Mr. Bean Live Performance at the London 2012 Olympic Games
YOUTUBE.COM -- Rowan Atkinson performs under the guise of his famous character Mr. Bean at the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games. ...
OTBT | MM | TT | WW
How the Earth Became Flat
THEPOLYMATHPROJECT.COM -- Contrary to what I learned in school, no educated person in 1492 [when Columbus sailed to North America] believed that the earth was flat.... Or, as historian J. B. Russel puts it, "... with extraordinary few exceptions no educated person in the history of Western Civilization from the third century B.C. onward believed that the earth was flat.... Historians of science have been proving this point for at least 70 years ..." The fact that the story survives until today suggests that there is something more at stake here than "mere history." ...
What Experts Do and Don't Know
[H/T MOHIB EBRAHIM] -- QUILLETTE.COM -- [ISMAILI DIGEST ED: In 2002, Hazar Imam said "I have been amazed and thrilled frankly, at the capacities of even the completely illiterate populations, to express themselves about the correct priority that should be addressed. And if you follow their agenda, nine times out of ten, you'll get it right!"] ARTICLE: In his book Intellectuals and Society, Thomas Sowell calls "mundane knowledge" the local, everyday facts that ordinary people know about their own circumstances ... A huge quantity of detailed and specific knowledge which no small group of experts could ever hope to learn. ...
The Limits of Expertise
QUILLETTE.COM -- People value expertise in closed systems, but distrust expertise in open systems.... Engineers, surgeons, pilots, are 'trusted' experts operating in closed systems.... Open systems are those that are 'exposed to the elements,' ... The economy, climate and politics are open systems. No matter how much you know, there is not only always more to know, but also an utterly unpredictable slide towards chaos as these things interact.... The erosion of trust in expertise has arisen exclusively from experts in open systems. ...
21 Ernest Hemingway Quotes to Use as Guiding Principles
GOALCAST.COM -- #4: The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.... #3: Courage is grace under pressure. #6: Never confuse movement with action.... #15: Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.... #9: Every man's life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another. ...
The nightmare videos of children's YouTube -- and what's wrong with the internet today
TED.COM -- Writer and artist James Bridle uncovers a dark, strange corner of the internet, where unknown people or groups "on YouTube hack the brains of young children in return for advertising revenue." ... "And there's so much weirdness in the system now that autoplay takes you to some pretty strange places. This is how, within a dozen steps, you can go from a cute video of a counting train to masturbating Mickey Mouse. Yeah. I'm sorry about that." ... "If you take one thing away from this, it's that if you have small children, keep them the hell away from YouTube." ...
The Facebook Feed Has Become The Internet's Suburban Sprawl
THEFEDERALIST.COM -- Expressways, neon lights, and concrete slabs might have a thing or two in common with our rising digital wasteland, littered with ads and pointless content.... As with the monotony of the highway strip, the Facebook feed leaves one's consciousness ebbing away, replaced by a kind of hypnosis leavened only by a vague discomfort. You are left wondering: Why does this exist? ...
Why You Should Make Your Life Spectacular | Robin Williams
YOUTUBE.COM -- GOALCAST -- Hollywood legend Robin Williams tells you how to make your life spectacular and why it's all worth it in the end. You know, as we come to the end of this phase of our life, we find ourselves trying to remember the good times and trying to forget the bad times, and we find ourselves thinking about the ...
Old Man Strength At Muscle Beach
YOUTUBE.COM -- Our double age-ent: Kenneth Leverich, a former Junior Olympic weight lifter and top SoCal Crossfit competitor who does even lift, 535lbs dead, precisely. We tapped Hollywood special effects guru Dan Gilbert to subject Leverich to 4 hours of prosthetics and make up. Then we made him wear a cardigan. ...
Why A Big Fat Indian Wedding Is A Nightmare For An Introvert Bride
INTROVERTDEAR.COM -- A big fat Indian wedding is all about people, glitter, fun, and a show of wealth -- which can quickly turn into a nightmare for the bride if she's an introvert. Here are nine things that may make an Indian bride wonder why she ever wanted to get married. 1. Rituals and rituals and rituals There are so many rituals observed at ...
Why Introverts and Extroverts Are Different: The Science
QUIETREV.COM -- In her book "Quiet Kids: Help Your Introverted Child Succeed in an Extroverted World," Christine Fonseca explains that introverts prefer to use a different neurotransmitter called acetylcholine. Like dopamine, acetylcholine is also linked to pleasure; the difference is, acetylcholine makes us feel good when we turn inward. It powers our abilities to think deeply, reflect, and focus intensely on just one thing for a long period of time. It also helps explain why introverts like calm environments ...
20 Voltaire Quotes to Improve your Rational Thinking
[H/T MOHIB EBRAHIM] -- GOALCAST.COM -- #8: If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.... #1: It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong.... #5: Cherish those who seek the truth but beware of those who find it.... #10: Our wretched species is so made that those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road. ...
