18 Days

Every Wednesday I share five things I liked and think you might like too. Here are this week’s Five Things…

1. There are a ton of benefits that come with learning a foreign language. Unfortunately though, it's just not very easy. Here are 7 tips from TED translators to help you on your way. If you fancy learning a language and don't know where to start, I recommend checking out Duolingo — It's free and pretty fun too.
    
2. And on the topic of learning. Here's an interesting conversation on How to Learn New Things as an Adult. — "You want to learn the systems, or the analogies, of the relationships between things in a certain field, and how they interact with each other. Then ultimately you gain that knowledge so that you can shift your own thinking, so when you see a new problem you’re better able to solve it."
    
3. A super-short video on speed reading. It's pretty incredible how quickly our brains can process information.
    
4. A fascinating article from Tim Harford on The Problem with Facts. — "When people are seeking the truth, facts help. But when people are selectively reasoning about their political identity, the facts can backfire."
    
5. This week's musical recommendation is Dave Pepper's Utrecht Suite. The album was recorded during a soundcheck, two days after the Paris attacks in November 2015. It's beautiful and reflective, consisting of just a solo guitar and a loop pedal.

That's all for this week. If you enjoyed it, subscribe and you'll get the next Five Things delivered straight to your inbox. You can check out previous Five Things posts here.

"Unloved"

Every Wednesday I share five things I liked and think you might like too. Here are this week’s Five Things…

1. Interesting work by Sugata Mitra on bringing teaching into the 21st Century. —  "How one man revolutionized teaching by trusting kids to teach themselves."
    
2. "The photo shows the 14-story-tall first stage of the company’s Falcon 9 rocket moments before it landed on a barge at sea this past weekend" — If you hadn't gathered already it's a pretty cool photo!
    
3. Nerdwriter recently did a fascinating breakdown of one of Louis CK's jokes. I'd never really considered how much work goes into the writing and delivery of one joke.
    
4. The inspiring story of scientific marvel, Ed Whitlock — "In October, at 85, he set his latest distance-running record, completing the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 3 hours 56 minutes 34 seconds and becoming the oldest person to run 26.2 miles in under four hours."
    
5. In the latest episode of the Song Exploder podcast, Solange explains how she wrote and recorded her song "Cranes In The Sky". I love learning how different musicians approach songwriting and this was a really great episode. Recommended listening for anyone studying or making music!

That’s all for this week. If you enjoyed it, sign up to receive the next Five Things in your inbox.

Sunrise

Every Wednesday I share five things I liked and think you might like too. Here are this week’s Five Things…

1. In case you didn't know this already. Our brains are weird. Exhibit A: The movie that doesn’t exist and the Redditors who think it does.
    
2. ... Weird, and incredible. Exhibit B: Brain's party noise filter revealed by recordings.
    
3. A great interview with Brian Eno. His thoughts on the importance of creativity in education really struck a chord with me.
    
4. As 2017 rapidly approaches, it's a good time to pause and reflect on the last year. This Wait But Why post might make you think a little differently about how you spend your time next year.
    
5. "We grow out of a lot as we grow up. One of the most unfortunate things we leave behind is a regular dose of change." I love this quote from Jason Fried and his ideas in this article. — Be More Productive. Take Time Off.

That's all for this week. If you enjoyed it, sign up to receive future posts or check out my previous Five Things posts.

Thought for the day

Every Wednesday I share five things I liked and think you might like too. Here are this week’s Five Things…

1. An excellent exploration of The History Of Rhythm from the BBC World Service. As a rhythm nerd, I loved this!
    
2. "Change what you know, change what you believe, and you change the actions. Learn to see, to understand, to have patience, and you learn to be the kind of person who can make a difference." — Education is the answer
    
3. A while ago, I deleted Facebook and Twitter from my phone in an attempt to reduce the effect of external events on my day and mood. The temptation to check them was always too much for me. My next goal is to quit paying attention to the news at all.. which won't be easy. — Want to Really Make America Great Again? Stop Reading the News
    
4. I'd never really considered how much sound influences the design of our manmade surroundings. 99 Percent Invisible's episode on The Evolution of Architectural Acoustics was really fascinating.
    
5. "How did the day pass? I didn’t even feel it passing; it stole away from me and escaped." How to get important things done.

That's all for this week. If you enjoyed it, sign up to receive future posts or check out my previous Five Things posts.

Fly

Every Wednesday I share five things I liked and think you might like too. Here are this week’s five things…

1. A fascinating conversation with Pedro Domingos on artificial intelligence and machine learning. His thoughts on why white collar jobs are more threatened by AI than blue collar jobs are particularly interesting.
    
2. Derek Sivers on how to be useful to others [1m 22s]. Food for thought and a really cool animation.
    
3. More food for thought from Ryan Holiday — Tell me who you spend your time with, and I will tell you who you are. If you aren't familiar with Ryan's work check out his books Ego Is The Enemy and The Obstacle Is The Way. Both are excellent.
    
4. The greatest rock band on earth. 1000 musicians perform David Bowie's Rebel Rebel.
    
5. Finland has plans that will make it the first country in the world to get rid of all school subjects and move towards a model of studying events and topics in an interdisciplinary format. I'm so excited by this idea. It's crazy how little schooling has changed in the last 100+ years and time it's brought into the 21st century. Go Finland!

That's all for this week. If you liked this, check out my previous Five Things posts or sign up to receive future posts in your inbox.