🔥یه مقاله فوق العاده عالی در خصوص فواید یادگیری زبان جدید بر سلامت مغز👇👇
http://bit.ly/mind_benefit
Join ➣ @BestIELTS
www.bestielts.ir
http://bit.ly/mind_benefit
Join ➣ @BestIELTS
www.bestielts.ir
♦️دانلود کتاب معروف Collocations 1000 جهت تقویت و بالابردن نمره بخش واژگان در آزمون آیلتس از طریق لینک مستقیم👇👇
http://bit.ly/1000collocation
Join ➣ @BestIELTS
www.bestielts.ir
http://bit.ly/1000collocation
Join ➣ @BestIELTS
www.bestielts.ir
This media is not supported in your browser
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
🔴WWII’s surprising secret agent
#Animation #War #Activism #TED_Ed #Women #Feminism #History #Evil #Religion #India #Europe #Politics #Identity #World_Cultures #Culture #Democracy #Death #Military
🎙Join ➣ @TEDTalksLearning ☜
🎙Join ➣ @TEDTalksLearning ☜
#Animation #War #Activism #TED_Ed #Women #Feminism #History #Evil #Religion #India #Europe #Politics #Identity #World_Cultures #Culture #Democracy #Death #Military
🎙Join ➣ @TEDTalksLearning ☜
🎙Join ➣ @TEDTalksLearning ☜
❤2
🔴WWII’s surprising secret agent
Noor Inayat Khan was in the midst of a desperate escape. She had been imprisoned for her activities as an Allied spy, but with the help of a screwdriver and two other prisoners, she was back under the Parisian stars. As she began to run, her thoughts leapt to the whirlwind of events that had brought her here…
Born in Moscow in 1914 to an Indian Muslim father and an American mother, Noor was raised in a profoundly peaceful home. Her parents were Sufi pacifists, who put their faith in the power of music and compassion. They moved to Paris, where Noor studied child psychology and published children’s books. But all this changed with the advent of the Second World War. In May 1940, with the German army ready to occupy Paris, Noor and her brother were faced with a difficult choice. As pacifists, they believed that all disputes should be settled non-violently. But witnessing the devastation across Europe, they decided that standing on the sidelines was not an option.
Traveling to England, Noor volunteered for the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force and trained as a radio operator. She immersed herself in wireless operations and Morse code– unaware that she was being monitored by a secret organization. The British Special Operations Executive was established to sabotage the Germans in Nazi-occupied countries. As a trained radio operator who knew Paris well and spoke fluent French, Noor was an attractive recruit. In her interview, she was warned that wireless operation was some of the most dangerous work in the intelligence field. Operators had to lug a conspicuous transmitter through enemy territory, and the clandestine agency couldn’t protect her if she was caught. Noor accepted her assignment immediately.
While she was determined to take her pacifist principles as far as possible, Noor had to learn the art of espionage. She learned how to contact intelligence networks, pick a lock, resist interrogation and fire a gun. In June 1943 she landed in Angers, south of Paris, and made her way to the city armed with a false passport, a pistol and a few French francs. But her network was compromised. Within a week of her deployment, all her fellow agents were arrested, and Noor was called home.
Noor Inayat Khan was in the midst of a desperate escape. She had been imprisoned for her activities as an Allied spy, but with the help of a screwdriver and two other prisoners, she was back under the Parisian stars. As she began to run, her thoughts leapt to the whirlwind of events that had brought her here…
Born in Moscow in 1914 to an Indian Muslim father and an American mother, Noor was raised in a profoundly peaceful home. Her parents were Sufi pacifists, who put their faith in the power of music and compassion. They moved to Paris, where Noor studied child psychology and published children’s books. But all this changed with the advent of the Second World War. In May 1940, with the German army ready to occupy Paris, Noor and her brother were faced with a difficult choice. As pacifists, they believed that all disputes should be settled non-violently. But witnessing the devastation across Europe, they decided that standing on the sidelines was not an option.
Traveling to England, Noor volunteered for the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force and trained as a radio operator. She immersed herself in wireless operations and Morse code– unaware that she was being monitored by a secret organization. The British Special Operations Executive was established to sabotage the Germans in Nazi-occupied countries. As a trained radio operator who knew Paris well and spoke fluent French, Noor was an attractive recruit. In her interview, she was warned that wireless operation was some of the most dangerous work in the intelligence field. Operators had to lug a conspicuous transmitter through enemy territory, and the clandestine agency couldn’t protect her if she was caught. Noor accepted her assignment immediately.
While she was determined to take her pacifist principles as far as possible, Noor had to learn the art of espionage. She learned how to contact intelligence networks, pick a lock, resist interrogation and fire a gun. In June 1943 she landed in Angers, south of Paris, and made her way to the city armed with a false passport, a pistol and a few French francs. But her network was compromised. Within a week of her deployment, all her fellow agents were arrested, and Noor was called home.
She convinced her supervisors to let her stay– which meant doing the work of six radio operators singlehandedly. Over the following months, she tracked and transported supplies to the French resistance, sent reports of Nazi activity back to London and arranged safe passage for allied soldiers. This work was essential to building the French resistance and Allied intelligence networks– and, ultimately, ending the war.
