Brilliant
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Hindu Force: Dynamo's card tricks revealed
Here's Dynamo performing a card trick - very good!
Here's the explanation - he is using the Hindu Force.
Watch the Dynamo trick again. Look at 20 seconds - the 4 of Spades is at the top. At 25 seconds, he flips the top card over and puts it at the bottom...
He's an excellent performer...
Here's the explanation - he is using the Hindu Force.
Watch the Dynamo trick again. Look at 20 seconds - the 4 of Spades is at the top. At 25 seconds, he flips the top card over and puts it at the bottom...
He's an excellent performer...
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Polyphasic sleep
Polyphasic sleep refers to the practice of sleeping multiple times in a 24-hour period—usually more than two, in contrast to biphasic sleep (twice per day) or monophasic sleep (once per day). Check this link for more information (see here).
And I bought a great book from the person who created the Uberman schedule. Check this link for the book and explore the blog (see here).
Looks great. I will try it when I get the chance.
And I bought a great book from the person who created the Uberman schedule. Check this link for the book and explore the blog (see here).
Looks great. I will try it when I get the chance.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Bertrand Russell on Wisdom
"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts."
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Douglas Bader on Rules
The World War 2 ace said: "Rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men."
I think I said something similar (see here). Obviously I'm not the first to think such thoughts...
I think I said something similar (see here). Obviously I'm not the first to think such thoughts...
Smile right
This was originally published by the BBC (see here).
There are any number of sayings about the power of the smile. 'Peace begins with a smile.' 'A smile is the universal welcome.' 'Life is short but a smile only takes a second.' All good advice. But it may not be as simple as that. According to new research, if you want to make a good impression when you meet people, it's not just that you smile. It's how you smile.
We all know that smiling is important when meeting new people. However, new research suggests that different types of smiles affect what people think of us.
The study was carried out by the Go Group, a business support organisation based in Scotland. They looked at people's reactions to different grins. They found that responses varied considerably.
Through this they say they have found three types of smile to avoid: The first is 'The Enthusiast', very wide, all teeth showing, possible evidence that you can have too much of a good thing. Then there is the 'Big Freeze', a fixed grin that looks practised and fake. Finally comes 'The Robot', a small, thin smile, lacking in warmth.
The group also warns about smiling too quickly, saying it can make you look insincere. The best smile, they say, is slower and floods naturally across the whole face.
There are any number of sayings about the power of the smile. 'Peace begins with a smile.' 'A smile is the universal welcome.' 'Life is short but a smile only takes a second.' All good advice. But it may not be as simple as that. According to new research, if you want to make a good impression when you meet people, it's not just that you smile. It's how you smile.
We all know that smiling is important when meeting new people. However, new research suggests that different types of smiles affect what people think of us.
The study was carried out by the Go Group, a business support organisation based in Scotland. They looked at people's reactions to different grins. They found that responses varied considerably.
Through this they say they have found three types of smile to avoid: The first is 'The Enthusiast', very wide, all teeth showing, possible evidence that you can have too much of a good thing. Then there is the 'Big Freeze', a fixed grin that looks practised and fake. Finally comes 'The Robot', a small, thin smile, lacking in warmth.
The group also warns about smiling too quickly, saying it can make you look insincere. The best smile, they say, is slower and floods naturally across the whole face.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
The power of smiling
This is an amazing video. It describes all the amazing things that smiling can do...for you and others around you... Brilliant!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
The genetics of happiness
I have spoken about the science of happiness before (see here). Now there is a gene that has been identified which is associated with happiness. The gene was identified by Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, from the London School of Economics and Political Science (see here). People with one form of the gene are generally more satisfied with their lives that those carrying the other.
I don't think this discovery answers the nature / nurture debate - all it does is reinforce the fact that both play a role. There is as much evidence that our experience affects us as much as our genes.
I don't think this discovery answers the nature / nurture debate - all it does is reinforce the fact that both play a role. There is as much evidence that our experience affects us as much as our genes.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Neurosky Brainwave Sensors
Here's a video of a biosensor - one that reads your brain waves. Great technology, coming to a store near you soon...
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Timshel - thou mayest
From 'East of Eden' by Jonh Steinbeck
“Do you remember when you read us the sixteen verses of the fourth chapter of Genesis and we argued about them?”
“I do indeed. And that’s a long time ago.”
“Ten years nearly,” said Lee. “Well, the story bit deeply into me and I went into it word for word. The more I thought about the story, the more profound it became to me. Then I compared the translations we have—and they were fairly close. There was only one place that bothered me. The King James version says this—it is when Jehovah has asked Cain why he is angry. Jehovah says, ‘If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.’ It was the ‘thou shalt’ that struck me, because it was a promise that Cain would conquer sin.”
Samuel nodded. “And his children didn’t do it entirely,” he said.
