From Galileo’s bushy beard to Newton’s flowing curls, there have been more epic hairstyles in science than you might think. Nowhere is that fact clearer than in Melbourne graphic designer Simon Bent‘s Science vs. Delirium, a series of portraits that renders history’s greatest scientists in the kinds of psychedelic colors and patterns you might have seen ’60s acid-rock posters. Intending to restore these figures as pop-culture icons, Bent has certainly succeeded in making his subjects look cooler than ever. Click through for a tripped-out gallery of your favorite scientists.
How do mermaids give birth? What’s inside a weredog? Well, let’s see… Fascinated with dissection drawings of Leonardo da Vinci and regional Brazilian folklore, artist Walmor Corrêa — whose work we spotted on How to Be a Retronaut via Metkere– has created a series of fantasy creature studies. His annotated anatomical diagrams could hang in a natural history museum if nocturnal goat-munchers and backwards-footed fairies were real. The artist has also built skeletons with bird beaks and mammal tails and classified hundreds of fictional animal mutants, but this series is our favorite. Peek into our gallery and see.
The image above looks something like a ribbon of blood slashed into the very fabric of the universe. It isn’t, but the violent-looking shape may have resulted from a collision of some sort. What you’re seeing is a photo of the Meathook Galaxy, named for the unique shape its two spiral arms suggest. “The galaxy’s lopsided appearance is thought to be due to gravitational interactions with another galaxy at some point in its history — though astronomers have not so far been able to positively identify the culprit,” the European Southern Observatory’s website explains. The picture was taken using a mammoth, highly specialized camera called the Wide Field Imager, mounted on a telescope in Chile. [via io9]
Good news, English majors! Your snobbery has been justified. According to an article over at Big Think, reading or hearing the pretty language of Shakespeare actually engages parts of your brain that just hearing plain old normal words does not, and therefore could improve (or at least maintain over time) brain ability. Professor Philip Davis from the University of Liverpool’s School of English studies the way Shakespeare’s language creates ‘functional shifts’ within our brains — that is, he tracks the way our brains react biochemically when Shakespeare ‘misuses’ or makes up words. This, by turn, can “shift mental pathways and open possibilities” for the brain’s ability, and you know, make you smarter. Click through for more, so you can brag to your friends.
In a new study entitled “Regrets of the Typical American,” recently published in the scientific journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, researchers found that love topped the list of American regrets, followed by regrets about family and education. Well, we could have told you that – haven’t these researchers ever heard the blues? Or any great rock album ever? According to the authors of the study,
Women, who tend to value social relationships more than men, have more regrets of love (romance, family) compared to men. Conversely, men were more likely to have work-related (career, education) regrets. Those who lack either higher education or a romantic relationship hold the most regrets in precisely these areas.
Americans with high levels of education had the most career-related regrets. Apparently, the more education obtained, the more acute may be the sensitivity to aspiration and fulfillment. Moreover, the youngest and least-educated people in our sample, who most likely possess the greatest capability of fixing their regrets, were indeed the most likely to provide fixable regrets.
And what about that old go get ‘em adage - Twain’s “twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do”? Bogus. Though most regrets can be framed as either about action or inaction, the study showed that regrets about the road taken were much more intense than regrets about the road not taken, although the regrets about inaction tended to last longer. So, guess we’re staying home today, just to be safe.
In honor of the anniversary of Alexander Graham Bell’s first successful telephone call, The Atlantic has an awesome slideshow of some of the best images from his lab notebooks, which have been loving preserved by the Library of Congress. While it’s almost impossible to make out his handwriting, his illustrations of scientific principles and crazy invention ideas are like miniature works of art. The one above is believed to be the first sketch of his telephone system, which was originally only intended as an improvement on the existing telegraph. Science!
A fascinating article in the San Francisco Classical Voice investigates why sad music appeals to some people but not others. David Huron, a professor at Ohio State’s School of Music and Center for Cognitive Science who is writing a book called The Science of Sad Music, has discovered that those of us who enjoy melancholy tunes may be getting high on prolactin — “a hormone that is usually associated with pregnancy and lactation but that the body also releases when we’re sad or weeping.” Folks who don’t like sorrowful songs don’t get the same prolactin bump.
According to Huron, here’s how it works: “When you have a grief experience — like your dog dies — you get a prolactin release that prevents the grief from getting out of hand. Imagine if you could fool the brain into thinking your dog died, but at the end of the day, it didn’t. These subcortical structures start going into grief mode, and you get this prolactin, which is the brake on the grief. But the cognitive part of the brain says, ‘Who are you kidding? Your dog didn’t die; this is just music.’ So the cortical, conscious part of the brain is sending signals to the subcortical structure, saying, ‘Turn it off, there’s no reason to be sad.’ Now you have the prolactin release without the psychic pain. So at the end of the day, you’re actually feeling quite good.” We don’t know about you, but the next time we need a boost, we might just forgo a stiff drink in favor of a Smiths record. [via Arts Journal]
Welcome to Conversation Pieces, where Flavorpill curates five articles from the past week that you should read. Some are long, others are short. Some are from major publications, others aren’t. The only thing all these articles have in common is that they’re interesting. This week features articles on the redeeming power of video games, the genius of Damien Hirst, how to thrive as a woman in workplace dominated by men (e.g. Mad Men), the many ways our planet will end, and more. After the jump, find something exciting to discuss this weekend in the home, at the bar, or on the street.
As our friends at Gawker.tv point out, yesterday was the darkest day in 372 years(!), which made last night’s lunar eclipse extremely special. And still, we couldn’t make ourselves leave the warm comfort of our beds to check it out once 2:40 am rolled around. Luckily, a nice fellow down in Gainsville, Florida, named William Castleman shot a beautiful time lapse video that’s the next best thing — or arguably even better, as we’re not tired right now and it has a soundtrack. Enjoy!
Think the retro-futuristic science fiction of the ’50s and ’60s was weird? Well, take a gander at what real labs looked like back then, courtesy of LIFE. If you like crazy test tubes, mad scientists, and, um, weird robot hands zipping (or unzipping?) ladies’ dresses, then this photo series will make your day. [via BoingBoing]
