Month: September 2021

Curiositys, Health, Living, ScienceLeave a comment

Cold Showers Allegedly Have Health Benefits. Here’s The Actual Science

Fernando Kaskais

By LINDSAY BOTTOMS A cold shower in the morning is a pretty unpleasant way to start the day. Yet many have been tempted to take up the habit because being immersed in cold water has many purported health benefits, both physical and mental. Cold showers were first administered for health reasons in the early 19th century when doctors designed them for use on asylum and prison inmates to “cool hot, inflamed brains, and to instill fear to tame impetuous wills”. By the mid-19th century, the Victorians realized that the shower had other uses, namely washing people – and it would be better … Continue reading Cold Showers Allegedly Have Health Benefits. Here’s The Actual Science

Brain, Health, Living, Psychology, ScienceLeave a comment

This is why you’re never satisfied with your accomplishments, according to science

Fernando Kaskais

It’s a pesky little trait scientists call hedonic adaptation. And while it helps you stay hungry and survive, it can also be a recipe for burnout if you’re not careful. BY NICK WOLNY Remember that big thing you achieved three months ago? Neither do I. The half-life on happiness feels awfully short these days, and as the years go on the ambition we had in our twenties becomes increasingly hard to channel. You set goals and chase after them…but what about all that time you spend in the Upside-Down trying to get there? Shouldn’t that be pleasurable, too? Don’t get … Continue reading This is why you’re never satisfied with your accomplishments, according to science

Climate Change, Eco, Future, PlanetLeave a comment

IF YOU’RE UNDER 40 YOU’RE GONNA SEE SOME HORRIBLE STUFF, SCIENTISTS SAY

Fernando Kaskais

“THIS SHOULD BE A CALL FOR ACTION.” by ADAM WILSON Lost Generation Children born this year are going to live their lives on a drastically different planet than any generations that came before them. Thanks to the largely unmitigated progression of global climate change, upcoming generations will be forced to endure several times more ecological disasters and dangerous bouts of extreme weather, according to research published in the journal Science on Sunday. It’s an alarming prognosis that should underscore the importance of taking urgent, significant steps to keep climate change in check. Damage Done Unfortunately, lead study author and Vrije Universitiet climate scientist Wim … Continue reading IF YOU’RE UNDER 40 YOU’RE GONNA SEE SOME HORRIBLE STUFF, SCIENTISTS SAY

Brain, Curiositys, Music, Psychology, ScienceLeave a comment

The Brain Is a Prediction Machine, and Music Reveals How It Works

Fernando Kaskais

Summary: Study provides empirical evidence to show the brain’s predictive ability forms the basis for musical phrasing. Source: Aarhus University There is not much evidence for how our brains perceive and decide when ‘something’ – be it a sentence, conversation or piece of music – begins and ends, but a research project from Aarhus University now sheds new light on the role of the brain as a prediction machine. This comes from a scientific study in which Assistant Professor and AIAS fellow Niels Chr. Hansen documents that research participants experience so-called musical phrases – which correspond to a sentence or ‘unit of … Continue reading The Brain Is a Prediction Machine, and Music Reveals How It Works

Matrix, Metaphysics, Philosophy, ScienceLeave a comment

Death, Physics and Wishful Thinking

Fernando Kaskais

Fear of mortality might underlie physicists’ fondness for the anthropic principle, multiverses, superdeterminism and other shaky ideas By John Horgan  Our quirky minds thwart psychologists’ efforts to find durable theories. But terror-management theory has held up quite well since three psychologists proposed it more than 30 years ago. It holds that fear of death underpins many of our actions and convictions. We cling to our beliefs more tightly when reminded of our mortality, especially if those beliefs connect us to something transcending our puny mortal selves. Terror-management theory can account for puzzling political trends, such as our attraction to outlandish conspiracies and authoritarian leaders. … Continue reading Death, Physics and Wishful Thinking

Curiositys, History, Media&Culture, PoliticsLeave a comment

What is ‘the West’?