Lee sipped his coffee. “Then I got a copy of the American Standard Bible. It was very new then. And it was different in this passage. It says, ‘Do thou rule over him.’ Now this is very different. This is not a promise, it is an order. And I began to stew about it. I wondered what the original word of the original writer had been that these very different translations could be made.”
Samuel put his palms down on the table and leaned forward and the old young light came into his eyes. “Lee,” he said, “don’t tell me you studied Hebrew!”
Lee said, “I’m going to tell you. And it’s a fairly long story. Will you have a touch of ng-ka-py?”
“You mean the drink that tastes of good rotten apples?”
“Yes. I can talk better with it.”
“Maybe I can listen better,” said Samuel.
While Lee went to the kitchen Samuel asked, “Adam, did you know about this?”
“No,” said Adam. “He didn’t tell me. Maybe I wasn’t listening.”
Lee came back with his stone bottle and three little porcelain cups so thin and delicate that the light shone through them. “Dlinkee Chinee fashion,” he said and poured the almost black liquor. “There’s a lot of wormwood in this. It’s quite a drink,” he said. “Has about the same effect as absinthe if you drink enough of it.”
Samuel sipped the drink. “I want to know why you were so interested,” he said.
“Well, it seemed to me that the man who could conceive this great story would know exactly what he wanted to say and there would be no confusion in his statement.”
“You say ‘the man.’ Do you then not think this is a divine book written by the inky finger of God?”
“I think the mind that could think this story was a curiously divine mind. We have had a few such minds in China too.”
“I just wanted to know,” said Samuel. “You’re not a Presbyterian after all.”
“I told you I was getting more Chinese. Well, to go on, I went to San Francisco to the headquarters of our family association. Do you know about them? Our great families have centers where any member can get help or give it. The Lee family is very large. It takes care of its own.”
“I have heard of them,” said Samuel.
“You mean Chinee hatchet man fightee Tong war over slave girl?”
“I guess so.”
“It’s a little different from that, really,” said Lee. “I went there because in our family there are a number of ancient reverend gentlemen who are great scholars. They are thinkers in exactness. A man may spend many years pondering a sentence of the scholar you call Confucius. I thought there might be experts in meaning who could advise me.
“They are fine old men. They smoke their two pipes of opium in the afternoon and it rests and sharpens them, and they sit through the night and their minds are wonderful. I guess no other people have been able to use opium well.”
Lee dampened his tongue in the black brew. “I respectfully submitted my problem to one of these sages, read him the story, and told him what I understood from it. The next night four of them met and called me in. We discussed the story all night long.”
Lee laughed. “I guess it’s funny,” he said. “I know I wouldn’t dare tell it to many people. Can you imagine four old gentlemen, the youngest is over ninety now, taking on the study of Hebrew? They engaged a learned rabbi. They took to the study as though they were children. Exercise books, grammar, vocabulary, simple sentences. You should see Hebrew written in Chinese ink with a brush! The right to left didn’t bother them as much as it would you, since we write up to down. Oh, they were perfectionists! They went to the root of the matter.”
“And you?” said Samuel.
“I went along with them, marveling at the beauty of their proud clean brains. I began to love my race, and for the first time I wanted to be Chinese. Every two weeks I went to a meeting with them, and in my room here I covered pages with writing. I bought every known Hebrew dictionary. But the old gentlemen were always ahead of me. It wasn’t long before they were ahead of our rabbi; he brought a colleague in. Mr. Hamilton, you should have sat through some of those nights of argument and discussion. The questions, the inspection, oh, the lovely thinking—the beautiful thinking.
“After two years we felt that we could approach your sixteen verses of the fourth chapter of Genesis. My old gentlemen felt that these words were very important too—‘Thou shalt’ and ‘Do thou.’ And this was the gold from our mining: ‘Thou mayest.’ ‘Thou mayest rule over sin.’ The old gentlemen smiled and nodded and felt the years were well spent. It brought them out of their Chinese shells too, and right now they are studying Greek.”
Samuel said, “It’s a fantastic story. And I’ve tried to follow and maybe I’ve missed somewhere. Why is this word so important?”
Lee’s hand shook as he filled the delicate cups. He drank his down in one gulp. “Don’t you see?” he cried. “The American Standard translation orders men to triumph over sin, and you can call sin ignorance. The King James translation makes a promise in ‘Thou shalt,’ meaning that men will surely triumph over sin. But the Hebrew word, the word timshel—‘Thou mayest’— that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world. That says the way is open. That throws it right back on a man. For if ‘Thou mayest’—it is also true that ‘Thou mayest not.’ Don’t you see?”
“Yes, I see. I do see. But you do not believe this is divine law. Why do you feel its importance?”
