Oliver Sacks - What hallucination reveals about our minds

Vocabulary:

Syndrome - group of symptoms that may indicate or characterize a disease
You know that I got jshaiuftvgsgaihf … Turret’s Syndrome

Hallucinations - a false or mistaken idea; a delusion.
We shouldn’t eat this mushrooms. We are going to have hallucinations.

Visual loss – condition of being deprived or bereaved of sight
I got something in my eye. I’m worrying about a visual loss.

Cataract – an eye disease causing a loss of vision or blindness
My father is blind – he suffers from a cataract.

Handkerchief – a small square of cloth used to wipe nose or mouth
You got something under your nose, here, take my handkerchief.

Midair – a point above the ground level
I had a car accident and I flew over the window. I spent few seconds in midair but it seemed to be so long!

Blind – unable to see
I was blind all my life but now I can see!
If I put my finger in your eyes you will be blind.

Jon Ronson - Strange answers to the psychopath test

Strange answers to the psychopath test.

Vocabulary:

Crazy - affected with madness; insane.

Hey, look at this dude, he’s crazy!

I have a pig in my bed. Am I crazy?

Sane - showing healthy judgment; reasonable

The doctor said that he is perfectly sane, but people say he’s crazy.

To spot - to detect/see

I was dancing and than I spotted that something is wrong.

Hey, this is very cheap! – Don’t try to buy it. I spotted it first!

Madness – the condition of being insane/crazy

“This is madness!” – “No, this is SPARTA!”

Minor – lesser or smaller, less serious/dangerous

Young people shouldn’t be imprisoned for minor crimes such as drinking alcohol in public places.

To fake – to simulate or to feign

I bought NOKIA, but unfortunately it was fake – really it was NOKLA.

Tendency - predisposition to think, act, behave in particular way.

People have a tendency to be self-destructive.

Sir Ken Robinson - Schools kill creativity

Schools kill creativity

Vocab:

Creativity – the ability or power to create something new / ability to think in a non-conventional way.

“He invented many things. It’s because of his creativity.”

Hierarchy – a system of organizing things, people, etc.

“People have a tendency to make hierarchies”

Desirable -  Worth having or seekin  by being useful

“English teachers earn a lot of money and this is why it is a desirable job”

Constantly – a valute which means that it is persistent/invariable

“He claims that the creativity is an ability that is constantly fading away while growing older.”

To consider - to think carefully about something or to choose one of options ( to judge)

“I got a new job offer, but I have to consider it carefully”

To dispose - to deal with something hard / to be put into certain conditions / to move or extend in a certain direction

“I killed her and now I had to dispose her body off”

Benefits – an advantage – simply – something that is considered as profitable

“People who meet in order to have coitus are called friends with benefits

Jill Bolte Taylor's Stroke of Insight

Stroke of Insight

Vocab:

Stroke - is the rapid loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. 
He's in hospital - firstly he couldn't speak, than he lost his consciousness. As it turned out he had a stroke.

Disturbance - mental or emotional unbalance/disorder.
He is acting in different ways during the day. I think he has some brain disturbances.

Hemisphere – a half of a sphere (circle)
We divide our brain into 2 hemispheres - the left and the right one.

Functionless – unable to function properly
My phone has a broken LCD and no keyboard - it's functionless now.

Analytical - dividing into elemental parts or basic principles
Mathematicians like to divide everything into smaller parts - they are so analytical...

Sensory - transmitting impulses from sense organs to nerve centers
We have to use multisensory approach in teaching - especialy in teaching children.

Euphoria - a feeling of great happiness or well-being.
I finally passed my exams. I got a feeling of euphoria since then. 

The history of our world in 18 minutes.

David Christian: The history of our world in 18 minutes

Big Bang Expansion

Original video.

Expansion of the Universe.

Vocabulary list:

Threshold - the starting point of an experience, event. In other context – doorstep, verge.

