In 2004, the HubÂble Space TeleÂscope capÂtured 10,000 galaxÂies in an image that’s now called the Ultra Deep Field. It’s our deepÂest look into the uniÂverse. The video above aniÂmates the Deep Field image and puts it into 3D. No need to read more. Just watch.
A team of researchers from the UniÂverÂsiÂty of PennÂsylÂvaÂnia spent a good six months studyÂing The New York Times list of most-e-mailed artiÂcles, hopÂing to figÂure out what artiÂcles get shared, and why. And here’s what they essenÂtialÂly found:
PeoÂple preÂferred e‑mailing artiÂcles with posÂiÂtive rather than negÂaÂtive themes, and they liked to send long artiÂcles on intelÂlecÂtuÂalÂly chalÂlengÂing topÂics… PerÂhaps most of all, readÂers wantÂed to share artiÂcles that inspired awe, an emoÂtion that the researchers invesÂtiÂgatÂed after noticÂing how many sciÂence artiÂcles made the list.
This goes a long way toward explainÂing why 3.4 milÂlion peoÂple have watched The Known UniÂverse since mid DecemÂber. And, as Bill Rankin rightÂly sugÂgestÂed to me, it says someÂthing good about online culÂture, and what makes Open CulÂture work as a site. Each day, we try to give you a litÂtle awe and chalÂlenge. And for our next post: 10,000 GalaxÂies in 3D.
Once they were part of the counter culÂture. Now they’re getÂting the red carÂpet treatÂment in the estabÂlishÂment. (Not that I have a probÂlem with that!) Last night, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and othÂers perÂformed in the East Room of the White House. It was all part a proÂgram called “A CelÂeÂbraÂtion of Music from the CivÂil Rights MoveÂment,” which will air on PBS on Feb. 11 at 8 p.m. ET. Above we have an audio recordÂing of Dylan perÂformÂing the timeÂless “The Times They Are A‑Changin.” You can also watch a samÂple of the othÂer perÂforÂmances here.
Since the late 1990’s, Alain de BotÂton has been breakÂing down difÂfiÂcult philoÂsophÂiÂcal and litÂerÂary ideas and seeÂing how they apply to peoÂple’s everyÂday lives. He did this with his 1997 bestÂseller, How Proust Can Change Your Life. And he took things a step furÂther with his teleÂviÂsion series called PhiÂlosÂoÂphy: A Guide to HapÂpiÂness. The episode above delves into NietÂzsche’s belief that hapÂpiÂness only comes about with great effort and hardÂship. In the remainÂing five episodes, de BotÂton gets into Socrates on self conÂfiÂdence, Seneca on anger, EpiÂcuÂrus on hapÂpiÂness, MonÂtaigne on self-esteem, and SchopenÂhauer on love. Each episode runs about 25 minÂutes. You can also find all six episodes neatÂly disÂplayed on one page here.
Google EarthÂ’s hisÂtorÂiÂcal imagery feaÂture now includes aerÂiÂal footage of the afterÂmath of World War II, allowÂing users to comÂpreÂhend the extent of post-war destrucÂtion by comÂparÂing phoÂtos of cities as they are today to those of bombed out cities immeÂdiÂateÂly after the war.
Here’s WarÂsaw in 1935, devÂasÂtatÂed in 1943, and restored today. You can click here to see the picÂtures in a bigÂger size.
For more imagery, includÂing picÂtures of Stuttgart, Naples and Lyon, see the Google Earth blog.
Wes Alwan lives in Boston, MassÂaÂchuÂsetts, where he works as a writer and researcher and attends the InstiÂtute for the Study of PsyÂchoÂanalyÂsis and CulÂture. He also parÂticÂiÂpates in The ParÂtialÂly ExamÂined Life, a podÂcast conÂsistÂing of inforÂmal disÂcusÂsions about philoÂsophÂiÂcal texts by three phiÂlosÂoÂphy gradÂuÂate school dropouts.
You stare. You get stared at. It hapÂpens countÂless times every day. But have you ever ponÂdered what’s realÂly hapÂpenÂing here? RoseÂmarie GarÂland-ThomÂson, a proÂfesÂsor at Emory UniÂverÂsiÂty, has been givÂing it some thought. You can get a quick introÂducÂtion above, and more extenÂsive thinkÂing in her new book, StarÂing: How We Look. Thanks Nicole for sendÂing this along…
The UniÂverÂsiÂty of South CarÂoliÂna hosts a few gems, includÂing F. Scott FitzgerÂald (The Great GatsÂby) readÂing lines from ShakeÂspeare’s OthÂelÂlo. Or, more specifÂiÂcalÂly, OthÂelÂlo’s oraÂtion to VenetÂian senÂaÂtors.
This comes to us via Mike. Thanks to all who startÂed sendÂing good links our way. WhenÂevÂer you see someÂthing good, please fire us a quick email. It will take one minute out of your day and make the day for many othÂers.
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From the TIMES ONLINE:
More than 65,000 19th-cenÂtuÂry works of ficÂtion from the British Library’s colÂlecÂtion are to be made availÂable for free downÂloads by the pubÂlic from this spring.
OwnÂers of the AmaÂzon KinÂdle, an ebook readÂer device, will be able to view well known works by writÂers such as Charles DickÂens, Jane Austen and Thomas Hardy, as well as works by thouÂsands of less famous authors.
You can read the rest about this Microsoft fundÂed iniÂtiaÂtive here. In the meanÂtime, we’ve made it relÂaÂtiveÂly easy to downÂload major clasÂsics to your KinÂdle, iPhone, smartÂphone or comÂputÂer. See our colÂlecÂtion of Free eBooks (and Audio Books).
A lighter piece for Super Bowl SunÂday. Yes, this clip isn’t exactÂly heady. And, yes, it botchÂes some facts (archers apparÂentÂly shoot from 70 meters, not 20 yards). But, nonetheÂless, it gives you the basic physics of Drew Brees’ passÂing game. Brees will be playÂing QB for the New Orleans Saints tonight, and, as you’ll see, his accuÂraÂcy is remarkÂable. Hat tip to Mike.
via DisÂcovÂer MagÂaÂzine’s CosÂmic VariÂance blog
How can you learn forÂeign lanÂguages online? Last week, The New York Times outÂlined a good numÂber of options for its readÂers. And, for days, the artiÂcle remained one of the most wideÂly read pieces on the NYT site. Today, the paper issued a folÂlowup post, highÂlightÂing yet more ways to learn lanÂguages digÂiÂtalÂly. And hapÂpiÂly our colÂlecÂtion, Learn LanÂguages for Free: SpanÂish, EngÂlish, ChiÂnese & 37 OthÂer LanÂguages, got a small menÂtion there. When takÂen togethÂer, these two pieces spell out the difÂferÂent eduÂcaÂtionÂal opporÂtuÂniÂties fairÂly well. Some of the sites menÂtioned include LiveMocha.com, BBC lanÂguages, and ManÂgo LanÂguages.
Our readÂer GarÂnet sets the stage for this video: “MathÂeÂmatiÂcians have long declared that geoÂmetÂriÂcal hyperÂbolÂic space could not be modÂeled in the real world. Now it’s been done, through croÂchet! Watch TED video sciÂence writer MarÂgaret Wertheim explain how the art of croÂchet emuÂlates sea slugs creÂatÂing coral strucÂtures in hyperÂbolÂic space, using art to bring attenÂtion to the disÂapÂpearÂance of coral through globÂal warmÂing.” You can get more inforÂmaÂtion about this preÂsenÂtaÂtion here. And, for more TED Talks, don’t forÂget to check out this handy online spreadÂsheet.
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