10 Websites To Make You Think Supposedly browsing the internet requires more brain power than watching television. Although judging from some of the websites we’ve come across that assumption is cast into doubt. Here’s some of the sites we like that might get your brain to sit up and listen. Ted A conference that started in 1984 bringing together experts in technology, entertainment and design quickly grew into so much more. New Scientist The New Scientist website carries new articles from the magazine as well as the NS archive of over 76,000 pieces. Big Think The Big Think website is a collection of ‘global thought leaders’ who offer their thoughts and analysis on world events and other important developments. Café Scientifque ‘for the price of a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, anyone can come to explore the latest ideas in science and technology’ Breathing Earth This fantastic website by David Bleja demonstrates CO2 emissions and world population growth in real time on a global map. Arts & Letters Daily How Stuff Works
Any phonetic script can be learned in just a few hours If you liked my association technique mentioned below, you would also enjoy my tips on using imagination to memorize vocabulary, which are discussed in great detail with many other hacks in the Language Hacking Guide. See the most popular posts on the right below for other interesting topics. For those curious, this post discusses Thai, but the ideas can equally be applied to other phonetic scripts such as Japanese (but not as well for Chinese). Just one week into the challenge of reading/speaking Thai in 8 weeks (actually only about 5 hours total, since I’ve been quite busy since I arrived, but I’ve made time to learn on the skytrain/in restaurants/taxis etc.) and I’ve reached the first major milestone already. I can read Thai. The major thing still missing is tones, which admittedly are an extremely important part of this language that cannot be ignored and I will get to shortly (Edit: Done! It was actually way easier than I expected. From squiggly symbols to new letters า ท Challenges ร
iLoveLanguages - Your Guide to Languages on the Web How Time Crystals Could Rewrite The Rules Of Physics If you overheard someone talking about time crystals in a bar, you’d think they were mad, or drunk. Or both. These things, theoretically, oscillate for eternity without any energy input whatsoever — and if that sounds like a perpetual motion machine, it’s because it is. Because that’s exactly the situation we find ourselves in. When matter crystallizes, its atoms spontaneously organise themselves into the rows, columns and stacks of a three-dimensional lattice. In other words, he’s saying it must be possible to create a crystal that has regular, time-varying motion going on inside — without any energy being dumped into the system. Fortunately, he has at least one team of researchers on his side. The only problem is that progress is slow: the Berkeley researchers have admitted that the project could take “anywhere between three and infinity years” to complete. Picture: Kostov/Shutterstock
Speak from day 1 | You don’t have to be “gifted” to learn a new language, but you do have to be smart about how you learn it. Hi! When you’ve watched the video above and are ready to join the thousands of other language hackers who are using the Fluent in 3 Months PREMIUM package as an unconventional approach to learn languages quickly, click the button below. If you’ve got any questions after watching the video, check out the “Frequently Asked Questions” page. I’ve tried to answer every possible question you might have on that page, including ones I get a lot such as: “What if I’m not good at learning languages?” If you’re still skeptical, check out the ‘In Action’ page to see my TEDx talk, viral video with over 150,000 views, videos of me speaking these languages with natives, and various stories and videos from language hackers who have gone through the package. My mission is to get more people speaking more languages faster. - Benny What is Fluent in 3 Months PREMIUM? One Last Thing! P.S. That’s fine!
Learn a language for free: the five best websites Pros: This site offers a well-rounded approach to language learning, with study options for reading, writing, listening and speaking. Also, the Busuu app options allow learners to take their lessons or review materials on the go. Cons: Features like grammar-focused lessons, video units, and printable PDF files are only available through the paid Premium membership. Best for: Learners with some understanding of the language already. >> 10 easiest foreign languages to learn: in pictures Duolingo Previously an invite-only site, Duolingo is one of the most well-rounded study resources that you can get for free. Pros: The graphics of this site keep learning organised and interesting, even on the app. Cons: So far, the site only offers study material in six languages, all of them European. Best for: Learners who need a bit of structure in their lessons. >> Top 10 best languages to study to get a job: in pictures Foreign Services Institute >> Top 10 foreign language faux pas: in pictures Livemocha
6 Harsh Truths That Will Make You a Better Person 2017, motherfuckers. Yeah! LET'S DO THIS. "Do what?" Feel free to stop reading this if your career is going great, you're thrilled with your life, and you're happy with your relationships. Via Upscalehype.com For the rest of you, I want you to try something: Name five impressive things about yourself. Note: I originally posted this in December of 2012, and to date it has drawn more than 20 million page views and been shared on Facebook more than half a million times. #6. Getty Let's say that the person you love the most has just been shot. Getty"OK, which one is the injured one?" You ask, "Are you a doctor?" The guy says, "No." You say, "But you know what you're doing, right? At this point the guy becomes annoyed. Confused, you say, "How does any of that fucking matter when my [wife/husband/best friend/parent] is lying here bleeding! Now the man becomes agitated -- why are you being shallow and selfish? Getty"I don't get it. Getty"Here's that shit you needed. #5. "Nice guy? #4.
