Mentatul

Category: Recommendations

Recommendations from around the web.

  • Worrymoms

    Worrymoms

    During the past few years I’ve noticed just how much of my wife’s mind is permanently connected to our son, perpetually preoccupied about how to ensure he gets the best of everything. I think at least a third of her brainpower is dedicated to ensuring his well-being and addressing all possible (and impossible) threats.

    It’s not that I don’t try to do the same, but most partners have it so much easier than mothers, not only because of family roles (let’s admit it, they exist even in the most egalitarian of societies) but also because of the “chemical advantage” of not having given birth. The male (or not-mother) body is instinctually less preoccupied with taking care of offspring.

    But the mother’s incessant worrying might end up impacting brain health. Even worse, through body-language, it transmits some of this worry to the child and other family members. I’ve come across two interesting articles that highlight these aspects. Here’s some useful knowledge to integrate:

    “Witnessing a parent in a state of anxiety can be more than just momentarily unsettling for children. Kids look to their parents for information about how to interpret ambiguous situations; if a parent seems consistently anxious and fearful, the child will determine that a variety of scenarios are unsafe. And there is evidence that children of anxious parents are more likely to exhibit anxiety themselves, a probable combination of genetic risk factors and learned behaviors.

    It can be painful to think that, despite your best intentions, you may find yourself transmitting your own stress to your child. But if you are dealing with anxiety and start to notice your child exhibiting anxious behaviors, the first important thing is not to get bogged down by guilt. “There’s no need to punish yourself,” says Dr. Jamie Howard, director of the Stress and Resilience Program at the Child Mind Institute. “It feels really bad to have anxiety, and it’s not easy to turn off.”

    https://childmind.org/article/how-to-avoid-passing-anxiety-on-to-your-kids/^

    “Like many devoted moms, perhaps you have told yourself that your worrying is simply the price you must pay to be the kind and caring person that you truly are.  This is a very popular assumption.  Many well-meaning, dedicated, human beings spend a lifetime of worry, never challenging this commonplace assumption, and never realizing the toll it has taken on their own happiness and on the happiness of other family members.”

    https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/what-would-aristotle-do/201105/moms-who-worry-lot^

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  • Einstein’s Theory of Happiness

    Einstein’s Theory of Happiness

    A great thinker writes a few words about life on two pieces of paper. 95 years later, the two notes written by Einstein sold for $1.8 million. Not bad for something that was, according to the seller, given by the scientist as a tip to a messenger during the trip when he learned he has been awarded the Nobel prize in Physics.

    What did Einstein write on the two notes?

    “A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness.”

    “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

    Wise words indeed! I will even dare to say that such words should be considered as having exactly equal importance to other discoveries of his. Why exactly equal? Because facts of science and truths of life (nature) go hand in hand. Unfortunately, civilization currently values scientific progress much more than philosophical progress thanks to the illusion that money is more important than happiness.

    Einstein achieved scientific success not only thanks to his skills in understanding nature, but also thanks to his character. His discoveries could not have been made without him thinking the way he was. In exactly the same way, he couldn’t have understood such important facts about life without his scientific mind and his deep connection to nature. I think Einstein deserves the Nobel prize in Wisdom too:

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/10/24/einstein-scribbled-his-theory-of-happiness-in-place-of-a-tip-it-just-sold-for-more-than-1-million^

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  • Awesome Suicide Prevention by Truckers

    Awesome Suicide Prevention by Truckers

    Mind-blowing news about scientific discoveries, incredible political earthquakes, terrible wars, fascinating technologies, disgusting commercial practices. Flowing from the great yonder out there, there’s no shortage of massive topics to write about weekly.

    But as a magnet on my fridge says: “It’s the little moments that make life big”. Here’s one such little moment:

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2018/04/24/a-man-nearly-jumped-off-an-overpass-13-truckers-made-a-safety-net^

    Did I say I love truckers? I love truckers :D.

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  • Uranus Smells Like Rotten Eggs

    Uranus Smells Like Rotten Eggs

    Recently, scientists have come up with some interesting conclusions about the gas giant’s atmosphere. Thanks to infrared observations, they managed to detect a certain gas that is quite likely to be present towards the top of Uranus’ cloud cover. Hydrogen sulfide is what gives rotten eggs their charming smell:

    http://www.syfy.com/syfywire/ok-fine-lets-do-this-uranus-smells-like-rotten-eggs^

    I always thought Uranus is a beautiful name for a planet. But then my English improved and, at one point, the punchline hit me. Saying “Uranus” was never the same again. I still think it’s a beautiful name. I mean, the human body is beautiful, isn’t it? In English, it’s a beautiful funny name for a planet, so that makes it even better. Still, it makes it really difficult to say that I come from Uranus. Journalists across the web raced in coming up with the most memorable way to report the analytical news:

    http://time.com/5252381/uranus-stinks-smell/^

    https://gizmodo.com/stinky-molecules-confirm-uranus-smells-like-farts-1825467106^

    In closing, enjoy this short, brilliant clip from Futurama:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0czFnIvKOJY^

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  • How Tech Companies Ruin (Urban) Societies

    How Tech Companies Ruin (Urban) Societies

    In general, it’s good for a country to have large, powerful companies that employ a lot of people and pay them very well (more taxes). However, the resulting income inequality causes some serious trouble in communities hosting or close to high-pay hotspots.

    One of the saddest examples is San Francisco, where property prices have skyrocketed during the past decade, mostly due to an influx of well-payed employees from corporations such as Google, Apple and Facebook as well as a host of tech startups and highly profitable medium-sized companies.

    Certain individuals fed up with the trend have taken matters into their own hands. They proceeded to smash the windows of shuttle buses belonging to large corporations, while in transit transporting employees to work:

    http://fortune.com/2018/01/18/apple-google-bus-attacks/^

    It’s a pity that the employees of these companies are the ones enduring social stigma^ for something that is not (directly) of their own making. In war, one usually can’t blame the soldiers for what their commanding officer has ordered them to do, if certain conventions aren’t broken. So perhaps some of the affected communities need to establish some conventions?

    Fixing this situation is totally within the responsibility of the town administration, which can set certain rules for property prices. There are many other cities suffering from the Ridiculous Property Prices syndrome. I live in one of them. Despite having been able to afford a property here (thanks to being lucky enough to work in the “right” industry for these past couple of decades), I would vote for a “Convention for Fair Living”.

    What would such a convention consist of? Hard to say precisely, but I would definitely consider an obligation for a community to get a higher percentage of the taxes gathered by the government from certain wealthy entities. The community would then have funds to build additional housing and a fast transportation network to ensure quick access to the city center even for those living further off. The newly-rich in congested cities could also have to pay higher taxes. Perhaps this would make a community less attractive to certain companies, but maybe this is exactly the sort of self-balancing that would cause and ensure fair prices for properties.

    When it comes to areas where there are a lot of high-paying jobs, the employers could subsidize the construction of campuses or entire new towns. These would be located further away from large, already congested communities. This will keep the market prices fair and provide employees with good housing. As long as quick access to the nearest large cities is provided, this should keep things in balance. Furthermore, locals that have been living in an area for many years could be supported in purchasing a decent property through various means (lower prices, priority in a queue system). I’m sure smart solutions can be found if there is the will to do so. Until the manifestation of such will is obvious to the people, despair will continue to consume them and lead to more social conflict and tragic actions.

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  • The Best of George Carlin

    The Best of George Carlin

    George Carlin^ is, hands down, my all-time favorite stand-up comedian. I am madly in love with the way his dark humor mercilessly punishes certain absurd traits of human civilization. Below, you can find some of my favorite moments from his illustrious career:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ib_bpljYBc^

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILQepXUhJ98^

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uo-QIY7ys-k^

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W33HRc1A6c^

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1yHiaDC44g^

    [ax_meta lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/03061-GeorgeCarlinBest-Thumb.jpg’ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’The Best of George Carlin’ desc=’I am madly in love with the way his dark humor mercilessly punishes certain absurd traits of human civilization.’]

