Month: December 2016

Curiositys, Future, Health, Media&Culture, ScienceLeave a comment

Could just two people repopulate Earth?

Fernando Kaskais

The last man on Earth is a common trope in fiction – but what if it actually happened? How many people would it take to save our species? By Zaria Gorvett This story is featured in BBC Future’s “Best of 2016” collection. Discover more of our picks.  The alien predators arrived by boat. Within two years, everyone was dead. Almost. The tiny islet of Ball’s Pyramid lies 600km east of Australia in the South Pacific, rising out of the sea like a shard of glass. And there they were – halfway up its sheer cliff edge, sheltering under a spindly … Continue reading Could just two people repopulate Earth?

Brain, Curiositys, Living, Philosophy, Psychology, Sex1 Comment

Why sexual desire is objectifying – and hence morally wrong

Fernando Kaskais

Resting Model, 1839 by Constantin Hansen. Courtesy Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen/Wikipedia by Raja Halwani is professor of philosophy at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He is the author of Philosophy of Love, Sex and Marriage (2010). The 18th-century philosopher Immanuel Kant believed that human beings tend to be evil. He wasn’t talking about some guy rubbing his hands and crowing with glee at the prospect of torturing an enemy. He was thinking about the basic human tendency to succumb to what we want to do instead of what we ought to do, to heed the siren-song of our desires instead of … Continue reading Why sexual desire is objectifying – and hence morally wrong

Brain, Curiositys, Health, Living, Music, Psychology, Science1 Comment

Science Discovers A Song that Reduces Anxiety by 65 Percent – Listen

Fernando Kaskais

by Anna Hunt, Staff, Waking Times Scientists discover that listening to the song “Weightless” by Marconi Union can results in a striking 65 percent reduction in a person’s overall anxiety, and a 35 percent reduction in their usual physiological resting rates. The Anxiety Pandemic “Anxiety is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.” ~ Arthur Somers Roche Anxiety is a growing pandemic in our society. The mainstream solution is a trip to the psychiatrist and an indefinite prescription for pharmaceuticals. As a result, many anxiety sufferers find themselves dependent on psychotropic … Continue reading Science Discovers A Song that Reduces Anxiety by 65 Percent – Listen

Drugs, Globalization, Media&Culture, Money, UnbelievableLeave a comment

World’s Richest People Gained $237 Billion in 2016, Says Report

Fernando Kaskais

Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Amancio Ortego, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Carlos Slim, David Koch, Larry Ellison, and Larry Page. (composite AP/Getty Images) By Epoch Newsroom The world’s richest people got even richer in 2016, according to a Bloomberg analysis on Tuesday. The 200 wealthiest people on the planet collectively made $237 billion throughout the year and have an amassed $4.4 trillion through the end of trading on Dec. 27, 2016, the report stated. The rise represents an increase of about 5.7 percent. Warren Buffett, the super-investor head of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., made $11.8 billion during the year due to gains … Continue reading World’s Richest People Gained $237 Billion in 2016, Says Report

Big Brother, Curiositys, Globalization, Living, Manipulation, Matrix, Technology2 Comments

IF YOU USE FACEBOOK MESSENGER, HERE’S HOW YOU’RE BEING RECORDED EVEN WHEN YOU’RE NOT USING YOUR PHONE

Fernando Kaskais

by ALEXA ERICKSON There are many ups and downs about improvements in technology. We have, undoubtedly, become more enamoured with its ability to make our lives easier, and more informed in ways we never thought possible. Everything has been digitized, and there are so many forms of communication, it’s no wonder the home telephone has collected dust. People have come to see multi-tasking as a virtue, and so have required companies to make communication easier and faster. Facebook Messenger, for instance, has become a powerful tool for people to connect with each other. It was discovered back in April that 900 … Continue reading IF YOU USE FACEBOOK MESSENGER, HERE’S HOW YOU’RE BEING RECORDED EVEN WHEN YOU’RE NOT USING YOUR PHONE

