Glenn's Second Brain » amazing

The World Would Be Better If Everyone Watched This Video [Space]

Carl Sagan — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 13:00:59 +0000

If every person on our blue Earth watched this video, the world would be a much better place. At least for a few minutes. Listen closely to Carl Sagan’s words till the end. It won’t fail to get you teary.-JD MoreÂ Â»

Chromakey is everywhere

Cory Doctorow — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:54:16 +0000

Alan sez, “A great, but slightly disturbing, look at how pervasive green-screening has become in simply every scene in television these days. Pretty much everything you think is outdoors is faked, at least to some degree. I particularly like the faked ferry fire…”

Stargate Studios Virtual Backlot Reel 2009

(Thanks, Alan!)

Previously:

Change blindness experiment

Mark Frauenfelder — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:53:56 +0000

Dinotopia artist James Gurney posted this video about a “change blindness” experiment. 75% of the participants didn’t notice that the experimenter who bent under a counter was replaced by a different person. Says Gurney: “Here’s proof that most of the time we look but don’t see.” I think Matisse said something to the effect that he didn’t really see things unless he was painting them.

How to Best a Master Lock [Infographic]

Mark Wilson — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:20:00 +0000

There are 64,000 potential combinations in a Master Lock. With a few easy steps, you can figure out the last number of any combination. From there, you’ll crack the lock in 100 attempts or less. [MarkEdwardCampos via HackaDay]

Dead seriousâ€¦If this robotâ€™s speed and accuracy doesnâ€™t scare you just a little. Maybe youâ€™re not humanâ€¦?

Zee — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:34:51 +0000

More of our posts on robots here and here.

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Visualizing up to ten dimensions

Cory Doctorow — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 11:30:13 +0000

Bowloftoast sez, “This is a short animation that takes the viewer through a progressive description of all (and all possible) dimensions, up to and including the 10th. It is an elegant introduction to the fundamentals of string theory and a mind-blowing toe-dip into the pool of the metaphysical.”

Imagining the Tenth Dimension

(Thanks, Bowloftoast!)

Greatest Living Samurai Reduced To Slicing Vegetables, BBs in Slow-Mo [Impressive]

Sean Fallon — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 21:40:00 +0000

The noble Samurai has found his role in Japanese society reduced over the decades from a fearsome fighting warrior to a skilled cutter of vegetables and BBs that’s paraded on TV shows for our amusement.

Granted, this video illustrates Samurai Isao Machii’s impressive skill and hand-eye coordination, but until he can slice actual flying bullets instead of BBs, he will be nearly useless in battle (although he is still great for ratings). [Tokyomango via Neatorama]

Dolphins blowing rings

David Pescovitz — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 19:23:09 +0000

These dolphins have a lot of fun blowing bubble rings from their blowholes and popping them. (Thanks, Bruce Stewart!)

The Credit Crisis Visualized in Animated Infographics

(author unknown) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 04:37:40 +0000

Highly recommended: “The Credit of Crisis – Visualized” [crisisofcredit.com] by Jonathan Jarvis does exactly what it says. It might well be the most educational ten minutes you have experienced in days.

The goal of giving form to a complex situation like the subprime mortgage crisis is to quickly supply the essence of the situation to those unfamiliar and uninitiated.

Watch it below.

Thnkx Julien!

Scary-ass job-loss chart comparing previous and current recession

Cory Doctorow — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 21:26:32 +0000

From the Speaker of the House’s blog — a chart showing the job-losses by month in the past two recessions (red=2001, blue=1991) against the current recession (that suicidal green line plunging to its death).

Shit.

What 3.6 Million Jobs Lost Over 13 Months Looks Like

(via Isen)