Why We Love Beautiful Things→

For more than 2,000 years, philosophers, mathematicians and artists have marveled at the unique properties of the “golden rectangle”: subtract a square from a golden rectangle, and what remains is another golden rectangle, and so on and so on — an infinite spiral. These so-called magical proportions (about 5 by 8) are common in the shapes of books, television sets and credit cards, and they provide the underlying structure for some of the most beloved designs in history: the facades of the Parthenon and Notre Dame, the face of the “Mona Lisa,” the Stradivarius violin and the original iPod.

Experiments going back to the 19th century repeatedly show that people invariably prefer images in these proportions, but no one has known why.

Then, in 2009, a Duke University professor demonstrated that our eyes can scan an image fastest when its shape is a golden rectangle. For instance, it’s the ideal layout of a paragraph of text, the one most conducive to reading and retention. This simple shape speeds up our ability to perceive the world, and without realizing it, we employ it wherever we can.

Lance Hosey, author of The Shape of Green: Aesthetics, Ecology, and Design, exploring the beauty of the golden ratio and fractals in The New York Times.

Oliver Sacks On Rediscovery, Memory And Autoplagiarism→

It is startling to realize that some of our most cherished memories may never have happened—or may have happened to someone else. I suspect that many of my enthusiasms and impulses, which seem entirely my own, have arisen from others’ suggestions, which have powerfully influenced me, consciously or unconsciously, and then been forgotten. Similarly, while I often give lectures on similar topics, I can never remember, for better or worse, exactly what I said on previous occasions; nor can I bear to look through my earlier notes. Losing conscious memory of what I have said before, and having no text, I discover my themes afresh each time, and they often seem to me brand-new. This type of forgetting may be necessary for a creative or healthy cryptomnesia, one that allows old thoughts to be reassembled, retranscribed, recategorized, given new and fresh implications.

Sometimes these forgettings extend to autoplagiarism, where I find myself reproducing entire phrases or sentences as if new, and this may be compounded, sometimes, by a genuine forgetfulness. Looking back through my old notebooks, I find that many of the thoughts sketched in them are forgotten for years, and then revived and reworked as new. I suspect that such forgettings occur for everyone, and they may be especially common in those who write or paint or compose, for creativity may require such forgettings, in order that one’s memories and ideas can be born again and seen in new contexts and perspectives.

Oliver Sacks, author of Hallucinations and one of my favorite books about music, Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, wrote the fantastic essay Speak, Memory for The New York Review of Books. In it he explores the many ways in which we fool ourselves into believing that just because we think it, it is new, and just because we remember it, that it is true. 

On Top Of The World

It is arguably the greatest image on earth -- a 360 degree panoramic view from the very top of the world's tallest tower, Dubai's Burj Khalifa. The vertigo-inducing image shows the view across the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates from 830 meters above sea level captured in high resolution using some of the most advanced techniques in digital photography.  Complement that with a view from the top of London's Shard.

And if that wasn't enough, a flying 360 panorama of an erupting volcano. 

Jad Abumrad: How Did Radiolab Happen? Gut Churn

What's gut churn? At the 99U Conference, Radiolab creator and host Jad Abumrad describes it as the radical uncertainty that's a core part of any creative process that really pushes the envelope. You're entering unknown territory, and working without a map.

Using examples from Radiolab's own evolution, Jad shares the benefits of negative feedback and how we can look out for "pointing arrows" that can help guide our work (even when it hurts).

Jad Abumrad is the host and creator of Radiolab, which reaches roughly 2 million people per month. He's been called a "master of the radio craft" for his unique ability to combine cutting edge sound-design, cinematic storytelling and a personal approach to explaining complex topics, from the stochasticity of tumor cells to musical languages to the mathematics of morality. Jad studied creative writing and music composition at Oberlin College in Ohio. He composes much of the music for Radiolab, and in the past has composed music for film, theater and dance.

In 2011, Radiolab received a Peabody Award, the highest honor in broadcasting, and Jad received the prestigious MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship.

It's Okay To Be Smart: The PBS Renaissance Continues

It would be easy to think that PBS is all about Downton Abbey and Sherlock. Or only think of it when it becomes the unexpected subject of a presidential debate. That is far from it. For over a year now PBS Digital Studios, the online branch of PBS, has been producing extraordinary, thoughtful, funny and educational work continuing what PBS does on television. 

Earlier I shared their work with their Inventors series, by meeting the man that acquired the very first patent for software. I also shared Off Book, and their more recent episodes on graphic design and creative coding. And then there is the Idea Channel, clever, funny, and underneath it all really interesting, most recently talking about their suggestions for the top five most artful video games. 

That is not all. 

This week they have introduced It's Okay To Be Smart. This is a show about science. But it's probably not about science the way you're used to it. Hosted and written by Joe Hanson, known from his blog of the same name, this is a look at the world around us that encourages a deeper inquisitiveness into science. The first episode, above, is all about life by the numbers. 

There are now more than 7 billion human beings on Earth, and that got Hanson wondering: How successful are we compared to other species? He takes a look at how our numbers stack up to some other domains of life. It turns out that biomass, or what things weigh, can be more important than how many of something there are. Find out how our numbers stack up against everything from bugs to bacteria, and get ready for some mind-blowing numbers! (Check out his blog for additional content, an episode extra if you will.) 

It is indeed okay to be smart. It is more than okay to be curious and interested. PBS is helping us stay that way.