Latin Phrases A bene placito - At one's pleasureA capite ad calcem - From head to heelA cappella - In church [style] - i.e. Vocal music onlyA contrario - From a contrary positionA cruce salus - From the cross comes salvationA Deo et Rege - From God and the KingA fortiori - With yet stronger reasonA fronte praecipitium a tergo lupi - A precipice in front, wolves behind (between a rock and a hard place)A mari usque ad mare - From sea to sea (Motto of Canada)A mensa et thoro - From board and bed (legal separation)A pedibus usque ad caput - From feet to headA posse ad esse - From possibility to actualityA posteriori - From what comes after.
Hyperbole and a Half At around midnight last night, it started snowing. A lot. I got absurdly excited about it. My point is that after staring at me in silence for a few long moments in which I am sure he questioned some of his life decisions, Boyfriend was like "Fine." So Boyfriend got all bundled up while I checked to make sure everything was unplugged because I didn't want the house to catch on fire while we were gone and then I got dressed while Boyfriend sat on the couch in his snow-clothes looking like he was on some sort of detonation timer and if the timer went off we would no longer be allowed to go for a walk, so I put my hat and gloves on really fast and then I was like "I'm ready!" Boyfriend wanted to stop and take pictures of the snow and the pretty lights, but I was so excited that I took off running: And then I stopped because I had a really good idea and I yelled "Hey! Anyway, that's Main Street in downtown Hamilton, MT on a Saturday night. We got to the grocery store, and guess what? Not open.
BBC Languages Rhythm and Meter in English Poetry Rhythm and Meter in English Poetry English poetry employs five basic rhythms of varying stressed (/) and unstressed (x) syllables. The meters are iambs, trochees, spondees, anapests and dactyls. In this document the stressed syllables are marked in boldface type rather than the tradition al "/" and "x." The meters with two-syllable feet are IAMBIC (x /) : That time of year thou mayst in me behold TROCHAIC (/ x): Tell me not in mournful numbersSPONDAIC (/ /): Break, break, break/ On thy cold gray stones, O Sea! Adam Had'em. Here are some more serious examples of the various meters. iambic pentameter (5 iambs, 10 syllables) That time | of year | thou mayst | in me | behold trochaic tetrameter (4 trochees, 8 syllables) Tell me | not in | mournful | numbers anapestic trimeter (3 anapests, 9 syllables) And the sound | of a voice | that is still dactylic hexameter (6 dactyls, 17 syllables; a trochee replaces the last dactyl) This is the | forest pri | meval, the | murmuring | pine and the | hemlocks
Scientists use brain imaging to reveal the movies in our mind BERKELEY — Imagine tapping into the mind of a coma patient, or watching one’s own dream on YouTube. With a cutting-edge blend of brain imaging and computer simulation, scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, are bringing these futuristic scenarios within reach. Using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and computational models, UC Berkeley researchers have succeeded in decoding and reconstructing people’s dynamic visual experiences – in this case, watching Hollywood movie trailers. As yet, the technology can only reconstruct movie clips people have already viewed. The approximate reconstruction (right) of a movie clip (left) is achieved through brain imaging and computer simulation “This is a major leap toward reconstructing internal imagery,” said Professor Jack Gallant, a UC Berkeley neuroscientist and coauthor of the study published online today (Sept. 22) in the journal Current Biology. “We need to know how the brain works in naturalistic conditions,” he said.
Spatial Agency - Connections map Christiania is an autonomous settlement on the site of a former military barracks in Copenhagen. After the military left the site it was fenced off but in 1971 a group of people took over parts of the site to make a children's playground. Soon after Christiania was proclaimed a Freetown with one of the original goals being to 'build up a society from scratch'. It is one of the largest 'slum communes' and was set up in direct response to the lack of affordable housing and social facilities, and as an antidote to stressful city life. The legal status of Christiania has been the source of much conflict with the Danish government and the fate of the settlement was a party political issue throughout the 1970s. Although Christiania is still considered a 'Free State', the first decade of its existence was the most radical, both politically and socially. References About Christa S. Adam Conroy, Christiania: The Evolution of a Commune (London: A. Quotes Connections