Protected only by her quick thinking and charisma, she frequently talked her way out of questioning. When the Gestapo searched her on the train, she gave them a casual tour of her “film projector.” When an officer spotted her hanging her aerial, she chatted about her passion for listening to music on the radio– and charmed him into helping her set up the cable. In her entire four month tenure, her sharp wits and stealth never failed her. But her charm had inspired lethal jealousy. In October 1943, the sister of a colleague, in love with an agent that loved Noor, sold her address to the Gestapo.
Noor refused to give away any information, focusing instead on her escape. Secreting a screwdriver away from the guards, they were able to loosen a skylight and slip out into the night. But just as the prisoners began to run for their lives, an air raid siren alerted her captors. Noor was caught once again and sent to a German prison. Then, on to Dachau concentration camp. Despite being tortured, deprived and isolated, Noor gave nothing away. In the moments before her execution she is thought to have shouted “Liberté!” Since her heroic sacrifice, Noor has been honoured as a hero who waged secret battles behind enemy lines– paving the way for freedom without ever taking a life.
#Animation #War #Activism #TED_Ed #Women #Feminism #History #Evil #Religion #India #Europe #Politics #Identity #World_Cultures #Culture #Democracy #Death #Military
🎙Join ➣ @TEDTalksLearning ☜
🎙Join ➣ @TEDTalksLearning ☜
Protected only by her quick thinking and charisma, she frequently talked her way out of questioning. When the Gestapo searched her on the train, she gave them a casual tour of her “film projector.” When an officer spotted her hanging her aerial, she chatted about her passion for listening to music on the radio– and charmed him into helping her set up the cable. In her entire four month tenure, her sharp wits and stealth never failed her. But her charm had inspired lethal jealousy. In October 1943, the sister of a colleague, in love with an agent that loved Noor, sold her address to the Gestapo.
Noor refused to give away any information, focusing instead on her escape. Secreting a screwdriver away from the guards, they were able to loosen a skylight and slip out into the night. But just as the prisoners began to run for their lives, an air raid siren alerted her captors. Noor was caught once again and sent to a German prison. Then, on to Dachau concentration camp. Despite being tortured, deprived and isolated, Noor gave nothing away. In the moments before her execution she is thought to have shouted “Liberté!” Since her heroic sacrifice, Noor has been honoured as a hero who waged secret battles behind enemy lines– paving the way for freedom without ever taking a life.
#Animation #War #Activism #TED_Ed #Women #Feminism #History #Evil #Religion #India #Europe #Politics #Identity #World_Cultures #Culture #Democracy #Death #Military
🎙Join ➣ @TEDTalksLearning ☜
🎙Join ➣ @TEDTalksLearning ☜
🔴دانلود سری کامل مجموعه کتابهای کمبریج آیلتس به همراه فایل صوتی از اینجا با لینک مستقیم.
Join ➣ @BestIELTS
www.bestielts.ir
Join ➣ @BestIELTS
www.bestielts.ir
🔴 مقاله عالی درباره تاثیر استرس در یادگیری زبان💯👇
https://bit.ly/3bJzHdD
Join ➣ @BestIELTS
www.bestielts.ir
https://bit.ly/3bJzHdD
Join ➣ @BestIELTS
www.bestielts.ir
Media is too big
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
🔴Get comfortable with being uncomfortable
#Fear #Communication #Humanity #Race
🎙Join ➣ @TEDTalksLearning ☜
🎙Join ➣ @TEDTalksLearning ☜
#Fear #Communication #Humanity #Race
🎙Join ➣ @TEDTalksLearning ☜
🎙Join ➣ @TEDTalksLearning ☜
❤2
🔴اگر میخواهید مدرس زبان شوید همین حالا به مطلب زیر توجه کنید، برای دسترسی به مقاله وارد لینک شوید👩🏫👇
https://bit.ly/3bHzqYs
📚@Best_EnglishSources☜
📚@Best_EnglishSources☜
https://bit.ly/3bHzqYs
📚@Best_EnglishSources☜
📚@Best_EnglishSources☜
Media is too big
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
🔴Go ahead, dream about the future
#Science_Fiction #Future #Creativity #Society #Writing #Storytelling
🎙Join ➣ @TEDTalksLearning ☜
🎙Join ➣ @TEDTalksLearning ☜
#Science_Fiction #Future #Creativity #Society #Writing #Storytelling
🎙Join ➣ @TEDTalksLearning ☜
🎙Join ➣ @TEDTalksLearning ☜
❤1
🔴Go ahead, dream about the future
Every science fiction writer has a story about a time when the future arrived too soon. I have a lot of those stories. Like, OK, for example: years ago, I was writing a story where the government starts using drones to kill people. I thought that this was a really intense, futuristic idea, but by the time the story was published, the government was already using drones to kill people.
Our world is changing so fast, and there's a kind of accelerating feedback loop where technological change and social change feed on each other. When I was a kid in the 1980s, we knew what the future was going to look like. It was going to be some version of "Judge Dredd" or "Blade Runner." It was going to be neon megacities and flying vehicles. But now, nobody knows what the world is going to look like even in just a couple years, and there are so many scary apparitions lurking on the horizon. From climate catastrophe to authoritarianism, everybody is obsessed with apocalypses, even though the world ends all the time, and we keep going.
