“Ballerinas used to be plump by modern standards; indeed, the great Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova was criticised in the late 1890s for being too thin (mocked for her long, slender limbs, she was nicknamed ‘the broom’ by fellow students).” My, how things have changed. (Might Balanchine bear a bit of the blame?)
Month: February 2012
Want To Make Uncreative People More Creative? Pressure Them To Conform (A Little)
“Admittedly, that sounds like an oxymoron; creative thinking and conformity are usually considered mutually exclusive. But newly published research finds a specific sort of arm twisting can help people who aren’t terribly innovative increase their creative output. The key is pressuring them to think independently, within the confines of a group project.”
Forget The 10,000 Hours Of Practice! To Gain Expert Skill More Quickly, Use Electrodes On Your Brain
For years, research neurologists have been trying to determine what goes on in the brains of top athletes, performers and others when they attain “flow” – that fully engaged state of mind in which they achieve at peak level. Now US military researchers are trying to speed up the learning process (of, for example, expert snipers) by inducing “flow” with electric stimulation.
Could Future Wars Be Fought With Mind Control Weapons?
“Wars of the future might be decided through manipulation of people’s minds, concludes a report this week from the UK’s Royal Society. It warns that the potential military applications of neuroscience breakthroughs need to be regulated more closely.”
Barbie, Simpsons Dolls Banned In Iran
“The Islamic Republic’s morality police, fighting ‘Western intoxication’ as the dispute over nuclear technology has raised fears of war, last month went on a drive against Barbie,” and the country has since banned action figures based on characters from The Simpsons. Yet “Superman and Spiderman were still welcome in Iran – because they do battle for the oppressed.”
And The Critical Hatchet Job Of The Year Is …
Adam Mars-Jones’s review of Michael Cunningham’s novel By Nightfall in Britain’s The Observer. The citation for the prize, awarded by The Omnivore, says “Adam Mars-Jones’s review … was at once erudite, attentive, killingly fair-minded and viciously funny. Every one of his zingers … is earned by the argument it arises from.”
Werner Herzog Insults All Chickendom
From the 40-second video, Werner Herzog on Chickens: “Try to look a chicken in the eye with great intensity, and the intensity of stupidity that is looking back at you is just amazing.”
First: 3D Printer “Prints” A Functional Jawbone For A Woman
“An 83-year-old Belgian woman is able to chew, speak and breathe normally again after a machine printed her a new jawbone. Made from a fine titanium powder sculpted by a precision laser beam, her replacement jaw has proven as functional as her own used to be before a potent infection, called osteomyelitis, all but destroyed it.”
Dickens Anniversary Argues For A “Slow Reading” Movement
“There’s no denying that Dickens’s embroidered, involved sentences make increasing demands on the modern reader. The enormous success of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books and Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy shows that we still have an appetite for long, complicated stories. But Rowling’s and Larsson’s prose is built for speed. Unlike Dickens, there’s nothing there in the way of language to stop the rapid turning of pages.”
It’s Ten Years Since UK Museums Made Museum Entry Free
“Supporters of free entry point to its success in terms of increasing attendance. Across the UK visits have increased by 51% since 2000, statistics collected by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport reveal.”