Can you reverse her direction of rotation? Cognitive Daily at ScienceBlogs took a reader poll and found that two-thirds saw the silhouetted woman rotating clockwise. About the same number were able to reverse her direction. Those who initially saw the woman rotating counter-clockwise found it easier to reverse her direction — much as the Necker […]
From the TED Prize blog: Today, James Nachtwey is the guest editor of the YouTube homepage. Along with the video of his photographs of XDR-TB and a special message from James to YouTube users, James has “selected compelling examples from other YouTube users that exhibit the power of film to relate a story and spread […]
Now through October 21, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum is asking you to vote for what you think is the best design of 2008. Choose from designs that have already been submitted, or nominate your own on Cooper-Hewitt’s website or via a Facebook app. The winner of the People’s Design Award will be announced live […]
Via Casson at the TED Prize blog (where there’s lots more news about the XDRTB.org movement):
Many of us don’t know how to eat. (And it’s making us fat, sick and disconnected.) This poster and three more like it are turning up in New York subways, confronting us with the vagueness that goes into our food choices. If you really knew that a fast-food burrito meal was 1170 calories — more […]
In today’s beta issue of Tina Brown’s new web newspaper, the Daily Beast, is this surprising and well-reported essay by Adam Hanft: “Did Anti-Depressants Cause the Mortgage Crisis?” He writes: What exactly would turn psychotropic drugs like Prozac and Paxil and Zoloft into a subplot in the subprime mess? It’s the biochemistry. Those drugs are […]
A powerful idea from the unveiling of James Nachtwey’s photos of the XDR-TB epidemic on Friday night in New York City: During the Q&A session with some TB experts and activists, an audience member asked: “We’re talking about XDR-TB, but what about regular TB? What are we doing to cure that?” Dr. Marcos Espinal of […]
We’ve heard from some users (and thank you, those who wrote in!) that the SIGN button on the XDRTB.org home page is not working. If you clicked on SIGN and nothing happened, you can try turning off your pop-up blocker, or use this direct link: SIGN >> to sign the petition and tell world leaders […]
All around Los Angeles this week, Phantom Galleries LA has arranged screenings of James Nachtwey’s photographs of the XDR-TB epidemic. Here’s the full schedule, starting with two showings today, October 5, in downtown LA and in Long Beach: Sunday, October 5, 2008: Elevate Film Festival Nokia Theater at LA Live Downtown Los Angeles 2pm-8pm University […]
Marconi Pereira, who blogs in Portuguese at BLOG OM — Orientação Mediúnica, has captioned James Nachtwey’s TEDTalk in Portuguese. This TEDTalk includes the full XDR-TB slideshow, as well as inspiring excerpts from James’ original TED Prize acceptance speech, where he talks about what drives him to make change through photography. Many, many thanks, Marconi! To […]
Spurred by James Nachtwey’s powerful photographs and RESULTS.org, the two major US presidential candidates, John McCain and Barack Obama, released statements yesterday detailing their plans for fighting TB. From John McCain’s statement: As President, I will ensure that treatment and prevention programs are funded at levels befitting a wealthy and great nation. I will have […]
Here’s a persuasive op-ed in today’s Boston Globe co-authored by regular TED speaker Juan Enriquez … uttering a word neither candidate dare utter: WITHIN THE billions of sentences about the financial bailout there is one word notably absent, austerity. All talk is of payments, supports, subsidies, incurring more debt, stimulus packages. The thesis seems to […]
Wade Davis recently spent time in the Northern Territory of Australia, working on a film with the Aboriginees on Dreamtime and the Songlines. He reports from his time there: I must tell you of the Dreaming. Spent a month in the Northern Territory. Here’s a copy of the note that I sent back in week […]
Photographer James Nachtwey will be breaking a big story on October 3 — using his powerful photographs to share a vital story that the world needs to know about. You can be part of the breaking news by adding a badge to your site. Let your readers know that — starting October 3 — these […]
Conveniently timed for last week’s premiere of Jonathan Haidt’s TEDTalk, “The Real Difference Between Liberals and Conservatives,” this report in Science suggests that libs and cons may sport a physiological difference, in their bodies’ reponses to unexpected stimuli. From the abstract: … In a group of 46 adult participants with strong political beliefs, individuals with […]
The General Assembly of the United Nations convenes this week. In this session, they’ll be reviewing the Millenium Development Goals set in 2000 — and to underscore the UN’s commitment, secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has declared that the “bottom billion” of the earth’s poorest people are the focus of development efforts for 2008. But economist Paul […]