Month: June 2019

Bizarre, Brain, Curiositys, Health, Media&Culture, Psychology, Technology3 Comments

How Being Sad, Depressed And Anxious Online Became Trendy

Fernando Kaskais

Social media personas built on the illusion of happy, perfect lives are so tired. In 2019, it’s all about being Sad Online. BY JESS JOHO “Trendy” emotional distress on social media is part of many must-follow accounts across all platforms. Whether by retweeting the depressing relatability of the So Sad Today Twitter account (at 855,000 followers as of this writing) or commenting the obligatory “same” on a MyTherapistSays Instagram post (currently at 3.6 million). As recently immortalized by a Tim Robinson sketch in I Think You Should Leave, even if you do post pictures where you look cute and happy, it must be accompanied by a self-deprecating caption. The … Continue reading How Being Sad, Depressed And Anxious Online Became Trendy

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

Your Brain Is Only As Old As You Think It Is

Fernando Kaskais

image edited by F. Kaskais by Eric Haseltine Ph.D. Why you can decide how old you want to be. Ten years ago, right after I delivered a speech on innovation to the top tier of executives at a Fortune 100 company, one of the executives sought me out with a compliment. “Gee, Eric you haven’t lost a step at all.” The executive, in his forties, had known me for a couple of decades—and what he really meant was that, in my late fifties, I hadn’t slowed down mentally nearly as much as he expected I would. Now in my late sixties, every other … Continue reading Your Brain Is Only As Old As You Think It Is

Curiositys, Eco, Planet, ScienceLeave a comment

Solving the mystery of why atmospheric carbon dioxide was lower during ice ages

Fernando Kaskais

by Mark Floyd, Oregon State University Since scientists first determined that atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) was significantly lower during ice age periods than warm phases, they have sought to discover why, theorizing that it may be a function of ocean circulation, sea ice, iron-laden dust or temperature. Yet no computer model based on existing evidence has been able to explain why CO2levels were as much as one-third lower when an ice age settled in. A new study published this week in Science Advances provides compelling evidence for a solution—the combination of sea water temperature variation and iron from dust off Southern Hemisphere continents. “Many of the past … Continue reading Solving the mystery of why atmospheric carbon dioxide was lower during ice ages

Brain, Living, Media&Culture, Philosophy, Psychology2 Comments

Learning to Be More Selfish

Fernando Kaskais

From a young age, we are taught that one of the greatest risks to our integrity and flourishing is our own selfishness. We must – wherever possible – learn to think more of other people, keep in mind how often we fail to see things from their point of view, and be aware of the small and large ways in which we disadvantage and ignore collective interests. Being good means, at its most basic, putting other people more squarely at the center of our lives. But for some of us, the problem isn’t so much that we are heedless to … Continue reading Learning to Be More Selfish

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

Why Friendship Is Like Improv

Fernando Kaskais

WENJIA TANG “If I’m onstage with people I’ve been performing with for 20-some years … I never get left hanging.” by JULIE BECK This week, she talks with three of the co-founders of the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch-comedy and improv troupe. Matt Besser, Matt Walsh, and Ian Roberts—along with Amy Poehler—took the group from the Chicago improv scene to New York, onto television with a sketch show in the ’90s, and turned it into the big business it is today. UCB now has theaters in New York City and Los Angeles, and also offers improv classes, whose alumni include many … Continue reading Why Friendship Is Like Improv

Animals, Eco, Hypocrisy, Living, Psychology, Rights, ScienceLeave a comment

For the hate of dogs

Fernando Kaskais

A dhole (Cuon Alpinus) attends a Sambar deer kill in Khao Yai National Park, Thailand. Photo by Tontantravel/Flickr We treat pet dogs with such sentimentality while their wild, endangered relatives are feared and persecuted. Why? Sy Montgomery is an author and naturalist. She has published 28 books for adults and children, including The Soul of an Octopus (2015) and most recently How to be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals (2018). She lives in New Hampshire. Edited by Pam Weintraub It sounds like a jet – but it can’t be. I look up into the jungle canopy at Khao Yai National Park … Continue reading For the hate of dogs

Curiositys, Living, Psychology, SexLeave a comment

Why Your Relationships Don’t Last

Fernando Kaskais

image edited by F. Kaskais by Hannah Rose, LCPC, Part 1: How to stop sabotaging once the honeymoon stage wears off. *Author’s note: I know this title is super harsh [the original post was “Why Your Relationships Suck”], but hopefully it’ll serve as clickbait because this is an important read.  This article will likely piss you off. Everything I write is my opinion and based on both my personal and professional experiences. If something I’ve written has ignited a flame of anger inside of you, use that emotional trigger to further navigate through the root of that emotional stimulation. Often, when we … Continue reading Why Your Relationships Don’t Last

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

Why Sometimes Just Finding Silence is Enough

Fernando Kaskais

BY JUSTIN HOUSMAN My wife and I have a six-week-old daughter at home. Fellow parents will laugh knowingly, but in the months before her birth we’d made bold plans to ensure we’d still camp most weekends and that I’d still fly fish and surf and ride mountain bikes just as much as I always have; we even hoped to go backpacking with our daughter at 12 weeks. Those plans are now in the garbage along with several hundred (compostable) diapers. It’s not that our daughter couldn’t handle those things. We hike with her most days and she sleeps right through … Continue reading Why Sometimes Just Finding Silence is Enough

Curiositys, Health, Living, ScienceLeave a comment

The Biggest Myths About Hereditary Hair Loss

Fernando Kaskais

Getty No, it doesn’t only happen to men or come exclusively from your mom’s genes. We debunk the biggest misconceptions around hair loss. by Jaclyn Jeffrey-Wilensky Matthew Parker wasn’t surprised when he started losing his hair in his early twenties. It was the same for his father, who was almost fully bald by the time Parker was born. Parker cut his losses early: at age 26, he buzzed his head and never looked back. The switch boosted his confidence, but it can make his day job—patient coordinator for a hair transplant clinic—a little bit awkward. “It’s always been a bit … Continue reading The Biggest Myths About Hereditary Hair Loss

Curiositys, Eco, Globalization, Living, Media&Culture, Planet, ScienceLeave a comment

Sign Of The Times? Weather Patterns All Over The Planet Are Going Absolutely Nuts

Fernando Kaskais

by Michael Snyder We have never seen global weather patterns go as crazy as they have so far in 2019.  Record high temperatures are being shattered all over the planet, but meanwhile some parts of the U.S. were just buried by massive amounts of snow.  The sixth largest city in India is literally running out of water due to extremely dry conditions, but in middle America it just won’t stop raining.  In fact, the Midwest is getting hammered by more severe storms as I write this article.  Meanwhile, Australia is being forced to import enormous amounts of wheat due to the extraordinary drought … Continue reading Sign Of The Times? Weather Patterns All Over The Planet Are Going Absolutely Nuts