"Psychology and the Good Life" is a completely new class for Yale University students implemented by Laurie Santos (psychology professor and the head of one of Yale’s residential colleges). Within 3 days over 1200 people signed up for this class and at the same time broke the record held by "Psychology and the Law'' course in 1992. Dr. Santos wants to show her students another perspective of life - happier and less anxious. Even though, the class is impressively successful, the University can not afford losing students' attention from other courses. Fortunately, Dr. Santos will carry on changing Yale's society by publishing her speeches online.
Striking amount of students signed for classes just in a few days speaks for itself. I can't imagine how many people would participate if such courses were held in schools all around the world. Does it mean that our educational system is failing or maybe it's because Yale is a top University so it requires more effort and hard work? Why so many students feel like they need to learn how to live a more positive life? I think we should somehow combine effective work with happiness, these aspects can't be excluded from each another, but sadly that's exactly what many students do.
ps: I wouldn't mind courses like this in our school, even once a month :)
link: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/26/nyregion/at-yale-class-on-happiness-draws-huge-crowd-laurie-santos.html
wtorek, 6 lutego 2018
poniedziałek, 8 stycznia 2018
The Boy Who Stayed Awake For Eleven Days
In 1964 Randy Gardner, a high school boy with a group of friends came up with an idea of breaking the world record for staying awake for as long as possible. The original purpose of their experiment was to examine whether people could gain paranormal abilities or skills as a consequence of not sleeping enough, but very soon boys resigned from it and decided to monitor the behaviour of a human deprived of sleep. In fact, Gardner had sacrificed his health to such a degree that he had been awake for 264 hours and at the same time he had broken the record set by a DJ from Honolulu who had kept his eyes open for over 10days! The results of this project helped to discover how humans' brain works and how dangerous the lack of sleep can be. Even though Randy turned out to be fine and extremely lucky, he started to suffer from insomnia.
Side note: His friend William Dement is now a Stanford University sleep scientist :)
I think what they did was completely irresponsible and stupid because we all know that a human can die just after 3 days without sleep, but the truth is they weren't aware of that. Actually, there always must be "the first time" to find out right? We should probably be grateful for the knowledge that we gained from their experiment, however I still believe it wasn't the brightest idea and I don't quite understand why their parents were ok with that??
Side note: His friend William Dement is now a Stanford University sleep scientist :)
I think what they did was completely irresponsible and stupid because we all know that a human can die just after 3 days without sleep, but the truth is they weren't aware of that. Actually, there always must be "the first time" to find out right? We should probably be grateful for the knowledge that we gained from their experiment, however I still believe it wasn't the brightest idea and I don't quite understand why their parents were ok with that??
poniedziałek, 1 stycznia 2018
"Christmas May Be Over, but Holiday Shopping Is Not"
Lately, economic statistics show that more and more people decide to splurge their money not only before Christmas but also after. Surprisingly the day after the holiday is the fourth busiest shopping day of the season according to ShopperTrack. Meaning that over the past 5 years the number of consumers who did their shopping after Christmas has raised from 5% to over 40%. Because of this significant growth major companies in US such as Macy's or Abercrombie&Fitch are changing their selling strategies. For example, they place sale items next to the full-prize, new collection products in order to make people buy both. Also, they boost the online shopping experience by allowing easy
returns in even more stores. In results, consumers are in a shopping spirit from 24th of November, the whole December and now till the end of the first week of January.
On one hand it means that general wealth (in this case) of Americans is rising, which is a good sign, but on the other hand Christmas time is starting to be associated more with a shopping activity than with tradition, religion, family time etc. I'm completely aware of the fact that not everyone believe in God but I think, those who actually do are forgetting the essence, the main idea behind Christmas day and it shouldn't be this way. The 24th of December does not mean that we have to get the biggest present or that our ornaments should be better than our neighbours's. But what can I change in the world of global consumptionism and money.
returns in even more stores. In results, consumers are in a shopping spirit from 24th of November, the whole December and now till the end of the first week of January.
On one hand it means that general wealth (in this case) of Americans is rising, which is a good sign, but on the other hand Christmas time is starting to be associated more with a shopping activity than with tradition, religion, family time etc. I'm completely aware of the fact that not everyone believe in God but I think, those who actually do are forgetting the essence, the main idea behind Christmas day and it shouldn't be this way. The 24th of December does not mean that we have to get the biggest present or that our ornaments should be better than our neighbours's. But what can I change in the world of global consumptionism and money.
link:
niedziela, 17 grudnia 2017
Author's attitude to British people
Heather Mallick in the article speaks to Brits in an ironic way. Already in the first paragraph she uses three past participles to highlight the fact that the weather in London is not unusual or worth so much attention in comparison to Toronto. Later she quotes slightly changed, famous speech of Winston Churchill to show Brits how hilarious their problem seems to be. What's more after 5th paragraph Mallik clearly makes fun of the British stereotypes and things that we associate with UK like red buses which are supposed to ''crush any snow at its path''. Actually, the whole article is full of irony because the author is playing a game with readers who should get some distance on it.
