Category: English

Review: Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite

Whatever You Think, Think the OppositeWhatever You Think, Think the Opposite by Paul Arden

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is so short you can throw in a re-read every time you’re about to lend it out and it gets better every time because every time you’re just a bit older and different parts stay with you in new ways. I think I’ve already read it 4 times in random the years I’ve owned it just by picking it up and putting it down 30 minutes later having read it all and thinking about it anew. I like thinking outside the box in extreme ways, if not practically in my life at least in theory (figures: why else would I enjoy books such as this?) and Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite encourages that side of my character. It mostly comprises stories of bad decisions that in the long run proved to be good; of people finding out that the secret is letting yourself risk and tread new water no matter the (illusory) danger, ultimately reaping all the rewards. In the end, being different from others also means deciding irrationally, for everyone else tries to be rational and make decisions like that too.

Of course I should say that the ultimate capitalist dream is to be a unique, bleeding-edge entepreneur and Paul Arden seems to be preaching to precisely that choir in particular. His work has a “live and let die” vibe and the fact that a lot of his stories of success, creativity and “bad” decisions have to do with advertising, “making it” and getting rich, turns me off a bit. At the very least, it’s a different kind of inspiration from what would really get me going, what would really speak to my core. Still, it’s advice you can presumably use in many different aspects of life.

Amidst all this you can certainly be forgiven if you don’t really notice the top-notch graphic design that makes Arden’s words even sparklier and more alluring. The less is being said and the better its presentation, the more mysteriously seductive what’s being said is. It’s not just the power of the words alone, there are other forces at play here… Scary thought if you’re not willing to admit that humans are mainly weak, malleabe and inconsistent beings.

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You Are Not So Smart Podcast + Caravan Palace – Clash

This is the opening song for You Are Not So Smart’s podcast. I loved his blog and enjoyed his book and I’m enjoying the podcast just as much, even if there are just 5 episodes out thus far.

David McRaney keeps creating terrific, horrifyingly interesting content: he invites well-known academics on fields relative to each episode (for example, on the first episode on the illusion of attention he brings Daniel Simons, one of the people behind the famous Monkey Business experiment to discuss the fascinating implications of his research); he even eats cookies on-show made following recipes sent in by listeners and fans.

Do yourself a favour and have a look/listen at this stuff. You’ll see notice things differently; I know I have.

Three “censored” TED talks

Source: High Existence

Nobody can ignore TED, a powerhouse of fast, mind-blowing and paradigm breaking talks that last around 20 minutes. Experts in diverse fields such as anthropology, entrepreneurship, cosmology or brain science deliver a presentation all under the motto of ‘Ideas Worth Sharing’. But as TED has grown over the years and the TEDx events have spread to all the outskirts of our globe it seems it has shifted its focus from controversial ideas to the goal of preserving its own brand. Is it trying to defend science or is it trying to defend the ones who use science as a political tool?

Rich People Don’t Create Jobs

Around a year ago TED banned Nick Hanauer‘s talk named ‘Rich People Don’t Create Jobs‘. The talk was deemed too ‘political’ and was never put online. However, after word got out, a large number of people signed a petition and demanded the rights to view it. TED reluctantly published Nick’s talk which you are able to view right here:

The Science of Delusion

In this fascinating talk Rupert Sheldrake in ‘The Science of Delusion‘ questions current scientific dogmas and challenges us to reconsider them. According to TED, talks like Sheldrakes ‘strays well beyond the realms of reasonable science. Yet, ironically, this philosophical talk is exactly about such opinions of what science is and is not. Watch the controversial talk here:

The War on Consciousness

The third censored talk is by Graham Hancock and called ‘The War on Consciousness‘. Graham talks about the end of his 24 year Cannabis addiction and how another ecodelic drug named Ayahuasca helped to change his consciousness for the better. He argues that we live in a culture that wages war on certain states of mind and promotes others, exactly what TED tried to do.

“If this is how science operates, by silencing those who express opposing views rather than by debating with them, then science is dead and we are in a new era of the Inquisition.”

– Graham Hancock

Do you think any of these talks should be CENSORED? Why or why not?

It’s hard to maintain the same level of radicality once you escape the grassroots. After that, the more you grow, the necessity to conform to the tastes of a forever greater number of people slowly arises as well. Since they still have the videos online they’re not really censoring them, just saying “we don’t believe these ideas are worth spreading, but if you’re seriously going to make such a fuss about it…” Come to think of it, maybe that’s the way “civilised” people censor things without looking too bad. Still an interesting development any way you look at it.

There is the relevant enlighting discussion on TED’s website itself.

I’m A Spotter!

spotted_by_locals_logo

It’s been news for some time now that I’ve started working for Spotted by Locals, but seeing that I just finished my first round of articles and that I had neglected to post about it until now, I thought that this would be a good time to share the links to my work.

Spotted By Locals is a site whose ideals and goal are rather self-explanatory: have locals from all over the world write about their favourite places in their hometown and help make them known to people who have never visited before. It’s a decentralised travel guide to the awesome places, aiming for the sense of familiarity and wonder you get when you CouchSurf with someone and they show and take you to all the spots they love in their city.

My first contact with them was when I wrote them last year applying to be a Spotter. Back then they politely refused my offer, telling me that they were not in not need of any new ones but reassuring me that whenever they’d require fresh blood they’d contact me. So they did: in March I received an e-mail from the couple running the site, Sanne and Bart, in which they were getting back to me on my application. I did a test article, they seemed to like it and sure enough, next thing I knew, I had become a Spotter!

My main starting obligation as one was to post 20 articles within 6 weeks, a goal I reached just yesterday (right on time too). Here are the links for these first 20 articles.

La Bella Fornarina – Top-quality bakery
Homesick – Retro mode in Eksarheia
Mousiko Kafeneio – The neighbourhood bar
Rema Pikrodafnis – Athenian wilderness
Beduin at gazi – Weathered wood
Shisha Coffee – For your oriental fix
The Wee Dram – The Scottish pub of Athens
Eugenides Digital Planetarium – Across the universe
Danaos Cinema – Moviegoing in Panormou
HBH Coffee Bar – Classy and loungy
Amin’s Falafel – The (falafel) prince of Persia
The Artist – Art café-bar
To Pagaki – Communally-run mezedes and tsipouro
Alsos Neas Smyrnis – Your lovely neighbourhood park
Peonia – An infusion of Zen in the old town
Psyrra – Up for some rakomelo?
Playce – I’d like to play a game
Pnyx – Chilling like the ancients
Parko Eleftherias – Picnic time in the oasis
Yperokeanio – Sailing in a sea of tsipouro

Ο αόρατος ορατός κόσμος

Βάζω στοίχημα ότι δεν μπορείτε να βρείτε ποιος το έκανε.

Αν είστε από αυτούς που μόνο αν δείτε κάτι το πιστεύετε, μάλλον θα πρέπει να αλλάξετε κοσμοθεωρία. Τι κρίμα που η όραση είναι η πιο βασική αίσθηση του ανθρώπου.

Ken Robins

Κοιτάχτε, το ξέρω ότι δεν έχετε χρόνο για χάσιμο και ότι είστε πολύ απασχολημένοι με το να βλέπετε βιντεάκια με γάτες και να ελέγχετε το facebook σας κάθε τέσσερα λεπτά, όπως κι εγώ άλλωστε, αλλά θα τα βάλω εγώ εδώ αυτά και ό,τι θέλει ας γίνει. Πιστέψτε με, ο άνθρωπος έχει καταλάβει κάτι. Δείτε τα με τη σειρά: