How many hours does it take to make a friend?
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0265407518761225
"adults must spend around 50 hours together to go from mere acquaintance to a casual friend, 90 hours together before they consider each other friends, and more than 200 hours to become close friends who share an emotional connection."
Why our pursuit of happiness may be flawed
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210105-why-our-pursuit-of-happiness-may-be-flawed
Is ‘happy ever after’ just a myth? The traditional idea of what makes us happy – money, marriage and kids – is a misleading fantasy, says scientist and author Paul Dolan.
https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p070zpn8/is-happy-ever-after-just-a-myth-''
How to get Healthy Discussions:
Cómo tener discusiones más constructivas (y ganarlas)
https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-47652945
The Dollar, Marie Curie, Oppenheimer, Uranium and Gulag
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20200107-welcome-to-jchymov-the-czech-town-that-invented-the-dollar
Nonviolent protests are twice as likely to succeed as armed conflicts – and those engaging a threshold of 3.5% of the population have never failed to bring about change.
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20190513-it-only-takes-35-of-people-to-change-the-world
https://cup.columbia.edu/book/why-civil-resistance-works/9780231156820
https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/resource/success-nonviolent-civil-resistance/
La regla del 3,5%: cómo una pequeña minoría puede cambiar el mundo
https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-internacional-48854430
What if the Universe has no end?
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200117-what-if-the-universe-has-no-end
Las provocadoras teorías alternativas al Big Bang que plantean que el universo no tiene límites
https://www.bbc.com/mundo/vert-fut-51245606
The rise of the sober bar
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20190510-can-you-have-any-fun-at-a-bar-with-no-booze
Were Sartre and De Beauvoir the world’s first modern couple?
https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p094v5kg/were-sartre-and-de-beauvoir-the-world-s-first-modern-couple-
Polymaths excel in multiple fields.
"Nobel Prize-winning scientists are about 25 times more likely to sing, dance or act than the average scientist. They are also 17 times more likely to create visual art, 12 times more likely to write poetry and four times more likely to be a musician."
How COVID-19 Attacks The Brain And May Cause Lasting Damage
The most successful companies are also the luckiest
"systematic evidence that luck plays a critical role in such performance, not only in business but also in music, movies, science and professional sports. A key finding is that more can be gained by paying more attention to “second best”."
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200313-the-most-successful-companies-are-also-the-luckiest
If you’re so smart, why aren’t you rich? Turns out it’s just chance.
"The results are something of an eye-opener. Their simulations accurately reproduce the wealth distribution in the real world. But the wealthiest individuals are not the most talented (although they must have a certain level of talent). They are the luckiest."
Wealth of research showing that groups benefit from diverse thinking styles
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0963721415599543
Productivity, prominence, and the effects of academic environment
https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2019/04/24/1817431116
"We find that faculty’s work environments, not selection effects, drive their productivity and prominence, establishing that where a researcher works serves as a mechanism for cumulative advantage, locking in past success via job placement and thereby facilitating future success."
Quantifying reputation and success in art
"In areas of human activity where performance is difficult to quantify in an objective fashion, reputation and networks of influence play a key role in determining access to resources and rewards. [..]
Early access to prestigious central institutions offered life-long access to high-prestige venues and reduced dropout rate. By contrast, starting at the network periphery resulted in a high dropout rate, limiting access to central institutions. [...]
Yet, even with this limited focus, our results codify the stratification of the art world, which limits access of artists to institutions that would be beneficial to their career. Quantifying these barriers and the mechanism of access could help establish policies to level the playing field."
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2018/11/07/science.aau7224
The medications that change who we are
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200108-the-medications-that-change-who-we-are
El inesperado y desconocido efecto del paracetamol y otros medicamentos comunes sobre nuestra personalidad
https://www.bbc.com/mundo/vert-fut-51207090
What can you use instead of mainstream web browsers
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50460712
Should ‘deep focus’ become a central pillar of workplace culture?
http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20190715-how-to-escape-the-hyperactive-hivemind-of-modern-work
Long story short, you don’t need investors or huge piles of cash to start a business: a way to make money initially
https://www.smartcompany.com.au/startupsmart/advice/shinehub-anti-startup-story/
Music to calm the mind, as recommended by some of 6 Music's favorite artists
La Guerra Patria Centroamericana, el conflicto en el que Costa Rica lideró a sus países vecinos frente a la invasión de los filibusteros estadounidenses
https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-48112381
Bertrand Russell
https://www.brainpickings.org/2018/07/03/how-to-grow-old-bertrand-russell/
A time to fast
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/362/6416/770
The value of days
https://hbr.org/2018/10/5-ways-your-data-strategy-can-fail
Baez advice:
http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/advice.html
Remote work:
https://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2018/12/six-tips-happy-productive-remote-working
Cement
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46455844
The science of Coffee
https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/acs-webinars/culinary-chemistry/coffee.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46845461
How we endured the McCarthy purges in US
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48218827
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0004lf8
Einstein and God
"an ideal that goes beyond self-interest, with the striving for release from ego-oriented desires, the striving for the improvement and refinement of existence"
https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/reading-into-albert-einsteins-god-letter
motivate-yourself-to-do-things-you-dont-want-to-do
https://hbr.org/2018/12/how-to-motivate-yourself-to-do-things-you-dont-want-to-do
Movies:
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20181029-twelve-amazing-lesser-known-films-from-around-the-world
The Eagle Huntress, 2016
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/02/movies/the-eagle-huntress-review.html
How green is your diet?
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46459714
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46654042
The-secrets-of-the-high-potential-personality
http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20180508-the-secrets-of-the-high-potential-personality
sunk-cost bias - what makes us take bad decisions
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/361/6398/178
http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20180914-the-trick-to-learning-when-to-cut-your-losses
In order to retire much more quickly, most strive to save half their income
Being a loner – good for creativity, mental health and even leadership skills.
"unsociability, from a preference for solitude... branches where employees were more proactive, introverted leaders were more effective."
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180228-there-are-benefits-to-being-antisocial-or-a-loner
Links for quotes/advice website: Stoicism
https://dailystoic.com/what-is-stoicism-a-definition-3-stoic-exercises-to-get-you-started/
Is it possible to rid police officers of bias?
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200827-is-it-possible-to-rid-police-officers-of-bias?
Hydrogen fuel cars
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50212037
In Depth Medicine: Why stress is dangerous - and how to avoid its effects
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20190813-burnout-anxiety-stress-proof-relief
Mosquitos /Anopheles: El depredador que mató a la mitad de la humanidad y determinó el destino de naciones e imperios
https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-49344992
Why this man became a hermit at 20
https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-48968502
[Spanish version]
https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-48978105
"People have been smoking pot to get high for at least 2,500 years. Chinese archaeologists found signs of that when they studied the char on a set of wooden bowls from an ancient cemetery in western China."
"Researchers have uncovered the earliest known evidence of cannabis use, from tombs in western China.
The study suggests cannabis was being smoked at least 2,500 years ago, and that it may have been associated with ritual or religious activities.
[...]
Cannabis plants have been cultivated in East Asia for their oily seeds and fibre from at least 4,000 BC. "
https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/6/eaaw1391
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-48624784
'Cannabis burned during worship' by ancient Israelites - study (2,700-year-old temple in Tel Arad)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-52847175
The Smart Guide to Procrastination
http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20190322-why-prioritising-fun-over-work-will-stop-procrastination
"The twist is that rather than making a plan for the work that you have to do, you do the opposite: schedule in activities that you would like to do, such as meeting a friend for dinner, as well as activities that are necessary for keeping yourself happy and in working condition, such as going for a run and getting enough sleep each night. Finally, you add in whatever you have already committed to, such as holidays and meetings. The key is not to schedule in any plans for work whatsoever."
The importance of a community
Why We Must Stop Relying on Student Ratings of Teaching
https://www.chronicle.com/article/Why-We-Must-Stop-Relying-on/243213
"Even biases that fall outside traditional categories of discrimination — such as student negativity toward classes they perceive as overly challenging or taxing — harm an institution’s ability to use student evaluations to gauge instructors’ effectiveness. Professors who are perceived to be difficult, or who teach difficult material, may receive lower evaluations despite students’ often having greater success in later courses based on what they learned from those professors"
Annual performance evaluations are mostly useless
http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20190501-why-appraisals-are-pointless-for-most-people
Admissions Scandal: When ‘Hard Work’ (Plus $6.5 Million) Helps Get You Into Stanford
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/02/us/yusi-molly-zhao-china-stanford.html
Physical Review A/B 50th Anniversary Milestones
https://physics.aps.org/articles/v13/24
https://journals.aps.org/pra/50th
https://physics.aps.org/articles/v13/29
https://journals.aps.org/prb/50th
Breathtaking videos of how Science and poetry converge to show us Nature:
Perspective of the Universe (1977)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0
The known Universe (2009)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17jymDn0W6U
Our Home supercluster (2014)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rENyyRwxpHo
https://www.brainpickings.org/2019/01/02/perspective/
Why water is so strange
https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p06y2c9k/why-water-is-one-of-the-weirdest-things-in-the-universe
One reason why some Latin Americans have light skin
"An international team discovered a new genetic variant associated with lighter skin found only in Native American and East Asian populations [MFSD12 variant]."
