I’ve reached my favorite part of Infinite Jest thus far– David Foster Wallace was ahead of his time, wisely forecasting the current concept of FaceTime phone calls. He went one step further, satirically predicting we’d all want to escape this technological reality in which we are no longer able to freely “blemish-scan” or “nostril-explore” or adjust our genitals because we are being LOOKED AT AS WE SPEAK. Oh, the horror! In the book, the wealthy among us demand “videophone masks that were really quite a lot better-looking” than we are in person, and it results in all of us emperors wearing no clothes (or, rather, all wearing masks, so we might as well just go back to no video on our phone calls). Hardy har har. Chuckles galore.

But this addict-riddled book has made me wonder—can anyone truly be a non-addict?  Is that only possible for Tibetan monks who have no attachments? I find myself replacing one addiction (sugar) with another (huh-yeah ALMONDS and obscene globs of peanut butter on tiny slivers of apple). I know that getting over this sugar addiction isn’t about willpower. It’s about setting up my own chemicals for success (i.e. not letting myself get hungry or stressed, because if I do, I’ll crave sugar). And to choose not to let anything else control me (cravings, mood swings caused by what I eat, becoming hangry).

I watched some interviews of David Foster Wallace over the weekend, and I was struck by his self-awareness (Charlie Rose interview, I’m lookin’ at you!). If someone so intelligent and thoughtful couldn’t think his way out of his own addictions, what hope is there for the rest of us?