BBC News - Malala Yousafzai speech in full 10 great TED Talks about talking Science The language of dolphins: Denise Herzing at TED2013 A dolphin’s brain-to-body-weight ratio is second only to a human’s. They live complex social lives, can understand abstract concepts and even use tools. But as Denise Herzing asks in Session 8 of TED2013, “Do they have a language? If so, what are they talking about?” Culture 5 examples of how the languages we speak can affect the way we think Economist Keith Chen starts today’s talk with an observation: to say, “This is my uncle,” in Chinese, you have no choice but to encode more information about said uncle. Why first impressions are so persistent New research by a team of psychologists from Canada, Belgium, and the United States shows there is more than a literal truth to the saying that 'you never get a second chance to make a first impression'. The findings suggest that new experiences that contradict a first impression become 'bound' to the context in which they were made. As a result, the new experiences influence people's reactions only in that particular context, whereas first impressions still dominate in other contexts. "Imagine you have a new colleague at work and your impression of that person is not very favourable" explains lead author Bertram Gawronski, Canada Research Chair at The University of Western Ontario. "A few weeks later, you meet your colleague at a party and you realize he is actually a very nice guy. According to Gawronski, our brain stores expectancy-violating experiences as exceptions-to-the-rule, such that the rule is treated as valid except for the specific context in which it has been violated.
Edge.org The Epidemic of Obesity, Diabetes and "Metabolic Syndrome:" Cell Energy Adaptations in a Toxic World? "Metabolic syndrome" (MetSyn) has been termed the "Epidemic of the 21st century." MetSyn is an accretion of symptoms, including high body mass index (weight-for-height), high blood sugar, high blood pressure (BP), high blood triglycerides, high waist circumference (central/visceral fat deposition), and/or reduced HDL-cholesterol, the so-called "good" cholesterol. Epidemics of Obesity and diabetes are intertwined with, and accompany, the meteoric rise in MetSyn. The prevalent view is that MetSyn is due to a glut of food calories ("energy") consumed, and a dearth of exercise energy expended, spurring weight gain—an "energy surfeit"—with the other features arising in consequence. But this normative view leaves many questions unanswered: Why do elements of MetSyn correlate? The customary "explanation" also creates paradoxes. · Ultra low-calorie or low-fat diets · Fasting, skipped meals
Tacit Knowledge and the Student Researcher I’m old enough that the annual Beloit Mindset List (created to help instructors avoid making what they think are contemporary cultural references that are actually historical to their students) is full of references to things that I never got around to knowing before they became passé. I’ve started compiling a different list, one that identifies the tacit knowledge many of us have about information and how it works based on experiences that our students haven’t had. Here’s what I have so far. Journals and magazines are published as ongoing series. For those of us who remember print, articles are bundled into issues, issues into volumes, and every year more articles are published in these bundles. News is different than opinion. Books don’t have to be read cover-to-cover to be useful. Citations have the information you need to track down the source. Databases and catalogs (usually) don’t search inside books and articles. Catalogs are (usually) local; article databases (usually) aren’t.
Exclusive Diane Ravitch Interview on No Child Left Behind Looking for love? Manspreading could be the key to success, study suggests | Science Never mind sparkling conversation, smelling clean and remembering the person’s name. In the world of modern dating, the secret to success is to take up space. The unusual tip for finding love, or at least a lover, comes from US researchers who used speed dating videos and a Tinder-style app to show that people were rated as more attractive when they stretched themselves out. People who extended their torsos, pushed out their legs and spread their arms wide were rewarded with more romantic interest than others, probably because the postures implied openness and dominance, the researchers claim. In contrast, those who hunched themselves up, and crossed their arms and legs, fared poorly in their bids to win over potential partners. The findings could help scores of singletons who, in the time of Tinder and online dating sites, have only a handful of photos and a few seconds to convey the immense reward that a relationship with them would doubtless represent.
Dr. H.B.Danesh at the WPA - The Arab Spring: A psychosocial developmental perspective Peter McLaren - Critical Pedagogy, Social Justice and the Struggle for Peace - 1/6