Archive for the ‘From the web’ Category
How to get people back together again
In this clip from MSNBC, Chuck Tood talks to Rich Harwood and Ben Collins. They’re discussing what they call a “civic virus,” in other words the fact that people have separated themselves from others. The solution starts with people in their local communities getting together so they can see each other and remember that “the […]
4 billion years of evolution
If you don’t have time to read The Ancestor’s Tale by Richard Dawkins, you can watch this video. Prosanta Chakrabarty gives a TED talk on evolution and dispels some myths. He argues that it’s important to understand where we come from, in order to treat others on this planet the right way. Four billion years […]
Methane’s importance in climate change
Ilissa Ocko, an atmospheric scientist, provides some details in this TED Talk that I hadn’t heard before. In addition to reducing carbon dioxide, which is important for the long term, we also need to reduce methane — which is important for the short term. The 3 main categories of methane production are energy production, waste […]
The end of a universe
All of the Star Trek novels that take place in the 24th century have been part of a shared, consistent universe for the last 20 years. These novels take place after Nemesis, after “What You Leave Behind,” and after “Endgame.” They fall into the novel series The Next Generation, Titan, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and […]
Some particularly interesting pattern
Ramsey Theory “states that given enough elements in a set or structure some particularly interesting pattern among them is guaranteed to emerge.” And we all know that humans evolved to find patterns. This explains the subset of conspiracy theories where people think that an old text has predicted something. Here’s the explanation on TED-Ed: The […]
The Flat Earth conspiracy theory
You might be wondering how people in the 21st century could believe the world is flat. In this video Simon from Today I Found Out details the rise and fall of various Flat Earth societies. He points out that all intelligent people have known the Earth is round for thousands of years. As you might […]
Why the Mona Lisa?
The Mona Lisa is certainly a beautiful painting, but there are lots of other beautiful paintings too. Why is this one so famous? Noah Charney answers the question here on TED-Ed. It’s a combination of factors, including a brazen theft in 1911. Why is the Mona Lisa so famous? – Noah Charney
Astonishing ancient works of art & science
From the Funny Foxy YouTube channel, here are some items from hundreds or thousands of years ago that are amazing. See things from people you’ve heard of like Michelangelo and Galileo. And things you haven’t heard of like 1000-year-old windmills in Iran, a globe from 1504, and a hut made from mammoth bones. Very Old […]
It’s time to get rid of monarchy
Among the things we should get rid of in the 21st century? Monarchy. Note that I’m not talking about a specific monarchy, or specific people. Any specific monarch might be a nice person — that is irrelevant to my point. Regardless of their niceness, or usefulness, they should get off their throne. As for the […]
Incompetent people think they’re great
You might have wondered, particularly over the last 5 or 6 years, why incompetent people don’t realize they’re incompetent. For example, 88% of drivers think they’re better than average at driving — which is mathematically impossible. It happens with all kinds of things. And the people who are the least competent overrate themselves to the […]