background preloader

Numberphile - Videos about Numbers and Stuff

Numberphile - Videos about Numbers and Stuff

5 Ways To Hack Your Brain Into Awesomeness Much of the brain is still mysterious to modern science, possibly because modern science itself is using brains to analyze it. There are probably secrets the brain simply doesn't want us to know. But by no means should that stop us from tinkering around in there, using somewhat questionable and possibly dangerous techniques to make our brains do what we want. We can't vouch for any of these, either their effectiveness or safety. #5. So you just picked up the night shift at your local McDonald's, you have class every morning at 8am and you have no idea how you're going to make it through the day without looking like a guy straight out of Dawn of the Dead, minus the blood... hopefully. "SLEEEEEEEEEP... uh... What if we told you there was a way to sleep for little more than two hours a day, and still feel more refreshed than taking a 12-hour siesta on a bed made entirely out of baby kitten fur? Holy Shit! We're pretty sure Kramer did this once on Seinfeld. How Does It Work? #4. #3. 1. 2. 3.

Mathematical Atlas: A gateway to Mathematics Welcome! This is a collection of short articles designed to provide an introduction to the areas of modern mathematics and pointers to further information, as well as answers to some common (or not!) questions. For resources useful in all areas of mathematics try 00: General Mathematics. There is a backlog of articles awaiting editing before they are referenced in the blue pages, but you are welcome to snoop around VIRUS WARNING: The Mathematical Atlas receives but does not send mail using the math-atlas.org domain name. Please bookmark any pages at this site with the URL This URL forces frames; for a frame-free version use

Deep-Dish Chocolate Chip Cookie for One By Lauren Zembron, on July 20th, 2012 I know, I know… it seems as though I’ve been posting sweet recipe after sweet recipe (with a little something cheesy thrown in); but you see, after what seemed like a long time during which sweets were unappealing during my first trimester, (what can I say, pregnancy does some strange things to your body!), they’re apparently back with a vengeance on my appetite’s menu. Sooooo if you’re a sweet freak like me, all I can say about my recent recipe post pattern is: you’re welcome. And if you’re not? Now let’s get to this deep-dish cookie. Jenny from Picky Palate recently posted a recipe for a microwavable chocolate chip cookie made in a ramekin that looked so unbelievably delicious I had to make my own (slightly healthier) version. I cut out half of the sugar, subbed in whole wheat pastry flour, and used grain-sweetened chocolate chips (which have less sugar than semi-sweet chips). Now I’m under no delusion that even my version is healthy.

Imaging maths - Inside the Klein bottle September 2003 My first practical experience with a Klein bottle was a failure. When I was still at school I came across a picture of a Klein bottle in a weekly journal. I shared my fascination with a friend who was a glassmaker specializing in physics equipment for schools. A few days later I was a proud owner of a physical Klein bottle, made of glass. What to do with such a bottle? To my delight, this primitive but interesting thermometer did indeed show signs of life during the day. The Klein bottle was discovered in 1882 by Felix Klein [1] and since then has joined the gallery of popular mathematical shapes known to the general public outside the "ivory tower". From the Möbius band to the projective plane The Möbius band is the simplest one-sided surface, and is easy to make out of a strip of paper. The band was discovered in 1858 by the German astronomer and mathematician August Ferdinand Möbius. Despite its simplicity the Möbius band was a genuine mathematical discovery. Felix Klein

The Londoner: Slutty Brownies Now I don’t want to over sell this, so I’m going to be conservative and simply say, that these are… The Best Brownies In The WORLD. I know, big statement. They’re called Slutty Brownies because they’re oh so easy, and more than a little bit filthy. They’re best served warm from the oven, with good quality vanilla ice cream (devastatingly I didn’t have any in the freezer this time, so I guess I’ll just have to make them again). They take about 45mins to make, including baking time. The ultimate comfort food, whipped up within the hour. You will need… 1 Box of cookie mix, 1 Box of brownie mix, 2 Eggs, 2 Packs of Oreos (double stuffed ones are even better if you can find them) Some oil & your favourite ice-cream (optional) Preheat your oven to 350F, 180C, gas mark 4. Line a baking tray with grease proof paper. Squidge (technical term) the cookie dough into a lined baking tray, until it covers the bottom. Cover this layer with your Oreos. Mix up your brownie batter. & pour over your Oreos. Bake for 30mins.

Khan Academy - StumbleUpon I get a lot of requests to release more seamless textures here on L&T, so this set is for you guys. It includes a giant selection of thirty repeatable textures ranging from paper to fabric to subtle grunge and noise. Each one of them is fully tile-able and will work perfect for website background or pattern overlays in photoshop. The zip file includes each texture in both 1200px and 500px sizes as well as a Photoshop .PAT file for easy integration. Enjoy!