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-08147-0
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/01/surprising-reason-why-some-latin-americans-have-light-skin
how-to-eat-your-way-to-a-healthy-gut
"There is a long way to go before we can say there is an optimal diet to boost gut health. But the basic building blocks are there to build a diet that at least gives you a good chance of a healthy, diverse microbiome. While supplements like probiotics and prebiotics might be of some help, one of the best things you can do may be to ditch your routine and try something new."
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20190205-how-to-eat-your-way-to-a-healthy-gut
Chemists explore the periodic table’s actinide frontier
"one of the field’s most important research themes is the use of actinide radiopharmaceuticals to treat cancer and other diseases. "
Symmetries and quantum error correction
https://quantumfrontiers.com/2019/02/24/symmetries-and-quantum-error-correction/
Learning phase transitions by confusion
https://www.nature.com/articles/nphys4037
When Gut Bacteria Change Brain Function
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/when-gut-bacteria-change-brain-function
Gwangju has become almost a city-scale distillation of essential Korean cuisine.
"In a nation known for its amazing food, and in a province known for top-quality ingredients, Gwangju has become almost a city-scale distillation of essential Korean cuisine. Just like Chengdu in China’s Sichuan province, Belo Horizonte in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state, Oaxaca City in Mexico’s Oaxaca state or New Orleans in America’s Mississippi Delta, it’s a concentrated crossroads of regional culture that manifests with prominence and pride in local plates."
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20200204-is-this-the-capital-of-kimchi
A case for occasional vegan
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200127-how-a-vegan-diet-could-affect-your-intelligence
Can a book make you vegan?
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20200424-can-a-book-make-you-vegan
Veganos y vegetarianos: son más de 4 millones en la Argentina
https://www.lanacion.com.ar/lifestyle/veganos-vegetarianos-son-mas-4-millones-argentina-nid2298027
Easy vegan recipes
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/collections/easy_vegan_recipes
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/collections/7_vegan_breakfasts
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/collections/vegan_curry_recipes
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/collections/everyday_vegan_recipes
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/collections/healthy_vegan_recipes
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/collections/vegan_meals_in_30_minutes
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/collections/vegan_lunchbox
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/collections/vegan_desserts
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/collections/vegan_cake
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/collections/6_vegan_bakes
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/collections/vegan_and_gluten-free
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/collections/6_vegan_burgers
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/collections/vegan_soups
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/collections/vibrant_vegan_dishes
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/collections/cheap_and_cheerful_vegan_dinners
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/collections/quick_vegan_recipes
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/collections/vegan_comfort_food
Por qué Filipinas no es un país hispanoparlante si fue una colonia de España durante 300 años (y qué huellas quedan de la lengua de Cervantes)
https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-54724887
Georgia Tech researcher pays a high price for mismanaging an NSF grant
"Lee’s participation in a group of U.S. scientists who raised an early alarm about the pandemic have garnered her national media attention, including on the front page of The New York Times."
"Yet it’s one of the smallest of those awards—an NSF grant of $240,000 over 5 years—that has gotten her into so much trouble."
"For example, her research has helped Grady Memorial Hospital cut waiting times in its emergency room by half and lower postsurgical infection rates for cardiac patients to near zero"
"Instead of simply signing off on documents already completed by Georgia Tech research managers, as she had done during the first phase, Lee says she was told she needed to do the paperwork herself"
"Lee committed three violations, according to an investigation done by NSF’s Office of Inspector General (OIG), which won’t say how it came to investigate Lee. "
"How does a veteran professor at a top-ranked research university get tripped up by what seems like just a little more paperwork? Friends and colleagues don’t excuse Lee’s errors, but they also don’t seem surprised that it happened. "
"Lee can have difficulty with some everyday tasks, he says. “She has trouble tying her shoelaces, she can’t operate a copying machine, and she’s prone to doing stupid things.”"
The mysterious origins of an uncrackable video game
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190919-the-maze-puzzle-hidden-within-an-early-video-game
Former Cleveland Clinic Researcher Allegedly Failed To Disclose Ties To China
How to Win Friends and Influence People
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Win_Friends_and_Influence_People
Could plastic roads make for a smoother ride?
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210302-could-plastic-roads-make-for-a-smoother-ride
Is the road to sustainable asphalt paved with tires?
https://cen.acs.org/environment/sustainability/road-sustainable-asphalt-paved-tires/99/i7
Building's hard problem - making concrete green
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56716859
Paul Erdős, el extraordinario genio matemático que nunca tuvo posesiones ni aprendió a cortar en dos una toronja
https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-56889707