Don't be afraid to think about the future, to dream about the future, to write about the future. I've found it really liberating and fun to do that. It's a way of vaccinating yourself against the worst possible case of future shock. It's also a source of empowerment, because you cannot prepare for something that you haven't already visualized. But there's something that you need to know. You don't predict the future; you imagine the future.
So as a science fiction writer whose stories often take place years or even centuries from now, I've found that people are really hungry for visions of the future that are both colorful and lived in, but I found that research on its own is not enough to get me there. Instead, I use a mixture of active dreaming and awareness of cutting-edge trends in science and technology and also insight into human history. I think a lot about what I know of human nature and the way that people have responded in the past to huge changes and upheavals and transformations. And I pair that with an attention to detail, because the details are where we live. We tell the story of our world through the tools we create and the spaces that we live in. And at this point, it's helpful to know a couple of terms that science fiction writers use all of the time: "future history" and "second-order effects."
Now, future history is basically just what it sounds like. It is a chronology of things that haven't happened yet, like Robert A. Heinlein's famous story cycle, which came with a detailed chart of upcoming events going up into the year 2100. Or, for my most recent novel, I came up with a really complicated time line that goes all the way to the 33rd century and ends with people living on another planet.
Meanwhile, a second-order effect is basically the kind of thing that happens after the consequences of a new technology or a huge change. There's a saying often attributed to writer and editor Frederik Pohl that "A good science fiction story should predict not just the invention of the automobile, but also the traffic jam."
And speaking of traffic jams, I spent a lot of time trying to picture the city of the future. What's it like? What's it made of? Who's it for? I try to picture a green city with vertical farms and structures that are partially grown rather than built and walkways instead of streets, because nobody gets around by car anymore -- a city that lives and breathes. And, you know, I kind of start by daydreaming the wildest stuff that I can possibly come up with, and then I go back into research mode, and I try to make it as plausible as I can by looking at a mixture of urban futurism, design porn and technological speculation. And then I go back, and I try to imagine what it would actually be like to be inside that city. So my process kind of begins and ends with imagination, and it's like my imagination is two pieces of bread in a research sandwich
Every science fiction writer has a story about a time when the future arrived too soon. I have a lot of those stories. Like, OK, for example: years ago, I was writing a story where the government starts using drones to kill people. I thought that this was a really intense, futuristic idea, but by the time the story was published, the government was already using drones to kill people.
Our world is changing so fast, and there's a kind of accelerating feedback loop where technological change and social change feed on each other. When I was a kid in the 1980s, we knew what the future was going to look like. It was going to be some version of "Judge Dredd" or "Blade Runner." It was going to be neon megacities and flying vehicles. But now, nobody knows what the world is going to look like even in just a couple years, and there are so many scary apparitions lurking on the horizon. From climate catastrophe to authoritarianism, everybody is obsessed with apocalypses, even though the world ends all the time, and we keep going.
Don't be afraid to think about the future, to dream about the future, to write about the future. I've found it really liberating and fun to do that. It's a way of vaccinating yourself against the worst possible case of future shock. It's also a source of empowerment, because you cannot prepare for something that you haven't already visualized. But there's something that you need to know. You don't predict the future; you imagine the future.
So as a science fiction writer whose stories often take place years or even centuries from now, I've found that people are really hungry for visions of the future that are both colorful and lived in, but I found that research on its own is not enough to get me there. Instead, I use a mixture of active dreaming and awareness of cutting-edge trends in science and technology and also insight into human history. I think a lot about what I know of human nature and the way that people have responded in the past to huge changes and upheavals and transformations. And I pair that with an attention to detail, because the details are where we live. We tell the story of our world through the tools we create and the spaces that we live in. And at this point, it's helpful to know a couple of terms that science fiction writers use all of the time: "future history" and "second-order effects."
Now, future history is basically just what it sounds like. It is a chronology of things that haven't happened yet, like Robert A. Heinlein's famous story cycle, which came with a detailed chart of upcoming events going up into the year 2100. Or, for my most recent novel, I came up with a really complicated time line that goes all the way to the 33rd century and ends with people living on another planet.
Meanwhile, a second-order effect is basically the kind of thing that happens after the consequences of a new technology or a huge change. There's a saying often attributed to writer and editor Frederik Pohl that "A good science fiction story should predict not just the invention of the automobile, but also the traffic jam."
And speaking of traffic jams, I spent a lot of time trying to picture the city of the future. What's it like? What's it made of? Who's it for? I try to picture a green city with vertical farms and structures that are partially grown rather than built and walkways instead of streets, because nobody gets around by car anymore -- a city that lives and breathes. And, you know, I kind of start by daydreaming the wildest stuff that I can possibly come up with, and then I go back into research mode, and I try to make it as plausible as I can by looking at a mixture of urban futurism, design porn and technological speculation. And then I go back, and I try to imagine what it would actually be like to be inside that city. So my process kind of begins and ends with imagination, and it's like my imagination is two pieces of bread in a research sandwich
❤1👍1
So as a storyteller, first and foremost, I try to live in the world through the eyes of my characters and try to see how they navigate their own personal challenges in the context of the space that I've created. What do they smell? What do they touch? What's it like to fall in love inside a smart city? What do you see when you look out your window, and does it depend on how the window's software interacts with your mood? And finally, I ask myself how a future brilliant city would ensure that nobody is homeless and nobody slips through the cracks.