Stars seize Iranian imagination -- especially of women
ALJAZEERA.COM -- Women in Saadat Shahr have even sold their jewellery to help science teacher Asghar Kabiri realise his dream of building an observatory.... Most of Iran's astronomers are the faces of the future: they have an average age of 19 and are 60% female, Tafreshi said ... "In the United States most astronomers are middle-aged and very few are women," Simmons said. ...
The paradox of instant gratification
OZANVAROL.COM -- The line stretched as far as my 10-year old eyes could see. I had never seen a line that long for anything-let alone a movie. It was 1991. My father and I were standing outside on a cold Istanbul afternoon waiting for tickets to see Terminator 2. He had promised to take me to see the hottest new Hollywood action flick, and ...
World-famous trumpeter entertains drivers stranded on Highway 1 in Alberta
PONOKANEWS.COM -- Drivers stuck on a closed stretch of Highway 1 in Alberta had a musical experience they won't soon forget. The highway between Canmore and Banff, blanketed in heavy snow, was closed for more than eight hours on Tuesday afternoon after a reported crash involving a tractor-trailer. Footage posted on social media shows traffic at a standstill. But as the truckers and travellers ...
Why Doctors Reject Tools That Make Their Jobs Easier
SCIENTIFICAMERICAN.COM -- From the thermometer's invention onward, physicians have feared -- incorrectly -- that new technology would make their jobs obsolete. I want to tell you about a brouhaha in my field over a "new" medical discipline three hundred years ago. Half my fellow doctors thought it weighed them down and wanted nothing to do with it. The other half celebrated it ...
The most important lesson from 83,000 brain scans | Daniel Amen
TEDSUMMARIES.COM -- TEDX ORANGE COAST -- Dr. Daniel Amen speaks about the intersection of medical imaging and psychiatry. He and his colleagues have been using brain SPECT imaging: A tool used to help psychiatrists understand more about imaging. For the past 22 years they've built the largest database of brain scans related to behavior. Shockingly, psychiatrists are the only medical specialists that ...
A Dark Consensus About Screens and Kids Begins to Emerge in Silicon Valley
NYTIMES.COM -- Technologists know how phones really work, and many have decided they don't want their own children anywhere near them. Tim Cook, the C.E.O. of Apple, said earlier this year that he would not let his nephew join social networks. Bill Gates banned cellphones until his children were teenagers, and Melinda Gates wrote that she wished they had waited even longer. Steve Jobs would not let his young children near iPads. ...
The man who never looks into a newspaper
AZQUOTES.COM -- The man who never looks into a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them, in-as-much as he who knows nothing is nearer to the truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehood and errors. -- Thomas Jefferson; 3rd President of the United States from 1801 to 1809. ...
10 ways to have a better conversation
TED.COM -- [ISMAILI DIGEST ED: Highly recommended.] ARTICLE: When your job hinges on how well you talk to people, you learn a lot about how to have conversations -- and that most of us don't converse very well. Celeste Headlee has worked as a radio host for decades, and she knows the ingredients of a great conversation: ...
The Only Thing You Should Give Up to Be Happy Again (The Story of a Fisherman and a Banker)
MAYOOSHIN.COM -- I'd like to share a quick story about happiness with you. It's a story about a Mexican Fisherman and an Investment Banker. It goes something like this... "An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The American complimented ...
Top 10 Most Dangerous Mountain Roads in the World
YOUTUBE.COM -- The most world's most dangerous mountain roads in India, Peru and Nepal and more. Be sure to watch to the end! ...
Why uncertainty beats certainty
OZANVAROL.COM -- When I grade final exams, I often see answers that say something along the lines of "I don't have all of the relevant facts, so it's impossible to reach a conclusion." Guess what? You never will have all of the relevant facts.... You'll be required to give an opinion based on imperfect information ... The jobs that thrive in the Information Age are those that require hard calls and tough judgments. ...
A Tolerance for Uncertainty is the Price of Admission for An Extraordinary Life
MEDIUM.COM -- Discomfort is a non-negotiable part of any life where you attempt to be the architect of your reality. We crave adventure, purpose, and meaning. Yet, We seek out safety, profit, and security. To do anything extraordinary, you must accept the duality that nothing is guaranteed and anything is possible. As Susan David says, "discomfort is the price of admission for a meaningful life." ... Extraordinary achievements are rarely the result of a predictable, safe, and linear trajectory. ...
10 Inspiring Quotes from Rumi
YOUTUBE.COM -- Inspiring collection of quotes from Rumi, a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist and Sufi mystic. Quote #1 - "Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of what you really love." Quote #2 - "The wound is the place where the light enters you." Quote #3 - "Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all ...
Why Accepting The West's Deluge Of Unmarried Child-Bearing Entrenches Injustice
THEFEDERALIST.COM -- [ISMAILI DIGEST ED: Hazar Imam said, in a 2001 interview, that his worry was that "the notion of a unique family, is in the process of destroying itself" and that "today we face a situation where a part of our world accepts that children are born outside the family."] ARTICLE: Choosing to have babies without a husband is not empowering in any ...
