ECHOES

echoesminds "Arguing politics can be tricky—so do your opponent a favour, and tell them the real reason you think like you do. Who knows? They might even listen." "We should also remember that discussion can have other aims beyond changing a person’s mind. Sure, sometimes we do want to ‘win’ an argument and convince our opponent. But too much focus on this may lead to something of value being lost, such as the deep understanding of the other that can come through conversation. This is why simply sharing our experiences can be such a rich form of conversation, for it helps our interlocutor see the world as we do." "The art of reasoning in public does not require that we have mastered the art of public reason-giving. Rather, it requires honesty, tolerance, and attentiveness. Most importantly, it requires listening."

"Take off your shoes, climb into a Buddhist coffin and relax on your back on soft padding as a wooden lid slides over you. Now stay inside for three very dark minutes. "When you are actually in the coffin, it feels like you are dead!" Tammy, 15, tells CNN Travel as she emerges from the long rectangular box." "Bangkok's new Kid Mai ("Think New") Death Cafe is a Buddhist "exhibition," luring you with cookies and icy refreshments in exchange for a "death awareness" experience that could possibly change your life."

"Time feels real to people. But it doesn’t even exist, according to quantum physics. “There is no time variable in the fundamental equations that describe the world,” theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli tells Quartz." "Time, Rovelli contends, is merely a perspective, rather than a universal truth. It’s a point of view that humans share as a result of our biology and evolution, our place on Earth, and the planet’s place in the universe." "“From our perspective, the perspective of creatures who make up a small part of the world—we see that world flowing in time,” the physicist writes. At the quantum level, however, durations are so short that they can’t be divided and there is no such thing as time."

Have I said how much I LOVE SCI-HUB? Not this month so let me say it again: I LOVE SCI-HUB!! If you don't know what Sci-Hub is, and you are interested in access to knowledge/science, then it's time you learned. SciHub is a service started by Kazakhstani graduate student, computer programmer and open-science/knowledge advocate Alexandra Elbakyan . Remember Aaron Swartz? Well, he died as a result of his efforts to free up knowledge and scientific research. In many ways we can think of Elbakyan as having picked up the reins of this fight for open/free knowledge after we lost Aaron. The short version of what SciHub is all about, is that it is an online database of somewhere around 70%-80% of the published science/research which is usually locked behind a paywall. Ironically (and unethically), in many cases this science/research LOCKED BEHIND a PAYWALL is often PUBLICLY FUNDED RESEARCH. But major publishers (with Elsevier being the most evil ) have effectively "reduce...