People who choose to live “off the grid” often do so for environmental reasons. This article explains the steps to take to disconnect from public utiltites.
Tag Archives: People
Luck and Skill Untangled: The Science of Success
Science writer Samuel Arbesman and financial analyst Michael Mauboussin discuss the relationship between skill and luck and how it affects success.
The North Carolina Way
In a traditionally male-dominated field, women are leading North Carolina’s food industry.
Why Success Makes Us Risk Averse
Psychologist Ruth Blatt uses music as an example to explain how achieving success can often lead to risk aversion.
What Explains the Rise of Humans?
Other animals have intelligence, cooperation, and the use of tools, but only humans have imagination. This key trait allows us to treat abstract things like money, religion, and nations as though they are concrete, leading to our domination of the planet.
Post-Traumatic Stress’s Surprisingly Positive Flip Side
Soldiers and victims of tragedies often struggle to cope with the trauma they have endured. But some researchers are finding truth in the old saying that what doesn’t kill someone makes him or her stronger.
My Attempt to Free Anne Frank’s Diary
2015 marked the 70th anniversary of Anne Frank’s death. Anne’s legacy—her diary—should be available in the public domain on January 1, 2016 under Dutch law. But Dutch genealogist Yvette Hoitink explains a twist in the tale.
Retail Therapy: Does It Help?
The old line, “When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping,” may hold a kernel of truth after all.
Why bother leaving the house?
Ben Saunders, the youngest person ever to ski solo to the North Pole, discusses the rewards of pushing the limits of human potential.
Mindful Warriors: Meditation for Teenagers
Practicing meditation and mindfulness can have a positive impact on teenagers’ lives. There is generally a higher level of stress in the lives of teenagers and young adults today. Meditation can improve well-being and mental health.
8-year-old empties piggy bank, campaigns to save Syrian refugees
As the circumstances of those fleeing Syria’s long civil war grow more dire, it sometimes seems like too daunting a problem for one person to help solve from half a world away. A Washington elementary student thinks otherwise, though.
Changing the Destiny of People and Bicycles
Second Life Bikes based in NJ is a community organization where youths from 12 to 18 go to learn new skills in fixing and maintaining bicycles. When they invest 15 hours of their time they can choose a second hand bike! Scroll down to the Learn More section to watch a video and find out about the concept of Second Life Bikes.
Joy Harjo
This biography of poet Joy Harjo includes an overview of her work.
This year marks a new language shift in how English speakers use pronouns
The use of “they” as a singular, gender-neutral pronoun has been growing recently. But the 2015 Word of the Year has a surprisingly long history.
Survival Exercise Scenarios
Survival is no game, but preparing for it can be one. Try out these games to help you make collaborative life-and-death decisions.
As Long As We Both Shall Live
Explore this site, which combines photographs with interviews to provide insight into the bonds shared by couples who have been together for over four decades.
A Better Way to Talk About Faith
Religious traditions that bring some people together may drive a wedge between others. An organization called Interfaith Youth Core is working to bring together people of all faiths and none to focus on their shared tenets instead of their differences.
Next generation of activists confronts Mississippi’s violent past on Freedom Summer anniversary
Fifty years after the murders of three young civil rights workers shocked the nation, a group of students visited the small Mississippi town where it happened to reflect on the past and look toward the future.
Up, Up, and Oy Vey!
An old joke goes that if you meet a guy whose name has “man” at the end, either he’s from a Jewish family or he’s a superhero. A rabbi digs into the Jewish roots of our most popular superheroes.
Optical illusions show how we see
Being fooled by optical illusions may be fun, but the reason why they work is serious. The same mental mechanisms that allow us to be tricked today may have saved our ancestors’ lives.