In The Final Analysis, All We Really Have Is Each Other
MEDIUM.COM -- THE MISSION PODCASTS -- Why are we so stressed about things that matter little, especially when we won't be remembered for them? For many, there's a preoccupation chasing material objects, symbols and status when few will remember them for their achievements.... The value of human connections is something money cannot buy and what really matters are those who will remember us for the times we spent together. ...
Se. 01 Ep. 05: Only 3% of People Get the Right Answer - Riddle Me This!
YOUTUBE.COM -- Riddle 01: Mr. and Mrs. Smith - Mr. Smith is found dead in his office. Only 3% of people get the right answer... Riddle 02: The impossible suicide. A man hung himself in a room with a high ceiling. Crime or suicide? Riddle 03: Stuck on the boat. This is tricky! You will have to prove your deduction skills. ...
17 Graphs That Are Way Too Real For Introverts
BUZZFEED.COM -- [ISMAILI DIGEST ED: Most people, even introverts, are unaware what introversion actually is. Most think it's a "problem" to fix just like, decades ago, people thought left-handedness was a "problem" to fix. 30%-50% of people are introverts, so you may be one and people close to you certainly are. Understanding introversion means less stress and better relationships.] ARTICLE: You say ...
Why Introversion Is Not A Liability To Be Overcome
[H/T MOHIB EBRAHIM] -- INTROVERTDEAR.COM -- Much of society falls into the trap of negative stereotype when it comes to introverts. As Susan Cain, author of Quiet, writes, "Introversion -- along with its cousins sensitivity, seriousness, and shyness -- is now a second-class personality trait, somewhere between a disappointment and a pathology." The "single story" of introversion is one of deficiency, suggesting that we should all strive to be outgoing extroverts.... Introversion is not a detriment. It's not a liability to be overcome. ...
It ain't what you don't know ...
AZQUOTES.COM -- [ISMAILI DIGEST ED: In his 2007, Mombasa Aga Khan Academy speech, Hazar Imam reminded us of this quote.] ARTICLE: It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so. -- Mark Twain ...
13 Painful Life Lessons I've Learned
MAYOOSHIN.COM -- #1. Nobody cares about your goals and dreams. Let's get real here for a second. Do you care about my goals and dreams? ... But, nowadays, most people live in the illusion -- usually on social media -- that their goals and dreams are special ... they expect the world to press pause, take note and offer a helping hand. ...
10 Amazing Eggs Life Hacks and Edible Tricks
YOUTUBE.COM -- MR. HACKER -- 10 cool life hacks and edible tricks with eggs you should know! ...
7 Skills That Aren't About to Be Automated
HBR.ORG -- HARVARD -- Today's young professionals grew up in an age of mind-boggling technological change ... These advances all point toward the total automation of our lives, including the way we work and do business. ... In what follows we'll share seven skills that can not only make you unable to be automated, but will make you employable no matter what the future holds.
The War on Normal People -- A Review
QUILLETTE.COM -- The sectors where "normal" people tend to work--administration, retail, food service, transportation, and manufacturing--have high levels of repetitiveness and are highly susceptible to automation.... Once a single competitor automates, the others must follow.... Many are disappearing in the retail sector .... Next up is the transportation sector ... Even many white-collar jobs will disappear. The Fed categorises 44% of all American jobs as routine ...
My top 10 quotes on fairness - Richard Branson
VIRGIN.COM -- #8. "Live so that when your children think of fairness and integrity, they think of you." - H. Jackson Brown, Jr ... #6. "I think perfect objectivity is an unrealistic goal; fairness, however, is not."- Michael Pollan
Why incompetent people think they're amazing - David Dunning
TED.COM -- How good are you with money? What about reading people's emotions? How healthy are you, compared to other people you know? Knowing how our skills stack up against others is useful in many ways. But psychological research suggests that we're not very good at evaluating ourselves accurately. In fact, we frequently overestimate our own abilities. David Dunning describes the Dunning-Kruger effect.
Why Talented People Don't Use Their Strengths
HBR.ORG -- HARVARD -- If you watched the Super Bowl a few months ago, you probably saw the coaches talking to each other over headsets during the game. What you didn't know is that during the 2016 season, the NFL made major league-wide improvements to its radio frequency technology, both to prevent interference from media using the same frequency and to prevent ...
A profound collection of insights on life and leadership from Jeff Bezos
[H/T SAHIL BADRUDDIN] -- YOUTUBE.COM -- MOTIVATIONHUB -- Jeff Bezos's Life Changing Advice (Must Watch!!) The $160 billion dollar man share's his greatest advice with you. ...
The God Box
NAKEDPASTOR.COM -- There is such peace beyond the walls of beliefs. In fact, this is where true happiness is found. We must agree, though, that the Mystery, the Source, the All-in-All, is certainly beyond the limitations of what we believe. Assuredly! If your god is trapped within your ideas and words then you have nothing more than an idol. ...
