Junk thoughts of Curious Idiot

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap111101.html

http://timeman.com/time-management-tips/time-management-tips-for-getting-results *) Many people concentrate on what I call “ant stomping” when they should concentrate on “elephant hunting.” When you focus on stomping ants you confuse activity with accomplishment. *) You’re going for the small insignificant tasks that are easy to do. They can be done quickly, so you give yourself the illusion that you’re really accomplishing a lot, when in actuality you’re getting further and further behind because you’re overlooking the elephant hunting. *) Elephant hunting means to pursue significant projects that have long-term payoffs for you. If you’re busy stomping ants all day long, you might not even be aware that you’re totally ignoring some of your elephants. *) Solving problems is “fire fighting.” You’d be better off in the long run figuring out how to prevent fires in the first place instead of constantly reacting to problems. Preventing fires puts us ahead of the game–and saves

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2011/08/20/genius-across-cultures-and-the-google-brain/?WT_mc_id=SA_CAT_MB_20110824

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/14/opinion/sunday/the-elusive-big-idea.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all Excerpts: *) Ideas just aren’t what they used to be. Once upon a time, they could ignite fires of debate, stimulate other thoughts, incite revolutions and fundamentally change the ways we look at and think about the world. *) If our ideas seem smaller nowadays, it’s not because we are dumber than our forebears but because we just don’t care as much about ideas as they did. *) In effect, we are living in an increasingly post-idea world — a world in which big, thought-provoking ideas that can’t instantly be monetized. *) There is the retreat in universities from the real world, and an encouragement of and reward for the narrowest specialization rather than for daring — for tending potted plants rather than planting forests. *) Courtesy of the Internet, we seem to have immediate access to anything that anyone could ever want to know. We are certainly the most informed generation in h

Galactic-Scale Energy - http://physics.ucsd.edu/do-the-math/2011/07/galactic-scale-energy/ Can Economic Growth Last? (Based on physical growth) http://physics.ucsd.edu/do-the-math/2011/07/can-economic-growth-last/

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/white-noise/2011/08/02/addiction-a-fault-of-chemistry/

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-does-time-fly The more energy it takes to process a stimulus the longer it appears as a subjective experience of time.  Something moving toward you has more relevance than the same stimulus moving away from you:  You may need to prepare somehow; time seems to move more slowly. When we experience something as “taking a long time” it is really the result of three inter-twined processes: the actual duration of the event, how we feel about the event, and whether we think the event is approaching us.  There is little we can do about the first factor but there are obvious ways of modulating how we feel about an event and how we think about an event approaching us.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-neurobiology-of-bliss-sacred-and-profane&WT.mc_id=SA_WR_20110714

http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=the-educational-value-of-creative-d-2011-07-07

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2081930,00.html

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=rules-of-the-road

3 tips for getting more done in fewer hours - http://gigaom.com/collaboration/7-tips-for-getting-more-done-in-fewer-hours/?utm_source=social&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=gigaom Increase Your Productivity By Shortening Your Work Day http://freelancefolder.com/increase-your-productivity-by-shortening-your-work-day/ The top 5 new rules of productivity http://positivesharing.com/2010/02/5-new-rules-of-productivity/ Change Your Work Hours to Get More Done http://gigaom.com/collaboration/change-your-work-hours-to-get-more-done/

http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=what-would-happen-if-earth-and-mars-2011-06-09&WT.mc_id=SA_WR_20110616

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=axon-animations-limits-of-intelligence&WT.mc_id=SA_CAT_MB_20110615

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-limits-of-intelligence&WT.mc_id=SA_CAT_MB_20110615 The laws of physics may well prevent the human brain from evolving into an ever more powerful thinking machine Human intelligence may be close to its evolutionary limit. Various lines of research suggest that most of the tweaks that could make us smarter would hit limits set by the laws of physics. Brain size, for instance, helps up to a point but carries diminishing returns: brains become energy-hungry and slow. Better “wiring” across the brain also would consume energy and take up a disproportionate amount of space. Making wires thinner would hit thermodynamic limitations similar to those that affect transistors in computer chips: communication would get noisy. Humans, however, might still achieve higher intelligence collectively. And technology, from writing to the Internet, enables us to expand our mind outside the confines of our body.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/15/arts/people-argue-just-to-win-scholars-assert.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/4720

http://www.project2061.org/

http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/4677

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-free-is-your-will

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=understanding-the-brains Push the pedal, and the brain is less able to rewire itself. Ease up and, perhaps, an old brain will turn young again.

http://www.happinessclub.com/FairfieldCitizen/032206.htm " Happiness is now being defined in two ways. The first way is happiness as it relates to having good humor. The second is happiness as it relates to inner satisfaction. It is here under the second definition that contentment is properly defined." " Contentment is happiness with one's situation in life." "Until you make peace with who you are, you'll never be content with what you have." " Seeking approval from other people in order to feel satisfaction, creates many problems. We have all heard about people who try to become famous so they can be happy. They are trying to feel good about themselves through the approval of others. No matter how much approval or fame you receive, it will never be enough. The more you get, the more you think you need. So satisfaction is never found out there, or by the approval you receive from other people." " True happiness stems from a quality

http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/kuszewski20091117/ Sociopath: low impulse control high novelty-seeking (desire to experience new things, take more risks, break convention) no remorse for their actions (lack of conscience) inability to see beyond their own needs (lack of empathy) willing to break rules always acts in the interest of himself X-altruist: low impulse control high novelty-seeking little remorse for their actions (would “do it again in a heartbeat”) inability to see past the needs of others (very high empathy) willing to break rules acts in the best interest of others, or for the “common good” (because it is the right thing to do) The defining characteristic that separates the two personality types is their ability to empathize, either not at all or too much, which then drives the extreme behavior of each.

http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/4559 "The world is a rich, fantastic place, and all you have to do is scratch anywhere, and there it is—but it starts with a belief in wonder and curiosity ." "You can use plain language, you can use a conversational voice, you can use theater, you can use metaphor, you can use humor, you can use music. BUT—the best way to sell a science story each and every time, is to give the audience the experience, if you can, of actually making a discovery on their own—the ‘oh, wow’ feeling."

http://www.padep.org/areas/dop/documentos/09_empowerment.pdf About Internal commitment, External commitment and empowerment.