It’s a new year, so how about a new you?
Most of us are free to move around and do what we like, but is that true for our minds? We tend to associate our thoughts with our sense of self, and according to mindfulness teachings, that is an illusion that leads to suffering.
People will always need medical care, so any job associated with the medical profession is a long-term winning proposition. And doctors like getting paid, so they need people to sort out their billing for them. Medical billing in the United States is a professional job involving medical jargon and a complex system of codes and insurance terms. People familiar with this environment are in high demand and will continue to be for the foreseeable future.
How do you speak without opening your mouth? With your hands of course. American Sign Language is a fully-fledged and widely-spoken language consisting of a standardised set of gestures and expressions. It helps to prevent the sign language version of the Tower of Babel, allowing signers worldwide to avoid misunderstanding and confusion. And you don’t have to be deaf to speak it.
What was Edison thinking when he invented the light bulb? Did it occur to him that his bright invention would deprive millions of healthy sleep patterns for the rest of time? Before electrification, we tended to go to bed when it got dark, to avoid the tedium of stumbling into furniture by the feeble light of oil lamps or candles. We pretty much went to sleep when most animals did. Sure, bedtime changed with sunset times throughout the year, but people practiced natural ‘sleep hygiene’. We evolved to function in this way, after all.
On the coast of Cornwall in England lies a section of coastline that has become legendary in UK surfing circles. Surf stores, hire shops and board makers huddle around this gem of a surfing site, with a west-facing beach that gathers Atlantic swells and turns them into consistent, powerful, breaking waves of up to 30 feet that are ideal for the sport. Newquay is the surf capital of the UK and Fistral Beach is its focus. Many of the best surfers in the world can be seen in action at the competitions held there.
Here’s a question: is it best to let your relationship with your dog develop on an ad-hoc basis, kind of warm and fuzzy and organic, or should you adopt a structured approach that lays down the ground rules right from the start? You probably know the answer. How many owners of nutty, uncontrollable dogs do you know who are now regretting not having trained them properly?
Eat blueberries and you will live for ever. Quinoa gives you superpowers. Being within 100 feet of an egg yolk will kill you instantly. Exaggeration? Yes, but every day we hear dietary messages from the media and food ‘experts’ that aren’t that far from such hyperbole. Social Media use food fads as bait to draw us in and show us ads (thanks, Buzzfeed). There is conflicting advice out there that can make our heads spin. To pick the right things to eat and create a healthy and sustainable diet, the best thing to do is educate ourselves in nutritional science and then make our own choices.
Those involved in the creative process know how hard it can be sometimes to open the floodgates of their creativity when required. If they wait for inspiration, they might find themselves waiting a long time. The old adage about creativity (or was it success?) being 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration definitely applies here.
When you turn the key of your Bentley and the engine purrs to life, spare a thought for the minions who designed, manufactured and tested all those moving parts, perfected the aerodynamics, gave it brakes that make it stand on its nose and made the gear changes feel like silk. Minion school is a place called the University of Bolton in England, where they deliver a BSc (Hons) degree in Motorsport Technology.
Stand-up comedy is an interesting instance of the nature vs. nurture debate. Are good comedians just naturally funny people, or have they painstakingly crafted their acts over hundreds of performances so they can push our laughter buttons and get results?
Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons, studied philosophy at college. Astute viewers will have noted the many references to philosophy in the show – Homer, for one, is so named as a nod to a great thinker (but he thinks it comes from baseball). Critics have noted for a long time that the show does more than merely play with philosophy. Rather than mentioning clever stuff in passing to show its creator’s erudition, the Simpsons actually does philosophy.