“Ah!” said Lee. “I’ve wanted to tell you this for a long time. I even anticipated your questions and I am well prepared. Any writing which has influenced the thinking and the lives of innumerable people is important. Now, there are many millions in their sects and churches who feel the order, ‘Do thou,’ and throw their weight into obedience. And there are millions more who feel predestination in ‘Thou shalt.’ Nothing they may do can interfere with what will be. But ‘Thou mayest’! Why, that makes a man great, that gives him stature with the gods, for in his weakness and his filth and his murder of his brother he has still the great choice. He can choose his course and fight it through and win.” Lee’s voice was a chant of triumph.
Adam said, “Do you believe that, Lee?”
“Yes, I do. Yes, I do. It is easy out of laziness, out of weakness, to throw oneself into the lap of deity, saying, ‘I couldn’t help it; the way was set.’ But think of the glory of the choice! That makes a man a man. A cat has no choice, a bee must make honey. There’s no godliness there. And do you know, those old gentlemen who were sliding gently down to death are too interested to die now?”
Adam said, “Do you mean these Chinese men believe the Old Testament?”
Lee said, “These old men believe a true story, and they know a true story when they hear it. They are critics of truth. They know that these sixteen verses are a history of humankind in any age or culture or race. They do not believe a man writes fifteen and three-quarter verses of truth and tells a lie with one verb. Confucius tells men how they should live to have good and successful lives. But this—this is a ladder to climb to the stars.” Lee’s eyes shone. “You can never lose that. It cuts the feet from under weakness and cowardliness and laziness.”
Adam said, “I don’t see how you could cook and raise the boys and take care of me and still do all this.”
“Neither do I,” said Lee. “But I take my two pipes in the afternoon, no more and no less, like the elders. And I feel that I am a man. And I feel that a man is a very important thing—maybe more important than a star. This is not theology. I have no bent toward gods. But I have a new love for that glittering instrument, the human soul. It is a lovely and unique thing in the universe. It is always attacked and never destroyed— because ‘Thou mayest.’”
“Do you remember when you read us the sixteen verses of the fourth chapter of Genesis and we argued about them?”
“I do indeed. And that’s a long time ago.”
“Ten years nearly,” said Lee. “Well, the story bit deeply into me and I went into it word for word. The more I thought about the story, the more profound it became to me. Then I compared the translations we have—and they were fairly close. There was only one place that bothered me. The King James version says this—it is when Jehovah has asked Cain why he is angry. Jehovah says, ‘If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.’ It was the ‘thou shalt’ that struck me, because it was a promise that Cain would conquer sin.”
Samuel nodded. “And his children didn’t do it entirely,” he said.
Lee sipped his coffee. “Then I got a copy of the American Standard Bible. It was very new then. And it was different in this passage. It says, ‘Do thou rule over him.’ Now this is very different. This is not a promise, it is an order. And I began to stew about it. I wondered what the original word of the original writer had been that these very different translations could be made.”
Samuel put his palms down on the table and leaned forward and the old young light came into his eyes. “Lee,” he said, “don’t tell me you studied Hebrew!”
Lee said, “I’m going to tell you. And it’s a fairly long story. Will you have a touch of ng-ka-py?”
“You mean the drink that tastes of good rotten apples?”
“Yes. I can talk better with it.”
“Maybe I can listen better,” said Samuel.
While Lee went to the kitchen Samuel asked, “Adam, did you know about this?”
“No,” said Adam. “He didn’t tell me. Maybe I wasn’t listening.”
Lee came back with his stone bottle and three little porcelain cups so thin and delicate that the light shone through them. “Dlinkee Chinee fashion,” he said and poured the almost black liquor. “There’s a lot of wormwood in this. It’s quite a drink,” he said. “Has about the same effect as absinthe if you drink enough of it.”
Samuel sipped the drink. “I want to know why you were so interested,” he said.
“Well, it seemed to me that the man who could conceive this great story would know exactly what he wanted to say and there would be no confusion in his statement.”
“You say ‘the man.’ Do you then not think this is a divine book written by the inky finger of God?”
“I think the mind that could think this story was a curiously divine mind. We have had a few such minds in China too.”
“I just wanted to know,” said Samuel. “You’re not a Presbyterian after all.”
“I told you I was getting more Chinese. Well, to go on, I went to San Francisco to the headquarters of our family association. Do you know about them? Our great families have centers where any member can get help or give it. The Lee family is very large. It takes care of its own.”
“I have heard of them,” said Samuel.
“You mean Chinee hatchet man fightee Tong war over slave girl?”
“I guess so.”
“It’s a little different from that, really,” said Lee. “I went there because in our family there are a number of ancient reverend gentlemen who are great scholars. They are thinkers in exactness. A man may spend many years pondering a sentence of the scholar you call Confucius. I thought there might be experts in meaning who could advise me.
“They are fine old men. They smoke their two pipes of opium in the afternoon and it rests and sharpens them, and they sit through the night and their minds are wonderful. I guess no other people have been able to use opium well.”
Lee dampened his tongue in the black brew. “I respectfully submitted my problem to one of these sages, read him the story, and told him what I understood from it. The next night four of them met and called me in. We discussed the story all night long.”
Lee laughed. “I guess it’s funny,” he said. “I know I wouldn’t dare tell it to many people. Can you imagine four old gentlemen, the youngest is over ninety now, taking on the study of Hebrew? They engaged a learned rabbi. They took to the study as though they were children. Exercise books, grammar, vocabulary, simple sentences. You should see Hebrew written in Chinese ink with a brush! The right to left didn’t bother them as much as it would you, since we write up to down. Oh, they were perfectionists! They went to the root of the matter.”
“And you?” said Samuel.
“I went along with them, marveling at the beauty of their proud clean brains. I began to love my race, and for the first time I wanted to be Chinese. Every two weeks I went to a meeting with them, and in my room here I covered pages with writing. I bought every known Hebrew dictionary. But the old gentlemen were always ahead of me. It wasn’t long before they were ahead of our rabbi; he brought a colleague in. Mr. Hamilton, you should have sat through some of those nights of argument and discussion. The questions, the inspection, oh, the lovely thinking—the beautiful thinking.
“After two years we felt that we could approach your sixteen verses of the fourth chapter of Genesis. My old gentlemen felt that these words were very important too—‘Thou shalt’ and ‘Do thou.’ And this was the gold from our mining: ‘Thou mayest.’ ‘Thou mayest rule over sin.’ The old gentlemen smiled and nodded and felt the years were well spent. It brought them out of their Chinese shells too, and right now they are studying Greek.”
Samuel said, “It’s a fantastic story. And I’ve tried to follow and maybe I’ve missed somewhere. Why is this word so important?”
Lee’s hand shook as he filled the delicate cups. He drank his down in one gulp. “Don’t you see?” he cried. “The American Standard translation orders men to triumph over sin, and you can call sin ignorance. The King James translation makes a promise in ‘Thou shalt,’ meaning that men will surely triumph over sin. But the Hebrew word, the word timshel—‘Thou mayest’— that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world. That says the way is open. That throws it right back on a man. For if ‘Thou mayest’—it is also true that ‘Thou mayest not.’ Don’t you see?”
“Yes, I see. I do see. But you do not believe this is divine law. Why do you feel its importance?”
“Ah!” said Lee. “I’ve wanted to tell you this for a long time. I even anticipated your questions and I am well prepared. Any writing which has influenced the thinking and the lives of innumerable people is important. Now, there are many millions in their sects and churches who feel the order, ‘Do thou,’ and throw their weight into obedience. And there are millions more who feel predestination in ‘Thou shalt.’ Nothing they may do can interfere with what will be. But ‘Thou mayest’! Why, that makes a man great, that gives him stature with the gods, for in his weakness and his filth and his murder of his brother he has still the great choice. He can choose his course and fight it through and win.” Lee’s voice was a chant of triumph.
Adam said, “Do you believe that, Lee?”
“Yes, I do. Yes, I do. It is easy out of laziness, out of weakness, to throw oneself into the lap of deity, saying, ‘I couldn’t help it; the way was set.’ But think of the glory of the choice! That makes a man a man. A cat has no choice, a bee must make honey. There’s no godliness there. And do you know, those old gentlemen who were sliding gently down to death are too interested to die now?”
Adam said, “Do you mean these Chinese men believe the Old Testament?”
Lee said, “These old men believe a true story, and they know a true story when they hear it. They are critics of truth. They know that these sixteen verses are a history of humankind in any age or culture or race. They do not believe a man writes fifteen and three-quarter verses of truth and tells a lie with one verb. Confucius tells men how they should live to have good and successful lives. But this—this is a ladder to climb to the stars.” Lee’s eyes shone. “You can never lose that. It cuts the feet from under weakness and cowardliness and laziness.”
Adam said, “I don’t see how you could cook and raise the boys and take care of me and still do all this.”
“Neither do I,” said Lee. “But I take my two pipes in the afternoon, no more and no less, like the elders. And I feel that I am a man. And I feel that a man is a very important thing—maybe more important than a star. This is not theology. I have no bent toward gods. But I have a new love for that glittering instrument, the human soul. It is a lovely and unique thing in the universe. It is always attacked and never destroyed— because ‘Thou mayest.’”
Saturday, March 26, 2011
The Way We Go by Katherine Towers
Saw this on the underground a few months back. It's great!
the way we go about our lives
trying out each empty room
like houses we might own
eavesdropping for clues in corridors until
standing at a gate or attic window
seeing beauty in a flag of sky
we're gone, leaving the doors open
all the lights burning
the way we go about our lives
trying out each empty room
like houses we might own
eavesdropping for clues in corridors until
standing at a gate or attic window
seeing beauty in a flag of sky
we're gone, leaving the doors open
all the lights burning
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Entirely by Louis MacNeice
If we could get the hang of it entirely
It would take too long;
All we know is the splash of words in passing
And falling twigs of song,
And when we eavesdrop on the great
Presences it is rarely
That by a stroke of luck we can appropriate
Even a phrase entirely.
If we could find our happiness entirely
In somebody else’s arms
We should not fear the spears of spring nor the city’s
Yammering fire alarms
But, as it is, the spears each year go through
Our flesh and almost hourly
Bell or siren banishes the blue
Eyes of love entirely.
And if the world were black and white entirely
And all the charts were plain
Instead of a mad weir of tigerish waters,
A prism of delight and pain,
We might be surer where we wished to go
Or again we might be merely
Bored but in brute reality there is no
Road that is right entirely.
It would take too long;
All we know is the splash of words in passing
And falling twigs of song,
And when we eavesdrop on the great
Presences it is rarely
That by a stroke of luck we can appropriate
Even a phrase entirely.
If we could find our happiness entirely
In somebody else’s arms
We should not fear the spears of spring nor the city’s
Yammering fire alarms
But, as it is, the spears each year go through
Our flesh and almost hourly
Bell or siren banishes the blue
Eyes of love entirely.
And if the world were black and white entirely
And all the charts were plain
Instead of a mad weir of tigerish waters,
A prism of delight and pain,
We might be surer where we wished to go
Or again we might be merely
Bored but in brute reality there is no
Road that is right entirely.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Robert Peston caused the recession
I saw Robert Peston quoting a member of the public, saying "...why should bankers get paid so much money when I haven't had a pay rise for a long time, things are getting more expensive and I'm in lots of debt. They don't deserve it..."
Well I tell you something...they do! There is a growing sense of socialism and the feeling of "it's not fair" brewing at the moment. This is following a few decades of centre-right policy and society aligning with an overall desire to work for, and take personal responsibility for, our own wealth. But things are tough now - we are in the midst of an era of austerity, unemployment is at a new peak and the press love sending shock waves of fear through our communities...
The tragic thing is that this new found sense of socialism reminds me of the way children at school expect their teacher to support them wholeheartedly when things are bad...but when things are good, the student will turn on the teacher. In other words, it seems to me that society is saying "woe is me, the world is unfair, someone help me and lets punish those in a better position"...simply because things are difficult. And Robert Peston is loving it... The fact of the matter is that the people that complain do not have the intelligence or strength of character to succeed in the banking world. It is tough. Bankers in the top positions have made many personal sacrifices that many people would not be prepared to make. Fine, we can challenge their judgement when it comes to gambling our country into a financial mess and question their personal values when it comes to friends and family. But we all must take responsibility for our own decisions and follow our innate drive. Therefore, to non-bankers who believe Robert Peston is speaking on their behalf, I say...you could have applied to Goldmann Sachs or Barclays but you chose not to. Get over it. And even if you did work for one of the banks, you would probably not have survived. It's not in your nature to succeed in the banking environment. It is not safe, cosy, warm and friendly. Bankers put up with this because there is a large financial reward. It suits only a small minority of people.
Things are tough but don't try to blame others without taking a look at yourself first. And more importantly, don't listen to Robert Peston or any of his sensationalist bollocks. He has been the worst thing for this country for over 3 years and is milking the system and other peoples' misery. He is no different to Bob Diamond or Steven Hester if you actually think about it. Cut throat, highly successful, unpleasant.
Well I tell you something...they do! There is a growing sense of socialism and the feeling of "it's not fair" brewing at the moment. This is following a few decades of centre-right policy and society aligning with an overall desire to work for, and take personal responsibility for, our own wealth. But things are tough now - we are in the midst of an era of austerity, unemployment is at a new peak and the press love sending shock waves of fear through our communities...
The tragic thing is that this new found sense of socialism reminds me of the way children at school expect their teacher to support them wholeheartedly when things are bad...but when things are good, the student will turn on the teacher. In other words, it seems to me that society is saying "woe is me, the world is unfair, someone help me and lets punish those in a better position"...simply because things are difficult. And Robert Peston is loving it... The fact of the matter is that the people that complain do not have the intelligence or strength of character to succeed in the banking world. It is tough. Bankers in the top positions have made many personal sacrifices that many people would not be prepared to make. Fine, we can challenge their judgement when it comes to gambling our country into a financial mess and question their personal values when it comes to friends and family. But we all must take responsibility for our own decisions and follow our innate drive. Therefore, to non-bankers who believe Robert Peston is speaking on their behalf, I say...you could have applied to Goldmann Sachs or Barclays but you chose not to. Get over it. And even if you did work for one of the banks, you would probably not have survived. It's not in your nature to succeed in the banking environment. It is not safe, cosy, warm and friendly. Bankers put up with this because there is a large financial reward. It suits only a small minority of people.
Things are tough but don't try to blame others without taking a look at yourself first. And more importantly, don't listen to Robert Peston or any of his sensationalist bollocks. He has been the worst thing for this country for over 3 years and is milking the system and other peoples' misery. He is no different to Bob Diamond or Steven Hester if you actually think about it. Cut throat, highly successful, unpleasant.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Watch 'Invictus' streaming
This is a great movie. The story of South Africa winning the rugby world cup in 1995. It is about exceeding our own expectations of ourselves. Inspiring.
Click on the picture below, the movie pops up as a new page, click play, enjoy...
Click on the picture below, the movie pops up as a new page, click play, enjoy...
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Earl Spencer speech in memory of Princess Diana 1997
If you can get past the first 90 seconds of Elton John (sorry Elton), you will see one of the most tragic and stirring speeches from recent history. The profundity of the situation, from Earl Spencer’s perspective, is so clear. The societal significance of Princess Diana’s death is secondary to the death of his sister and he opens himself up. It is rare that such honesty is seen on such a public stage.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Neil Pasricha: The 3 A's of awesome
Neil's life went bad. But he got on with it and made a conscious effort to find the good things in life rather than dwell on the bad (why oh why don't more people do this rather than loaf around in self centred, self inflicted, self perpetuating misery). This is Neil's story and his insights. It's touching, simple and so damn obvious! Many people go through ordeals like this but he deals with the matter so personally and delicately (and even thanks his parents). It is from the heart. He got his platform at TED because he helped change the world. Respect. Thanks for having a bad spell :-)
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Blink: Malcolm Gladwell talks
Malcolm Gladwell talks about hig book 'Blink'. Published in 2005, the book describes the main subject of "thin-slicing": our ability to gauge what is really important from a very narrow period of experience. In other words, this is an idea that spontaneous decisions are often as good as—or even better than—carefully planned and considered ones. Gladwell draws on examples from science, advertising, sales, medicine, and popular music to reinforce his ideas. Gladwell also uses many examples of regular people's experiences with "thin-slicing."
Gladwell explains how an expert's ability to "thin slice" can be corrupted by their likes and dislikes, prejudices and stereotypes (even unconscious ones), and how they can be overloaded by too much information. Two particular forms of unconscious bias Gladwell discusses are Implicit Association Tests and psychological priming. Gladwell also us about our instinctive ability to mind read, which is how we can get to know what emotions a person is feeling just by looking at his or her face.
We do that by "thin-slicing," using limited information to come to our conclusion. In what Gladwell contends is an age of information overload, he finds that experts often make better decisions with snap judgments than they do with volumes of analysis.
Gladwell gives a wide range of examples of thin-slicing in contexts such as gambling, speed dating, tennis, military war games, the movies, malpractice suits, popular music, and predicting divorce.
Gladwell also mentions that sometimes having too much information can interfere with the accuracy of a judgment, or a doctor's diagnosis. This is commonly called "Analysis paralysis." The challenge is to sift through and focus on only the most critical information to make a decision. The other information may be irrelevant and confusing to the decision maker. Collecting more and more information, in most cases, just reinforces our judgment but does not help to make it more accurate. The collection of information is commonly interpreted as confirming a person's initial belief or bias. Gladwell explains that better judgments can be executed from simplicity and frugality of information, rather than the more common belief that greater information about a patient is proportional to an improved diagnosis. If the big picture is clear enough to decide, then decide from the big picture without using a magnifying glass.
The book argues that intuitive judgment is developed by experience, training, and knowledge. For example, Gladwell claims that prejudice can operate at an intuitive unconscious level, even in individuals whose conscious attitudes are not prejudiced. An example is in the halo effect, where a person having a salient positive quality is thought to be superior in other, unrelated respects. Gladwell uses the 1999 killing of Amadou Diallo, where four New York policemen shot an innocent man on his doorstep 41 times, as another example of how rapid, intuitive judgment can have disastrous effects.
Gladwell explains how an expert's ability to "thin slice" can be corrupted by their likes and dislikes, prejudices and stereotypes (even unconscious ones), and how they can be overloaded by too much information. Two particular forms of unconscious bias Gladwell discusses are Implicit Association Tests and psychological priming. Gladwell also us about our instinctive ability to mind read, which is how we can get to know what emotions a person is feeling just by looking at his or her face.
We do that by "thin-slicing," using limited information to come to our conclusion. In what Gladwell contends is an age of information overload, he finds that experts often make better decisions with snap judgments than they do with volumes of analysis.
