Odd, Radiohead, Racist, Brain, Jolene
The Odd Number Rule
Vsauce | YouTube | 29th July 2020
The odd number rule transforms any integer into something you cannot divide by 2. The formula for it, 2n+1, is "written in the mathematical language of the universe." "It's not some kind of magical coincidence, it's just what happens when an object's velocity increases at a constant rate." An eccentric mathematical journey around a simple conclusion (22m06s)
The Artist Behind Radiohead's Album Covers
Penguin Books UK | YouTube | 18th June 2020
Interview with the artist Stanley Donwood. Full of tidbits about album cover creation. The cover of "A Moon Shaped Pool" was originally supposed to be a paint-shooting Dalek. The "OK Computer" cover arose from a "self-willed nuclear winter," and instead of erasing mistakes, he covered them up with other images ("because you can't undo in life") (9m36s)
A Phone Call From My Best Friend
Alexander Christenson | Vimeo | 25th June 2020
Uncomfortable but stimulating short. A white woman wonders, over a phone call with her friend, if she is racist because she doesn't want to date a black man. The friend's trite reassurances ("you are a good person") only prompt further anxiety. Explores the difference between active and passive immorality, a current political hot topic in the USA (13m30s)
How Reading Changes Your Brain
John Fish | YouTube 30th | July 2020
Scientists have found that reading has tangible effects on the brain. For example, it increases attention span, because it's a linear process – "there's no jumping around." Also, because the sensory neurons that fire during an activity also fire when you are thinking about that activity, reading increases empathy (9m14s)
Surprising Video Of The Week
When Dolly Parton's classic song "Jolene" is played at a slower speed, it becomes a completely different (and arguably better) song
The original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixrje2rXLMA
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