среда, 6 апреля 2016 г.

All the topics that interest us.

All the topics that interest us.

Most of us know roughly what harmony means…though some of us may be at the level of kids and cannot even articulate what harmony is in the roughest of terms. But could you explain harmony to a child? Or how about a relatively educated adult? That takes real expertise. So listen to musician Jacob Collier explain harmony to kids, grownups, and––wait for it––jazz legend Herbie Hancock. Imagine how hard it must be to explain music theory to a music legend!


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We know, we know, this is totally a “clickbait title.” But here’s the thing, this paper airplane isn’t one of those fold-and-go, origami-for-doofuses airplanes. This is a model of a Boeing 777, and in fact, it’s a semi-working model. The overhead bins open, the headrests move up and down, the landing gear works, and so on. This Wired piece describes the man building this paper masterpiece (and why he would do such a crazy-involved thing).


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A book called Fire and Fury recently came out, and it describes Trump’s very difficult first year in office. In addition, Trump’s recently released private schedule reveals that Trump is working less and less every day. His days start around eleven in the morning, and many of them have several hours of built in “executive time” every day. What is executive time, you ask? Time spent tweeting and watching TV news. So…yeah, that’s not great (if it’s true). Take a look at this Close Look and weigh in in the comments.


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Most movies seem like copies of other movies. Think Star Wars: The Force Awakens and A New Hope. Basically the same movie, right? Other movies make artful references. For example, the famous baby carriage scene from The Untouchables was inspired by Battleship Potemkin (other films referenced that same scene before The Untouchables). Precious few movies are entirely original, though, and this CineFix video runs through five different kinds of originality in the art of filmmaking. Spoiler alert: you likely haven’t heard of any of them.


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When you watch a movie and a character gets his or her heart broken, you feel bad for that character. You know, probably, what it is like to have your heart broken so you can put yourself in that character’s shoes. That’s called empathy. Babies don’t have empathy, but adults do. The question is when exactly do children develop empathy? This video gets into questions of childhood psychological development in terms of empathy.


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Egyptian Blue is a color that dates back to the time of the pharaohs. The exact recipe for the color disappeared for a time, but scientists eventually rediscovered it thanks to some historical records and a lot of experimentation. Now that Egyptian Blue has been rediscovered, it’s useful for a lot more than just dyeing shirts a cool stage of blue. Check out the video to learn some of the cool things that scientists have learned from this color.


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You might have seen a video in which an alleged portal opens up in a room and opens up a window to Sedona, Arizona. The video has nearly a million views by now, and many of the comments buy into it a hundred percent. This credulity has angered Captain Disillusion, who has dedicated his life to debunking fake viral videos. In this video, he explains how the “portal” is actually a result of some clever computer animation.


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Just like an American-English speaking person can go to England and notice that people have accents, so too can an America Sign Language speaker can go to England and detect differences in sign languages. This video explains the differences in sign language dialects and how those differences originated. The entire video is presented by a deaf blogger (with the exception of Tom Scott’s introduction), so you’re going to need to put on closed captioning. And life pro-tip, if you’re a fast reader you can double the speed of the video.


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Koreans don’t (as a general rule) eat nachos. Mexicans (as a rule) don’t eat Korean food. But that doesn’t mean that these two cuisines should never meet. Bert Kreischer, in this video, teaches comedians Bill Burr and Tom Segura how to make nachos Korean style. It’s a very unique twist on nachos, given that it doesn’t use tortilla chips and instead uses wanton chips. If you don’t want to watch this video, then skip to the full recipe.


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When you think top-of-the-line, you generally don’t think about Indian food. And if you think about gas station food in general, you probably think it would be impossible for gas station food to be fresh and delicious. But this family business is going to change all of those perceptions. Using fresh ingredients, solid recipes, and a quick turnaround, this gas station Indian food is the going to make a mark on Indian food in the L.A. region.


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The whole point of dating is to find someone that you can spend the rest of your life with. But there’s a big problem with that: how do you know you’ve found the right person? In this short video, Jordan Peterson tries to explain some of the things that you’ll need to know if you are going to successfully determine if you’ve found the right person. For example, to set up a life with someone you’ll have to do all sorts of negotiations. If you are going to be able to live with someone forever, you’ll have to be able to negotiate well.


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The history of the universe is usually not told in dominoes. But this unique video uses dominoes as a motif to explain how the universe evolved from the big bang on. Over the course of 13,7999 dominoes––each domino representing a million years––the host explains how the big bang catalyzed atoms to join, create stars that explode and send their elements out, and so and so forth. The video also explains the origins of our own galaxy, why it’s called the Milky Way, and why it has its shape.


