Research

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Feb 10-16, 2019

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s time to get your mental corn popping!

Jessica Stewart shares the unromantic origins of Valentine’s Day. My Modern Met

Kevin Munger: emotional burnout is fueled by envy. It’s focused on Millennial burnout, but I think there’s something for most readers in the social media obsessed age. The Outline

SciShow Psych: you’re probably more likable than you think you are.

 

It’s okay to be smart brings the impossible hugeness of deep time down to (reasonable) size with string.

 

Matt Williams considers how big a generation ship have to be to keep a crew of 500 alive for the journey to another star. Universe Today

Szabolcs Nagy captures an extremely good ISS transit of the moon. Space Station Guys

Kevin Gill posts this fly-by of Europa.

 

Michael Greshko: the Mars Opportunity rover is dead. Here’s what it gave mankind. National Geographic

Charlotte Higgins examines the battle for the future of Stonehenge. The Guardian

Shoshi Parks shares in the quest for Gamalost cheese, Norway’s “Viking Viagra.” Munchies

BBC design looks at the homes of the future. They almost build themselves!

Bryan Armen Graham checks in with Jerry Grymek, dog concierge for the Westminster Dog Show. Then, he profiles the wire fox terrier who won best in show. The Guardian

For your puppy-loving pleasure: Purin, the super beagle.

 

And that was thoughty Thursday.

Until next week, be well, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories 🙂

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Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Feb 3-9, 2019

/ Melanie Marttila

Another fair number of videos in this week’s gathering of thoughty. I hope it gets your mental corn popping!

Troy Farah steps inside the push to legalize magic mushrooms to treat depression and PTSD. Wired

Sarita Robinson examines the profound effects isolation has on the human mind and body. Science Alert

Veritasium investigates the effects of negative ions. I still like my salt lamps. They’re pretty.

 

Hayden Field of Entrepreneur produced a three-part video series about mental health and entrepreneurship featuring Gabriela Pereira and Michael Phelps (among others). Here’s part 1, part 2, and part 3.

SciShow reveals the real reason it’s so hard to lose weight. This is why I don’t try to lose weight by dieting. I still experience difficulties, but I try not to change my eating behaviours as a way of overcoming a plateau.

 

Matt Richtel shows you how to be creative. The New York Times

Ephrat Livni shares Thich Nhat Hanh’s tips for mindful walking—without looking like a weirdo. Quartz

It’s Okay to be Smart – How can we tell if there’s life on other planets? We look at Earth.

 

SciShow Space looks at the evidence for a new theory about how the universe will end: the big rip.

 

Catherine Zuckerman reveals the hidden world of microscopic life through Jannicke Wiik-Nielsen’s extraordinary photography. ‘Cause microscopy is cool. National Geographic

Phil and I have decided that Torvi has a lot of husky in her … (i.e., T exhibits a lot of these behaviours.)

 

Thanks for stopping by for a little edutainment!

Until next tipsday, be well, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

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Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Jan 27-Feb 2, 2019

/ Melanie Marttila

Time to tickle those neurons and get your mental corn popping!

Ashley Whillans looks at what time poverty is doing to us: time for happiness. The Harvard Business Review

Amanda Kooser reveals how NASA watches the wild polar vortex from space. Cnet

SciShow Space explains how the collision that created the moon could have provided Earth with the elements of life and how stellar occultation can help us figure out how the collisions that originally formed the planets of our solar system happened. Whew!

 

Loren Grush says, better interior design might keep astronauts healthier and happier in deep space. The Verge

Will Meyer: the weather and the wall. Climate change and the border wall are more connected than you might think. Longreads

Emma Taggart shares the colourful chart that traces the evolution of the English alphabet from Egyptian hieroglyphics. My Modern Met

Katarzyna Szymielewicz says, your digital identity has three layers, and you can only control one of them. Quartz

Ryan Gabrielson: the FBI says its photo analysis is scientific evidence, but scientists disagree. ProPublica

Thanks for stopping by for a little inspiration.

Until next tipsday, be well, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories.

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Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Jan 20-26, 2019

/ Melanie Marttila

There’s just a little bit of thoughty for you this week. Still, I hope something pops your mental corn.

Rob Dunn shares the microscopic wonders of herbs. National Geographic

Rick Tetzeli reports on a radical new approach to Alzheimer’s that could mean a breakthrough. Fortune

Megan Scudellari: a 3D bioprinter makes a spinal implant in 1.6 seconds. Spectrum

SciShow looks into the uncomfortable phenomena of traveller’s constipation. [I just had to know: how do you deal with this lack of shit?]

 

Filmmakers Audrey Buchanan, Carlos Reyes, and Kaylee Cole explore how skateboarding helps members of the San Carlos Apache tribe reclaim their stories and culture. National Geographic

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next tipsday, be well, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

thoughtythursday2016

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Jan 13-19, 2019

/ Melanie Marttila

Three articles. Three videos. I hope something here gets your mental corn popping!

Ali May: you can hike to the end of the world—in a wheelchair. Ozy

Peter Kotecki and Frank Olito look at nine body parts humans no longer need (and some of us don’t even have anymore!). Business Insider

SciShow Psych looks at why music gives us the feels.