Synthesis – it is the combining of separate elements or substances to form a “new whole”

Complexity – it is the state of being complex (complicated)

Habitable - suitable to live in: able to sustain life

Fragile – something that may be easily broken, damaged, or destroyed;

Vulnerable – easy to be wounded or harmed; defenceless

Stringent – harsh, raw

Habitable zone.

Brian Greene: Is our universe the only universe?

Multiverse ?!

Brian Greene: 

Is our universe the only universe?

Multiverse bubbles

String theory visualisation

Vocabulary:

Spectrum - a range of values of a quantity or set of related quantities.

“Green backs up the claim with descriptions of a wide spectrum of astrophysical phenomena”

“The visible spectrum is the spectrum of light that we can perceive with our eyes”

Astrophysical - concerned with astrophysics / "astrophysical sciences" and astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of stellar phenomena.

„Astrophysical sciences deal with physical and chemical processes that occur in stars and galaxies”

           

To postulate – to assume or to claim that something is true

“Scientists have to postulate many things to prove the existence of so called dark matter and dark energy”

Dimension – a measurement of the size of something in a particular direction, such as the length, width, height, or diameter

„We live in a worlds which is made out of 4 dimensions, namely lenght, width, height, and time”

To refute – to deny or to prove something to be wrong (by giving an argument)

Scientists usually refute theories which were postulated before the evidence”

Spontaneous - self-generated, involuntary, automatic / produced naturally without external influence

„The inflationary cosmology postulates that the amount of energy needed to create a universe equals exactly zero – this in turn means that universes pop up into existence spontaneously, and there is no need for any external agents.”

String – a cord usually made of fibre, - in context of my speech it appears in a term “String theory” which is:

 A mathematical theory for describing the properties of fundamental particles, which represents the particles as one-dimensional string-like objects, which exist in the normal four dimensions of space-time plus additional dimensions, the total dimensions being ten, eleven, or twenty-six depending on the version of the theory. The properties of fundamental particles in string theory and their manner of interaction with each other depend upon the modes of vibration of the strings. The attractiveness of this theory rests in part on its ability to provide a unified treatment of gravity as well as the three other basic forces of nature, in a manner consistent with quantum mechanics. The great difficulty of doing the calculations required by the theory, however, has thus far (1999) made it impossible to calculate the observable properties, such as the mass, of known particles, such as the electron, proton, mesons, quarks, and neutron; thus there is as yet no experimental verification for the theory. The most popular version of the theory depends on a mathematical property called supersymmetry, and the theory derived form this principle is properly called superstring theory, a term which is often used interchangeably with string theory

R. Dawkins - "Why the universe seems so strange"?

Here it is at last :)

Enjoy!

Original version: 

http://www.ted.com/talks/richard_dawkins_on_our_queer_universe.html

Queer (adjective) – it means that something is not conventional; unusual, strange, extraordinary. In slang it is used as an offense of homosexuals.

You made very queer assumptions about her – it can’t be true.

I found my wallet which I had lost few years ago by a queer accident. 

Probability (noun) – it is used to show the level of possibility (likeness) for something to happen

There is a high probability of a meteor strike next year.

If I were you, I would check the probability of winning this match.

  

Impenetrable (adjective) – something that is impossible to penetrate or to walk through

The skin of Superman is impenetrable.

Saves in banks are impenetrable nowadays.

Solidity (noun) – it is a quality which means that something is hard/solid (unlikely to gas or liquid)

Rocks are in a state of solidity.

I have a great new job with high income – I feel solidity is going to be a part of my life again.

  

Matter (noun) – a substance (universe consists of matter)

Universe is made in 90% out of dark matter.

Matter is all around us.

  

Improbable (adjective) – unlikely to happen

A chance of finding 200zl banknote on the street is improbable.

I wish to go to the moon this week! – It is improbable, dude.

 Expendable (adjective) – able to change/morph

I have to be in 3 places at once tomorrow – I cannot be that expendable.

Haven’t you seen the film “Expendables”?