Silent discos are dance parties where revellers wear headphones instead of listening to music from a speaker system. In some cities, tourism companies have incorporated the trend into their walking tours. “You’ve got people walking about and suddenly they break into dance to music you can’t hear.”
Blog
In Search Of Literary Fame
“Young man, literary glory, or the fame that comes from learning and then writing, is one of the very few forms of glory presently available to the commoner. Admittedly, it’s not as impressive or satisfying as the glory that derives from public service, since action is much worthier and nobler than thinking or writing, and more natural. We weren’t made to spend our lives sitting at a table with pen and paper, and doing so can only be detrimental to your health and happiness. All the same, as I said, this is a glory that can be achieved without initial riches and without being part of a large organization. Theoretically.”
Study: Superhero Stories Help Inspire Altruism
“Heroes loom large as exemplars of morality. They often embody virtues that we wish to express in our lives,” writes a research team led by psychologists Daryl Van Tongeren of Hope College and Jeffrey Green of Virginia Commonwealth University. Their findings suggests that subtle reminders of the superhero ethos can inspire us to emulate their selfless behavior.
How Climate Change Is Hastening The Loss Of Languages
These changes will force communities to relocate, creating climate change refugees. The resultant dispersal of people will lead to the splintering of linguistic communities and increased contact with other languages. These changes will place additional pressures on languages that are already struggling to survive.
Why Teacher Evaluations Hurt Students
Ultimately, the unearned arrogance encouraged by the heavy reliance on student evaluations helps produce passive, even contemptuous students who undermine the spirit of the class and lower its quality for everyone. All students deserve better.
Cognitive Scientists Explain Why Two Heads Are Better Than One
“One reason is that our senses are unreliable. Often, we have to make decisions on the basis of what we’ve just heard or seen. But these sensations can be noisy. How can we be sure of what it was we just heard or saw? Think of radar operators who have to hunt for weak signals and decide if this is an incoming missile or a flock of birds. The wrong decision could start World War Three.”
Duolingo And Babbel May Not Teach You Much Of A Foreign Language, But They’ll Addict You
Says Duolingo’s CEO with frankness, “We prefer to be more on the addictive side than the fast-learning side. … In the U.S., about half of our users aren’t even really motivated to learn a language; they just want to pass the time on something besides Candy Crush.”
Vision Transfusion? Berkshire Museum Stops Hemorrhaging Art
Closing the barn door after its finest steeds have vanished, the Berkshire Museum today announced that “there will be no further sales” from its collection beyond the 22 works already sold.
Recent Listening: Harry Vetro’s Northern Ranger
A generation of Canadian musicians is coming to prominence in their youth and making substantial impressions. One is drummer Harry Vetro.
Arnold Schoenberg survived Nazi Germany, Vienna and Hollywood. But Boston?
Opera thrives on iconic figures, whether from mythology or history. But maybe composer Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) hasn’t been gone long enough – or was never outwardly heroic enough – to fill Tod Machover’s new opera Schoenberg in Hollywood.