Inspirational
See life (and learning) like a musical piece
05 days ago
A powerful insight into life, education, and careers. In only two minutes, British philosopher Alan Watts cautions against one of the most troubling outcomes of the modern education system and focus on career: realizing that you’ve missed most of what life has to offer. It’s no wonder that schools are pumping out generic clones that dutifully meet the “standards” to which they are taught.
After watching this, hopefully you’ll be inspired to “stop and smell the roses.” If you are, tell me what “rose” you stopped for in the comments.
The new “Scale of the Universe” interactive animation – the best way to get perspective on life
01 week ago
If you need to gain some perspective on life, check out the Scale of the Universe 2, an updated interactive animation first published in 2010. The new version includes information on many of the featured elements. Starting at a common reference point – the size of an average human being – the slider lets you zoom waaaay out to see, for example, the largest galaxies photographed by Hubble and waaaay in to see, for instance, the smallest particles known (or hypothesized) by theoretical physicists.
Lest you think that this amazing animation is a big-budget product from some science-loving organization, think again. According to ABC News:
“Scale of the Universe 2″ was created by Cary Huang, a 14-year-old ninth grader from Moraga, Calif., with technical help from his twin brother Michael…”My seventh grade science teacher showed us a size comparison video on cells, and I thought it was fascinating. I decided to make my own interactive version that included a much larger range of sizes,” said Cary in an email forwarded by his mother. “It was not a school project — just for fun. However, my science teacher loved it so much she showed [it] to the class! My brother, Michael, helped me put it on the internet.”…Cary said he worked on the project, on and off, for a year and a half, getting information from Wikipedia and astronomy books.
Nice job, guys!
Click the image to start exploring the universe!
The Future Belongs to the Curious
01 month ago
There couldn’t possibly be a more appropriate video for my blog than this one…
it doesn’t matter what you ask…just that you ask
An unlikely story of survival and collaboration
01 month ago
When she was just 22, Ramona Pierson went for a jog with her dog. Thanks to a drunk driver, that would be the last “normal” thing she’d do for over a decade.
Tangled in the wheels of the drunk’s car, her body mangled in multiple ways, bystanders were able to help Pierson hang on to a thin thread of life. She then spent the next 18 months in a coma, endured multiple surgeries to reconstruct nearly her entire body and emerged unable to see, eat, or speak. Discharged from the hospital to a senior center, a community of dedicated seniors invested themselves in her recovery.
Miraculously, Pierson regained the ability to eat, talk, walk, and thanks to the wonders of technology, ten years later she recovered sight in one eye due to an experimental surgery. Her story is remarkable in every conceivable way.
The only aspect of Pierson’s talk that disappoints is that she’s only given the typical 12 minutes of a TED talk. I would have greatly appreciated hearing much, much more of her remarkable story. [Videos after the jump.]