Recent Feeds + Reads

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Why gardening is being prescribed by doctors

It's more than just a way to make your home look inviting

"For the large number of people in our society – children and adults – who live with challenging physical or mental health problems, gardening and community food growing can be especially beneficial. Such activities can relieve the symptoms of serious illnesses, prevent the development of some conditions, and introduce people to a way of life that can help them to improve their well-being in the longer term. And even if you are feeling fine, gardening is... well, just a very nice thing to do."

[...]

Reasons why gardening is the therapy for you

Soil is actually an antidepressant [...]

It incorporates mindfulness [...]

It boosts brain health [...]

[source: netdoctor]

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Walking and cycling are still good for you despite air pollution

The benefits of an active commute outweigh the effects of air pollution - except in the world's most polluted cities, like Delhi

We are often encouraged to drive less and walk more, but many cities like London have troubling air pollution statistics, which can leave people wondering which of their commuting options are really best for their health.

Now a study has weighed up these factors. Fortunately for those that prefer to be active, it has concluded that walking and cycling are almost always the better options for a person’s health.

[...]

But Woodcock says we still need to take urgent steps to reduce pollution levels. “Pollution causes thousands of deaths a year. You’re breathing all this in whether you’re exercising or not,” he says.

If more people switch to walking or cycling instead of driving for the sake of their health, this will also bring down the amount of air pollution says Woodcock. “That’s a big win-win.”

[source: New Scientist]

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Koka's Beat Machine No. 2

Koka's beat machines are electromechanical musical instruments, which are programmable and produce different kinds of rhythmic and melodic patterns.

Clisk on link below to see more of his creations.

[source: Koka Nikoladze]

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The brain is your most valuable organ. Here's what we know about how to treat it well.

Exercise

Physical activity is pretty clearly linked to brain health and cognitive function. People who exercise appear to have greater brain volume, better thinking and memory skills, and even reduced risk of dementia. [...]

Foods and Spices

[...] In general though, researchers are split on whether eating just one thing will cut it–for instance, adding blueberries to an otherwise mediocre diet probably won’t do much. But a diet low in sugar and high in whole foods, healthy fats and as many colorful fruits and veggies as you can take in is cumulatively one of the best things you can do for your brain.

Vitamins and Minerals

Though there’s little evidence that multi-vitamins do us much good, there are certain vitamins that the brain needs to function. Vitamin B12 [...] Vitamin D [...] Iron [...]

Coffee

[...] coffee does appear to effect some real change: Not only does it keeps us alert, by blocking adenosine receptors, but coffee consumption has also been linked to reduced risk of depression, and even of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. [...]

Meditation

[...] Meditation has been linked to increased brain volume in certain areas of the cerebral cortex, along with less volume in the brain’s amygdala, which controls fear and anxiety. It’s also been linked to reduced activity in the brain’s default mode network (DMN), which is active when our minds are wandering about from thought to thought, which are typically negative and distressing. Meditation also seems to lead to changes to the white matter tracks connecting different regions of the brain, and to improved attention and concentration.

Education/Mental Activity

[...] Mental activity may or may not keep a brain from developing disease (like Alzheimer’s), but it certainly seems to be linked to fewer symptoms, since it fortifies us with what’s known as cognitive reserves. [...]

Sleep

The brain does an awful lot of work while we’re sleeping–in fact, it really never sleeps. It’s always consolidating memories and pruning unnecessary connections. Sleep deprivation, and just a little of it, takes a toll on our cognitive health. It’s linked to worse cognitive function, and poorer attention, learning and creative thinking. The more sleep debt you accrue, the longer it takes to undo it. [...]

[source: 7 Habits That May Actually Change The Brain, According To Science]

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back in 2009 I began pestering friends and random strangers. I would walk up to them with a pen and a sheet of paper asking that they immediately draw me a men’s bicycle, by heart. Soon I found out that when confronted with this odd request most people have a very hard time remembering exactly how a bike is made. Some did get close, some actually nailed it perfectly, but most ended up drawing something that was pretty far off from a regular men’s bicycle.