Fernando Kaskais

While the West belonged to a European geography, its name meant something. Now it is a vague invocation, laden with fear Faisal Devji is professor of Indian history and fellow of St Antony’s College at the University of Oxford, where he is also the director of the Asian Studies Centre. His latest book is Muslim Zion: Pakistan as a Political Idea (2013). Edited bySam Haselby When asked what he thought of Western civilisation, Gandhi apparently responded that he thought it would be a good idea. While this celebrated statement is taken to be an ironic dismissal, Gandhi had in fact given the … Continue reading What is ‘the West’?

Buddhism, Climate Change, Future, Music, PlanetLeave a comment

Improvising Faith

Fernando Kaskais

How Buddhist jazz musician Dan Blake uses music to fight the climate crisis By Emily DeMaioNewton Saxophonist and composer Dan Blake’s latest album, Da Fé, opens with an eerie piano solo titled “Prologue—A New Normal.” The track is meant to warn of the world that awaits us if we don’t act against climate change. Blake’s warning is only the tip of his activism: since 2015 he has served on the board of Buddhist Global Relief, which combats hunger and malnutrition, and has produced benefit concerts for them since 2010. More recently, he has organized on behalf of organizations such as Extinction Rebellion, a … Continue reading Improvising Faith

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

Place, Personhood, and the Hippocampus: The Fascinating Science of Magnetism, Autonoeic Consciousness, and What Makes Us Who We Are

Fernando Kaskais

“Planetary System, Eclipse of the Sun, the Moon, the Zodiacal Light, Meteoric Shower” by Levi Walter Yaggy from Geographical Portfolio — Comprising Physical, Political, Geological, and Astronomical Geography, 1887. (Available as a print, as a face mask, and as stationery cards.) “Often the places we grow up in… influence how we perceive and conceptualize the world, give us metaphors to live by, and shape the purpose that drives us.” BY MARIA POPOVA “Place and a mind may interpenetrate till the nature of both is altered,” the Scottish mountaineer and poet Nan Shepherd wrote in her lyrical love letter to her native Highlands, echoing an ancient intuition … Continue reading Place, Personhood, and the Hippocampus: The Fascinating Science of Magnetism, Autonoeic Consciousness, and What Makes Us Who We Are

Activism, Health, Living, Philosophy, PsychologyLeave a comment

FROM SURVIVOR TO STRIVER: CULTIVATING COURAGE AND BUILDING BOLDNESS

Fernando Kaskais

Gary Z McGee, Contributor Waking Times  “I would rather be ashes than dust.” ~Jack London You have from this moment until the day you die to live the life you want to live. Most people will default to the culturally programmed setting of mere survival. They will make excuses for why they don’t strive. They will remain content with merely surviving. Strivers, by contrast, are not content. They choose not to default to the preprogrammed setting. They choose to strive. They choose to live life to the fullest despite doubt, despite struggle, and despite a world that seems to be preventing … Continue reading FROM SURVIVOR TO STRIVER: CULTIVATING COURAGE AND BUILDING BOLDNESS

Animals, Manipulation, Media&Culture, PsychologyLeave a comment

You Are Not the Boss of Your Dog

Fernando Kaskais

Cesar Millan popularized the idea that every pack needs a stern leader. It’s misguided—but so appealing. BY MARGRET GREBOWICZ The idea that dogs are pack animals who require a pack leader was introduced in the 1940s. It became known as dominance theory, and eventually alpha theory. But it wasn’t until many decades later that the idea of the pack leader became a staple of the American dog owner’s vocabulary and conceptual scheme, thanks to the “Dog Whisperer,” Cesar Millan. Millan’s enormously popular TV show ran from 2004–12 and brought dog training before American audiences like no other show has, before or … Continue reading You Are Not the Boss of Your Dog