  • Interesting NASA Experiments

    Interesting NASA Experiments

    There’s some pretty interesting human activity going on in outer space during this period. For example, NASA recently launched InSight^, yet another probe heading for Mars (yes, I do believe we’ve spending a bit too much on Mars). Along with that, they also launched two cubesats^, the world’s first interplanetary such (cheaper) satellites^. “MarCO-A and MarCO-B are demonstrating a number of cubesat technologies during their nearly 7-month cruise to Mars, including a folding high-gain antenna and a cold-gas propulsion system.”

    Then there’s this highly “visual” mission that saw a NASA rocket spew color clouds in the atmosphere, as part of a study on the magnetic field. “The vapor tracers that are released are made of barium, lithium, and trimethylaluminum, the same ingredients you might find in fireworks”:

    https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/29/15892738/nasa-sounding-rocket-terrier-improved-malemute-vapor-tracers^

    And last but not least, here are some findings about how spaceflight has caused changes in the gene expression of an astronaut twin. In order to make the analysis possible, NASA kept one brother on Earth and the another spent one year on the International Space Station:

    https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-twins-study-confirms-preliminary-findings^

    Say what you will about the USA, but their space program still kicks some major ass.

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  • The Dance of the Planets

    The Dance of the Planets

    Draw a line between the position of two planets every several days and behold the apparition of beautiful shapes:

    https://www.techworm.net/2016/03/enjoy-geometrical-dance-planets-splendid-patterns-form.html^

    The article above lists some other funky coincidences about the planetary bodies in our solar system. It’s written in a slightly “new age metaphysical” tone, but facts are facts and these are undoubtedly interesting facts. Personally, what I draw from all the above is a feeling of complete agreement with what a wiser person has said before me: “Mathematics is the language of nature” (and I perceive even physics and chemistry as flavors of mathematics).

    Astronomy (the mathematics of huge congregations of atoms) is one of my oldest passions. I’ve been fascinated by our solar system since as long as I can remember. When I went to gymnasium, I learned about the endless curiosities that can be found outside it. But my main area of interest remains our cosmic neighborhood, where I see the sun and planets as childhood friends.

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  • Best 99 Things That Happened in 2017

    Best 99 Things That Happened in 2017

    There’s a lot of negative news out here, and for good reason I’d say. The world has indeed improved since a century ago, but we as a species know we can do better. I’m happy to see that people strive in that direction by wanting to improve and shouting about those things that are obviously wrong with our civilization.

    But here’s a list of good news from around the world. And all of these happened in one, single year!

    https://qz.com/1169003/the-99-best-things-that-happened-in-2017^

    [ax_meta lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/03045-BestThingsHappened2017-Thumb.jpg’ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’Best 99 Things That Happened in 2017′ desc=’Here's a list of good news from around the world. And all of these happened in one, single year!’]

  • Children and Apologies

    Children and Apologies

    Children do not perceive mistakes the same way we do. They are oblivious to most social norms and cultural taboos. However, children have been found to have an understanding of right and wrong from as early as 19 months old^. I believe they can empathize from a much earlier age (depending on the emotional nourishment they received as infants).

    The article below discusses how parents sometimes force their children to say “I’m sorry”. It’s a double mistake: first of all, the child is humiliated and secondly, the child doesn’t even understand the reason why the apology is made, hence damaging his or her understanding of the concept of being sorry:

    http://www.janetlansbury.com/2009/12/youll-be-sorry/^

    Around the same time I read this article, I also came across this beautiful poem about children. I think it is very much in the spirit of what the article says. Enjoy!

     

    On Children

    By Kahlil Gibran

     

    Your children are not your children.
    They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
    They come through you but not from you,
    And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

    You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
    For they have their own thoughts.
    You may house their bodies but not their souls,
    For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
    which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
    You may strive to be like them,
    but seek not to make them like you.
    For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

    You are the bows from which your children
    as living arrows are sent forth.
    The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
    and He bends you with His might
    that His arrows may go swift and far.
    Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
    For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
    so He loves also the bow that is stable.”

    I’ll end this post with this wise quote I found today. Again, something that just seems to fit right in:

    “Respect the child. Be not too much his parent, but also his pupil…”

    – Ralph Waldo Emerson

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