Little I knew this is actually a test that psychologists use to demonstrate how our brain sometimes tricks us into thinking we know something even though we don’t.

[source: Gianluca Gimini: Velocipedia]

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The Science of Why You Do Your Best Thinking While Walking

Science explains why so many of history's great thinkers have been obsessive walkers.

... an in-depth article from Ferris Jabr in The New Yorker I stumbled on recently pulls all this science together, digging into not only the historical connection between long walks and great ideas, but also explaining just what happens in our heads when we head out for a wander. It's well worth a read if you want a deep dive into the subject, but here's a quick recap of Jabr's answer to the essential question--why is walking so good for thinking?

Exercise

Jabr starts with the straightforward research demonstrating the link between an active mind and an active body. Not only does getting the heart pumping increase blood flow to the brain, but it also kicks off a host of positive changes inside our heads. [...]

Rhythm

Beyond the benefits of any sort of mild exertion, walking has special charms for the thinker. One, apparently, is the easy rhythm of our steps. Just as the tempo of the music we're listening to can shape our mood, the pat, pat, pat of our feet can stimulate and shape our thoughts. [...]

Attention

Perhaps most powerful of all is how walking holds just some of our attention, leaving a large segment to meander and observe. It's this doing-something-but-not-really-thinking-about-it aspect of walking that might be most directly behind the ability of a good walk to stir up creative, new ideas. [...]

[source: Inc.]

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Neuroscientists at UC Davis have come up with a way to observe brain activity during natural reading. It’s the first time researchers have been able to study the brain while reading actual texts, instead of individual words, and it’s already helping settle some ideas about just how we read.

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As volunteers read the manipulable nouns, areas of the brain that deal with manipulation and carrying out physical actions lit up, lending support to the view that words are represented in the brain by connections with real actions.

By providing a window into brain activity during natural reading, the FIRE-fMRI technique allows the UC Davis group to look at all kinds of unanswered questions, Henderson said, such as whether language and grammar are handled by a specific part of the brain, and whether the brain anticipates upcoming words as we read. These discoveries would have implications not just for human psychology but also for artificial intelligence, he said.

The research has potential implications for understanding dyslexia and other reading deficits, Henderson said.

[source: UC Davis]

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You may not know Dr. Kenneth Libbrecht by name, but if you've seen "Frozen," you know his work. He's a snowflake scientist (unofficial title) at Caltech and served as an ice crystal consultant for that "Let it Go" movie.

[source: YouTube/Great Big Story]

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[source: YouTube/Science Channel]

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Music and what it means to be human | OUPblog

Music is universal and found in all cultures. Some have suggested that it is at the very essence of humanity, like language.

Music is universal and found in all cultures. Some have suggested that it is at the very essence of humanity, like language, distinguishing us from other species. Some have argued that music exemplifies many of the classic criteria for a complex human evolutionary adaptation, with evidence for the existence of music tens of thousands of years ago. [...]

At the individual level music can be a vehicle for emotional expression. Ideas and emotions that might be difficult to convey in ordinary verbal interchanges – love, jealousy, grief – can be expressed through music. Music elicits physical responses, aiding relaxation or stimulating activity, and is particularly effective in changing our moods. Involvement in music provides opportunities for individuals to experience aesthetic enjoyment and be entertained.

At the group level music can be viewed as a means of communication. Music can serve to provide shared experiences and understandings that help to bind together social groups and shape their identity. [...]

In society as a whole, music provides a means of symbolic representation for ideas and behaviours – whether the state, patriotism, religion, bravery, heroism, or rebellion. Music also contributes towards the continuity and stability of culture and perhaps most importantly to the integration of society. [...]

[source: Oxford University Press]

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Cats in the procession at Optina monastery (Russia)

[source: YouTube/Optina RU]

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Memories of Paintings

[source: Vimeo/Thomas Blanchard]

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Multitasking: Giving the World an Advantage it Shouldn't Have

Echoing the comments of William Deresiewicz, Charlie Munger offers some sage advice on multi-tasking: I will say this, I know no wise person who doesn’t read a lot. I suspect that you can read on the computer now and get a lot of benefit out of it, but I doubt it will work as well …

Charlie Munger offers some sage advice on multi-tasking:

I will say this, I know no wise person who doesn’t read a lot. I suspect that you can read on the computer now and get a lot of benefit out of it, but I doubt it will work as well as reading print worked for me.