And here's where future history comes in handy, because cities don't just spring up overnight like weeds. They arise and transform. They bear the scars and ornaments of wars, migrations, economic booms, cultural awakenings. A future city should have monuments, yeah, but it should also have layers of past architecture, repurposed buildings and all of the signs of how we got to this place.
And then there's second-order effects, like how do things go wrong -- or right -- in a way that nobody ever anticipated? Like, if the walls of your apartment are made out of a kind of fungus that can regrow itself to repair any damage, what if people start eating the walls?
(Laughter)
Speaking of eating: What kind of sewer system does the city of the future have? It's a trick question. There are no sewers. There's something incredibly bizarre about the current system we have in the United States, where your waste gets flushed into a tunnel to be mixed with rainwater and often dumped into the ocean. Not to mention toilet paper. A bunch of techies, led by Bill Gates, are trying to reinvent the toilet right now, and it's possible that the toilet of the future could appear incredibly strange to someone living today. So how does the history of the future, all of that trial and error, lead to a better way to go to the bathroom? There are companies right now who are experimenting with a kind of cleaning wand that can substitute for toilet paper, using compressed air or sanitizing sprays to clean you off. But what if those things looked more like flowers than technology? What if your toilet could analyze your waste and let you know if your microbiome might need a little tune-up? What if today's experiments with turning human waste into fuel leads to a smart battery that could help power your home?
But back to the city of the future. How do people navigate the space? If there's no streets, how do people even make sense of the geography? I like to think of a place where there are spaces that are partially only in virtual reality that maybe you need special hardware to even discover. Like for one story, I came up with a thing called "the cloudscape interface," which I described as a chrome spider that plugs into your head using temporal nodes. No, that's not a picture of it, but it's a fun picture I took in a bar.
(Laughter)
And I got really carried away imagining the bars, restaurants, cafés that you could only find your way inside if you had the correct augmented reality hardware.
But again, second-order effects: in a world shaped by augmented reality, what kind of new communities will we have, what kind of new crimes that we haven't even thought of yet? OK, like, let's say that you and I are standing next to each other, and you think that we're in a noisy sports bar, and I think we're in a highbrow salon with a string quartet talking about Baudrillard. I can't possibly imagine what might go wrong in that scenario. Like, it's just -- I'm sure it'll be fine.
And here's where future history comes in handy, because cities don't just spring up overnight like weeds. They arise and transform. They bear the scars and ornaments of wars, migrations, economic booms, cultural awakenings. A future city should have monuments, yeah, but it should also have layers of past architecture, repurposed buildings and all of the signs of how we got to this place.
And then there's second-order effects, like how do things go wrong -- or right -- in a way that nobody ever anticipated? Like, if the walls of your apartment are made out of a kind of fungus that can regrow itself to repair any damage, what if people start eating the walls?
(Laughter)
Speaking of eating: What kind of sewer system does the city of the future have? It's a trick question. There are no sewers. There's something incredibly bizarre about the current system we have in the United States, where your waste gets flushed into a tunnel to be mixed with rainwater and often dumped into the ocean. Not to mention toilet paper. A bunch of techies, led by Bill Gates, are trying to reinvent the toilet right now, and it's possible that the toilet of the future could appear incredibly strange to someone living today. So how does the history of the future, all of that trial and error, lead to a better way to go to the bathroom? There are companies right now who are experimenting with a kind of cleaning wand that can substitute for toilet paper, using compressed air or sanitizing sprays to clean you off. But what if those things looked more like flowers than technology? What if your toilet could analyze your waste and let you know if your microbiome might need a little tune-up? What if today's experiments with turning human waste into fuel leads to a smart battery that could help power your home?
But back to the city of the future. How do people navigate the space? If there's no streets, how do people even make sense of the geography? I like to think of a place where there are spaces that are partially only in virtual reality that maybe you need special hardware to even discover. Like for one story, I came up with a thing called "the cloudscape interface," which I described as a chrome spider that plugs into your head using temporal nodes. No, that's not a picture of it, but it's a fun picture I took in a bar.
(Laughter)
And I got really carried away imagining the bars, restaurants, cafés that you could only find your way inside if you had the correct augmented reality hardware.
But again, second-order effects: in a world shaped by augmented reality, what kind of new communities will we have, what kind of new crimes that we haven't even thought of yet? OK, like, let's say that you and I are standing next to each other, and you think that we're in a noisy sports bar, and I think we're in a highbrow salon with a string quartet talking about Baudrillard. I can't possibly imagine what might go wrong in that scenario. Like, it's just -- I'm sure it'll be fine.
