Steel

This book has been on my radar for a good few years, and I never had the guts to read it. If you see how thick the book is, you’ll understand. It’s thicker than the Bible. This goes through the history of everyone in the last 13,000 years. I’m not really sure how long it’ll take me to finish the book, but I’m excited to keep reading this!

Daisy Jones and the Six

I watched this show 3 times within a couple of weeks. 3 times. It’s a captivating story about a band in the 70’s that ended up becoming one of the biggest bands in the world, only to break up shortly after the end of their world tour. It’s loosely inspired by Fleetwood Mac. Would I watch it again? I think so. I’m still listening to the music quite a lot, to my boyfriend’s dismay.

As always, thank you for supporting this little side project of mine and for getting to the end of this week’s newsletter! If you’ve enjoyed this week’s issue, please share with your friends! 😊