Friday 8 April 2016

Speech: Tomislav Perko - How to travel the world with almost no money



Many people daydream about traveling the world, but all of them have the same excuse - lack of money. Tomislav, after traveling the world for years with almost no money, shows how it is possible for everyone to do the same, if they really want to.

Tomislav Perko, 29, is a travel writer from Croatia. After a career of a stockbroker, broke because of the financial crisis, he hits the road and turns it into his home. He uses alternative ways of traveling – hitchhiking, couchsurfing, working/volunteering, and manages to wander around the world with just a little bit of money in his pocket, meeting the most amazing people on the way.

Five years later, he publishes a book “1000 Days of Spring” and goes around giving lectures about what it means to live on the road. Find out more on his website: http://tomislavperko.com/en/.


Thursday 24 March 2016

Video: Reasons to Remain Single



The pressure to be in a relationship, and the suggestion that anyone who isn’t in one is weird and pitiable, has very bad consequences for us all, forcing people into choices they shouldn’t necessarily have to make. 


Saturday 5 December 2015

Video: Hans Rosling - The Overpopulation Myth



Hans Rosling is a Swedish medical doctor, academic, statistician and public speaker. He is Professor of International Health at Karolinska Institute and co-founder and chairman of the Gapminder Foundation, which developed the Trendalyzer software system.

In this talk 'Don't Panic - The Truth About Population' he comprehensively dispels the Human overpopulation myth which has been introduced into the subconscious mind of viewers of mainstream broadcasted media communications over the past thirty years.

Whilst the information in this video is credible, remain vigilant with respect to individuals because other viewpoints held by them might not be.

Hans Rosling:

Wiki - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Ro...
Gapminder - http://www.gapminder.org/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/HansRosling
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/pub/hans-ros...
IMDb - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2617375/
Amazon - http://alturl.com/ept6w


Wednesday 2 December 2015

Speech: Paul Gilding - The Earth is full



Have we used up all our resources? Have we filled up all the livable space on Earth? Paul Gilding suggests we have, and the possibility of devastating consequences, in a talk that's equal parts terrifying and, oddly, hopeful.

Friday 20 November 2015

Speech: Stuart Firestein - The pursuit of ignorance



What does real scientific work look like? As neuroscientist Stuart Firestein jokes: It looks a lot less like the scientific method and a lot more like "farting around ... in the dark." In this witty talk, Firestein gets to the heart of science as it is really practiced and suggests that we should value what we don't know -- or "high-quality ignorance" -- just as much as what we know.

Sunday 27 September 2015

Article: Optimistic People All Have One Thing In Common, They’re Always Late

Original Article by John Haltiwanger for Elite Daily - Sunday 19, September 2010














I woke up at 6 am this morning, three hours before I’m supposed to be in the office, and was still 10 minutes late to work.

This is pretty standard for me. I’m almost always a few minutes late. I don’t mean anything by it, and I certainly don’t think I deserve a different set of rules than everyone else — it’s just the way I am.

I wake up early and try to fill the time before I leave for the office with as many activities as possible: a short workout, breakfast, catching up on the news, daydreaming while struggling to put my socks on, etc.

I’ll look at the clock and think, “Oh, I still have plenty of time.” One or two tasks later, I’ve only got 40 minutes to get to work and a 45 minute commute.

This has been the case with every single job I’ve ever had and is typically true when it comes to social meetings as well. I’m habitually unpunctual, and apparently I’m not alone.

As management consultant Diana DeLonzor states:
Most late people have been late all their life, and they are late for every type of activity — good or bad.
Surprisingly little scientific research has been done on tardiness, but some experts subscribe to the theory that certain people are hardwired to be late and that part of the problem may be embedded deep in the lobes of the brain.
So if you’re chronically late, I feel for you and sympathize with the onslaught of criticism you likely receive on a consistent basis.

I know you’re not a lazy, unproductive, inconsiderate or entitled person. I know you’re not attempting to insult anyone by your tardiness.

Your lateness is simply a consequence of your psychology and personality — nothing more, nothing less.

With that said, while those of us who are continuously tardy should work to overcome this trait, there are also hidden benefits.


Friday 12 June 2015

Speech: Christopher Ryan - Are we designed to be sexual omnivores?



An idea permeates our modern view of relationships: that men and women have always paired off in sexually exclusive relationships. But before the dawn of agriculture, humans may actually have been quite promiscuous. Author Christopher Ryan walks us through the controversial evidence that human beings are sexual omnivores by nature, in hopes that a more nuanced understanding may put an end to discrimination, shame and the kind of unrealistic expectations that kill relationships.


Wednesday 22 October 2014

Interview: Edward Snowden - The New Yorker Festival



The New Yorker Festival presents Edward Snowden in conversation with Jane Mayer.

Friday 10 October 2014

Speech: Glenn Greenwald - Why privacy matters



Glenn Greenwald was one of the first reporters to see — and write about — the Edward Snowden files, with their revelations about the United States' extensive surveillance of private citizens. In this searing talk, Greenwald makes the case for why you need to care about privacy, even if you’re “not doing anything you need to hide."

Wednesday 9 July 2014

Speech: Peter Lovatt - Dance, thinking, hormones



Dr Peter Lovatt is an academic Psychologist and a Dancer.

Dr Peter Lovatt is a Reader in Psychology and a Principal lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire, where he heads the Dance Psychology Lab. Before starting on an academic career Peter was a professional dancer.

Peter studied Theatre and Creative Arts at East Herts College before training in dance and musical theatre at the Guildford School of Acting. Peter was trained in Cecchetti ballet (Angela Hardcastle) and National dance and Pas de Deux (Robert Harold). Peter also studied jazz, tap, historical and contemporary dance. After graduating Peter worked in most of the UK's number 1 theatres and on the international dance circuit. He was a member of George Mitchell's Minstrel Show, worked with choreographer Ray Cornell, and performed in panto at Richmond Theatre.

Peter left full time theatre to study Psychology and English at Roehampton Institute, and graduated from the University of Surrey. He then took an MSc in Neural Computation from the Centre for Cognitive and Computational Neurosciences at the University of Stirling (funded by a SERC scholarship), and did his doctoral research in the department of Psychology at Essex University (funded by a University Teaching Fellowship). In 1998 Peter joined the Research Centre for English and Applied Linguistics, at Cambridge University, as a Senior Research Psychologist. After a spell in industry, as a Principal Research Scientist for a speech-based R&D company, he joined Kingston University, where he was the co-ordinator of the Psychology Research Unit and Deputy Head of the School of Social Sciences. Peter joined the School of Psychology at Hertfordshire in September 2004.

Thursday 5 June 2014

Speech: Dan Gilbert - The psychology of your future self



"Human beings are works in progress that mistakenly think they're finished." Dan Gilbert shares recent research on a phenomenon he calls the "end of history illusion," where we somehow imagine that the person we are right now is the person we'll be for the rest of time. Hint: that's not the case.