big ideas

Silicon Valley is spending big money on public education. 

Though mostly lost to history, the public education system has often been influenced by one of its biggest sponsors – the industrialists. Today, the new industrialists (namely Silicon Valley billionaires) continue to spend money trying to alter the way children […]

under the microscope

The energy cost of multitasking is real. 

“When we attempt to multitask, we don’t actually do more than one activity at once, but quickly switch between them. And this switching is exhausting. It uses up oxygenated glucose in the brain, running down the same fuel that’s needed […]

under the microscope

Homo sapiens are older than we thought. 

“‘We used to think that there was a cradle of mankind 200,000 years ago in east Africa, but our new data reveal that Homo sapiens spread across the entire African continent around 300,000 years ago,’ palaeoanthropologist Jean-Jacques Hublin of Germany’s […]

fun facts

A dude climbed 3,000 feet without a rope. 

A climb without any rope or safety gear is called a free solo. Alex Honnold has become the first person to do this on Yosemite’s El Capitan wall. It’s being called the most dangerous rope-free climb ever. There’s a video. | learn more

fun facts

How to hold you breath for 3+ minutes. 

A bit dated, but Tim Ferris published complete instructions for David Blaine’s method of holding your breath. I haven’t tried it yet, but it’s on my to-do list. | learn more

book recommendations

Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike

There is so much interesting history behind the Nike brand and it’s predecessor Blue Ribbon Sports, and I had no idea! Knight explains the efforts to build the business, starting with selling shoes out of the trunk of his car. […]