And then there's social media. I can imagine some pretty frickin' dystopian scenarios where things like internet quizzes, dating apps, horoscopes, bots, all combine to drag you down deeper and deeper rabbit holes into bad relationships and worse politics. But then I think about the conversations that I've had with people who work on AI, and what I always hear from them is that the smarter AI gets, the better it is at making connections. So maybe the social media of the future will be better. Maybe it'll help us to form healthier, less destructive relationships. Maybe we'll have devices that enable togetherness and serendipity. I really hope so. And, you know, I like to think that if strong AI ever really exists, they'll probably enjoy our weird relationship drama the same way that you and I love to obsess about the "Real Housewives of Wherever."
And finally, there's medicine. I think a lot about how developments in genetic medicine could improve outcomes for people with cancer or dementia, and maybe one day, your hundredth birthday will be just another milestone on the way to another two or three decades of healthy, active life. Maybe the toilet of the future that I mentioned will improve health outcomes for a lot of people, including people in parts of the world where they don't have these complicated sewer systems that I mentioned. But also, as a transgender person, I like to think: What if we make advances in understanding the endocrine system that improve the options for trans people, the same way that hormones and surgeries expanded the options for the previous generation?
So finally: basically, I'm here to tell you, people talk about the future as though it's either going to be a technological wonderland or some kind of apocalyptic poop barbecue.
(Laughter)
But the truth is, it's not going to be either of those things. It's going to be in the middle. It's going to be both. It's going to be everything. The one thing we do know is that the future is going to be incredibly weird. Just think about how weird the early 21st century would appear to someone from the early 20th.
And, you know, there's a kind of logical fallacy that we all have where we expect the future to be an extension of the present. Like, people in the 1980s thought that the Soviet Union would still be around today. But the future is going to be much weirder than we could possibly dream of. But we can try. And I know that there are going to be scary, scary things, but there's also going to be wonders and saving graces. And the first step to finding your way forward is to let your imagination run free.
Thank you.
#Science_Fiction #Future #Creativity #Society #Writing #Storytelling
🎙Join ➣ @TEDTalksLearning ☜
🎙Join ➣ @TEDTalksLearning ☜
And finally, there's medicine. I think a lot about how developments in genetic medicine could improve outcomes for people with cancer or dementia, and maybe one day, your hundredth birthday will be just another milestone on the way to another two or three decades of healthy, active life. Maybe the toilet of the future that I mentioned will improve health outcomes for a lot of people, including people in parts of the world where they don't have these complicated sewer systems that I mentioned. But also, as a transgender person, I like to think: What if we make advances in understanding the endocrine system that improve the options for trans people, the same way that hormones and surgeries expanded the options for the previous generation?
So finally: basically, I'm here to tell you, people talk about the future as though it's either going to be a technological wonderland or some kind of apocalyptic poop barbecue.
(Laughter)
But the truth is, it's not going to be either of those things. It's going to be in the middle. It's going to be both. It's going to be everything. The one thing we do know is that the future is going to be incredibly weird. Just think about how weird the early 21st century would appear to someone from the early 20th.
And, you know, there's a kind of logical fallacy that we all have where we expect the future to be an extension of the present. Like, people in the 1980s thought that the Soviet Union would still be around today. But the future is going to be much weirder than we could possibly dream of. But we can try. And I know that there are going to be scary, scary things, but there's also going to be wonders and saving graces. And the first step to finding your way forward is to let your imagination run free.
Thank you.
#Science_Fiction #Future #Creativity #Society #Writing #Storytelling
🎙Join ➣ @TEDTalksLearning ☜
🎙Join ➣ @TEDTalksLearning ☜
📚یه مقاله جامع و کامل برای علاقه مندان به یادگیری زبان های زنده دنیا👇👇
https://b2n.ir/q77683
Join ➣ @BestIELTS ☜عضويت
www.bestielts.ir
https://b2n.ir/q77683
Join ➣ @BestIELTS ☜عضويت
www.bestielts.ir
📙با مطالعه دروس کتاب 504 لغت ضروری دامنه لغات خود را تقویت کنید. لغات به همراه معانی، مثال و تلفظ کلمات اورده شده است، برای دسترسی آسانتر به لینک زیر مراجعه کنید👇👇
https://bit.ly/3cFYW0H
Join ➣ @BestIELTS ☜عضويت
www.bestielts.ir
https://bit.ly/3cFYW0H
Join ➣ @BestIELTS ☜عضويت
www.bestielts.ir
Media is too big
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
🔴For the love of birds
#Animals #love #Brain #Biology #Consciousness #Cognitive_Science #Mind #Evolution #Life #Mission_Blue #Science_Oceans #Empathy #Neuroscience #Mental_Health #Birds #Monkeys #Fish #Environment
🎙Join ➣ @TEDTalksLearning ☜
🎙Join ➣ @TEDTalksLearning ☜
#Animals #love #Brain #Biology #Consciousness #Cognitive_Science #Mind #Evolution #Life #Mission_Blue #Science_Oceans #Empathy #Neuroscience #Mental_Health #Birds #Monkeys #Fish #Environment
🎙Join ➣ @TEDTalksLearning ☜
🎙Join ➣ @TEDTalksLearning ☜
❤1
🔴For the love of birds
With me here today I brought something beautiful. This is a feather from one of the most beautiful birds we have in Kenya, the crested guinea fowl. But this feather is more than just that. If you've taken time when you are outdoors to look at the feathers around you, you'll have noticed that there is this huge variety of different sizes, shapes and even colors. The feather is one of the most astonishing pieces of technology invented by the natural world, and for centuries, this feather has helped birds to keep dry, to keep warm and even power flight. Only one section of the tree of life can actually make a feather. Among all the world's animals, birds are the only ones who can make something like what I'm holding today. I personally have given them a nickname, and I like to call them the feathermakers. It is the major difference between birds and any other animals we have on earth, and if you can't make a feather, you cannot call yourself a bird.
