Fog Catchers "If we can help generate alternative sustainable economic activities, we will be increasing the community’s chances for a viable livelihood in the face of climate change." Juan José RodríguezThe Nature Conservancy’s Coasts and Deserts coordinator by Marcela Torres Vea también en español Have you ever seen a desert turn into a lush green valley bursting with life? The lomas’ ability to capture fog and turn it into water that plants, animals and people can use is key to the survival of the biodiversity and human populations living in this otherwise arid environment. But centuries of unmanaged livestock grazing and chopping of trees for firewood have left the lomas depleted, with less vegetation to capture fog the way they once could. How Does Fog Cover a Desert? Three unique features coincide to form these rare desert oases: Who Needs Fog? Ancient human populations in the area used to collect water that dripped from branches of native trees and cacti by placing containers underneath them.
mr. div all in our heads // video 16,984 notes Kris Menace ‘The Entirety of Matter’ // Album art by Mr. www.entiretyofmatter.com Check out the first in a series of 'gif videos’ for the album here: Kris Menace - Mona 827 notes How to Work with Designers A Cheat Sheet for Engineers and PMs Once, a long time ago, I was a product manager. Then, I was an engineer. For the past seven years, I’ve been in design. Every single day, I work with people in all of these roles. Every single day, I find new ways to appreciate the responsibilities, challenges, and art behind each of these three pillars of product development. To speak the language of designers, stop talking about metrics and start talking about users. More often than not, these aren’t too far off from each other. Designers have different strengths. Designers are different. Visual design: typography, contrast, hierarchy, and the good ol’ does it look good? Some designers are mind-blowing at visuals but not as experienced in interaction design. The more senior the designer, the more abstract the problem they should be solving. To break it down more tangibly, let’s look at some examples of levels and appropriate responsibilities: The problem is, users don’t just upload photos.
uld a mind-reading machine soon be a reality? Scientists 'decode' human brainwaves By Daily Mail Reporter Updated: 08:37 GMT, 18 May 2011 A 'mind-reading machine' that can display mental images is a step closer after scientists decoded brain signals related to vision, it was claimed today. Researchers from the University of Glasgow showed six volunteers images of people's faces displaying different emotions such as happiness, fear and surprise. In a series of trials, parts of the images were randomly covered so that, for example, only the eyes or mouth were visible. Nowhere to hide: A 'mind-reading machine' that displays mental images is a step closer after scientists said they have decoded brain signals related to vision Participants were then asked to identify the emotion being displayed while electrodes attached to the scalp measured the volunteers' brainwaves. The scientists were able to show that brainwaves varied greatly according to which part of the face was being looked at. 'What we have done is to find a way of decoding brainwaves to identify the messages within.'
Religion May Cause Brain Atrophy -- Science of the Spirit Faith can open your mind but it can also cause your brain to shrink at a different rate, research suggests. Researchers at Duke University Medical Centre in the US claim to have discovered a correlation between religious practices and changes in the brains of older adults. The study, published in the open-access science journal, Public Library of Science ONE, asked 268 people aged 58 to 84 about their religious group, spiritual practices and life-changing religious experiences. Changes in the volume of their hippocampus, the region of the brain associated with learning and memory, were tracked using MRI scans, over two to eight years. Protestants who did not identify themselves as born-again were found to have less atrophy in the hippocampus region than did born-again Protestants, Catholics or those with no religious affiliation. Although the brain tends to shrink with age, atrophy in the hippocampus has been linked with depression and Alzheimer's disease.
ANCIENT MYSTERIES EXPLAINED 30 Creative Ways to Repurpose & Reuse Old Stuff We all have stuff that no longer serves any purpose around the house, but we still have trouble getting rid of it. Either it’s “still OK”, or “might come in handy” or just holds some sentimental value to it. In extreme cases, this might lead to hoarding, but if you’re creative enough, you can solve the problem by repurposing, upcycling and reusing your old things. Besides serving a purpose (again), repurposed items add this lovely touch of creativity and coziness to the space. In order to help you get started, we made a selection of 30 creative repurposing, upcycling and reuse ideas. 1. (link) 2. (link) 3. (link) 4. (link) 5. (link) 6. (link) 7. (link) 8. (link) 9. (link) 10. 11. (link) 12. 13. (link) 14. (link) 15. (link) 16. (link) 17. (link) 18. (link) 19. Toasted bagel + avocado in a CD spindle. 20. (link) 21. (link) 22. (link) 23. (Buy: here or here) 24. (link) 25. (link) 26. (link) 27. (link) 28. (link) 29. (link) 30. (link)
Infographie - Quelle école pour demain ? Il est parfois difficile d’avoir une vue d’ensemble sur des sujets aussi complexes que l’éducation et l’école de demain. Les études montrent des avis parfois divergents et peu lisibles : les enseignants n’ont pas forcément le même avis que les parents, qui eux-mêmes n’ont pas le même avis que leurs enfants… Et pourtant la question est essentielle : quelle école pour demain ? C’est pour essayer de répondre de la meilleure manière possible à cette question fondamentale que Microsoft Education et RSLN ont réalisé cette infographie retraçant les enjeux du numérique à l’école, en compilant plus d’une dizaine de sources – et notamment l’étude IPSOS sur la place des TIC à l’école. Cliquez sur l'infographie pour l'agrandir > Quels peuvent être les bénéfices du numérique à l’école ? Les parents sont en effet 78% à considérer que le numérique peut apporter une plus grande motivation aux élèves. > Un vrai retard français… > …mais de vraies ressources > Quelle école pour 2015 alors ?
Brain Training, Brain Exercise, Brain Fitness by Brain Training 101 Mindfulness meditation training changes brain structure in eight weeks Participating in an 8-week mindfulness meditation program appears to make measurable changes in brain regions associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress. In a study that will appear in the January 30 issue of Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, a team led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers report the results of their study, the first to document meditation-produced changes over time in the brain's grey matter. "Although the practice of meditation is associated with a sense of peacefulness and physical relaxation, practitioners have long claimed that meditation also provides cognitive and psychological benefits that persist throughout the day," says Sara Lazar, PhD, of the MGH Psychiatric Neuroimaging Research Program, the study's senior author. "This study demonstrates that changes in brain structure may underlie some of these reported improvements and that people are not just feeling better because they are spending time relaxing."
Clarity on Spirit Science (A MUST SEE!) There have been a lot of questions recently about Spirit Science and it’s evolution. What are we up to, where are we going. Some people had made up some ideas as well about Spirit Science becoming Cult-Like and a new Religion, which Jordan and I thought was ridiculous. So we decided to put together this video to shine some Clarity on the matter. We both apologize for creating any confusion that we may have, and we thank you loving beings for staying loving and kind no matter what video is posted. Were new to this whole “travel the world, make fun videos, shift the planet” stuff as well, so we ask that you be patient with us. Keep asking questions, make decisions for yourself, and move forward into light! I love you! And if you’re interested in the New Years Video, here it is!
Feedbooks | Free eBooks and Best Sellers Information Visualization Manifesto Posted: August 30th, 2009 | Author: Manuel Lima | Filed under: Uncategorized | – “The purpose of visualization is insight, not pictures” Ben Shneiderman (1999) – Over the past few months I’ve been talking with many people passionate about Information Visualization who share a sense of saturation over a growing number of frivolous projects. The criticism is slightly different from person to person, but it usually goes along these lines: “It’s just visualization for the sake of visualization”, “It’s just eye-candy”, “They all look the same”. When Martin Wattenberg and Fernanda Viégas wrote about Vernacular Visualization, in their excellent article on the July-August 2008 edition of interactions magazine, they observed how the last couple of years have witnessed the tipping point of a field that used to be locked away in its academic vault, far from the public eye. Even though a clear divide is necessary, it doesn’t mean that Information Visualization and Information Art cannot coexist.