A few days ago, we gave you Neil Gaiman’s dark aniÂmatÂed ChristÂmas poem. Now, it’s time for his entireÂly upbeat New Year’s BeneÂdicÂtion, which has some perÂfect words for anyÂone with a creÂative urgÂing. This short video was recordÂed in 2010 at SymÂphoÂny Hall in Boston. Best wishÂes to all…
RelatÂed ConÂtent:
Neil Gaiman Gives GradÂuÂates 10 EssenÂtial Tips for WorkÂing in the Arts
Neil Gaiman Gives Sage Advice to AspirÂing Artists
That’s it. We’re putting a wrap on 2010. We’ll hit the ground runÂning again on MonÂday. But, until then, we leave you with a handy list of our favorite and most popÂuÂlar posts from 2010, all ordered in a rather ranÂdom way. If you crave a litÂtle more Open CulÂture goodÂies, you can always browse through our comÂplete archive here, and folÂlow us on TwitÂter, FaceÂbook, and RSS. Hope you have a safe, hapÂpy and prosÂperÂous New Year!
More to come MonÂday…
As the year winds to a close, Big Think has pulled togethÂer a list of their Most PopÂuÂlar Videos of 2010. PerÂhaps the biggest thinker on the list is Stephen HawkÂing, the renowned theÂoÂretÂiÂcal physiÂcist, who issues a stark warnÂing. “Our only chance of long term surÂvival, is not to remain inward lookÂing on planÂet Earth, but to spread out into space.” PopÂuÂlaÂtion growth, limÂitÂed resources, cliÂmate change – these presÂsures could driÂve the human race into extincÂtion withÂin two cenÂturies, and posÂsiÂbly even one. That makes space – planÂets beyond our own – the next great fronÂtier.
EarÂliÂer this year, LeanÂdro CopÂperÂfield spent days re-watchÂing the films of Quentin TaranÂtiÂno and the Coen brothÂers. Then, using 500+ scenes from 17 movies, he develÂoped a monÂtage tribÂute called TaranÂtiÂno vs Coen BrothÂers, which niceÂly comÂpleÂments his othÂer short tribÂute, Kubrick vs ScorsÂese. Now comes someÂthing a litÂtle difÂferÂent – a monÂtage celÂeÂbratÂing the films of Pixar AniÂmaÂtion StuÂdios. This mashup brings togethÂer moments from 11 Pixar films made between 1995 and 2010, startÂing with Toy StoÂry, movÂing to FindÂing Nemo, MonÂsters, Inc and The IncredÂiÂbles, and endÂing with Toy StoÂry 3. The Young Turks, Louis ArmÂstrong, Randy NewÂman and Peter GarÂbriel powÂer the soundÂtrack…
Denis DutÂton – the founder of Arts & LetÂters DaiÂly and phiÂlosÂoÂphy proÂfesÂsor at the UniÂverÂsiÂty of CanÂterÂbury in Christchurch, New Zealand – passed away today. He was 66 years old. In 2009, he wrote his most recent book, The Art Instinct: BeauÂty, PleaÂsure, and Human EvoÂluÂtion. Above, we have DutÂton speakÂing at TED, elabÂoÂratÂing on these themes in a great litÂtle talk called “A DarÂwinÂian TheÂoÂry of BeauÂty.”
Where was this when I needÂed it 30 years ago? Two stuÂdents at Rowan UniÂverÂsiÂty, Zachary Grady and Joe RidgeÂway, have conÂstructÂed a robotÂic arm that can solve the Rubik’s Cube in 15 secÂonds. As The New SciÂenÂtist explains, the “sysÂtem uses a camÂera to capÂture how the cube is scramÂbled and sends the images to a comÂputÂer. It deterÂmines the patÂtern on each face and algoÂrithms are used to solve the cube. The soluÂtion is then transÂlatÂed to the arm’s pneuÂmatÂics and motors.” For more brilÂliant robot tricks, you can watch robots shoot archery, lead the Detroit SymÂphoÂny orchesÂtra, and even make ethÂiÂcal deciÂsions…
No doubt about it, the disÂcovÂery of the RosetÂta Stone in 1799 ranks as one of the greatÂest archaeÂoÂlogÂiÂcal disÂcovÂerÂies. One slab of stone deciÂphered EgyptÂian hieroÂglyphs and demysÂtiÂfied the hisÂtoÂry of Ancient Egypt. Now, we had a winÂdow into the real hisÂtoÂry of Ancient Egypt, not the imagÂined one. The stoÂry behind the RosetÂta Stone gets niceÂly told here by Beth HarÂris (DirecÂtor of DigÂiÂtal LearnÂing at MoMA) and Steven ZuckÂer (chair of HisÂtoÂry of Art and Design at Pratt InstiÂtute), as part of their series of SmarthisÂtoÂry videos. The British MuseÂum, which housÂes the famous artiÂfact, has more on the RosetÂta Stone.
For cenÂturies, humanÂiÂty has been utterÂly transÂfixed by the cosÂmos, with genÂerÂaÂtions of astronomers, philosoÂphers and everyÂday ponÂderÂers strivÂing to betÂter underÂstand the grand capÂsule of our exisÂtence. And yet to this day, some of the most basic, funÂdaÂmenÂtal qualÂiÂties of the uniÂverse remain a mysÂtery. How Large is the UniÂverse? is a fasÂciÂnatÂing 20-minute docÂuÂmenÂtary by Thomas Lucas and Dave Brody explorÂing the uniÂverse’s immense scale of disÂtance and time.
“Recent preÂciÂsion meaÂsureÂments gathÂered by the HubÂble space teleÂscope and othÂer instruÂments have brought a conÂsenÂsus that the uniÂverse dates back 13.7 bilÂlion years. Its radius, then, is the disÂtance a beam of light would have travÂeled in that time – 13.7 bilÂlion light years. That works out to about 1.3 quadrillion kiloÂmeÂters. In fact, it’s even bigÂger – much bigÂger. How it got so large, so fast, was until recentÂly a deep mysÂtery.”
For more on the subÂject, see these five fasÂciÂnatÂing ways to grasp the size and scale of the uniÂverse.
Maria PopoÂva is the founder and ediÂtor in chief of Brain PickÂings, a curatÂed invenÂtoÂry of cross-disÂciÂpliÂnary interÂestÂingÂness. She writes for Wired UK, GOOD MagÂaÂzine and DesigÂnObÂservÂer, and spends a great deal of time on TwitÂter.
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