For us humans, who are earthbound, birds represent freedom. This feather has enabled birds to conquer gravity and take to the air in an extraordinary way. Don't you sometimes wish you could fly like a bird?
Birds are my passion, and I want to change the way each one of you thinks about them. The easiest reason I love them so much is because they are beautiful. There are 10,000 species in the world, and each one of them is uniquely beautiful. Birds are amazing, and this talk is dedicated to all the birds of the world.
Indeed, these birds have been part of our lives and cultures all over the world for centuries, and every society has a story about birds. You probably have heard childhood stories of different birds and how they relate with man. I personally recently learned that our human ancestors would follow flocks of vultures and then they would help them to identify where carcasses have been dropped by large carnivores, and these humans will scavenge and eat part of that meat. Birds have been used as brands and labels all over the world. You know the bald eagle? It was chosen as the national emblem for the US because of its majestic strength, beautiful looks and even a long lifespan. And just like us humans who have managed to live in virtually all habitats of this earth, birds have also conquered the world. From birds such as these beautiful penguins that live in the cold ice caps to even others like the larks, who live in the hottest deserts you can imagine. Indeed, these species have conquered this world.
Birds also build houses like us. The real pros in housebuilding are a group of birds we call the weaverbirds, and this name they were given because of the way in which they weave their nests.
An interesting one: birds also love and date just like us humans. In fact, you'll be surprised to know that males dress to impress the women, and I'll show you how. So here we have a long-tailed widowbird, and this is how they would normally look. But when it comes to the breeding season, everything changes, and this is how he looks.
Yeah? Birds also, multiple species of them, do love to touch and cuddle just like humans. And I know you're wondering about this one. Yes, they kiss too, sometimes very deeply.
Some have even learned to cheat on their spouses.
For example, the African jacana: the females will mate with multiple males and then she takes off to find other males to mate with and she leaves the male behind to take care of the chicks.
With me here today I brought something beautiful. This is a feather from one of the most beautiful birds we have in Kenya, the crested guinea fowl. But this feather is more than just that. If you've taken time when you are outdoors to look at the feathers around you, you'll have noticed that there is this huge variety of different sizes, shapes and even colors. The feather is one of the most astonishing pieces of technology invented by the natural world, and for centuries, this feather has helped birds to keep dry, to keep warm and even power flight. Only one section of the tree of life can actually make a feather. Among all the world's animals, birds are the only ones who can make something like what I'm holding today. I personally have given them a nickname, and I like to call them the feathermakers. It is the major difference between birds and any other animals we have on earth, and if you can't make a feather, you cannot call yourself a bird.
For us humans, who are earthbound, birds represent freedom. This feather has enabled birds to conquer gravity and take to the air in an extraordinary way. Don't you sometimes wish you could fly like a bird?
Birds are my passion, and I want to change the way each one of you thinks about them. The easiest reason I love them so much is because they are beautiful. There are 10,000 species in the world, and each one of them is uniquely beautiful. Birds are amazing, and this talk is dedicated to all the birds of the world.
Indeed, these birds have been part of our lives and cultures all over the world for centuries, and every society has a story about birds. You probably have heard childhood stories of different birds and how they relate with man. I personally recently learned that our human ancestors would follow flocks of vultures and then they would help them to identify where carcasses have been dropped by large carnivores, and these humans will scavenge and eat part of that meat. Birds have been used as brands and labels all over the world. You know the bald eagle? It was chosen as the national emblem for the US because of its majestic strength, beautiful looks and even a long lifespan. And just like us humans who have managed to live in virtually all habitats of this earth, birds have also conquered the world. From birds such as these beautiful penguins that live in the cold ice caps to even others like the larks, who live in the hottest deserts you can imagine. Indeed, these species have conquered this world.
Birds also build houses like us. The real pros in housebuilding are a group of birds we call the weaverbirds, and this name they were given because of the way in which they weave their nests.
An interesting one: birds also love and date just like us humans. In fact, you'll be surprised to know that males dress to impress the women, and I'll show you how. So here we have a long-tailed widowbird, and this is how they would normally look. But when it comes to the breeding season, everything changes, and this is how he looks.
Yeah? Birds also, multiple species of them, do love to touch and cuddle just like humans. And I know you're wondering about this one. Yes, they kiss too, sometimes very deeply.
Some have even learned to cheat on their spouses.
For example, the African jacana: the females will mate with multiple males and then she takes off to find other males to mate with and she leaves the male behind to take care of the chicks.
