Learn One Thing A Day

Why do we yawn? Short answer: to keep cool our brain. Long version: watch the nice video below from scishow.

"The significant problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them" Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

Today, thanks to Sheldon Cooper of " The Big Bang Theory " (episode 20 season 7 The Relationship Diremption ), I learned a very nice little story. As Sheldon says, the Persian poet Attar of Nishapur (c. 1145 - c. 1221) records the fable of a powerful king who asks an assembled group of wise men to create a ring that will make him happy when he is sad (and vice versa). After deliberation the sages hand him a simple ring with the words " This too will pass " etched on it, which has the desired effect. ( Picture : ring with the " this too shall pass " inscription is on sale on Amazon) Googling around, I learned that the story is actually narrated by other authors too, and its true origin remains uncertain. The sentence and in general the story of an "Eastern monarch" was included in a speech given on September 30, 1859, by Abraham Lincoln before the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society in Milwaukee : It is said an Eastern monar...

Today, in the last episode of " The Big Bang Theory " 7x19 "The Indecision Amalgamation", I learnt something really interesting. Just at the beginning of the episode, we see Sheldon in front of his computer and deciding to buy either an XBOX-ONE or a PlayStation 4 but being also in the compelling need to pee. Here is the dialog between Sheldon and Leonard: Sheldon :  Boy, do I have to urinate. Leonard :  If only there were a solution to that. Sheldon : Seriously. I feel like I've got a fish tank in my pelvis. Leonard : So go to the bathroom. Sheldon :I can't. Leonard : Why not? Sheldon : Because I'm trying to decide between getting an Xbox One or a PS4. Oh, "pee." Why'd I say that? Leonard : Forgive me for asking a stupid question, but why are you being stupid? Sheldon : I'm not being stupid. I'm employing the work of Dutch researcher, Mirjam Tuk, who found that people with full bladders make better decisions. ...

Does Alcohol Really Keep You Warm?  Short answer: no.  For the long answer I refer you to the nice video from the SciShow channel :)  

The birthday problem (or birthday paradox) refers to the probability that, in a group of N people, there is at least one pair of people having the same birthday. Surprisingly, you need just 23 people to have more than 50% chances to find at least a pair! Yes, only 23! Not, as you could think, 183! There are a short and a long versions of this post. The short one ( aka what you have to remember to impress your friends ) is: In a room with 23 people there are more than 50% chances (50.73% to be precise) to have a at least a couple sharing their birthday.  With 50 people, the probability is 97.04 % and with 80 people we arrive to 99.99% changes to find such  a couple! How is that possible? The rest of the post (the long version) proves the previous numbers. First of all, we have to make some basic assumptions: We have no twins in the room.  No one is born on February, 29th! (we do not consider leap years) Every day is as good as all the others.   In ...

There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness. (source: wikipedia ) Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900), " On Reading and Writing " Nietzsche was a German philologist, philosopher, cultural critic, poet and composer.