 

Shannon Odell: your brain on conspiracy theories. Inverse

 

Maggie Koerth-Baker thinks that the era of easy recycling may be coming to an end. FiveThirtyEight

Beethoven’s 5th Symphony on One Guitar – Marcin Patrzalek (this is freakin’ awesome)

 

And that was thoughty Thursday.

Until next Tipsday, be well, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

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Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Jan 6-12, 2019

/ Melanie Marttila / 1 Comment

YouTube has invaded thoughty Thursday, this week, but it should get your mental corn popping, anyway 🙂

Erin Winick: get ready for these rocket milestones in 2019. MIT Technology Review

SciShow Space wonders if there are planets even more habitable than Earth out there. (Spoilers: the answer is yes!)

 

Veritasium looks at how we determine the spin of a black hole and why it’s important.

 

Ephrat Livni looks at how physics explains why time passes faster as you age. Quartz

Signs of high-functioning depression that you shouldn’t ignore. BetterHelp

 

Ferris Jabr: how beauty is making scientists rethink evolution. The New York Times

Solving the mystery of the Great Unconformity. SciShow

 

What women with autism want you to know. Iris

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next tipsday, be well, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

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Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Dec 30, 2018 – Jan 5, 2019

/ Melanie Marttila

Get your mental corn popping with some thoughty this Thursday.

Gloria Hillard reports on how abused wolves and troubled teens find solace in each other. NPR

Kelly McGonigal: how to make stress your friend. TED Talks 2013 (yes, it’s old, but it’s good)

Aida Edemariam delves into Roxane Gay and her philosophy: “Public discourse rarely allows for nuance. And see where that’s gotten us.” The Guardian

Mark Lorch: the periodic tables we almost had. Quartz

Neel V. Patel introduces us to Farout, the newest, most distant member of our solar system. Popular Science

SciShow Space considers why it’s so hard to land on Mars.

 

And then, they compile several of their videos to tell you everything your need to know to live on Mars.

 

Michael Greshko wonders, now that China’s landed on the far side of the moon, what’s next? National Geographic

The “snowman” shape of Ultima Thule is revealed by NASA’s New Horizons. Jonathan Amos for the BBC.

Thanks for visiting. I hope you found something inspiring in the mix.

Until next tipsday, be well, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories, my friends!

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Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Dec 23-29, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

Just a few thoughty links to get your mental corn popping. We’re starting off the year … gently.

Kyle Dickman examines how Baldomero Olivera is finding opioid alternatives in cone snail stings. Popular Science

Luke O’Neil revisits “Earthrise” at 50: the photo that changed how we see ourselves. The Guardian

Andrew Fazekas lists the top astronomical events in 2019. National Geographic

Marcelo Duhalde: for Forbidden City concubines in imperial China, beauty was more a curse than a blessing. South China Morning Post

Mack Lamoureux considers the strange case of the Antarctic researcher who allegedly attacked a colleague because he wouldn’t stop spoiling novels. “The two researchers were spending time at the Bellingshausen station for about half a year before Savitsky allegedly went all stabby.” Vice

I hope you found something to inspire your creative efforts.

Come back on the weekend for my next chapter update and 2018 wrap-up post.

Be well until then.

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Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Dec 16-22, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

I hope something in this mix gets your mental corn popping—or, at least makes you smile.

Julie Compton wonders why boys aren’t getting better access to mental health care. The answers are sad, but unsurprising. NBC

SciShow Psych looks at antisocial personality disorder, of ASPD, and why it’s not the same as introversion.

 

Amanda Shendruk: the line, circle, and triangle that can help you with your holiday anxiety. Quartzy

Charlie Jane Anders: seven trans performers share the challenges they still face and their hopes for the future. Teen Vogue

The Guardian considers the alba amicorum: was it the original Facebook to Renaissance teens?

ASAP Science: this is why the holidays can suck!

 

And two really cute vids, just to bring a wee smile to your lips (and maybe heart?):

Parrot steals bottlecap – and does a victory dance!

 

The pika (AKA bunny-rat) might be the world’s cutest thief! BBC

 

I hope you enjoyed this week’s edutainment mix.

Until next Tipsday, be well, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

thoughtythursday2016

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Dec 2-15, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

Last week, I had two skimpy links to offer. As I said, my brain refused to brain in the week following NaNoWriMo. This week, the neurons mustered, and so I have a reasonable selection of stuff to pop your mental corn 🙂

The Guardian editorial staff shares its view on editing human DNA: a bad idea, and badly executed.

This “city” for people with dementia is the future of memory care. Katherine Schwab for Fast Company.

More neuroscience with Shannon Odell. Your brain on hangovers. Inverse

 

David Paul Kirkpatrick is breathing in the light. An instruction in the “Golden Flower” meditation. Better Humans/Medium

Matt Novak: how did Mary Queen of Scots send her secret messages? Paleofuture

Lizzie Philip takes a close-up look at the most influential medical book of the 16th century. Atlas Obscura

Robert Iriondo: differences between AI and machine learning and why it matters. Data Driven Investor

Brandon Specktor reports that Earth’s mysterious “deep biosphere” harbours millions of undiscovered species. NBC

Johnson & Johnson knew for decades that asbestos lurked in its baby powder. Lisa Girion for Reuters.

Christine Ro: the psychology behind stalking. Vice

And on that disturbing note, that was thoughty Thursday.

Until next Tipsday, be well, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories.

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