niedziela, 10 grudnia 2017
Designer from India determined to make a difference
The country of India is a heart of clothing materials market and fast-fashion. Millions of people work there as a weavers and over 4 milion are employed in a handlooming section. However, many of them are forced to migrate from home villages to slums and live in very bad conditions due to the fact that their workplaces are located in the big city landscapes. Fortunately there are designers who want to change that, like for example 37 years old Rahul Mishra who explored the idea of ''reverse migration'' and said: "Now we have more than 80 per cent of hand-embroidery production in small village centres we created by reverse-migrating slum dwellers. Migrant embroiderers are now reunited with their families and enjoy good working conditions".
It is definitely a major step in Indian environment but I still can't stand the fact that 50 milion kids under age of 14 go to work. It might not be directly connected to this article but somehow it was the first thing which occurred to me. The aspect of fashion, employment and the way workers are treated in India is alarming. I don't understand how can we possibly think about going on 'fun shopping experience' while most of the items are made by poor children who work illegally just to survive. We are the ones who drive growth in this problem, in fast fashion as well. We no longer should buy everything with a label "new" or "50%off" because it's not. It's not a new collection, it's not cheaper. It's the same thing we could have bought a few months ago and the prize is changing on daily basis that's why there are sales every other week. What's more Indian weavers are forced to work faster, longer and still for a salary of less than a $1. That is insane. I'll stop myself here because it crossed the word limit a long time ago :(
This article is about more aspects but it's too much info for one post
link:
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20171127-the-ethical-indian-designers-determined-to-make-a-difference
It is definitely a major step in Indian environment but I still can't stand the fact that 50 milion kids under age of 14 go to work. It might not be directly connected to this article but somehow it was the first thing which occurred to me. The aspect of fashion, employment and the way workers are treated in India is alarming. I don't understand how can we possibly think about going on 'fun shopping experience' while most of the items are made by poor children who work illegally just to survive. We are the ones who drive growth in this problem, in fast fashion as well. We no longer should buy everything with a label "new" or "50%off" because it's not. It's not a new collection, it's not cheaper. It's the same thing we could have bought a few months ago and the prize is changing on daily basis that's why there are sales every other week. What's more Indian weavers are forced to work faster, longer and still for a salary of less than a $1. That is insane. I'll stop myself here because it crossed the word limit a long time ago :(
This article is about more aspects but it's too much info for one post
link:
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20171127-the-ethical-indian-designers-determined-to-make-a-difference
Egyptian discovery or business?
For past few years Egyptian ministry has been trying to improve their tourism sector as it had been falling apart since 2011 (due to political turmoil and extremist attacks). They decided to invest in archaeological exploration because the tourism income is mostly based on it. The ministry plan turns out to be successful, they recently found two tombs in the city of Luxor that date back to the 18th dynasty of pharaohs King Amenhotep II and King Thutmose IV (about 3,500 years). The question is whether it will bring the tourist again to the country?
I think it's normal that a country is doing their best to develop as much as it's possible especially when Egypt's economy is based on tourism but I don't really subscribe to the idea of searching for ancient treasures only to boost the income. These finds are a part of cultural heritage, a part of history. Sometimes a smaller discovery can completely change the way we used to perceive the past. Maybe it's not so extreme this time but who knows, it can happen any time.
link:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/dec/09/3500-year-old-tombs-found-at-luxor
I think it's normal that a country is doing their best to develop as much as it's possible especially when Egypt's economy is based on tourism but I don't really subscribe to the idea of searching for ancient treasures only to boost the income. These finds are a part of cultural heritage, a part of history. Sometimes a smaller discovery can completely change the way we used to perceive the past. Maybe it's not so extreme this time but who knows, it can happen any time.
link:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/dec/09/3500-year-old-tombs-found-at-luxor
poniedziałek, 27 listopada 2017
"Think reality TV is mindless entertainment? What about the news?"
A writer Oliver Burkeman is answering a question that concerns the issue of mindless entertainment which can be for example watching TV or surprisingly listening to news podcasts. He mentions an essay by Sirena Berman who claims that our mind needs a distraction which might be different for everyone. What matters is the way this activity is influencing our life. Some people will actually find intellectual activity as meaningless as watching a 7-season series at one day, because in both cases the brain is trying to relax from the all day mode of focusing, thinking and processing information.
I actually had thought about this topic a few times before, but I've never considered intellectual activities as meaningless as playing silly games. I think it also depends on how much attention we pay to certain activities, If we don't focus on something and do it just to have it done then I guess it's a waste of time (if it doesn't give us any entertainment or joy, of course).
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