+
Heroes

How a warehouse in Brooklyn is breaking down barriers between science and the arts.

True
Science Sandbox

When you think of the word 'culture,' what comes to mind?

Most likely, the first things that pop in there are the visual arts and music. That's natural. They're often thought of as the cornerstones of culture in any society, along with the food we eat and the technologies we use to experience the world around us.

But if that's where you stopped, you’re forgetting one important culture pillar: science.


“Science is a part of culture. We’re here, just like the artists are here, just like the musicians are here and the writers, the photographers, designers and tech guys,” says Janna Levin, Director of Sciences at Pioneer Works . Pioneer Works is a cultural center in Red Hook, Brooklyn that is dedicated to experimentation, education and production across all cultural disciplines.

Janna Levin at Pioneer Works. All images via Science Sandbox.

When Dustin Yellin founded Pioneer Works , he wanted science and the arts to come together in one place. Pioneer Works has an open floor plan that creates a collaborative environment. It also hosts a number of events, educational programs, performances, residencies and exhibitions across all of these disciplines.

One of these events is their free Second Sundays series, which is open to the public on the second Sunday of every month, as the name suggests.

During these events, the artists in residence at Pioneer Works have the opportunity to directly engage with their local community in Red Hook and the general public as a whole, and demonstrate how their work from seemingly very different disciplines, like the arts, technology and science, can in fact come together to make a cohesive experience.

Guests are invited to explore the studios, attend exhibitions, and participate in educational programs. For example, at past Second Sunday events, visitors have been able to enjoy a mask-making workshop to create their own ceremonial-style masks, then head over to the garden right after to join the Amateur Astronomers Association of New York in some stargazing. There’s also always live music at these events, as well as free food and drinks.

“The only way you can change the world is by getting people together,” says Yellin. “The arts and sciences are our greatest soil to build community. I think when you get different kinds of people coming together, then you create a crucible for new ideas. And that’s where people can learn.”

It’s also why Janna Levin wanted to find a way to make science more visceral — like the arts.

So she created “ Scientific Controversies ,” a live event that is free and open to the public and where scientists discuss big, unanswered questions in science, such as: Are we alone? Is reality beautiful? Can we explain the world?

For each event, she brings together some of the world’s most notable scientists to discuss these questions. For example, back in 2014, Nobel Laureate Frank Wilczek and MIT physicist Max Tegmark came together to discuss the question “ Are there many worlds? ” She also brought together geneticist George Church and biologist Siddhartha Mukherjee to discuss genetic manipulation .

“The controversy isn’t necessarily between the two people,” Levin explains. “It’s between people and nature.”

“Scientific controversies is about being on the far edge of what we know,” she continues. By bringing together leading scientists with curious audiences, she aims to celebrate the spirit of curiosity as a whole.

And 'Scientific Controversies' is just one example of how Pioneer Works makes science accessible to everyone.

They're also planning to launch a global science channel soon, and they’re also opening the very first public observatory in New York City. The idea is that people who visit Pioneer works will be just as inspired by the wonders of science as they are by any other cornerstone of culture.

To learn more about Pioneer Works and their science programming, check out this video:

Pioneer Works is a one-of-a-kind cultural center where the arts and sciences collide, and programming is free to the public.

Posted by Upworthy on Tuesday, November 27, 2018
True

Making new friends as an adult is challenging. While people crave meaningful IRL connections, it can be hard to know where to find them. But thanks to one Facebook Group, meeting your new best friends is easier than ever.

Founded in 2018, NYC Brunch Squad brings together hundreds of people who come as strangers and leave as friends through its in-person events.

“Witnessing the transformative impact our community has on the lives of our members is truly remarkable. We provide the essential support and connections needed to thrive amid the city's chaos,” shares Liza Rubin, the group’s founder.

Despite its name, the group doesn’t just do brunch. They also have book clubs, seasonal parties, and picnics, among other activities.

NYC Brunch Squad curates up to 10 monthly events tailored to the specific interests of its members. Liza handles all the details, taking into account different budgets and event sizes – all people have to do is show up.

“We have members who met at our events and became friends and went on to embark on international journeys to celebrate birthdays together. We have had members get married with bridesmaids by their sides who were women they first connected with at our events. We’ve had members decide to live together and become roommates,” Liza says.

Members also bond over their passion for giving back to their community. The group has hosted many impact-driven events, including a “Picnic with Purpose” to create self-care packages for homeless shelters and recently participated in the #SquadSpreadsJoy challenge. Each day, the 100 members participating receive random acts of kindness to complete. They can also share their stories on the group page to earn extra points. The member with the most points at the end wins a free seat at the group's Friendsgiving event.

Keep Reading Show less
via UNSW

Dr. Daniel Mansfield and his team at the University of New South Wales in Australia have just made an incredible discovery. While studying a 3,700-year-old tablet from the ancient civilization of Babylon, they found evidence that the Babylonians were doing something astounding: trigonometry!

Most historians have credited the Greeks with creating the study of triangles' sides and angles, but this tablet presents indisputable evidence that the Babylonians were using the technique 1,500 years before the Greeks ever were.

Keep Reading Show less
Image from Wikimedia Commons .

Van Gogh’s Starry Night.



Van Gough never got to enjoy his own historic success as an artist ( even though we've been able to imagine what that moment might have looked like). But it turns out that those of us who have appreciated his work have been missing out on some critical details for more than 100 years.

I'm not easily impressed, OK?

I know Van Gogh was a genius. If the point of this were "Van Gogh was a mad genius," I would not be sharing this with you.
Keep Reading Show less

Christine Kesteloo has one big problem living on a cruise ship.

A lot of folks would love to trade lives with Christine Kesteloo . Her husband is the Chief Engineer on a cruise ship, so she gets to live on the boat pretty much for free as the “wife on board.” For Christine, life is a lot like living on a permanent vacation.

“I live on a cruise ship for half the year with my husband, and it's often as glamorous as it sounds,” she told Insider. “After all, I don't cook, clean, make my bed, do laundry or pay for food.“

Living an all-inclusive lifestyle seems like paradise, but it has some drawbacks. Having access to all-you-can-eat food all day long can really have an effect on one’s waistline. Kesteloo admits that living on a cruise ship takes a lot of self-discipline because the temptation is always right under her nose.

Keep Reading Show less
Photo by Omar Lopez on Unsplash

Women do better when they have female friends.

Madeleine Albright once said , "There is a special place in hell for women who don't help other women." It turns out that might actually be a hell on Earth, because women just do better when they have other women to rely on, and there's research that backs it up.

A study published in the Harvard Business Review found that women who have a strong circle of friends are more likely to get executive positions with higher pay. "Women who were in the top quartile of centrality and had a female-dominated inner circle of 1-3 women landed leadership positions that were 2.5 times higher in authority and pay than those of their female peers lacking this combination," Brian Uzzi writes in the Harvard Business Review .

Part of the reason why women with strong women backing them up are more successful is because they can turn to their tribe for advice. Women have to face different challenges than men, such as unconscious bias, and being able to turn to other women who have had similar experiences can help you navigate a difficult situation. It's like having a road map for your goals.

Keep Reading Show less

Millennials are now old enough to seriously reflect on life.

It seems like only yesterday a millennial was a college kid that baby boomers chided for being entitled and Gen Xers thought were way too sincere and needed to learn how to take a joke. Today, the oldest millennials, those born around 1980, have hit their 40s and have lived long enough to have some serious regrets.

They also have enough experience to take some pride in decisions that, in hindsight, were the right moves.

The good news is that at 40 there is still plenty of time to learn from our successes and failures to set ourselves up for a great second half of life. These lessons are also valuable to the Gen Zers coming up who can avoid the pitfalls of the older generation.

A Reddit user who has since deleted their profile asked millennials nearing 40 “what were your biggest mistakes at this point in life?” and they received more than 2,200 responses. The biggest regrets these millennials have are being flippant about their health and not saving enough money when they were younger.

Keep Reading Show less

A woman giving a stern warning.

Over the past few years, women named Karen have taken a lot of heat in the media. The term "Karen" has been used to describe a specific type of entitled, privileged and often middle-aged white woman. Typically, "Karen” is depicted as demanding, self-important and constantly seeking to escalate minor inconveniences to authority figures, like demanding to "speak to the manager."

Identifying the folks who create unnecessary drama in our world is important. But calling them a “Karen” isn’t the best way to solve the problem. There are many reasons to have an issue with the “Karen” stereotype. First, it’s terrible for people named Karen, and it’s also a connotation that many feel is racist , sexist and ageist.

Further, according to a new study by Trustpilot , the stereotype isn’t accurate. A recent survey by the online media site found that the people who leave the most one-star reviews aren’t female, and the women who do it the most aren’t named Karen.

Keep Reading Show less