Achieving a Vintage Look Through Color Tones in Photoshop CS by Guest Contributor Anna Gay Photographers are often striving for a “vintage” look in their photos, and even though there are endless ways of achieving a vintage look, there are a couple of characteristics to keep in mind. First of all, the color tones in a vintage photo often lean towards either a blue or a red hue, or a cross-processed look. Vintage photos also have an element of noise or grain that can be achieved through textures, and also a certain amount of vignetting around the edges of the photo. In this tutorial, we will look at adjusting color tones and adding vignettes. This photo is the result of adjusting the color curves, adding two vignettes, and a color fill, which we will walk through step-by-step. First, open your photo in Photoshop and make sure your foreground color is set to white in your side tool bar. You will see the above dialogue box. As you can see here, there should be three layers – your Background image, then your two gradient layers.

Untitled Document Masculine, feminine or human? posted on SleptOn.com, June 2, 2008. by Robert Jensen In a guest lecture about masculinity to a college class, I ask the students to generate two lists that might help clarify the concept. For the first, I tell them to imagine themselves as parents whose 12-year-old son asks, “Mommy/daddy, what does is mean to be a man?” When that list is complete, I ask the women to observe while the men answer a second question: When you are in all-male spaces, such as the locker room or a night out with the guys, what do you say to each other about what it means to be a man? The students, both men and women, laugh nervously, knowing the second list will be different from the first. From there, the second list expands to other descriptions: To be a man is to be a p layer, a guy who can attract women and get sex; someone who doesn’t take shit from people, who can stand down another guy if challenged, who doesn’t let anyone else get in his face.

Better-Than-Crack-Brownies I’m sorry for doing this to you. I really am. But see, last Friday while I was on a 10-hour road trip heading for vacation, I received this recipe from a reader named Liz. Liz, I love you. I was tortured by this recipe for a full 8 days before I could make it. So it was the first thing I made when I returned home. These are an absolute sin. I really don’t have any words, other than you must try them. They may also change your waistline too. But that’s okay. It’s all in the name of chocolate. Better-Than-Crack Brownies 1 batch brownies (boxed mix or oooey gooey brownies) 1/2 cup salted peanuts (if don’t have salted, add sea salt) 1 cup chopped Reese’s peanut butter cups 1 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips 1 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter 1/2 tablespoon butter 1 1/2 cups Rice Krispies Cereal Mix brownies according to directions, and bake for 20-25 minutes in a 9 x 13 baking dish. While they are finishing baking, melt chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving. Mr.

50 Photoshop Tricks for a Fast-Paced Work Environment Are you a designer on a deadline? If you are, then I’m sure you can recall the last time you thought to yourself, “if I had a little more time, I could…” what? Polish that button? Find a better hero image? The truth is, however, that we designers will always be looking for more time to polish the one pixel that got away. Of course, since our go-to design tool in the office is Photoshop, we thought we’d share with you 50 simple Photoshop tricks and shortcuts we love using that can help trim excess spent time in your workflows. Important Note: The following require Photoshop CS5 and a Mac OS X. The Usual Keyboard Shortcut Suspects Memorize these shortcuts. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.Keyboard shortcuts for flipping foreground and background (X): Use this to switch between your current foreground and background colors located in your toolbar. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Customized Must-Have Keyboard Shortcuts 11. 12. 13. Photoshop, the Word Processor Who knew Photoshop could be such a great typography program! 14. 15.

2-Minute Chocolate Chip Cookie For One & Recipe & Zoom Yummy This is one of those ‘I-need-a-cookie-right-now-or-I-die’ recipes that can be prepared in almost no time.We all know that kind of situation, don’t we? I definitely do, I confess.And you know what? This impressive cookie not only takes less than 5 minutes to prepare, it tastes really delicious. Just like a good chocolate chip cookie.The preparation is beyond easy… just have a look… First you need this stuff. 1. 2. 3. 4. Save a few for the top, if you wish to.5. Ta-dah! 6. SCHOPENHAUERS 38 STRATAGEMS, OR 38 WAYS TO WIN AN ARGUMENT Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), was a brilliant German philosopher. These 38 Stratagems are excerpts from "The Art of Controversy", first translated into English and published in 1896. Carry your opponent's proposition beyond its natural limits; exaggerate it. (abstracted from the book:Numerical Lists You Never Knew or Once Knew and Probably Forget, by: John Boswell and Dan Starer)

Related: