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How Biking To Work Is Like Not Spanking Your Secretary
The world is a constantly changing place, and the more we learn, the more we need to change how we act.
07.17.12
It was the largest such event ever filmed.
They were in Greenland, gathering footage from the time-lapse they'd positioned all around the Arctic Circle for the last several years.
They were also there to shoot scenes for a documentary. And while they were hoping to capture some cool moments on camera, no one expected a huge chunk of a glacier to snap clean off and slide into the ocean right in front of their eyes.
A glacier falls into the sea.
Massive swells created by large chunks of glacier falling away.
For nearly an hour and 15 minutes, Balog and his crew stood by and watched as a piece of ice the size of lower Manhattan — but with ice-equivalent buildings that were two to three times taller than that — simply melted away.
A representation demonstrating the massive size of ice that broke off into the sea.
As far as anyone knows, this was an unprecedented geological catastrophe and they caught the entire thing on tape. It won't be the last time something like this happens either.
Balog had a reputation since the early 1980s as a conservationist and environmental photographer. And for nearly 20 years, he'd scoffed at the climate change heralds shouting, "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!"
"I didn't think that humans were capable of changing the basic physics and chemistry of this entire, huge planet. It didn't seem probable, it didn't seem possible," he explained in the 2012 documentary film "Chasing Ice."
There was too much margin of error in the computer simulations, too many other pressing problems to address about our beautiful planet. As far as he was concerned, these melodramatic doomsayers were distracting from the real issues.
That was then.
The glacier ice continues to erode away.
He was sent on a photo expedition of the Arctic by National Geographic, and that first northern trip was more than enough to see the damage for himself.
"It was about actual tangible physical evidence that was preserved in the ice cores of Greenland and Antarctica," he said in a 2012 interview with ThinkProgress. "That was really the smoking gun showing how far outside normal, natural variation the world has become. And that's when I started to really get the message that this was something consequential and serious and needed to be dealt with."
Some of that evidence may have been the fact that more Arctic landmass has melted away in the last 20 years than the previous 10,000 years.
This article originally appeared on 11.04.15
It's backed by science.
In 2018, author James Clear released “Atomic Habits,” a book about making significant changes through building small habits. The book's takeaway is that you don’t have to commit to drastic, overnight changes to improve yourself. You can do so by slowly working your way towards a goal.
"All big things come from small beginnings,” Clear writes in the book. “The seed of every habit is a single, tiny decision. But as that decision is repeated, a habit sprouts and grows stronger. Roots entrench themselves and branches grow. The task of breaking a bad habit is like uprooting a powerful oak within us. And the task of building a good habit is like cultivating a delicate flower one day at a time."
TikTokker Ashie Adams has a similar theory she calls the Lazy Girl Fitness hack. She says people can create a regular fitness routine by breaking a trip to the gym down into 2 distinct events instead of one that feels overwhelming.
“It’s my secret formula for making becoming a gym girlie happen,” she explains. "When you start working out, actually getting to the gym is 90% of the battle. You have to treat the action of getting to the gym and the action of working out as 2 completely separate habits.”
@ashieadams I never hear anyone talk about this so its my burden to bear i guess 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻 #fitness #fitnesstips #fitnesshacks #weightloss #weightlosstransformation #weightlossprogress #lifting
Ashie then breaks down the two distinct tasks: “Getting to the gym is a matter of waking up early, finding the time to do it, finding your workout clothes [and] getting out of the door on time,” she says in a video with over 500,00 views. “Working out is a matter of having the motivation and having the right workout program. But one cannot exist without the other, so the first habit to develop is just getting to the gym.”
The Utah mother says that for the first 30 days, people should focus on getting to the gym and little else. If you leave the car and enter the gym try walking on the treadmill for 15 to 20 minutes. Then, slowly, once you’ve mastered getting to the gym, you can start developing a workout routine.
Ashie says that this 2-step technique allowed her to build a positive gym habit without getting overwhelmed and quitting after a few days.
“Nine times out of 10, when I tried and failed to create the habit of going to the gym, it was because I was completely overwhelming myself,” she says in the video. “I wasn’t trying to do one new thing, which is work out. I was doing 40 things, [which] is genuinely too much for one person to undertake all in one go.”
The 2-step Lazy Girl Fitness hack doesn’t just sound easy and effective, it’s based on solid scientific principles. According to neurology researchers, micro-habits are one of the easiest ways to develop new routines. Micro-habits are small, regular behavioral changes that are easy to build into a routine because they don’t encourage psychological resistance and won’t disappear as willpower erodes.
Eventually, these new behaviors, such as driving to the gym or having a glass of water when you wake up every morning, become hard-wired into the brain, and you’ll start doing them without thinking. That’s when the real change begins to take place.
"They effortlessly communicate complex concepts in a simple way."
One of the strangest things about being human is that people of lesser intelligence tend to overestimate how smart they are and people who are highly intelligent tend to underestimate how smart they are.
This is called the Dunning-Kruger effect and it’s proven every time you log onto Facebook and see someone from high school who thinks they know more about vaccines than a doctor.
