Some really well articulated pointers on how to generate solutions. For all of you doing Project Work. Also helps to give context for GP.
via Design in Africa
The Story of Electronics
July 17, 2011
Today is International Widows’ Day
June 23, 2011
23 June is International Widow’s Day. It gives ‘special recognition to the plight of widows and their children in order to restore their human rights and alleviate poverty through empowerment’.
Read more about it here.
Matriarchy: The Mosuo of China
May 29, 2011
Part 1
Part 2
What would it be like to live in such a society? What problems do patriarchal societies have that they don’t? What unique problems do the Mosuo face because of their matriarchal society?
Would you like to have been born in such a society?
Read more about the video at http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/rough/2005/07/introduction_to.html
Japanese shoplifters getting older
January 21, 2011
Food Waste
January 20, 2011
Stop wasting food!:
As I see it, waste is one of the largest threats to our food supply. I’m not alone there, as the recent State of the World 2011 report warned about waste. As hunger persists, reducing waste and improving (re)distribution are vital. And as the global population inches toward 7 billion, we need to be more efficient with what we grow to ensure that all are fed.
Food waste also has a significant environmental impact. Agriculture is a real resource hog. A massive amount of oil goes into growing, harvesting, processing, shipping and cooling our food. At least 2% of all U.S. energy consumption goes to produce food that is thrown away. And agriculture represents about 80 percent of all water consumption.
To invest all of those resources in producing food that we then freely waste is a real shame. Yet, waste we do. We squander about 40 percent of our food. Our wasting is on the rise, as it has increased 50 percent since 1974.
And that waste has a double impact. In addition the aforementioned squandered resources, food that rots in a landfill emits methane, a greenhouse gas more than 20 times as potent at trapping heat. We’re aiding climate change through our trash cans.
From http://www.wastedfood.com/2011/01/18/why-i-write-about-food/
Image from http://www.eatwell.in/
Grey Areas
December 14, 2010
‘Gray can exist as gray only because there are the distinct alternatives of black and white. That you might find yourself at times in a situation in which you see no clear alternatives does not mean, objectively considered, that there are no clear alternatives. It simply means that you do not see them. Don’t project your subjective state of uncertainty upon the world at large and claim objective status for it.’
- D. Q. McInerny, Being Logical
Fun with Vocabulary
December 8, 2010
Social Media
November 8, 2010
Take these statistics with a pinch of salt – It’d be good to track down the sources at www.socialnomics.com and evaluate their reliability, if you can find them…
Critical Thinking Podcast Tutorials
October 11, 2010
Get your free podcasts from http://www.criticalthinkingtutorials.com/category/podcast/ or search for ‘the critical thinker’ on iTunes if you use an iPod, Phone or Pad.
The podcasts are short enough for a 20-minute commute. I’ve heard the first couple of episodes, and it’s pretty good stuff.
The video version of these podcasts is available at http://www.youtube.com/user/PhilosophyFreak#g/c/CD69C3C29B645CBC
Quote of the day
September 28, 2010
‘Between 15% and 3o% of any population or group will have what’s known as high-range hypnotic susceptibility, which makes them inclined to look for outside answers, search for improvement assistance and be vulnerable to those giving them simple answers to what they’re striving for.’
- Roland Carlstdet, a clinical researcher and the chairman of the American Board of Sport Psychology, in a October 4 TIME article on the sports bracelet fad.
Quote of the day
September 24, 2010
“Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.”
— Theodore Roosevelt
Two Education Models
August 18, 2010
Which one is more like the one you’re accustomed to? Which one would you really prefer and why?
Fact of the day
July 30, 2010
Boil your kettle 17½ times to generate as much greenhouse gases as you would by sending one e-mail attachment of 4.7MB
– Matthew Yeager, person in charge of data storage for Computacenter, Europe’s largest IT infrastructure company, via the BBC
Statistic of the day
June 14, 2010
94% of all commerce depends on two types of engine — the turbine engine and the diesel engine.
John Hofmeister
Founder and CEO Citizens for Affordable Energy and
Former President of Shell Oil
in an interview on BBC GlobalNews
E-Waste
January 10, 2010
Is it wrong to punish prisoners?
November 23, 2009
The hedonic treadmill
October 5, 2009
is ‘the tendency of a person to remain at a relatively stable level of happiness despite a change in fortune or the achievement of major goals. According to the hedonic treadmill, as a person makes more money, expectations and desires rise in tandem, which results in no permanent gain in happiness.’
‘Hedonic’ means ‘of, relating to, or characterized by pleasure’; whereas ‘hedonism’ is ‘the doctrine that pleasure or happiness is the sole or chief good in life’
Read about the hedonic treadmill:
- in Wikipedia
- at the New York Times
- on Lifehacker
Did You Know 4.0 – Shift Happens
September 26, 2009
