Easing Brain Fatigue With a Walk in the Park
By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS Scientists have known for some time that the human brain’s ability to stay calm and focused is limited and can be overwhelmed by the constant noise and hectic, jangling demands of city living, sometimes resulting in a condition informally known as brain fatigue. With brain fatigue, you are easily distracted, forgetful and mentally flighty … Read more
Color-Enhancing Glasses Let Doctors See Disease and Emotion
The ability to see the world in a broad spectrum of colors is more than just a wonderful gift—it’s a survival mechanism that humans evolved in order to identify both threats and food. But color vision also helps us read each other. Research by evolutionary neurobiologist Dr. Mark Changizi’s traces the development of color vision … Read more
Science, Storytelling, and “Gut Churn”: Jad Abumrad on the Secrets of Creative Success
On diving head-first into the unknown. Since 2004, Radiolab has been sparking a singular kind of magic at the intersection of science and storytelling, redefining not only public radio but also the “role of scientific culture in modern society,” to borrow Richard Feynman’s words. In this fantastic talk from The 99% Conference, Radiolab mastermind and MacArthur genius Jad Abumrad takes us behind the scenes … Read more
A Six Year Old’s Imagination Becomes Adorable Viral Short Film
This is just so freaking adorable and happy, I have to share. We all get a little scared sometimes. Scared of graduating school without a plan; scared of monsters. One six year old has a remedy: think of something else until the “nervous has gone out of you.” Think of juice, pizza, and a piano … Read more
Perspective… or 50 Awe-Inspiring Reminders Of Just How Insignificant We Are
One billion stars Source: Mike Read (WFAU), UKIDSS/GPS and VVV / via: ph.ed.ac.uk New view of the blue marble Source: nasa.gov Furthest-ever image of the universe Source: nasa.gov 9 billion pixels of the Milky Way galaxy Source: eso.org The view 50 million light years away Source: Adam Block / via: skycenter.arizona.edu Panorama of Mars Source: 360cities.net A not-so-dark “dark core” Source: nasa.gov A twister on Mars … Read more
Hot colors light up frozen sculptures at the Harbin ice festival
Visitors walk among large ice sculptures at the 29th Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin, China, on Jan. 6. The annual festival features hundreds of activities related to snow and ice. Picture made available Jan. 7. Visitors ride on a horse cart among large ice sculptures at the 29th Harbin International Ice and … Read more
Czech Animation Legend Břetislav Pojar Dies at 89
I had the great honor of meeting Mr. Pojar while studying in the Czech Republic last summer. The mechanics of his puppets are stunning and ingenious and his animations heartfelt. I thought that Cartoon Brew had a nice compilation of his work (shown below), so please take a moment and enjoy. One of the giants … Read more
The Future of Storytelling: Immersion, Integration, Interactivity, Impact
BY: KC IFEANYI A new study from research consultancy Latitude lays out “The Future of Storytelling.” As technology becomes more advanced and more accessible across multiple platforms, it’s only natural for consumers to expect increasingly higher standards of creativity and engagement from content creators. However, with social media, apps, tablets, smartphones, websites, TV, etc. all part … Read more
Van Gogh: Altered Visionary
Dichromatic paintings? I recently stumbled across a rather stunning idea. After visiting a design exhibit that modeled the visual experience of people with colorblindness, Kazunori Asada noticed that the paintings of Vincent Van Gogh on display had entered a new light, so to speak. Under the chromatically filtered light, Van Gogh’s more striking and curious color choices … Read more
Klimt’s Scientific Influence
Go to LinkPop-upView Separately While I was reading about the influence of golden-age Vienna on modern medicine and painters like Gustav Klimt, I discovered that Klimt’s trademark patterns (the “blobs” and orbs you see above, from Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I) were influenced by early studies of cells under the microscope. Carl von Rokitansky founded the Second … Read more
