In Canada Your Doctor May Tell You to Walk it Off
Doctors in Canada may soon be prescribing the oldest medicine in the world: walking it off. Thanks to the work of family doctor Dr. Melissa Lem in British Columbia the…
Mind Space
More Good News from Web Summit
Dealing with “fake news” is a challenge for all of us due to the last four years of people in power blatantly telling untruths. Sadly, in regions like Ontario and…
A Mediator Explains How to Have Difficult Conversations
Adar Cohen knows how to have difficult conversations and he wants you to be able to exercise the same skill when you need it. By mediating for corporations, politicians, and…
Independent Bookstores Succeeding Despite Pandemic and Amazon
This century bookstores have been struggling to survive due to the rise of Amazon and changing entertainment consumption patterns. When the pandemic started many bookstore owners thought it would be…
What Fiction We Read Matters Politically
The fictional worlds we engage with can change how we think about politics and how we justify our political beliefs. According to a study published in the Cambridge University Press…
Learn Faster by Knowing Less
People learn when they can experiment with whatever they are working with, be it something physical like carpentry or something mental like philosophy. Teachers can even encourage faster learning by…
What is Philosophy For?
Anyone who’s interested in thinking ought to read Mary Midgley’s last book, What is Philosophy For? I just finished the book last night and felt the need to share it…
Working Less is What We can do to Repair the Economy
Before the pandemic too many people spent too much of the time working instead of living. Now, the opposite is true with employers in North America firing people left and…
Feeling Lonely? Head to the Virus Cafe
Feeling lonely and not getting out due to the pandemic? Head over to the virtual virus cafe where you can connect with other nice people on the internet and chat…
Visually Communicating Climate Change
Showing people the impact climate change is having on people usually results in rather depressing images. It doesn’t have to be this way, we can show people the great things…
Understanding the Anti-Reality Narrative in America
Those of us who have been arguing for sustainable growth and a carbon neutral economy for years know that people don’t listen; in fact people argue against the very concept…
It’s OK to Just Stay Home
Just stay home, that’s all you need to do to help. There’s no need to give yourself anxiety about what else you could be doing to help. Take this at…
Being Weird is Great for Community
It’s OK to be weird, if anything it’s good that you’re weird. The old adage to “just be yourself” rings true and you should embrace it by embracing other people…
Mental Health Tips to Help You Get Through Social Distancing
Weeks of practicing social distancing can get tiring since we don’t feel as physically connected to our social groups as normal. That’s ok, we all feel that way. So what…
Listen to this Song to Reduce Your Anxiety
Marconi Union – Weightless (Official Video) from Optical Vitamins on Vimeo. The song Weightless by the Marconi Union has been proven by neuroscientists to reduce people’s anxiety, and in times…
Climaginaries: Understanding the Post-Carbon World
Fiction is an effective tool to picture how others live and what other possibilities exist for humanity. Stories like Star Trek inspire people to strive to make the imaginary real…
Successful People are “Lazy”
It’s ok to be lazy. In fact, incorporating come lazy behaviours into your work might make you more productive. As counter-intuitive as that sounds, it’s true. There are certain tricks…
Enjoyment of Life Increases by Deleting Facebook
It’s well known that Facebook is bad for your mental health, and let’s be honest it’s likely bad for humanity at large. The engineers at Facebook purposefully create algorithms to…
Gender Inclusive Design for our Built Environment
Architects generally want people to feel comfortable around their buildings or interior spaces; however, architects aren’t perfect and may overlook some simple design solutions that can put people at ease.…
Be Happier by Blocking Ads
A debate has been going on for years about the effectiveness about advertising and how the exposure to ads makes us feel. We now have an answer. Advertising is effective…