I think people that multitask pay a huge price. They think they’re being extra productive, and I think they’re (out of their mind). I use the metaphor of the one-legged man in the ass-kicking contest.

I think when you multi-task so much, you don’t have time to think about anything deeply. You’re giving the world an advantage you shouldn’t do. Practically everybody is drifting into that mistake.

Concentrating hard on something that is important is … I can’t succeed at all without doing it. I did not succeed in life by intelligence. I succeeded because I have a long attention span.

[source: Farnam Street]

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Bilinguals get all the perks. Better job prospects, a cognitive boost and even protection against dementia. Now new research shows that they can also view the world in different ways depending on the specific language they are operating in.

Just as regular exercise gives your body some biological benefits, mentally controlling two or more languages gives your brain cognitive benefits. This mental flexibility pays big dividends especially later in life: the typical signs of cognitive ageing occur later in bilinguals – and the onset of age-related degenerative disorders such as dementia or Alzheimer’s are delayed in bilinguals by up to five years.

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People self-report that they feel like a different person when using their different languages and that expressing certain emotions carries different emotional resonance depending on the language they are using.

When judging risk, bilinguals also tend to make more rational economic decisions in a second language. In contrast to one’s first language, it tends to lack the deep-seated, misleading affective biases that unduly influence how risks and benefits are perceived. So the language you speak in really can affect the way you think.

[source: IFLScience]

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This Is Your Brain on Nature

When we get closer to nature, be it untouched wilderness or a backyard tree, we do our overstressed brains a favor.

In England researchers from the University of Exeter Medical School recently analyzed mental health data from 10,000 city dwellers and used high-resolution mapping to track where the subjects had lived over 18 years. They found that people living near more green space reported less mental distress, even after adjusting for income, education, and employment (all of which are also correlated with health). In 2009 a team of Dutch researchers found a lower incidence of 15 diseases—including depression, anxiety, heart disease, diabetes, asthma, and migraines—in people who lived within about a half mile of green space. And in 2015 an international team overlaid health questionnaire responses from more than 31,000 Toronto residents onto a map of the city, block by block. Those living on blocks with more trees showed a boost in heart and metabolic health equivalent to what one would experience from a $20,000 gain in income. Lower mortality and fewer stress hormones circulating in the blood have also been connected to living close to green space.

[source: National Geographic]

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William James on Attention, Multitasking, and the Habit of Mind That Sets Geniuses Apart

“My experience is what I agree to attend to.”

Attention … is the taking possession by the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one out of what seem several simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought, localization, concentration, of consciousness are of its essence. It implies withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively with others, and is a condition which has a real opposite in the confused, dazed, scatter brained state which in French is called distraction, and Zerstreutheit in German.

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Sustained attention is the easier, the richer in acquisitions and the fresher and more original the mind. In such minds, subjects bud and sprout and grow. At every moment, they please by a new consequence and rivet the attention afresh. But an intellect unfurnished with materials, stagnant, unoriginal, will hardly be likely to consider any subject long. A glance exhausts its possibilities of interest. Geniuses are commonly believed to excel other men in their power of sustained attention… Their ideas coruscate, every subject branches infinitely before their fertile minds, and so for hours they may be rapt.

[source: Brain Pickings]

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This Is The Most Inspiring Way To Be Happier And More Motivated

There are many ways to be happier. Here's what research says is the way that can improve your life, make you a better person and motivate you.

Here’s what we learned about elevation — the best way to be happier:

Watch inspiring movies: Seeing stories of others doing good makes you happier and makes you want to be good.

Write about the good moments: Thinking’s nice but writing is better.

Spend time with good people: Hang out with the good kids, like mom told you.

Do good to be good: Be the one who elevates others and karma can be a very real thing.

[source: Barking Up The Wrong Tree]