A really interesting video by Vsauce on what makes things creepy and why we react to them the way we do...just a warning though, some of the images and stuff in the video can actually be really unsettling, but it's fascinating anyways. I highly recommend you watch the whole thing even if you get creeped out, because it's totally worth it. At least...I think it is. But don't take my word for it. d:
Daniel Kish has been blind for as long as he can remember. From birth he had a vicious form of eye cancer, which led to the removal of both eyes by the age of thirteen months. They're now replaced with prosthetics. He has no memory of having any form of sight, yet he can navigate his surroundings with an astoundingly agile competence. How? The same way as bats: Echolocation.
Video:
By clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth in a specific way, Kish makes sounds that are sharp enough to produce vibrations that bounce off of the objects around him. Using this method he can identify what his surroundings are, their distance, and their size sufficiently; this ability allows him to live like any other person and participate in even activities that most would assume would require full eyesight, such as riding his bike.
Kish maintains that Echolocation can offer a liberated lifestyle like his own to other visually impaired people, if only it was commonly taught. This unconventional method is opposed by a majority of the blind community as too difficult to learn. Kish, however, subconsciously started using it by the age of two years old and believes that therefore the human brain is wired to allow use of echolocation, but it's a sense of "sight" that becomes dulled by dependence on the eyes; this portion of the brain's sense could be stimulated by practicing echolocation, and by studying it further a convenient teaching method could be designed.
Although most blind organizations don't support and even oppose Kish's method, he runs his own non-profit organization that teaches echolocation to the visually impaired called World access for the blind.
Japanese Yo-Yo Master Black, born in Tokyo, started with his first Yo-yo at 14; just four years and 10,000 hours of practice later he won the title of world champion Yo-yo master of 2001. After six more years of sprucing up his act and venturing into more complex Yo-yo techniques, Black won the 2007 World Yo-yo championship again. He later auditioned for Cirque du Soleil and is now a performer with them. Here's his website for info and (more) videos.
Black's Nunchaku reminiscent drills are not only impressive but mesmerizing to watch.
A Six min performance of his Yo-yo techniques (stick around til the end, the second half is incredible): Video:
And a very short video compilation showing some of his cleverly executed tricks (such as flicking a coin off a volunteer's ear with his Yo-yo):
Stars From Mars is a professional fiber optic company that typically supplies the fiber optic decorations to construct a star field on the ceilings of many businesses, From Restaurants to NASA Space exhibits to Disney and Universal Studios. Costing thousands of dollars to install, their work is absolutely phenomenal.
A video tour of one or their star field rooms: Video:
(I suggest watching it from YouTube)
There are Home projectors that aren't half as stunning as the Stars From Mars star field but are affordable. The Sega Homestar Planetarium is one (you can buy it here):
A National Geographic video on the process of making a prosthetic eye. It's a slightly tedious process that includes measuring the proper size, constructing a mold with several different materials, accurately depicting the iris and veins, and polishing the finished product. They're so realistic that it's hard to tell which eye is real.
A short video (presumably from a documentary program, not sure which program however) about Fishermen in Bangladesh with their river otter assistants. The otters are trained rather like hunting dogs and treated with a portion of fish from the catch.
In the unlikely event that there are people actually reading this blog, I'll get to the point. I don't intend this to be my online journal, blog of daily happenings, ETC. I intend this to be a place where I can post things that I find interesting, in hope of sharing them with those of you who have gotten to this point and have latched onto my blog long enough to read this.
I will try to keep things organized, and to post regularly. My goal is one post a day, though I'm afraid I can't guarantee any consistency, I can only give you my assurance that I'll try my best.
My interests range from quite a variety, cheifly literary; technological; astronomical; philosophical; zoological; biological, or just anything out of the ordinary fascinates me. To keep things entertaining, I might share small things here and there that I find amusing.
That being said, the only way I can improve my blog-post quality is if I'm critiqued, or given suggestions; in other words, I would very much appreciate comments. An abundance of comments would make me very happy, even if they're about the blandness of my posts and the dullness of my blog's layout! And if you find this blog interesting, you can always follow it by email.
I express my utmost gratitude to you for bearing with me this far, and I hope you enjoy!
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