Students Preparing a Changing Earth

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Life’s Pervasive Relationship In Song Form

from robbwolf.comThere is no doubt: All life on Earth is related through evolution. That may sound mechanical, scientific, and cold, but this song by Melodysheep expresses the actual beauty in that incredible story. Evolution over billions of years is rich with profoundly elegant implications. We humans, as collections of cells, are witnesses to the “triumphs of natural selection.” Life has taken an unfathomable amount of time to result in our forms, enough to evoke and endless appreciation for simply being alive. The ‘unbroken thread’ between our ancestors and selves is poetic, powerful, and simply magnificent.

How Does Technology Affect Human Connection?

Henry Alex RubinDirector of Disconnected, Henry Alex Rubin, was interviewed on Big Think about his movie and his opinion on technology’s role in human communication. Rubin says technology isn’t inherently good or bad. It can blow up a city or take us to another planet. But Disconnected doesn’t intend to assign a role to technology, but rather explore the nature of how we talk to one another. Rubin says screens can bring us closer together, but also keep us apart. Read the rest of this page »

Your Body Does All of These Things Every 30 Seconds

Human Body 30 SecondsThere’s no doubt about it: Being a human is pretty sweet. In this video from BuzzFeed, they illustrate just how sweet it really is. The human body, every thirty seconds, performs magic. Your body does things like shed 174,000 skin cells, pump blood a distance of 4 miles, and even produce 72 million blood cells- every thirty seconds. All of these operations happen literally without conscious effort and  simply for your survival. This isn’t just the science of the human body, either. This is the beauty of the human body.  Read the rest of this page »

This is the Real Adult Experience: This is Water

GoldfishIt’s hard to become aware of what stays obvious for our entire lives. This is why awareness is important as a tool of seeking truth and meaning in the world.  In this 2005 commencement address to Kenyon College, author David Foster Wallace explains elegantly the nature of the adult experience and why it’s important we try to understand others and make conscious decision about how we see our surroundings. He begins with a simple example of fishes: One mature fish swims by two younger fishes and says, “How’s the water?” One of the young fishes turns to the other and says, “What the hell is water?” Well, everyone, you’re in the water. Read the rest of this page »

Your Brain Thinks It Knows Everything

Illusion of KnowledgeIt’s actually natural to assume you understand everything. In fact, your brain believes it knows how everything works because your world wouldn’t make any sense otherwise. In this Nat Geo segment, they illustrate the problem as a brain running towards a cliff without falling until knowledge is tested. This concept has pretty serious implications for society and its ability to ‘reason.’ Should we be so quick to trust our brain’s assumptions? Should we make a conscious effort to admit when we are wrong?