Gladwell gives a wide range of examples of thin-slicing in contexts such as gambling, speed dating, tennis, military war games, the movies, malpractice suits, popular music, and predicting divorce.
Gladwell also mentions that sometimes having too much information can interfere with the accuracy of a judgment, or a doctor's diagnosis. This is commonly called "Analysis paralysis." The challenge is to sift through and focus on only the most critical information to make a decision. The other information may be irrelevant and confusing to the decision maker. Collecting more and more information, in most cases, just reinforces our judgment but does not help to make it more accurate. The collection of information is commonly interpreted as confirming a person's initial belief or bias. Gladwell explains that better judgments can be executed from simplicity and frugality of information, rather than the more common belief that greater information about a patient is proportional to an improved diagnosis. If the big picture is clear enough to decide, then decide from the big picture without using a magnifying glass.
The book argues that intuitive judgment is developed by experience, training, and knowledge. For example, Gladwell claims that prejudice can operate at an intuitive unconscious level, even in individuals whose conscious attitudes are not prejudiced. An example is in the halo effect, where a person having a salient positive quality is thought to be superior in other, unrelated respects. Gladwell uses the 1999 killing of Amadou Diallo, where four New York policemen shot an innocent man on his doorstep 41 times, as another example of how rapid, intuitive judgment can have disastrous effects.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Our future is greater than our past
Turn on your light (an excerpt) by Ben Okri
The new era is already here:
Here the new time begins anew.
The new era happens every day,
Every day is a new world,
A new calendar.
All great moments, all great eras,
Are just every moment
And every day writ large.
Thousands of years of loving, failing, killing,
Creating, surprising, oppressing,
And thinking ought now to start
To bear fruit, to deliver their rich harvest.
Will you be at the harvest,
Among the gatherers of new fruits?
Then you must begin today to remake
Your mental and spiritual world,
And join the warriors and celebrants
Of freedom, realisers of great dreams.
You can't remake the world
Without remaking yourself.
Each new era begins within.
It is an inward event,
With unsuspected possibilities
For inner liberation.
We could use it to turn on
Our inward lights.
We could use it to use even the dark
And negative things positively.
We could use the new era
To clean our eyes,
To see the world differently,
To see ourselves more clearly.
Only free people can make a free world.
Infect the world with your light.
Help fulfill the golden prophecies.
Press forward the human genius.
Our future is greater than our past.
The new era is already here:
Here the new time begins anew.
The new era happens every day,
Every day is a new world,
A new calendar.
All great moments, all great eras,
Are just every moment
And every day writ large.
Thousands of years of loving, failing, killing,
Creating, surprising, oppressing,
And thinking ought now to start
To bear fruit, to deliver their rich harvest.
Will you be at the harvest,
Among the gatherers of new fruits?
Then you must begin today to remake
Your mental and spiritual world,
And join the warriors and celebrants
Of freedom, realisers of great dreams.
You can't remake the world
Without remaking yourself.
Each new era begins within.
It is an inward event,
With unsuspected possibilities
For inner liberation.
We could use it to turn on
Our inward lights.
We could use it to use even the dark
And negative things positively.
We could use the new era
To clean our eyes,
To see the world differently,
To see ourselves more clearly.
Only free people can make a free world.
Infect the world with your light.
Help fulfill the golden prophecies.
Press forward the human genius.
Our future is greater than our past.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
I can see the future
Maverick psychologist Daryl Bem (see here) is about to publish a paper in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (see here) entitled, "Experimental evidence for anomalous retroactive influences on cognition and affect". When translated into English, this paper provides evidence that we can see into the future. New Scientist covered this story in November 2010 (see here).
In summary, it describes a series of experiments involving more than 1000 student volunteers. In most of the tests, Bem took well-studied psychological phenomena and simply reversed the sequence, so that the event generally interpreted as the cause happened after the tested behaviour rather than before it. In one study, Bem adapted research on "priming" – the effect of a subliminally presented word on a person's response to an image. For instance, if someone is momentarily flashed the word "ugly", it will take them longer to decide that a picture of a kitten is pleasant than if "beautiful" had been flashed. Running the experiment back-to-front, Bem found that the priming effect seemed to work backwards in time as well as forwards.
The effects he recorded were small but statistically significant. In another test, volunteers were told that an erotic image was going to appear on a computer screen in one of two positions, and asked to guess in advance which position that would be. The image's eventual position was selected at random, but volunteers guessed correctly 53.1 per cent of the time.
That may sound unimpressive – truly random guesses would have been right 50 per cent of the time, after all. But well-established phenomena such as the ability of low-dose aspirin to prevent heart attacks are based on similarly small effects, notes Melissa Burkley of Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, who has also blogged about Bem's work at Psychology Today.
