Category: Body & Mind

Inject More Serendipity Into Your Online Adventures

Not Recommended For You is a new website that is a reaction to all the other websites that recommend content based on what you do. Google tailors your search results so they are different than your friend’s and other websites track what you do on their sites to drive you to click more. Not Recommended For You is the opposite of that, it’s like walking through the library and discovering random books.

We’re big fans of the Internet, but not always the biggest fans of its recommendations. Our browsing history – what we’ve clicked, liked, watched or listened to – is turned into “Recommended For You’s” by smart algorithms. “Not Recommended For You” is a collection of video recommendations by people across the globe answering the question “What would you recommend, if you could recommend anything at all, to someone you don’t know?”.

The answers aren’t “algorithm smart” or even recommended specifically for you. But, they feel personal and turned out more unpredictable than we could imagine, ranging from practical recommendations like “try to live like a siamese twin for a week” or “choose small bad looking apples for the perfect apple pie” to motivational recommendations like “look up (…) if you can see the sky there’s always something to strive for”. Now, we’re turning it into a collaborative project by inviting people online to share their recommendations on our site.

Check out Not Recommended For You.

Obviously, The Climate Change Debate is Over

Anybody with the ability to reason realizes that anthropogenic climate change is happening – and it’s happening in an unpredictable but faster way than previously imagined. The fact that fools argue against this infuriates me as they are essentially arguing against reality.

Recently, two acclaimed scientific bodies (The Royal Society and the US National Academy of Sciences) concluded that human caused climate change is occurring. This adds to a chorus of institutions that have reached the same conclusion years ago.

So what is possibly good about anthropogenic climate change? I have no idea if there is anything positive about it or not. What I do know, is that finally people are calling out the bullshit that the deniers are spouting – and that is a good thing!

The less we listen to people who deny the evidence and knowledge of multiple experts in multiple fields the better.

Indeed, this post was inspired by a comment made on Reddit. Here’s just a snippet of the excellent message meant for climate change deniers:

It’s extremely predictable. Ten years ago, you were telling us that the climate wasn’t changing. Five years ago, you were telling us that climate change wasn’t anthropogenic in origin. Now, you’re telling us that anthropogenic climate change might be real, but it’s certainly not a bad thing. I’m pretty sure that five years from now you’ll be admitting it’s a bad thing, but saying that you have no obligation to mitigate the effects.

You know why you’re changing your story so often? It’s because you guys are armchair quarterbacks scientists. You took some science classes in high school twenty years ago and you’re pretty sure it must be mostly the same now. I mean, chemical reactions follow static laws and stuff, or something, right? Okay, you’re rusty, but you read a few dozen blog posts each year. Maybe a book or two if you’re feeling motivated. Certainly, you listen to the radio and that’s plenty good enough.

I’m sorry, but it’s needs to be said: you’re full of it.

And this is from the article that caused the comment thread:

The publication explains that measurements that distinguish between the different forms of carbon in the atmosphere provide clear evidence that the increased amount of CO2 comes primarily from the combustion of fossil fuels, and discusses why the warming that has occurred along with the increase in CO2 cannot be explained by natural causes such as variations in the Sun’s output.

Many effects of climate change have already become apparent in the observational record, but the possible extent of future impacts needs to be better understood.

For example, while average global sea levels have risen about 20 cm since 1901, and are expected to continue to rise, more research is needed to more accurately predict the size of future sea-level rise.

Read the article here.

Decrease Blood Pressure By Simply Changing Your Diet

I love knowledge and it’s exciting that a meta-analysis in JAMA Internal Medicine has concluded that a vegetarian diet is perfect for decreasing blood pressure!Meta-analysis of research data is the assessment of a multiple research papers related to the same issue and sometimes the meta-analysis can disprove existing assumptions, in this case the meta-analysis confirms what many already thought!

Plus, researchers found that “the effect sizes are similar to those observed with commonly recommended lifestyle modifications, such as adoption of a low-sodium diet or a weight reduction of 5 kg, and are approximately half the magnitude of those observed with pharmaceutical therapy,” they wrote in the study. A weight reduction of 5 kilograms is equivalent to about 11 pounds.

Read more at Huffington Post.

Indigenous Food and Cultural Protection

Food and ecosystem knowledge which has been passed down for centuries is constantly threatened by the modern mechanical market. To stymie this change in food (and knowledge) consumption there is a global effort to protect the sanity of food and related support systems.

The significance of sacred foods. Many indigenous communities have certain foods—including corn, taro, and wild rice—that are considered sacred and have profound teachings and practices associated with them. One of the most significant ways that indigenous peoples have demonstrated a respectful relationship to their sacred foods is through sustainable land and water practices. Because these totem foods are so highly regarded, it is considered a tragedy and a violation of fundamental rights that they are now being threatened with life patenting and genetic modification.

Native foods and ecosystem health. Native foods are markers of diversity and are often keystone species for the health of an ecosystem and the health of a people. The body of knowledge that indigenous communities hold concerning the cultivation of foods and the conservation of habitats are viable and potentially essential alternatives to some of today’s more unsustainable practices. Without healthy seeds, lands, and waters, native foods will continue to be compromised, damaged, and made scarce, and the health of ecosystems, native communities, and all communities will suffer.

Protecting indigenous peoples. Respecting indigenous communities, their land, and their traditions is an invaluable resource in our efforts to combat climate change. Defending indigenous rights involves governments implementing policies that protect indigenous groups, corporations engaging in mutually beneficial relations with indigenous communities and the environment, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) creating funding models and grants that help to support and grow indigenous societies.

Read more at WorldWatch

Play a Game and Help Cure Cancer

This month Cancer Research UK released a game that helped scientists find a cure for cancer. It takes the obscure data that needs to be analyzed and translates that into a fun little game which can be played on Android or Apple devices. The aggregate data of players help scientists understand what’s going on in the body when someone is impacted by cancer.

The game’s ingenuity lies in its simplicity. Racking up the combined data crunching power of what we hope will be thousands of casual gamers will help our scientists spot the subtle patterns and peaks and troughs in the data, which correspond to DNA faults.

The power of Element Alpha is of course completely fictional, but the power of the data it represents could be exceptional. Our scientists will be trawling through the results as they come in and looking for crucial clues in the quest for new cancer treatments.

So what are you waiting for? Start collecting mysterious Element Alpha to help us solve the mystery of cancer sooner.

More here.

Thanks to Craig!