The interesting thing is that even though people are poor judges of their own smarts, we’ve evolved to be pretty good at judging the intelligence of others.
“Such findings imply that, in order to be adaptive, first impressions of personality or social characteristics should be accurate,” a study published in the journal Intelligence says. “There is accumulating evidence that this is indeed the case—at least to some extent—for traits such as intelligence extraversion, conscientiousness, openness, and narcissism, and even for characteristics such as sexual orientation, political ideology, or antigay prejudice.”
Reddit user Gisgiii posed a question to the AskReddit subforum “What is a subtle sign that someone is really intelligent?” and the answers painted a clear picture of how smart people behave. They tend to be great communicators who understand their audience and are more concerned with getting things right than being right.
Here are 18 of the best answers.
"They draw wisdom from multiple sources. Wait but that might be more wise than intelligent... But I guess those two tend to be seen together a lot," — Puzzlehead-Engineer
"They can switch up the way they talk to match the person they're talking to without sounding condescending. They listen to how others learn and explain it in that person's language of understanding," — Wynonna99
"I used to work with a doctor - Tom Howard - and the day I realized he was a genius was the time he guessed every single condition a patient of mine had based on minute pieces of information about him," — Yodei_Mon
"They are curious about everything. To be intelligent you need to be knowledgeable and you can't be knowledgeable if you are never curious," — soup54461
"When they explain something they make you feel intelligent," — gwoshmi
"They spend time thinking before asking a question," — ParkMan73
"They effortlessly communicate complex concepts in a simple way," — joculator
"They know when their knowledge ends and say something to the extent of 'i don't know and anything else i say on this topic is ignorant speculation,'" — blutoboy
"They can ask really good questions."
"Edit: to anyone not understanding what mean, I’m talking about people who ask “really good questions”, not just any questions, really good ones. I don’t know how one would achieve this skill(I know I haven’t)," — milkmanbran
"They aren’t afraid to say they don’t know the answer to a question," — xchernx
"They admit to changing their mind about something," — FarAwayAdventure
"They apply knowledge from one realm into a new and relevant situation," — soubestitch
"They can genuinely consider an idea which opposes their worldview without necessarily accepting it," — paidshill29
"People who use analogies to explain concepts to others. It’s a form of code-switching and integrating concepts on the fly and is a clear indicator someone is both socially and conceptually intelligent," — SwimmerAutomatic2488
"I think intelligent people are more willing to calmly debate/discuss, rather than argue. Like, you explain to them why you disagree, and they listen to you and ask further questions about your viewpoint before offering a different perspective; as opposed to an unintelligent person, who would just resort to insults when other people disagree with them," — AngelicCinnamonBun
"Admitting when they're wrong and being willing to learn from mistakes," — siyl1979
"Humor. I think that truly funny people are often very smart and cognizant of the different ways an idea can be humorous on several levels. They also know their audience. I think the difference between say a Jeff Foxworthy and a Dave Chappelle and a Bo Burnham is their audience and their interests," — biscuitboi967
"They say they love learning and they learn something new every day. Then they listen more than talk," — throwingplaydough
Most of us have never seen anything like the Jacana bird.
Sometimes we see things that simply cannot be unseen. TikTok creator Mamadou Ndiaye who goes by the screen name mndiaye_97, has made his career out of educating people about weird animal facts that he finds fascinating. In most of his videos people walk away feeling more knowledgable on what animals to stay away from and which are actually as cuddly as they look.
But sometimes his videos makes the internet collectively gasp as they hear these untold facts. Recently, Ndiaye shared a video about the Jacana bird, who at first glance looks like an average bird with abnormally large feet. Viewers quickly realize the video is taking an hilariously uncomfortable turn when the next fact he drops involves a picture of the bird appearing to have eight sets of legs. Or maybe claws? No matter what it resembles, it's what nightmares are made of.
One viewer called it, "Birdie Kruger," and they're not wrong because the facts about this bird just kept getting more disturbing.
The multiple legs seen dangling from the bird don't actually belong to that bird. Those smaller legs belong to the babies that are somehow tightly tucked under the feathers of this creature nicknamed the "Jesus Bird" for it's ability to walk on water. The bird holding all of those babies is actually the male Jacana bird because the female birds leave after laying eggs. Though as the video goes on, viewers quickly realize the mama bird leaving is probably the best thing she could ever do for the chicks left behind.
While Ndiaye apologized at the start of the video before traumatizing his audience, the viewers rejected his sorrows, demanding to return to a life where they didn't know this bird existed.
"I would like to go back to the person I was 3 min ago," someone says.
"I'm forwarding you my therapy bill this week, and I expect it paid on time," another jokes.
"There is a world where I didn't see this. I wanna be the one living there," a commenter cries.
"I accept your apology for showing me the satan of birds," someone else laughs.
Well, you've been thoroughly warned. Watch the video below at your own risk.
@mndiaye_97 I really hope that proud family joke doesnt go under the radar #birds#nature#moreyouknow#learnontiktok
More than 1.5 million have watched the dog's unforgettable birthday dinner.
It’s one of the most bittersweet experiences that life has to offer—watching our fur babies grow old. No matter how much time we are blessed with such lovely creatures, it’s never enough time.