Curiositys, Drugs, Health, Living2 Comments

Is “legal weed” making you sick? Mysterious illness tied to marijuana use on the rise

Fernando Kaskais

© Issei Kato / Reuters by Jonathan Lapook For more than two years, Lance Crowder was having severe abdominal pain and vomiting, and no local doctor could figure out why. Finally, an emergency room physician in Indianapolis had an idea. “The first question he asked was if I was taking hot showers to find relief. When he asked me that question, I basically fell into tears because I knew he had an answer,” Crowder said. The answer was cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, or CHS. It’s caused by heavy, long-term use of various forms of marijuana. For unclear reasons, the nausea and … Continue reading Is “legal weed” making you sick? Mysterious illness tied to marijuana use on the rise

Buddhism, Eco, Future, Globalization, Health, Living, Philosophy, Planet, PsychologyLeave a comment

Rilke’s Book of Hours as Portent and Guide

Fernando Kaskais

Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, The New York Public Library | https://tricy.cl/2hIrhrq Joanna Macy’s reading of Rilke offers a Middle Way in an era of ecological devastation. By Marie Scarles   I remember the day I first read Bohemian-Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke’s Duino Elegies. I purchased a copy at Powell’s Books in downtown Portland, Oregon, and then biked east over the Willamette River to Alberta Park. I lay in the grass, shirtsleeves rolled onto my shoulders, and read the whole book in an afternoon. I remember it clearly because I read for so long that I burned the … Continue reading Rilke’s Book of Hours as Portent and Guide

Activism, Eco, Future, Globalization, Health, Living, Media&Culture, Philosophy, Psychology1 Comment

8 Critical Actions for Joining the Resistance and Building the Ark in 2017

Fernando Kaskais

by Julian Rose, Contributor, Waking Times  I’m going to take it as a prerequisite that you feel some sense of urgency about the need for change. The need to find your place in the resistance. The need to get onto the road that’s supportive of life, rather than death. If you don’t even feel this, no point in reading any further; go back to the TV, the KFC and the GM lager. OK, so you’re still with me, and eager to break-out of whatever is holding you back. Good. So the first action to take is ask yourself “Where do I … Continue reading 8 Critical Actions for Joining the Resistance and Building the Ark in 2017

Curiositys, Globalization, History, Literature, Living, Media&Culture, Philosophy, PsychologyLeave a comment

Simone de Beauvoir on Art, Science, Freedom, Busyness, and Why Happiness Is Our Moral Obligation

Fernando Kaskais

Simone de Beauvoir “The saving of time and the conquest of leisure have no meaning if we are not moved by the laugh of a child at play.” BY MARIA POPOVA In her incisive inquiry into the intelligence of emotions, philosopher Martha Nussbaum wrote: “Instead of viewing morality as a system of principles to be grasped by the detached intellect, and emotions as motivations that either support or subvert our choice to act according to principle, we will have to consider emotions as part and parcel of the system of ethical reasoning.” But the moral system itself — what comprises … Continue reading Simone de Beauvoir on Art, Science, Freedom, Busyness, and Why Happiness Is Our Moral Obligation

Brain, Curiositys, Health, Living, ScienceLeave a comment

Scientists Discover New Mechanism of How Brain Networks Form

Fernando Kaskais

Benjamin Arenkiel, Baylor College of Medicine by Baylor College of Medicine Scientists have discovered that networks of inhibitory brain cells or neurons develop through a mechanism opposite to the one followed by excitatory networks. Excitatory neurons sculpt and refine maps of the external world throughout development and experience, while inhibitory neurons form maps that become broader with maturation. This discovery adds a new piece to the puzzle of how the brain organizes and processes information. Knowing how the normal brain works is an important step toward understanding the nature of neurological conditions and opens the possibility of finding treatments in … Continue reading Scientists Discover New Mechanism of How Brain Networks Form