Obviously the jury is still out on this controversial, yet fascinating study, but kudos to Bem for devising such an ingenious way of exploring the topic using true scientific methodology in a field that has been notoriously in the fringe. Even if this study isn't the smoking gun on precognition, it's acceptance for publication and peer review in such a reputable journal is nothing short of a ground-breaking achievement.
In summary, it describes a series of experiments involving more than 1000 student volunteers. In most of the tests, Bem took well-studied psychological phenomena and simply reversed the sequence, so that the event generally interpreted as the cause happened after the tested behaviour rather than before it. In one study, Bem adapted research on "priming" – the effect of a subliminally presented word on a person's response to an image. For instance, if someone is momentarily flashed the word "ugly", it will take them longer to decide that a picture of a kitten is pleasant than if "beautiful" had been flashed. Running the experiment back-to-front, Bem found that the priming effect seemed to work backwards in time as well as forwards.
The effects he recorded were small but statistically significant. In another test, volunteers were told that an erotic image was going to appear on a computer screen in one of two positions, and asked to guess in advance which position that would be. The image's eventual position was selected at random, but volunteers guessed correctly 53.1 per cent of the time.
That may sound unimpressive – truly random guesses would have been right 50 per cent of the time, after all. But well-established phenomena such as the ability of low-dose aspirin to prevent heart attacks are based on similarly small effects, notes Melissa Burkley of Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, who has also blogged about Bem's work at Psychology Today.
Obviously the jury is still out on this controversial, yet fascinating study, but kudos to Bem for devising such an ingenious way of exploring the topic using true scientific methodology in a field that has been notoriously in the fringe. Even if this study isn't the smoking gun on precognition, it's acceptance for publication and peer review in such a reputable journal is nothing short of a ground-breaking achievement.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
England is a third world country
Back in September 2010, one of the Pope's aides referred to England as a third world country (see here). I thought this was quite funny as we Brits take a lot of pride in our country. But if you look at the facts, England is falling down the listings as a desirable place to be!
So what constitutes a third world country? One definition is this:
...they are often nations that were colonised by another nation in the past. The populations of third world countries are generally very poor but with high birth rates. In general they are not as industrialised or technologically advanced as the first world...
So England has long enjoyed a 'special' relationship with America. So much so that we followed blindly into a war where there was no evidence of any wrong doing... In fact the 'war on terror' is a holy war...but that is the subject for another discussion... China and India are the future of the planet and we are already finding that businesses are being brought by companies from these nations and the number of skilled employees appearing on these shores from these future super-powers is growing at a phenomenal rate! Sounds like collonisation?
Economics. The glorious pound is now worthless and the subject of jokes across the world. Leaving these shores is extremely expensive. The pound is a useless currency. Plus wages have not grown with inflation for a decade. Combine this with spiralling house prices - and we are all very poor.
High birth rates... I'm not sure on the statistics so can't comment...
What about industrialised / technologically advanced? Well, the country's infrastructure cannot cope. Take transport for example. The tube does not work and cannot cope with the number of people who use it. Aviation - one, word...snow (ha ha ha - see my previous entry here).
Basically, England is a poor servant to anyone who is bigger and it doesn't really work very well... I went to Heathrow during the Snow crisis in December 2010 and saw people lined up in corridors, covered in blankets eating fruit. This reminded me of scenes I saw in India 20 years ago. Sorry England...we're a third world country and there's no sign of a change coming soon...
So what constitutes a third world country? One definition is this:
...they are often nations that were colonised by another nation in the past. The populations of third world countries are generally very poor but with high birth rates. In general they are not as industrialised or technologically advanced as the first world...
So England has long enjoyed a 'special' relationship with America. So much so that we followed blindly into a war where there was no evidence of any wrong doing... In fact the 'war on terror' is a holy war...but that is the subject for another discussion... China and India are the future of the planet and we are already finding that businesses are being brought by companies from these nations and the number of skilled employees appearing on these shores from these future super-powers is growing at a phenomenal rate! Sounds like collonisation?
Economics. The glorious pound is now worthless and the subject of jokes across the world. Leaving these shores is extremely expensive. The pound is a useless currency. Plus wages have not grown with inflation for a decade. Combine this with spiralling house prices - and we are all very poor.
High birth rates... I'm not sure on the statistics so can't comment...
What about industrialised / technologically advanced? Well, the country's infrastructure cannot cope. Take transport for example. The tube does not work and cannot cope with the number of people who use it. Aviation - one, word...snow (ha ha ha - see my previous entry here).
Basically, England is a poor servant to anyone who is bigger and it doesn't really work very well... I went to Heathrow during the Snow crisis in December 2010 and saw people lined up in corridors, covered in blankets eating fruit. This reminded me of scenes I saw in India 20 years ago. Sorry England...we're a third world country and there's no sign of a change coming soon...
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