But, even during our pet’s golden years, when energy wanes and things tend to slow down, we can still spoil them and give them the greatest life possible. And if you’re in need of some inspo—or just a good reason to have a happy cry—look no further.
Dog mom Vicki had the brilliant idea of giving her elderly, but still so handsome Lab the most adorable ‘date night’ for his 16th birthday. He even got his own tux!
“He sometimes needs a bit of extra help,” Vicki’s onscreen text read as she whisked her distinguished date onto his doggie bed placed neatly at the table. Vicky was also dressed for the occasion in a black gown.
Take a look below as Vicki sweetly reveals his 5-star meal: a whole roast chicken.
@zeusandroot This is your sign to go on a date with your dog. Will post part 2 tomorrow! #seniordog #dogdate #labradorretriever ♬ Stuff We Did (from 'Up') - Piano Version - your movie soundtrack
How incredibly and utterly heartwarming is that? And can you believe how this fella politely waited for Vicky to present him with bites? Most dogs I’ve seen would simply devour that thing in three seconds.
“He's so gentle,” Vicky swooned.
The video, which received nearly 1.5 million views on TikTok, left some people wistfully remembering their own bygone doggos.
“I recognize those milky eyes, reminds me of my best friend I lost years ago. I think about her all the time, she also loved chicken and being spoiled. Bless you both,”one person wrote.
Another added, “My 18 year old lady went to the rainbow bridge a few months ago and now I’m sobbing. Love them always as much as you can.”
Others were inspired to have their own doggie date night.
One person commented “Me rushing out to get a chicken and dinner suit for my old gentleman dog.”
Just in case you were jonesing for even more wholesomeness, Vicky shared a part 2. In it her little stud muffin enjoyed some “wine,” even though he’s “clearly more of a beer guy.”
@zeusandroot We then snapped some polaroids and had a good nap #perfectdate #seniordog #dogdate ♬ Stuff We Did (from 'Up') - Piano Version - your movie soundtrack
“What a wonderful date,” Vicky wrote. “Think I may have to ask to see him again.”
Doing special things for our pets is one of the most precious gifts in the world. If not through a date night, then preparing special meals or treats, giving ample cuddle times, whispering “I love you’s” every chance you get, or finding other creative ways to appeal to your pet’s inner puppy or kitten. No matter how you go about it, it’s sure to create memories you’ll cherish forever.
"Ron's place" was designated a protected site.
You move into an apartment and can't wait to decorate it however you'd like but unfortunately you're pretty limited on what you can do. Most apartments don't approve anything that can't be easily removed, some don't even allow you to paint. One man in England decided that he was going to make his apartment his own by decorating it with his artwork.
Ron Gittins was an artist that lived in the same apartment for over 30 years before his death. During his time in the apartment, the artist had created art all over the walls. Not just elaborate paintings but huge sculptures affixed to the walls that took up the wall's entirety. His family visited the home after Gittins passed away, they were shocked to find such massive elaborate art pieces throughout the home.
The artist died in September 2019 according to CNN, but if you stepped into the home now, you'd see everything still in its place.
No one had been able to visit the man when he was alive as he discouraged people from coming over. After his death, his niece finally got to see what was behind the door. Outside of piles of art supplies, boxes and other items, the home was full of this amazing artwork that simply couldn't be destroyed. At least that what Gittins' niece, Jan Williams and partner Chris Teasdale thought, so they decided to petition to have it preserved.
“We always kept in touch but he did have some mental health problems and could create some difficult situations,” a family member explains to artnet. “But he didn’t seem to worry if other people sometimes thought he was mad. I think he believed he was ahead of the game somehow and if other people didn’t get it then that was their problem.”
Williams explains to CNN that her uncle was very flamboyant and would often go out dressed in costumes foraging for things to bring back home. It wouldn't be surprising if he was collecting things to include in his artwork. Thanks to the effort of Gittins' niece and her partner, others can enjoy his massive works of art at "Ron's Place," which is what they named the now protected site.
Williams and Teasdale, who are also artists started Wirral Arts and Culture Community Land Trust to crowdfund to save the apartment. Eventually the trust collected enough money through benefactors for the purchase of the entire apartment building and had been waiting for the special status granted by Britain's Department for Culture.
Walking into the apartment is like walking into an art museum. He created larger than life animals to accent the fire places. One fireplace has a large lion's head on it with its mouth wide open like it's roaring, and inside the lion's mouth is the opening of the fire place. There another one that has the head of a minotaur decorating it. Large murals are painted on all the walls that depict ancient Roman scenes.
"Ron always had his own particular vision and tended to work outside the parameters of the official art world. Although he sometimes undertook portrait commissions, he was more concerned with giving free reign to his imagination resulting in the creation of immersive visionary environments," Ron's Place website reads.
Recently, Ron's Place was granted Grade II status which protects it from being destroyed in anyway as it has "more than special interest." The rest of the apartment building won't go to waste. According to CNN, the other apartments will be renovated and turned into artist studios where people could come to work on their art. Seems Gittins' passion for art will live on through others who visit his home and those that create works of art in the same apartment building.