2015 TED Talk: Can We Create New Senses For Humans?
by David Eagleman
This thought-provoking talk is a pleasure to watch from beginning to end!
Annaka Harris
NEWS
Posts Categorized: Recommended
The Cutest Meditation Instruction Ever
Adorable Animated Mice Explain Meditation in 2 Minutes,
by Dan Harris and Happify
Wait But Why
I highly recommend Tim Urban’s blog, Wait But Why, and his latest post on colonizing Mars is especially great. Tim jokes that he’s been “seriously dating astronomy” since he was three-years-old, and his excitement and passion are contagious!
Click here to read Tim Urban’s latest blog post,
How (and Why) SpaceX Will Colonize Mars
Guest Post: Stardust
An excerpt from The Universe Within
by Neil Shubin
All the galaxies in the cosmos, like every creature on the planet, and every atom, molecule, and body on Earth are deeply connected. That connection begins at a single point 13.7 billion years ago…
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Guest Post: What Will I Say Next?
An excerpt from How Could Conscious Experiences Affect Brains?
by Max Velmans
…In speech, for example, the tongue may make as many as twelve adjustments of shape per second—adjustments which need to be precisely coordinated with other rapid, dynamic changes within the articulatory system. According to Lenneberg (1967), within one minute of discourse as many as ten to fifteen thousand neuromuscular events occur…
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The Power of Believing That You Can Improve
A TEDx Norrkoping Talk, by Carol Dweck
Dr. Dweck explains the power of responding to children with “Not Yet” when they’re having trouble understanding. If they are told “Not Yet”, they experience a problem as one they can solve given time and guidance, rather than something they have “failed”. Instead of setting children up for failure, low self-esteem, and cheating, we can help them become curious, interested in learning, and excited by a challenge!
2015 TED Talk: How Our Microbes Make Us Who We Are
by Rob Knight
This is a truly fascinating subject, and it reminds me of the research on parasites that affect behavior. If you’re interested in reading more, there was a great article in the New York Times by Natalie Angier in 2007: In Parasite Survival, Ploys to Get Help From a Host
My Plastic Alternative Recommendations
After reading the recent Mother Jones article “The Scary New Evidence on BPA-Free Plastics,” I started to take health concerns about plastic more seriously. Previously, I figured that the problem of BPA had been addressed, and that as long as products were free of this toxic ingredient, our sippy cups, bottles, and containers were safe. However, it turns out that even more hazardous chemicals are being used in the production of plastics, and when the same guys (literally) who tried to help protect the tobacco industry are now helping protect the plastics industry, we know we have a problem. I’ve spent some time looking for alternative products for our children, and I thought others might benefit from my research and trial and error.
Click here to view my product recommendations—everything from baby bottles to flatware!
A Tour of the Andromeda Galaxy
On January 5, NASA released an image of the Andromeda galaxy, our closest galactic neighbour, captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The full image is made up of 411 Hubble images, takes you through a 100 million stars and travels over more than 40,000 light years. The awe inspiring video below by @daveachuk zooms in on the photo. There are no words…
Sebastian Seung’s Quest to Map the Human Brain
by Gareth Cook
Using crowdsourcing and artificial intelligence, a Princeton neuroscientist is hoping to map the intricate wiring of the human brain. If he succeeds, could we live forever as data?
Guest Post: Your Inner Fish
An excerpt from Your Inner Fish: A Journey Into the 3.5 Billion-Year
History of the Human Body
by Neil Shubin
… No matter how different the species look as adults, as tiny embryos they all go through the same stages of development. To fully appreciate the importance of this, we need to look again at our first three weeks after conception…
The Wonderful and Terrifying Implications of Computers That Can Learn:
A TED Talk by Jeremy Howard
Would you like to spend your New Year’s contemplating what the future holds? Start with this!
Scientific American Best Physics Video of 2014
Surface Detail by Tom Bettered
2 Futures Can Explain Time’s Mysterious Past
New theories suggest the big bang was not the beginning, and that we may live in the past of a parallel universe…
Click here to read the Scientific American article
by Lee Billings
Guest Post: Meditation Retreat
An excerpt from 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works—A True Story
by Dan Harris
It was the longest, most exquisite high of my life, but the hangover came first…
Guest Post: The Emotional Past
An excerpt from Synaptic Self: How Our Brains Become Who We Are
by Joseph LeDoux
…According to the mood congruity hypothesis, memories are more easily retrieved when the emotional state at the time of memory formation matches the state at the time of retrieval. For example, we are more likely to remember sad than happy events when depressed…
How To Make Quark Soup
A Science Friday Video
TED Ed Lesson
The Physics of Sperm
Click here to watch the 4 minute video
Frontiers For Young Minds
A mission to engage the next wave of scientists!
Guest Post: Watching The Movie Of Our Life
An excerpt from The Mind’s Past, by Michael Gazzaniga
Starting in the mid-1950’s, although not publishing his results until the mid-1960’s, Benjamin Libet tweaked the scientific world with the question, “How long must a stimulus occur before we become conscious of it?”…
FOR YOUNG CHILDREN:
