Oh, the irony of writing an angry post about benefits of anger.
replyYou must have accomplished a lot since you seem to focus on anger rather than substance. Did I disturb your calm.
replyIt’s got to be U shaped. There is a reason you have a sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system.
replyMany of the greatest achievements in science & engineering were accomplished during wartime under intense stress or obsession - not a relaxed parasympathetic state.
replyThat alone should make us skeptical of simplistic claims that calmer physiological states are inherently "more optimal" for complex cognition.
My take about athletic performance is that it is good to be relaxed up until the moment you need to act. Even when I play Beat Saber multiplayer I think it is a mistake to be waving your arms around at the beginning or during pauses because fatigue builds up through the level. Eustress is phasic rather than tonic.
replyEven outside wartime great accomplishments come through obsession though, but I would say that the people who “make it” in academia are the ones who are kinda sanguine about the family business as opposed to the driven outsiders.