For hundreds of years, Hell has been the most fearful place in the human imagination. It is also the most absurd, says the Economist, taking the reader through the history of this (to some) very real place.
Priorities: Toilet? Or Cell Phone? [Article]
Kevin Kelly observed during a trip that the residents of farmsteads in remote China had no running water, electricity or toilets, yet everyone had a cell phone. He offers an explanation: “The farmers in rural China have chosen cell phones and twitter over toilets and running water. To them, this is not a hypothetical choice at all, but a real one. and they have made their decision in massive numbers. Tens of millions, maybe hundreds of millions, if not billions of people in the rest of Asia, Africa and South America have chosen Option B. You can go to almost any African village to see this. And it is not because they are too poor to afford a toilet. As you can see from these farmers’ homes in Yunnan, they definitely could have at least built an outhouse if they found it valuable. (I know they don’t have a toilet because I’ve stayed in many of their homes.) But instead they found the intangible benefits of connection to be greater than the physical comforts of running water.” Noah Millman shares his take on the topic:
Un-resolutions [article]
Whether you’ve made (& broken!) your New Year’s resolutions, or whether you’ve not made any, Maria Popova shares a collection of how Jonathon Swift, Susan Sontag & Marilyn Monroe approached their New Year resolutions. Fascinating read.
The Road through concrete jungle [Article]
You can’t stop the elevators on floors 5, 6 or 7 of this building in Osaka, Japan. Why, you ask. Well, that’s because the express highway passes through those floors.
Language advantage [Article]
Research points out the definitive benefits that the bilingual (or multi-lingual) speaker has over those who speak just one language. Be sure to watch the video of the 3 year old who speaks three languages at the end of that article.
Simple way to be happier [Article]
Sebastian Marshall explains how a simple elimination strategy helped him feel happier (Happiness is a feeling after all!) I’ve tried it for a few years now, & I concur with his view.
Bearing it out [Video]
There may be reasons you may one day have to approach a bear.. & this could be a very good reason you wish you had learnt to play the flute!
For Anonymous [Article]
The young woman from Delhi who was raped, beaten & her intestines yanked out with a metal rod inserted into her body after the “men” ravaged her, died in Singapore on the 29th of December. Nilanjana Roy weeps for her, & for all women who have remained statistics, unnamed, and have endured the brutality that is socially referred to in India as “eve teasing”.
Lawrence Krauss on the Universe [Video]
Lawrence Krauss puts forth the argument that despite the fact that the Universe doesn’t care about us (humans), we determine our future, and that makes our future more precious.
“Why have a civilization anymore if we no longer are interested in being civilized?”
This video clip, from God Bless America, resonated with my thoughts at the moment, so I had to share it here. Please watch.