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We asked Melissa how all of us can stay curious about the world around us while also dealing with all the responsibilities and stress in our lives. She was kind enough to walk us through this. The key is to approach everything incrementally so you don't necessarily have to set a lot of time aside to learn something new.
"It's imperative to find time to learn every single day because when you stop learning you stop growing as a person! It doesn't have to be something time-consuming. To stay curious every day can be anything from looking up the definition of a word to just asking a question about how something mundane works," the founder of Bad Science Jokes told Bored Panda via email.
"Personally, I like following social media pages that give you a fact of the day, or similar. It gives me a chance to learn something while still going about my daily work!"
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Meanwhile, Bored Panda wanted to find out some of the core things that we should all put some effort into learning in this day and age. Currently, staying up-to-date with progress and changes in the field of artificial intelligence is probably a very good idea. Not just in terms of how your career might be impacted, but also from a media literacy perspective and to stay aware of how the world is shifting.
"I think everyone should be educating themselves on artificial intelligence. I have seen images and videos that will cause me to do a double-take to see if it was real or fake," Melissa told Bored Panda.
"The technology is advancing extremely quickly. We need to educate ourselves in how the technology works, how to spot A.I., and how to properly use it," she said.
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It can be super tough to stay up-to-date with the latest developments in any field when you have adult responsibilities like work, college, taking care of your family, etc. Like it or not, it takes a ton of energy, time, and effort to learn new things. And after an exhausting day at the office, sometimes, all you really want to do is binge-watch something on Netflix or take a nap. We get it. However, things like your physical, emotional, and mental health are fundamental to your quality of life, so it only makes sense to invest some of your time into figuring out what’s good for your body, mind, and social life.
For example, we probably all know that sleep is vital to your health and longevity. However, the exact mechanism for how the brain maintains itself during sleep has been up for discussion. Recent research by neuroscientist Maiken Nedergaard from the University of Rochester Medical Center and her team has found that sleep is the rinse cycle in which the brain ‘washes’ itself.
As reported in ‘Science,’ fluid percolates through the brain and flushes out chemical waste that has accumulated while awake. It’s found that this fluid circulates through the brain via the contraction of blood vessels and the periodic release of “a chemical cousin of adrenaline.”
Meanwhile, the sleep drug zolpidem, aka Ambien, affects these blood vessel oscillations. The result? Impeded fluid flow, potentially putting a dent in the rinsing out of chemical waste. Meanwhile, this circulation is also found to be impeded in Alzheimer’s patients and victims of other neurodegenerative illnesses.
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If you live long enough, you WILL become disabled in some way.
The human mind keeps us from processing this as fact, because our brains prefer to believe that our Special Wonderful Specialness and Superior Logic will make us the exception that proves the rule, but it never will. Ever.
You, just like every other being on this planet, will experience death or physical breakdown followed by eventual death.
There is no way to escape it.
The only thing you can do is try to make disabled lives easier, with the knowledge that it will be you someday.
Broadly speaking, we need around 7 to 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night. The Cleveland Clinic warns that missing even just 1.5 hours of sleep can impact your entire body, including your cardiovascular and immune systems. Sleep deprivation leads to short-term problems like moodiness, memory problems, a lack of alertness, and an inability—or unwillingness—to take part in normal daily activities.
Meanwhile, chronic sleeplessness can lead to depression, anxiety, forgetfulness, slower reaction times, blurred vision, a weakened immune system, hormonal issues, more stress, and a greater risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases.
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What facts do you think that absolutely everybody should know, dear Pandas? What knowledge blind spots do you think are far too common in society? If you had to tell a crowd of complete strangers a single piece of advice or a science fact, what would it be? Let us know what you think and what you’d say in the comments section below.
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Companies and factories didn't want to comply with those orders and, as a result, a ton of our manufacturing factory work was suddenly outsourced because other countries didn't have environmental restrictions. When other companies realized this was a much cheaper option, they followed suit. So just think: tons of Americans lost their jobs because companies didn't want to spend the money it would take to stop dumping waste from their factory into the environment.
That's how f****d up the US is.
Edit for Pt. II: The Hanford Nuclear Site in Washington state has been leaking toxic waste since as early as the 1970s. It is leaking more now, understandably; despite the fact the site is decommissioned, there's still a metric assload of waste there, a lot of which is in underground plumes. Said plumes have been eroding away at the interior and are slowly making their way towards the Columbia River, the 8th larger river in the US. Should these plumes reach the river, a LOT of toxic waste is going to be leaking into the river.
That's how f****d up the US is.
#17
Literally everyone saying that global warming isn't human induced is either paid by the Kochs to say that, or someone who fell for their propaganda.
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If you or someone you know has been hit hard enough to pass out or loose consciousness , seek a doctor. Brain bleeds are a silent killer.
If you fall and hit your head, seek help
If something else falls and hits your head, get checked out.
I cringe at the videos of someone being knocked out in a street fight. Get checked out.