Population pyramids: Powerful predictors of the future - Kim Preshoff If your selected country was not represented by a population pyramid in the lesson, you may wonder what it looks like. The U.S. Census Bureau has an International Data Base that can help you create one. Is your country a fast, slow or no growth pyramid? How to turn small talk into smart conversation Imagine almost any situation where two or more people are gathered—a wedding reception, a job interview, two off-duty cops hanging out in a Jacuzzi. What do these situations have in common? Almost all of them involve people trying to talk with each other. Or worse, we do a passable job at talking. We stagger through our romantic, professional and social worlds with the goal merely of not crashing, never considering that we might soar. We at What to Talk About headquarters set out to change this. Ask for stories, not answers One way to get beyond small talk is to ask open-ended questions. Instead of . . . Try . . . Break the mirror When small talk stalls out, it’s often due to a phenomenon we call “mirroring.” Mirrored example: James: It’s a beautiful day! See? Non-mirrored example: James: It’s a beautiful day! See? Leapfrog over the expected response An even better way to break the boring-conversation mirror is to skip over the expected response, and go somewhere next-level: Riz: What’s up?
166 Documentaries To Expand Your Consciousness Here is a list of over 100 documentaries you can watch for free online. They are about Science, Consciousness, ETs, you name it. It’s a smorgasbord of fascinating subjects to learn about. If you find a dead link please let us know and we will find another to replace it. 1. This list will never be complete! Featured image credits: Justin Totemical Art
Make the most of your 20s: Meg Jay at TED2013 In her 20s, Meg Jay saw her first psychotherapy client, Alex, who was there to talk about her guy problems. Jay didn’t take the sessions all too seriously at first. But then her supervisor gave her a wakeup call. While Jay said, “Sure she’s dating down and sleeping with a knucklehead. But she’s not gonna marry the guy.” For Jay, it was an a-ha moment. There are 50 million 20-somethings in the US — that’s 15% of population. “Claiming your 20s is one of simplest things you can do for work, happiness, love, maybe even for the world,” says Jay. Jay worries that messages in the media about the changing timetable of adulthood, and the 20s being an “extended adolescence,” are trivializing this important decade. Jay also takes issue with the phrase “you can’t pick your family, but can pick your friends.” “Too many 30-somethings and 40-somethings look at themselves and say about their 20s, ‘What was I doing? So what can 20-somethings do? Meg Jay’s talk is now available for viewing.
Rocky It aint how hard You hit 29 Incredibly Useful Websites You Wish You Knew Earlier There are so many wonderful websites around, and it is difficult to know each and every one of them. The below list provides some of those websites that I find particularly helpful, even though they are not as famous or as prevalent as some of the big names out there. 1. BugMeNot Are you bugged constantly to sign up for websites, even though you do not wish to share your email? If yes, then BugMeNot is for you. 2. This nifty little website tracks whether the emails sent by you were opened and read by the receiver. If you are on a constant lookout of free full length movies, then Zero Dollar movies provides a collection of over 15,000 movies in multiple languages that are available to watch for free on Youtube. 4. Livestream allows you to watch and broadcast events live to viewers on any platform. scr.im converts your email address into a short custom URLs, that can be shared on public websites. 6. 7. Fax Zero allows you to send faxes to US and Canada for free. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.
The art of science: Stunning, psychedelic images from Fabian Oefner In his TEDGlobal 2013 talk, Fabian Oefner shares breathtaking images at the nexus of art and science, which beautifully capture unique moments of physical and chemical drama. Formally trained in art and design, Oefner says that he has always been interested in science. Though he can’t pinpoint the exact moment when he became interested in pairing his two loves, he views both pursuits as inextricably linked by a crucial bond: “The most important quality of science or art is curiosity,” Oefner tells TED. “That’s what keeps me going and always finding something new.” Marbelous No. 05 (2013) An unusual look at the properties of oil, as colorful marbles of oil paint float in a solution of water and methylated spirits. Grain of Scent (2013) Tiny individual droplets of a liquid mixed with spray paint hang in the air for a fraction of a second, forming a scent sculpture. Aurora No. 01 (2013) This image illustrates the combustion of alcohol. Vanishing Beauty (2012) Powders can behave like fluids.
20 Best Inspirational Speeches from the Movies When inspiration does not come, I go for a walk, go to the movies, talk to a friend, let go… The muse is bound to return again, especially if I turn my back! ~Judy Collins People watch movies for a lot of different reasons. Some watch for escapism—to leave their everyday lives and experience the exotic, exciting lands that are in the movies they watch. Some watch movies to be thrilled or even scared, They watch action movies and horror movies to get the blood pumping. Inspirational Movie Speeches I have racked up twenty movies that are on my list to watch over and over again, at least for the inspirational speeches in them. 1. The aliens have pretty much conquered Earth. 2. Former Roman General Maximus is standing before a blood thirsty crowd with a motley crew of gladiators. 3. Leader of the rebel Scots, William Wallace exhorts his people to fight for their freedom and not live one further day in slavery. 4. 5. The centuries old teacher Socrates teaches Dan about taking out the trash.
7 talks on how we make choices | Playlist Now playing Over the years, research has shown a counterintuitive fact about human nature: That sometimes, having too much choice makes us less happy. This may even be true when it comes to medical treatment. Baba Shiv shares a fascinating study that measures why choice opens the door to doubt, and suggests that ceding control — especially on life-or-death decisions — may be the best thing for us. Argumenterande tal: från start till mål Med mina ettor ville jag lägga grunderna för att argumentera. Jag valde att göra så här! (Allt som allt tog det ca. 8 st 80-minuterslektioner.) Inledning Syfte: skapa lust och intresse, samt att ha en gemensam referenspunkt kring vilken vi kunde diskutera tal och argumentation. Tillsammans tittade vi på ett program från Utbildningsradion. Eleverna tyckte programmet var engagerande och lärorikt och efteråt sammanfattade jag Barbros retoriska modell på vår klassblogg. Gruppövning - den retoriska modellen Syfte: att eleverna skulle få ta del av varandras tidigare kunskaper i ämnetatt de tillsammans skulle få lösa en uppgift som innebar att de måste omsätta teori (den retoriska modellen) i handling (ett tal), att de skulle träna på att använda talkortatt de skulle få modeller av ett tal som liknar det, de själv senare skulle hålla Uppgiften var att eleverna i grupp (sammansatta av mig) skulle förbereda ett tal utifrån en tes jag gett dem. Talen publicerades på klassbloggen. Genomförande
The best stats you've ever seen - Hans Rosling Rosling is a passionate advocate for “liberating” publicly-funded data on the Internet. Select one topic area for which country-specific data might be compared (e.g., education, health, food production, the environment, etc.), and identify what you think are the best sources of data in this area on the Internet. Create a guide that lists these sources, and provides a brief review of each. If the administrators of these data repositories are thinking about how users might engage with the data via mobile devices or social media, note this in the review. If the administrators currently aren’t doing anything in these areas, how could mobile devices and social media enhance the user’s experience? Here are a few resources to make learning statistics an interesting experience. Someone always asks the math teacher, "Am I going to use calculus in real life?"
Fenomenet Malala I ett tidigare blogginlägg berörde jag frågan om vad som gör oss till dem vi är och vad vi själva kan göra för att göra kunskapsresor, uppleva personlig utveckling samt få en plats i tillvaron att agera ut ifrån. Mot den bakgrunden är det intressant att studera fallet Malala Yousafzai. 17 år gammel blev hon för en månad sedan den yngsta personen någonsin att ta emot Nobels fredspris (eller för den delen vilket Nobelpris som helst). Det har sagts och skrivits mycket om hennes kamp för barns och ungas rättigheter i Pakistan och hela världen. Ändå måste jag erkänna att jag inte ägnat särskilt mycket tid åt att lyssna till henne själv - inte förrän nu, vill säga. I en åk 1 på gymnasiet lyssnade vi nämligen igår till hennes tal som hon höll den 10 dec i Oslo. Frågan är då: vad har gjort Malala till den hon är idag? Detta är en fråga som går knappast att besvara så här enkelt. På mobiltelefonen, klicka här.
Graduation…now what? | Playlist Now playing Clinical psychologist Meg Jay has a bold message for twentysomethings: Contrary to popular belief, your 20s are not a throwaway decade. In this provocative talk, Jay says that just because marriage, work and kids are happening later in life, doesn’t mean you can’t start planning now. She gives 3 pieces of advice for how twentysomethings can re-claim adulthood in the defining decade of their lives. “In your 20s, you may not get married or figure out exactly what career you want to pursue. But that doesn’t mean it’s a throwaway decade, says psychologist Meg Jay.
Sound Types FindSounds Search the Web for Sounds What types of sounds can be found on the Web using FindSounds? Animal Sounds alligator, baboon, bat, bear, bobcat, buffalo, bullfrog, camel, cat, cheetah, chimpanzee, chinchilla, chipmunk, cougar, cow, coyote, crocodile, deer, dinosaur, dog, dolphin, donkey, elephant, elk, ferret, fox, frog, gibbon, goat, gorilla, grizzly bear, guinea pig, hippo, horse, hyena, jaguar, kitten, lamb, lemur, leopard, lion, llama, marmot, monkey, moose, mouse, orca, panda, panther, pig, polar bear, prairie dog, puppy, rabbit, raccoon, rat, rattlesnake, rhinoceros, rodent, sea lion, seal, sheep, snake, squirrel, sugar glider, tiger, toad, whale, wolf, zebra Sounds of the Holidays Christmas sleigh bells; Halloween creak, creature, evil laugh, ghost, howl, monster, scream, witch; Independence firecrackers, fireworks; New Year's balloon, party horn, pop cork; Thanksgiving turkey Insect Sounds bee, cicada, cricket, insects, katydid, mosquito, wasp