Reality isn’t as plain and simple as we often like to think. Several things we take for granted as true are, in reality, patently false. Scientists and philosophers have done their best to overthrow the theories of common sense—as you’ll see by the ten examples below:
Has this list opened your mind and stretched the possibilities of your perceptions?
Kasim Khan – Team Spirit
Article originally featured on Learning-Mind.com and inspired by ListVerse.com
Who would have thought travelling to outer space could be such a profound experience? OK, probably everybody, but these former astronauts really articulate it in a way that was just a little mind-blowing.
”You develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something about it. From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, “Look at that, you son of a bitch.”
— Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 astronaut
Kasim Khan – Team Spirit
Artist Bartholomaus Traubeck has created musical masterpieces, by playing trees.
He created a record player that translates the different colors and textures of tree rings into music. Rather than use a needle like a record, sensors gather information about the wood and turn them into piano notes.
Every tree sounds vastly unique due to varying characteristics of the rings, such as strength, thickness and rate of growth.
Keep in mind that the tree rings are being translated into the language of music, rather than sounding musical in and of themselves. Traubeck’s one-of-a-kind record player uses a PlayStation Eye Camera and a stepper motor attached to its control arm. It relays the data to a computer with a program called Ableton Live. What you end up with is an incredible piano track, and in the case of the Ash, a very eerie one.
Hats off to Traubeck for coming up with the ingenious method to turn a simple slice of wood into a beautiful unique arrangement. It makes you wonder what types of music other parts of nature would play.
Kasim Khan – Team Spirit
Source/credits: Bartholomäus Traubeck,
Carl Sagan inspired a generation of scientists with his work in and out of the classroom. But he didn’t always present science with cheer. In this clip, he passionately defends science with a grave warning. It’s something we all need to hear.
The video also contains my all-time favorite quote from Carl Sagan:
“Science is more than a body of knowledge. It is a way of thinking; a way of skeptically interrogating the universe with a fine understanding of human fallibility.
If we are not able to ask skeptical questions, to interrogate those who tell us that something is true, to be skeptical of those in authority, then, we are up for grabs for the next charlatan (political or religious) who comes rambling along.”
Kasim Khan – Team Spirit
If you enjoyed that clip you can watch the FULL interview below.
This short film is so powerful and inspiring. Since watching it I have tried my best to make every second count.
”Take every day and take every moment and make something of it. Make something positive.”
Kasim Khan – Team Spirit
Shaolin monks believe that what their bodies can take is a reflection of the strength of their mind. Their training is highly intensive and focused on areas like balance, strength and endurance.
The limits to what these amazing men can do with their bodies is endless. This just shows us how we can push the limits of what we think is possible. When we can do this physically, we can extend beyond and do it mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
These images give us a glimpse into their world and show us what the human body is capable of. I was left speechless after seeing these.
