Category: Science

Curiositys, Living, Media&Culture, ScienceLeave a comment

The Fibonacci Sequence Is Everywhere—Even the Troubled Stock Market

Fernando Kaskais

The curious set of numbers shows up in nature and also in human activities. By Elizabeth Landau On Friday, as the U.S. stock market closed out its worst week since 2008 amid coronavirus-related turmoil (before recovering somewhat early this week), investors were left with a glaring question: Is it all downhill from here? Amid such economic turbulence, some market researchers look to a familiar, powerful set of numbers to predict the future. “Fibonacci retracement” is a tool that technical analysts use to guide their outlook about buying and selling behavior in markets. This technique is named after and derived from the … Continue reading The Fibonacci Sequence Is Everywhere—Even the Troubled Stock Market

Brain, Curiositys, Health, Psychology, ScienceLeave a comment

How to become more intelligent (according to Einstein)

Fernando Kaskais

by Benjamin P. Hardy If you’re not changing, you’re not growing. If you’re not growing, you’re not being intelligent. Humans thrive in change and expansion — yet there can be so many internal or external blocks to change. Trying to keep things as they are is a very unhealthy approach to life. Avoiding change reflects a misunderstanding of the human condition and human flourishing. Change is not to be avoided, but embraced. Said Winston Churchill: “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” How much have you changed in the past 12 months? How much have you changed … Continue reading How to become more intelligent (according to Einstein)

Health, History, Media&Culture, Science1 Comment

This ragged claw

Fernando Kaskais

It is a crab; no, a worm; no, a wolf. Early physicians weren’t entirely wrong to imagine cancer as a ravenous disease Ellen Wayland-Smith is an associate professor of writing at the University of Southern California. She is the author of Oneida: From Free Love Utopia to the Well Set Table (2016) and The Angel in the Marketplace: Adwoman Jean Wade Rindlaub and the Selling of America (2020).Listen here Edited by Sam Dresser One day this fall, I came home from work and found, among the usual pile of bills and flyers and mass mailings pulled from the mailbox, a crisp white letter from the … Continue reading This ragged claw

Art, History, Philosophy, ScienceLeave a comment

Against Aloneness in the Web of Life: Ernst Haeckel, Charles Darwin, and the Art of Turning Personal Tragedy into a Portal to Transcendence

Fernando Kaskais

An antidote to isolation by way of tiny marine creatures and a broken Romantic heart. BY MARIA POPOVA In the waning winter of 1864, Charles Darwin opened a package that stopped his breath. “It is one of the most magnificent works which I have ever seen,” he exulted in his response to the sender — a young, still obscure German marine biologist by the name of Ernst Haeckel (February 16, 1834–August 9, 1919), who would go on to coin the word ecology a century before the great marine biologist Rachel Carson made it a household word in catalyzing the environmental movement. Haeckel would become a … Continue reading Against Aloneness in the Web of Life: Ernst Haeckel, Charles Darwin, and the Art of Turning Personal Tragedy into a Portal to Transcendence

Brain, Curiositys, Health, Psychology, Science1 Comment

Seven Strange Quirks Of Human Vision

Fernando Kaskais

By Emma Young It might be the best-studied of all our senses, but surprises about the way our vision works just keep on coming. Recent research has startling and also salutary lessons about how we see. Your brain makes up a lot of what you “see” Whether you’re walking around or sitting at a desk, you no doubt feel that you can see pretty clearly all around you. Yes, so you might be looking ahead as you walk through a park, say, but you can see a rich world of grass, trees and people to either side of you. Well, you … Continue reading Seven Strange Quirks Of Human Vision

Curiositys, Media&Culture, ScienceLeave a comment

Researchers explain why that picture of monkeys turning into humans is wrong

Fernando Kaskais

Credit: The Conversation (edited) by THE CONVERSATION  Evolution explains how all living beings, including us, came to be. It would be easy to assume evolution works by continuously adding features to organisms, constantly increasing their complexity. Some fish evolved legs and walked onto the land. Some dinosaurs evolved wings and began to fly. Others evolved wombs and began to give birth to live young. Yet this is one of the most predominant and frustrating misconceptions about evolution. Many successful branches of the tree of life have stayed simple, such as bacteria, or have reduced their complexity, such as parasites. And they are … Continue reading Researchers explain why that picture of monkeys turning into humans is wrong

Curiositys, Health, Living, Politics, Science, UKLeave a comment

Coronavirus and social distancing: is it risky to go to the pub or gym?

Fernando Kaskais

Many people may plan to attend a sports event or visit elderly relatives this weekend. Is this a bad idea? by Hannah Devlin Science correspondent  The UK government has not placed any restrictions on social gatherings or travel within the UK and has not advised people without symptoms to isolate themselves to curb the coronavirus outbreak. However, some experts say that “social distancing” can play a role. So which weekend activities are most risky? Visiting elderly relatives Elderly people and those with conditions that affect the immune and respiratory systems are by far the most vulnerable to Covid-19. In Italy, the … Continue reading Coronavirus and social distancing: is it risky to go to the pub or gym?