Month: March 2019

Brain, Buddhism, Living, Matrix, Philosophy, Psychology, TechnologyLeave a comment

Buddhism and “The Matrix”

Fernando Kaskais

BY SAM LITTLEFAIR Twenty years ago this Sunday, The Matrix was released. I went to see it in theatres with my dad (I was in third grade), and it instantly became an all-time favorite. A lot of the movie went over my eight-year-old head, but even so the film’s central concept — that all of humanity exists in a simulation called “the Matrix” — blew my mind. The movie had that effect on a lot of people. Within a few years of its release, a popular theory arose that, statistically, it’s extremely likely that humanity only exists in such a simulation. To … Continue reading Buddhism and “The Matrix”

Curiositys, Health, Living, Psychology, SexLeave a comment

A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO FINDING OUT YOUR SIGNIFICANT OTHER IS PREGNANT

Fernando Kaskais

by Andrew Fiouzi From unrestrained joy to the realization they cheated on you, here’s how best to handle every scenario As anyone who’s ever had to traipse across the post-penis-ejaculating-inside-vagina minefield will tell you, not all pregnancy news is worthy of a high five. In fact, according to a Live Science report, at least 25 percent of women will decide they don’t want to have said child for any number of reasons, while another 25 percent aren’t certain one way or the other. When it comes to being a man and receiving the news that your partner is pregnant, it’s — for … Continue reading A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO FINDING OUT YOUR SIGNIFICANT OTHER IS PREGNANT

Brain, Curiositys, Health, Living, PsychologyLeave a comment

Wishing others well may boost your own well-being

Fernando Kaskais

By Ana Sandoiu Fact checked by Carolyn Robertson Many people say that helping others through acts of charity or volunteer work makes them feel better and happier. New research goes further and finds that simply wishing someone well may have a similarly positive effect on our moods. Simply thinking of others in a kind and loving way could make you happier, suggests a new study. Whether it is escaping the city, going for a walk, or hanging out with our friends, we all have our strategies for reducing anxiety, coping with the stresses of modern life, or just lifting our mood. But what … Continue reading Wishing others well may boost your own well-being

Activism, Animals, Eco, Globalization, Living, Media&Culture, Planet, PoliticsLeave a comment

Sir David Attenborough Urges Young People To Look Up From Their Screens At The “Great Treasure” Of The Natural World

Fernando Kaskais

Laura Gallant/BuzzFeed The broadcaster talks to BuzzFeed News about his new Netflix show Our Planet, why we need to get off our screens and how there are so many more species on our planet we’ve yet to discover. by Scott Bryan Sir David Attenborough is into the sixth decade of his career. In that time, he has appeared on black and white, colour, high definition, and even 3D television. And, over the decades, has been consistent in educating us about the natural world while also highlighting the grave threats it faces — such as Blue Planet exposing the damage posed by single-use plastics. … Continue reading Sir David Attenborough Urges Young People To Look Up From Their Screens At The “Great Treasure” Of The Natural World

Brain, Curiositys, Health, Living, Psychology, ScienceLeave a comment

Overcoming the Bystander Effect

Fernando Kaskais

PAID ANDPRESENTED BY: The Psychology of Heroism Psychological experts explain why we “freeze” during danger, and what we can do to fight that instinct. In 1964, Kitty Genovese was killed outside her apartment building in densely populated Queens, New York. As the story goes, there were dozens of people that heard the young woman screaming for help but none of them acted or went to Genovese’s aid. The infamous murder launched decades of studies investigating the “bystander effect,” where a diffusion of responsibility and fear of risk leads to inaction on the part of people who may be able to … Continue reading Overcoming the Bystander Effect

Brain, Curiositys, Future, Health, Psychology, Science, TechnologyLeave a comment

Are We Ready For An Implant That Can Change Our Moods?

Fernando Kaskais

Christina Chung for NPR ALIX SPIEGEL JONATHAN LAMBERT Our thoughts and fears, movements and sensations all arise from the electrical blips of billions of neurons in our brain. Streams of electricity flow through neural circuits to govern these actions of the brain and body, and some scientists think that many neurological and psychiatric disorders may result from dysfunctional circuits. As this understanding has grown, some scientists have asked whether we could locate these faulty circuits, reach deep into the brain and nudge the flow to a more functional state, treating the underlying neurobiological cause of ailments like tremors or depression. The idea of … Continue reading Are We Ready For An Implant That Can Change Our Moods?

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

How Stress Hits Women’s Brain’s Harder—and Why Men Don’t Always Get It

Fernando Kaskais

MITCH BLUNT The gender stress gap is impacting women’s health, but there are effective ways to cope. By Jennifer L. Cook If you’ve been stressed out and ignoring it—isn’t everyone stressed right now?— it could be time to do something about it. That’s because even though you may be basically healthy, tension is doing its stealthy damage. The latest evidence? Researchers have just linked high levels of the stress hormone cortisol to brain shrinkage and impaired memory in healthy middle-aged adults. And get this: The effect was more pronounced in women than in men. This new research underscores an important point. Though stress affects your … Continue reading How Stress Hits Women’s Brain’s Harder—and Why Men Don’t Always Get It

Ásia, Brain, Curiositys, Health, Living, Media&Culture, PsychologyLeave a comment

Here’s to naps and snoozes

Fernando Kaskais

Ma Zhenguo, a system engineer at Renren Inc in Beijing, sleeping at the office of the Chinese credit-management company on 27 April 2016. Photo by Jason Lee/Reuters American work culture, seeping around the globe, threatens to ruin the pleasures and benefits of public, communal sleep by Todd Pitock is an award-winning writer whose journalism has appeared in The Atlantic, Discoverand Smithsonian, among others. He lives in Philadelphia. Edited by Pam Weintraub A few months ago, two Americans arrived for a meeting at a sprawling, corporate campus in Sichuan Province in China. (They asked not to be named because their work is confidential.) To get to … Continue reading Here’s to naps and snoozes

Brain, Curiositys, Living, Media&Culture, PsychologyLeave a comment

A Magician Explains Why We See What’s Not There

Fernando Kaskais

Our brain is constantly picturing what the future should be. BY GUSTAV KUHN Norman Triplett was a pioneer in the psychology of magic, and back in 1900, he published a wonderful scientific paper on magic that, among many other things, discusses an experiment on an intriguing magical illusion. A magician sat at a table in front of a group of schoolchildren and threw a ball up in the air a few times. Before the final throw, his hand secretly went under the table, letting the ball fall onto his lap, after which he proceeded to throw an imaginary ball up … Continue reading A Magician Explains Why We See What’s Not There

Brain, Buddhism, Health, Living, Philosophy, PsychologyLeave a comment

SHENPA AND THE TIBETAN ART OF NOT GETTING HOOKED

Fernando Kaskais

by Azriel ReShel, Uplift Waking Times Shenpa is the Tibetan word for attachment. According to Pema Chödrön, shenpa would better be translated as “something that hooks us”. There are two levels of shenpa, the reaction to a pain that surfaces within us and the escaping of pain that is within us. Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, refers to shenpa as the charge behind our thoughts, words and actions, and the charge behind our likes and dislikes. Shenpa is what motivates our habitual patterns and our addictions. Shenpa is also vibrant in the moment when someone puts you down, says something you don’t like, or even makes an innocent remark … Continue reading SHENPA AND THE TIBETAN ART OF NOT GETTING HOOKED