And birds help us so much, and they play very crucial roles in our ecosystems each day. Vultures clean up our environment by literally digesting disease-causing pathogens, and they finish carcasses that would otherwise cost us lots of money to clear from the environment. A sizable flock of vultures is capable of bringing down a carcass the size of a zebra straight to the bone within just about 30 minutes. Owls help to rid the environments of rodents and this helps us a lot because it saves us money -- we don't lose our crops -- and secondly, we don't have to buy harmful chemicals to handle these rodents. The beautiful sunbirds we see in our environments are part of nature's pollination crew, and they help our plants to form fruits. Together with other pollinators like insects, they have actually helped us to get most of the food crops that we depend on for many years.
Unfortunately, the story of birds is by far not perfect. They are faced by numerous challenges every day wherever they live. Top on the threats facing birds is habitat loss and reduced food availability. Birds are also hunted, especially migratory species and ducks that congregate in water bodies. Poisoning is happening to flocks that like to stick together, especially in places like rice schemes. Moreover, power lines are electrocuting birds and wind farms are slicing birds when they fly through the blades. Recently, we've heard the talk of climate change making a lot of headlines, and it's also affecting birds, because birds are being forced to migrate to better breeding and feeding grounds because unfortunately where they used to live is no longer habitable.
My own perspective towards birds was changed when I was a small boy in high school, and there was this boy who struck, injuring the wing and the leg of a bird we called the augur buzzard. I was standing there, just a mere 14-year-old, and I imagined a human being in a similar situation, because this bird could not help itself. So even if I was hardly any biologist by then, I gathered with three of my friends and we decided to house the bird until it had regained strength and then let it free. Interestingly, it accepted to feed on beef from our school kitchen, and we hunted termites around the compound for its dinner every day. After a few days, it had regained strength and we released it. We were so happy to see it flap its wings and fly off gracefully. And that experience changed the way we looked at birds. We went on to actually make a magazine, and we called it the Hawk Magazine, and this was in honor of this bird that we had helped within our own high school.
Those experiences in high school made me the conservationist I am today. And a passion for birds should especially matter for Africa and all Africans, because among all other continents, Africa hosts some of the most amazing bird species you can find anywhere in the world. Imagine having a name like "shoebill." That's the name of that bird. And there are countries like DR Congo, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya who are leading the continent in highest numbers of diversity when it comes to the species. These birds continue to provide the continent with very crucial ecosystem services that Africa needs. Moreover, there is huge potential for Africa to lead the world in avian tourism. The economy will definitely benefit. Imagine how many communities will benefit from groups of tourists visiting their villages just to see the endemic birds that can only be found in those villages.
Unfortunately, the story of birds is by far not perfect. They are faced by numerous challenges every day wherever they live. Top on the threats facing birds is habitat loss and reduced food availability. Birds are also hunted, especially migratory species and ducks that congregate in water bodies. Poisoning is happening to flocks that like to stick together, especially in places like rice schemes. Moreover, power lines are electrocuting birds and wind farms are slicing birds when they fly through the blades. Recently, we've heard the talk of climate change making a lot of headlines, and it's also affecting birds, because birds are being forced to migrate to better breeding and feeding grounds because unfortunately where they used to live is no longer habitable.
My own perspective towards birds was changed when I was a small boy in high school, and there was this boy who struck, injuring the wing and the leg of a bird we called the augur buzzard. I was standing there, just a mere 14-year-old, and I imagined a human being in a similar situation, because this bird could not help itself. So even if I was hardly any biologist by then, I gathered with three of my friends and we decided to house the bird until it had regained strength and then let it free. Interestingly, it accepted to feed on beef from our school kitchen, and we hunted termites around the compound for its dinner every day. After a few days, it had regained strength and we released it. We were so happy to see it flap its wings and fly off gracefully. And that experience changed the way we looked at birds. We went on to actually make a magazine, and we called it the Hawk Magazine, and this was in honor of this bird that we had helped within our own high school.
Those experiences in high school made me the conservationist I am today. And a passion for birds should especially matter for Africa and all Africans, because among all other continents, Africa hosts some of the most amazing bird species you can find anywhere in the world. Imagine having a name like "shoebill." That's the name of that bird. And there are countries like DR Congo, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya who are leading the continent in highest numbers of diversity when it comes to the species. These birds continue to provide the continent with very crucial ecosystem services that Africa needs. Moreover, there is huge potential for Africa to lead the world in avian tourism. The economy will definitely benefit. Imagine how many communities will benefit from groups of tourists visiting their villages just to see the endemic birds that can only be found in those villages.
How can we help birds together? There is now a chance for all of you to turn your passion for birds into contributing to their continued survival, and you can do that by becoming a citizen scientist. Citizen science is a growing trend around the world, and we are having scenarios where people are sharing information with the rest of the community about traffic updates, security alerts and so on. That is exactly what we realized as bird-watchers, and we thought, because birds are found everywhere, if we've got all of you and everyone else in Africa to tell us the birds they find where they live, where they school, or even where they work, then we can be able to come up with a map of every single species, and from there scientists will be able to actually prioritize conservation efforts to those habitats that matter the most.
Take for example these two projects, the Africa Raptor DataBank, which is mapping all birds of prey in the continent of Africa, and the Kenya Bird Map, which is mapping about 1,100 species that occur in my country, Kenya. These two projects now have online databases that are allowing people to submit data, and this is converted into very interactive websites that the public can consume and make decisions from.
But when we started, there was a big challenge. We received many complaints from bird-watchers, and they will say, "I'm in a village, and I cannot access a computer. How do I tell you what birds live in my home, or where I school, or where I work?" So we were forced to renovate our strategy and come up with a sustainable solution. It was easy: we immediately realized that mobile phones were becoming increasingly common in Africa and most of the regions could get access to one. So we came up with mobile phone applications that you can use on your iPhone and on your Android phone, and we made them freely available for every bird-watching enthusiast out there. So we came up with BirdLasser, which is used by the Kenya Bird Map, and also we have the African Raptor Observations, which is now used by the African Raptor DataBank. This was a huge breakthrough in our work and it made us get enormous amounts of data from every birder out there in the regions. With this, we realized that citizen science is indeed very powerful, the reason being, citizen science is adaptive. And we were able to actually convert many bird-watchers to start sharing new information with us.
When we were starting, we didn't know that birds could be a huge gateway to approaching conservation of other forms of animals. Interestingly, now in the Virtual Museum for Africa, we have maps for dragonflies and damselflies, butterflies and moths, reptiles, frogs, orchids, spiders, scorpions, and yes, we are even mapping mushrooms. Who could have imagined mapping mushrooms? So this showed us that indeed we've created a community of people who care about nature in Africa.
I hereby call upon all of you to join me in promoting the value of birds within your communities. Please just tell your friends about birds, for we are always inclined to love and care for that which we know. Please spend a few minutes in your free time when you are at work, at school, or maybe at home, to at least look around you and see which beautiful birds are there. Come join us in citizen science and tell us the birds you're finding in the places where you visit. Even simpler, you could buy your child or your sibling a pair of binoculars or a bird book and let them just appreciate how beautiful these birds are. Because maybe one day they will want to care for that one which they know and love.
The children indeed are our future. Let us please teach them to love our feathermakers, because the love of birds can be a huge gateway to appreciating all forms of nature.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
#Animals #love #Brain #Biology #Consciousness #Cognitive_Science #Mind #Evolution #Life #Mission_Blue #Science_Oceans #Empathy #Neuroscience #Mental_Health #Birds #Monkeys #Fish #Environment
🎙Join ➣ @TEDTalksLearning ☜
🎙Join ➣ @TEDTalksLearning ☜
Take for example these two projects, the Africa Raptor DataBank, which is mapping all birds of prey in the continent of Africa, and the Kenya Bird Map, which is mapping about 1,100 species that occur in my country, Kenya. These two projects now have online databases that are allowing people to submit data, and this is converted into very interactive websites that the public can consume and make decisions from.
But when we started, there was a big challenge. We received many complaints from bird-watchers, and they will say, "I'm in a village, and I cannot access a computer. How do I tell you what birds live in my home, or where I school, or where I work?" So we were forced to renovate our strategy and come up with a sustainable solution. It was easy: we immediately realized that mobile phones were becoming increasingly common in Africa and most of the regions could get access to one. So we came up with mobile phone applications that you can use on your iPhone and on your Android phone, and we made them freely available for every bird-watching enthusiast out there. So we came up with BirdLasser, which is used by the Kenya Bird Map, and also we have the African Raptor Observations, which is now used by the African Raptor DataBank. This was a huge breakthrough in our work and it made us get enormous amounts of data from every birder out there in the regions. With this, we realized that citizen science is indeed very powerful, the reason being, citizen science is adaptive. And we were able to actually convert many bird-watchers to start sharing new information with us.
When we were starting, we didn't know that birds could be a huge gateway to approaching conservation of other forms of animals. Interestingly, now in the Virtual Museum for Africa, we have maps for dragonflies and damselflies, butterflies and moths, reptiles, frogs, orchids, spiders, scorpions, and yes, we are even mapping mushrooms. Who could have imagined mapping mushrooms? So this showed us that indeed we've created a community of people who care about nature in Africa.
I hereby call upon all of you to join me in promoting the value of birds within your communities. Please just tell your friends about birds, for we are always inclined to love and care for that which we know. Please spend a few minutes in your free time when you are at work, at school, or maybe at home, to at least look around you and see which beautiful birds are there. Come join us in citizen science and tell us the birds you're finding in the places where you visit. Even simpler, you could buy your child or your sibling a pair of binoculars or a bird book and let them just appreciate how beautiful these birds are. Because maybe one day they will want to care for that one which they know and love.
The children indeed are our future. Let us please teach them to love our feathermakers, because the love of birds can be a huge gateway to appreciating all forms of nature.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
#Animals #love #Brain #Biology #Consciousness #Cognitive_Science #Mind #Evolution #Life #Mission_Blue #Science_Oceans #Empathy #Neuroscience #Mental_Health #Birds #Monkeys #Fish #Environment
🎙Join ➣ @TEDTalksLearning ☜
🎙Join ➣ @TEDTalksLearning ☜
❤1