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Do you find yourself baffled by how airlines price their flights? You’re not alone, it’s insanely complicated. But Wendover Productions has done a lot of work analyzing how prices fluctuate over the course of a month, and in this video he explains the pricing model. You’ll learn how airlines compete with each other, how they decide their prices, the best times to fly, and loads more about the economics of running an airline in this video.


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Like rules, New Year’s resolutions seem to be meant to be broken. If you, like so many millions of Americans, set your goals only to drop them after a week or so, then this video is well timed. It offer some psychological tips for sticking to your resolutions. For example, if you aim high (but still achievable), you’re more likely to reach your goals. That’s because when we set ourselves challenging goals and then reach them, we feel amazing. The real tricky part is setting a high goal that you can still reach.


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Televised football games are filled with graphics, so it’s easy to get overloaded and overlook how darned impressive they are. This video points out the most common (and most commonly overlooked) graphic of any televised football game: the yellow first down line. It’s so impressive that you couldn’t be blamed if you thought it were really on the field. Have you ever noticed how players can step over the line without appearing yellow? That means the line isn’t just covering the pixels on the screen. So how do they do it? Take a look.


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Takeout food is one of life’s greatest conveniences. Unfortunately, it’s also a huge source of waste. This video explains that there are lots of easy ways to slow down our disposable packaging waste. For example, restaurants simply offer bags for their takeout goods instead of asking if customers want those bags. Making the bags opt-in would save a bunch of waste. Similarly, Americans are consuming more bottled water than ever before. Installing bottle-refilling stations can save millions of bottles of water per year.


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Have you ever noticed that when you get bummed out, you tend to slouch forward? And have you noticed when you slouch forward, you tend to feel worse? That’s because, biologically, those two things are connected. In this video, Jordan Peterson explains the importance of keeping your posture strong. Interestingly, how you hold your body often has to do with the way you interact with the social hierarchy. The conversation that turns to the ways in which people incorrectly reject social structures.


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Do you want to be a social justice warrior? In this Ultra Spiritual Life episode, JP teaches you how with his easy five-step protocol. Step 1: ignore what the other person has to say. Step 2: Make huge assumptions about what that person meant, and then tell that person what they meant by what they said. Step 3: tell the person what they should think and tell them that they’re a terrible person. Step 4: Get that caps lock key ready, because you’re going to need it when they try to stand up for their own free will. Finally, step 5: label your opponent a racist, sexist, misogynist, transphobic, or whatever is most appropriate.


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You––or a friend––have probably uttered these words after rearranging your books or your desk or something: “Sorry, I’m a little OCD.” But can you be “a little” OCD? As it turns out, obsessive compulsive disorder is not something that happens in moderation––surprise surprise. This video runs through four misconceptions about OCD; first and foremost, OCD people clean a lot. That’s not always the case. It can involve saving keepsakes or checking the stove or something along those lines. Check the video for the rest.


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According to Yes, being the owner of a lonely heart is much better than being the owner of a broken heart. Well, there might actually be science to back that up. There’s such a thing as “broken heart syndrome,” though it’s technically known as stress-induced cardiomyopathy. Basically, your body releases stress hormones, and in people who suffer from broken heart syndrome those hormones go out of control. And it’s not just bad news that can trigger this––happy events can do it, too.


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Caitlin Doughty is a mortician, and while she may be a bit morbid (hazard of the job, as it turns out), she’s definitely not creepy. In fact, her channel tackles a number of issues about death in such a matter-of-fact manner that it’s not at all unpleasant to watch. While all of her videos are worth watching, this video is her most important. Many funeral homes take advantage of grieving families, sticking them with hidden fees or upselling them in their moment of weakness. In this video, Caitlin teaches you how to get the cheapest possible option for your deceased loved one, in case money is an issue.


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When it’s completed, the Giant Magellan Telescope will live up to its name. It will be the largest telescope in the world. Its size will pay off––it’s going to have ten times the resolution of the Hubble telescope. This video explains how the glass for the telescope’s massive mirror is being made. The spinning process itself uses the largest spinning furnace on the planet. It will take months for that glass to finish spinning and to cool!


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New York is famous for two foods: pizza (not the subject of this video) and bagels (definitely the subject of this video). New Yorkers will say that no other bagels compare to bagels––either because of the water (or as they say, wadder) or because of some special New York magic. While the bagel-master in this video does say that the tap water makes a difference, it might not be a deal breaker. Give the recipe in this vide a shot and see what happens. Leave the results in the comments.


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George Michael’s “Careless Whisper” is defined by that sweet saxophone. It’s hard to imagine how well that song would work without the sax solo. But Alexander Misko uses a unique technique to mimic it: he adjusts the tuning to get that awesome sax wail. His finger picking style is similarly incredible. He manages to keep a strong rhythm and play George Michael’s vocal part beautifully. Poke around Misko’s channel for more awesome acoustic covers.


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How much time do you spend watching TV when you could be doing something productive? How many nights wiled away at a bar, sipping on a beer, instead of making something meaningful? Jordan Peterson suggests that if we put a value on our time, we waste something like $50,000 a year in idleness, procrastination, and laziness. Then think about this: you’ll interact with about a thousand people in your lifetime. Imagine if you were more thoughtful and productive how that would impact all of the people you interact with…and then the people they interact with.


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We like to think that much separates us from the animals. But is that really the case? This video highlights six different animals that have oddly human behaviors. Cows, for example, are social animals. They need friends, and without their friends they get bored. If you think holding grudges is a human trait, then think again: crows are just as vindictive as humans. They hold grudges, too. And wait for it, there’s one more: African wild dogs are democratic. They vote.


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You have probably never heard of Bir Tawil, but it holds a strange distinction: it is the only piece of land on the planet that countries actually try to disavow. Why does no one want this piece of land? It’s a matter of border disputes. Basically, there are two borders between Egypt and the Sudan, both drawn by the British. One border gives Egypt more coastal land, the other gives Sudan more coastal land. The other difference between those two borders is Bir Tawil. If you get Bir Tawil, you lose the coastal land. So no one wants it.


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We have been taught to accept ourselves no matter what––we need to accept our flaws and love ourselves. But in this video, psychologist and professor Jordan Peterson explains that “just accepting yourself” is nihilistic and, in the end, harmful to yourself. That’s because humans need to focus on something outside ourselves, something better than ourselves. Without that, we stagnate in our own misery––and life is misery. The path to improvement, according to Peterson, is to focus on something greater than yourself and that gives you redemption from your misery.


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Watching Django Unchained, it was sometimes easy to forget that the movie was about slavery, America’s greatest sin. The movie was part spaghetti western, part comedy, part over-the-top shoot-’em-up. That raises an interesting question for both audiences and filmmakers: how should slavery be treated in films? Recent films have treated it with reverence, but Django alternated between sobriety and other moods. This video digs into that question, suggesting that comedy is part of the healing process.


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When you think of modern satire (heck, even historical satire, what with Puck magazine), you probably think of cartoons. Rick and Morty, The Simpsons, South Park, and Beavis and Butt-Head all satirize society in different ways. So why does animation lend itself to satire so well? This video suggests that satire requires exaggeration, irony, caricature, shock, and more. All of those things are easiest with animation because animations are not bound by the laws of physics.


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In some ways, procrastination is our greatest enemy, both as individuals and as a society. We all have such potential––and we know it!––but we fail to reach it because we put off our own success. We wait say, “we’ll do it tomorrow.” For most of us, that tomorrow never comes. If you want to stop procrastinating, take a look at this snippet from a Jordan Peterson lecture. He describes what kind of goals you should not set for yourself (vague goals that you know you can’t fail at because they’re too ambiguous) and what kind of goals you should set (goals with lots of micro-goals built in, things you can easily accomplish).


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Fifty years ago, going to space was everyone’s goal. In the intervening years, we’ve sent ships and stations and satellites to the stars, but soon we may not be able to visit space much anymore. This video explains the Kessler Syndrome. In a nutshell, the Kessler Syndrome describes the cost of sending so much stuff to space: pollution. Soon, we may not be able to go to space because there is too much pollution in the way.


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Humans are social creatures; we all need relationships to survive. Isolate someone and you doom them to madness. But there is such a thing as getting too deeply involved in a relationship, and that’s loosely known as codependency. This video digs into the history of the idea of codependency and then explains some of the nuances of these kinds of relationships. It also offers some tips of how to deal with a codependent relationship.


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We’ve all had this experience. We’re waiting in line at the grocery store, and we see a candy bar for sale. It’s just a buck, we tell ourselves, so we buy it. And the same thing gets repeated on much larger scales––we see a TV marked down to $600 from $1000 so we think, “I can’t afford not to buy it!” What causes us to make these impulse purchases? This video digs into the psychology of impulse buying.


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The London Underground is one of the most famous metro systems in the world. “Mind the Gap” has become a meme, for goodness sake. But the London Underground is even more important than you might think. This video explains how the London Underground forever changed the way people lived in the city, and then the way the city was designed (which in turned affected how people liv, creating a kind of feedback loop).


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Old wives’ tales walk that fine line between folkloric wisdom and mistaken beliefs. One such tale told by old wives is that we get colds when the weather turns cold. But that can’t be true, right? The cold is caused by a virus, not cold weather. But we should hear out those old wives, because they never said the cold will make you sick but rather if you go out in the cold you’ll get sick. And as this video suggests, that might actually be true!


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Original article and pictures take holykaw.alltop.com site

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