Activism, Animals, Eco, Money, Planet, PoliticsLeave a comment

The Trillion-Dollar Auction to Save the World

Fernando Kaskais

ILLUSTRATIONS: ISRAEL G. VARGAS By GREGORY BARBER Ocean creatures soak up huge amounts of humanity’s carbon mess. Should we value them like financial assets? YOU ARE SEATED in an auction room at Christie’s, where all evening you have watched people in suits put prices on priceless wonders. A parade of Dutch oils and Ming vases has gone to financiers and shipping magnates and oil funds. You have made a few unsuccessful bids, but the market is obscene, and you are getting bored. You consider calling it an early night and setting down the paddle. But then an item appears that causes … Continue reading The Trillion-Dollar Auction to Save the World

PhotographyLeave a comment

Colina

Fernando Kaskais

© FERNANDO KASKAIS A colina emerge de uma base oculta na sombra. A figura humana, escura, não se apresenta totalmente como um corpo sólido, com uma textura de superfície perceptível, mas, apenas como um receptáculo á luz, com volume e sem materialidade. É uma sombra que se move no espaço, como uma pessoa. O peso da colina contrasta paradoxalmente com a leveza etérea das gaivotas que parecem feitas de papel de seda branco. Continue reading Colina

Brain, Philosophy, PsychologyLeave a comment

Do you crave deeper knowledge? Go Zen and learn to forget

Fernando Kaskais

For the clarity of a “beginner’s mind” and a path to true and lasting wisdom, one must fully embrace “not-knowing.” KEY TAKEAWAYS By Thomas Moore Excerpted from The Eloquence of Silence: Surprising Wisdom in Tales of Emptiness ©2023 by Thomas Moore.  Printed with permission from New World Library www.newworldlibrary.com It is only when we forget all our learning that we begin to know. I do not get nearer by a hair’s breadth to any natural object so long as I presume that I have an introduction to it from some learned man. To conceive of it with a total apprehension I must for … Continue reading Do you crave deeper knowledge? Go Zen and learn to forget

Europe, History, Media&Culture, Philosophy, PsychologyLeave a comment

A philosophy of secrets

Fernando Kaskais

The last Marranos, a once-secret Jewish community in Belmonte, Portugal. All photos by Vlad Sokhin/Panos Pictures Jacques Derrida was fascinated by the figure of the Marrano Jew, whose identity could barely be told even to themselves By Peter Salmon, is an Australian writer living in the UK. His latest book is An Event Perhaps: A Biography of Jacques Derrida (2020), and his writing has appeared in the TLS, the New Humanist, the Sydney Review of Books and The Guardian, among others. … the Marranos, with whom I have always secretly identified (but don’t tell anyone) …– from ‘Archive Fever: A Freudian Impression’ (1994) by Jacques Derrida What is … Continue reading A philosophy of secrets

Buddhism, Living, Philosophy, PsychologyLeave a comment

The Fourth Quality of the Heart

Fernando Kaskais

A practice for developing equanimity By Pascal Auclair Equanimity is part of a group of four, which I’ll call the “qualities of the heart.” This group is made up of benevolence or lovingkindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity. Benevolence is a very natural, basic wish for well-being that we have when the heart is not hindered. It’s a basic wish that we have for others or for ourselves, and when this wish meets what is difficult, it becomes compassion—a particular kind of love or care in the face of what is challenging. When benevolence meets beauty or success or goodness, naturally it … Continue reading The Fourth Quality of the Heart

Brain, Curiositys, Living, PsychologyLeave a comment

Book Excerpt: Why Do We Insist on Lying to Ourselves?

Fernando Kaskais

Visual: Igor Stevanovic/500Px Plus via Getty Images Self-deception is part of the human condition, and psychologists have long studied our ignorance of our own ignorance. BY LIXING SUN THE PREVALENCE OF SELF-DECEPTION is truly staggering — and long studied. In regard to our personal health, for example, most people in one 1995 analysis believed they live a healthier lifestyle and have a longer lifespan than their peers. In an even earlier study, around 90 percent of people in the U.S. believed they were better-than-average drivers. In social skills, 70 percent of high school students considered themselves above average in leadership, and on their ability to … Continue reading Book Excerpt: Why Do We Insist on Lying to Ourselves?

Philosophy, Science, TechnologyLeave a comment

Time is an object

Fernando Kaskais

Red-eyed tree frog, near Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica. Photo by Ben Roberts/Panos Pictures Not a backdrop, an illusion or an emergent phenomenon, time has a physical size that can be measured in laboratories Sara Walker is an astrobiologist and theoretical physicist at Arizona State University, where she is deputy director of the Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science and professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration. She is also external professor at the Santa Fe Institute and a fellow at the Berggruen Institute. Lee Cronin is Regius Chair of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow in Scotland and … Continue reading Time is an object

Brain, Curiositys, Money, PsychologyLeave a comment

How many “corporate psychopaths” are CEOs?

Fernando Kaskais

We commonly stereotype psychopaths as criminals, but there are probably more in upper management. KEY TAKEAWAYS By Ross Pomeroy Psychopath. The term often evokes a mental image of a ruthless criminal or a serial killer. It’s a reasonable stereotype. Between one quarter and one third of convicted murderers are psychopaths, along with almost nine in ten serial killers. These heinous offenders earned that diagnosis because they lie and manipulate to get what they want. They are regularly reckless and impulsive, have an outsized ego, are quick to anger, and lack empathy for others. Despite all this, they can often be charming and even likable. … Continue reading How many “corporate psychopaths” are CEOs?

PhotographyLeave a comment

Bad Boy

Fernando Kaskais

© FERNANDO KASKAIS “Nunca olhamos apenas para uma coisa”, escreveu John Berger. “Estamos sempre a olhar para a relação entre as coisas e nós mesmos”. Se a forma como vemos é determinada pelo que sabemos, acreditamos e aprendemos, então não ver também é um reflexo dessas condições. O que o espectador vê, e, o que o fotógrafo vê, não é a mesma coisa, o fotógrafo estava lá. As associações que cada um faz, podem parecer aleatórias para outra pessoa qualquer. Olhar, verdadeira e intensamente, prolonga o momento e exige paciência. Continue reading Bad Boy

Europe, Living, Philosophy, PoliticsLeave a comment

The Swedish theory of love

Fernando Kaskais

Solna Centrum subway station, Stockholm. Photo by Jonas Bendiksen/Magnum Photos All countries must balance the freedom of individuals with the demands of the community. Sweden’s solution is unique Lars Trägårdh is professor of history at Uppsala University, Sweden. His most recent book, co-authored with Henrik Berggren, is The Swedish Theory of Love: Individualism and Social Trust in Modern Sweden (2022). It was confusing. When the novel coronavirus hit the world in early 2020, Sweden of all countries chose to ignore the global consensus that favoured lockdowns and severe restrictions. Better known for its interventionist welfare policies, Sweden suddenly seemed to have become a … Continue reading The Swedish theory of love