“Be more self-aware” is advice that helps some people and quietly harms others. This piece looks at metacognition — the mind’s habit of watching itself — and why monitoring, control, and what we believe about thinking matter more than the thoughts themselves, not least for neurodivergent minds.

Most popular writing on cannabis and the senses makes the same claim. It sharpens them. Colours look brighter, music sounds richer, food tastes more vivid. It's an appealing idea, and parts of it match what people describe. But it's only a fraction of the story, and the part it leaves out is the part worth understanding. That's because we don't have five senses. We have eight.