1. When asked why he had named his company Apple,
he said: "Because it came before Atari in the phone book." Jobs worked
for Atari before starting Apple and he also said that he likes apples
and that they had to come up with a name by 5 o'clock that day.
2. Why was he fired from his own company? Everyone
knows that in 1985 Steve Jobs was fired from Apple. Some might even
know that it had to do with a fallout between Steve and John Sculley,
Apple's CEO at the time, but few know exactly in what consisted the
disagreement. Well, Steve Jobs wanted to drop the price of the then
underperforming Macintosh and shift large portion of the advertising
budget away from Apple 2 over to the Mac. Sculley disagreed. He argued
that price had no bearing into Macintosh's poor sales, but rather the
unimpressive software it ran. Sculley took the matter to the Apple's
Board of Directors which sided with the former Pepsi CEO, thus firing
Jobs.
3. "I'd rather sell dog shit than PCs." In
the mid 90s, with NEXT sinking after failing at coming up with a
successful computer, Steve Jobs faced the discouraging prospect of
having to sell the software they had developed. "But Steve," a friend
told him, "why don't you just sell PCs?" Steve replied: "I'd rather sell
dogs' shit than PCs."
4. Before starting Apple, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak built and sold digital blue boxes,
a $100 equipment that could hack telephone systems and allowed them
make calls to any number in the world. One of their first calls they
made using the blue box was to the Vatican with Wozniak pretending to be
Henry Kissinger, they asked to talk to the pope. Without success.
5.
Steve Jobs calls one of the mysteries of life how his friend and
Apple's Co-founder Steve Wozniak never built a floating point BASIC for
the Apple II, despite Jobs having begged him for several weeks to do it.
As a result of Wozniak's refusal, Job reached out to Microsoft to license Bill Gates' BASIC.
6.
In the early 80s, Steve Jobs visited Adobe Systems. Impressed with
their technology, Jobs made an offer to Adobe Co-founder Charles Geschke
to buy the company and integrate it into Apple. Geschke refused it.
Apple and Adobe had a very good professional relationship until Apple
of Steve, by the end of the first decade of 21st century, decide to rid their very commercially successful mobile devices of Adobe's Flash.
7. The movie "Anywhere But Here" starring Natalie Portman and Susan Sarandon was dedicated to him and
was based on a book written by his sister Mona Simpson. The story is
about a mother and daughter who are searching for success in Beverly
Hills. Anywhere But Here is dedicated to "my brother Steve."
8. He took LSD in his younger days and had no regrets. In a book interview,
Jobs called his experience with the drug "one of the two or three most
important things I have done in my life." As Jobs himself has suggested, LSD may have contributed to the "think different" approach that still puts Apple's designs a head above the competition.
9. Steve Jobs kept his salary at $1 since 1997, the year he became Apple's lead executive. Of his salary, Jobs joked in 2007: "I get 50 cents a year for showing up, and the other 50 cents is based on my performance."
10.
Jobs dropped out of college. After graduating from Homestead High
School in Cupertino, California he went on to study at Reed College. He only took one semester of classes before dropping out. For the next 18 months, however, he continued to audit classes that interested him.
Abdulfattah Jandali (Handout)
11. Steve Jobs was biologically half Syrian Muslim.
He was adopted and his biological father's name is Abdulfattah Jandali.
His biological mother was Joanne Carole Schieble, an American. Her
father, however, objected to the marriage so Steve was put up for
adoption.
12. His parents were two graduate students who
were perhaps not ready for a child and put him up for adoption. The one
requirement his biological parents had was that he be adopted by two
college educated people. His adoptive parents were Clara and Paul Jobs.
13. His biological parents went on to have another child, Mona Simpson, whom he later met and connected with.
14. Jobs was a pescetarian which meant he ate fish but no other meat.
15. Jobs lied to Steve Wozniak.
When they made Breakout for Atari, Wozniak and Jobs were going to split
the pay 50-50. Atari gave Jobs $5000 to do the job. He told Wozniak he
got $700 so Wozniak took home $350.
16. At the tender age of 12, Jobs asked William Hewlett, co-founder of Hewlett-Packard for some parts to complete a school project. Hewlett offered Jobs an internship at his company.
17. Jobs met Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak in high school when Jobs was 13 and Wozniak was 18.
18. Steve had a brief fling with Joan Boaz, the folk singer back in his hippie days. Unfortunately though, she left him for his favorite musician – Bob Dylan.
19. His Full Name is Steven Paul Jobs.
20. "We'll lose our money, but at least we'll have had a company." It's
quite easy to fall into the mistake of thinking that the at the
creation of Apple, now one of the top two largest companies in the
world, the founders were these amazing visionaries filled with
conviction of success and their ability to change the world with the
product they had created. Well, it certainly wasn't the case with Apple.
In fact, both Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were pretty certain of how
improbable were their chances of success. "We won't see the money we've
invested in back," said Wozniak. Jobs replied: "Yeah, we'll lose our
money, but at least we will be able to say we had a company."
21."Let's hide our porsches." When
an investor was coming to visit NEXT one day in the early 90s, Steve
Job ran off to the parking lot to take his Porsche out of sight and had
his employee Randy Adams do the same with his porsche. "He's gonna think
we've got money if he sees the Porsche's," Jobs said.
22. When
he returned to Apple in the mid 90s, Steve Jobs donated Apple's first
computers, machines, blueprints to Stanford University. Clearing
up the old to make space for the new. That was his way of letting go of
the past and embracing the future of then seriously troubled company.
23.
Following the success of Apple II and subsequent IPO, one of Apple's
engineers went to Steve Jobs and told him he would give stock to another
employee if Jobs matched it. Jobs replied: "Yeah, I'll match it. I'll
give zero and you give zero."
24. His Religion is Zen Buddhism. He went to India to meditate and learn about a simpler way of life.
25. He was very private about his marriage. His wife was Laurene Powell Jobs and they got married in Yosemite national park on March 18, 1991.
26. His wife is an MBA graduate of Stanford and was appointed by President Obama to be a member of the White House Council for Community Solutions due to her active involvement in the non-profit community.
27. Despite his wife's work in the non-profit sector, Jobs was not known for his charitable works.
In the early days of Apple, Jobs cut back on all of their philanthropic
programs saying they would “wait until [they] are profitable.” Although
they never restarted their programs, they may have donated anonymously.
28. He denied paternity on his first child, claiming he was sterile. The mother had to initially raise the kid using welfare checks. The child did turn out to be his daughter who was named Lisa.
29. As an ode to his daughter, he named the "Apple III" computer Lisa after his first born. The mother is Chris-Ann Brennan.
30. The excitement you feel when opening up a new Apple product is not by accident. Jobs was passionate about packaging and a group in the company obsessively open boxes in an attempt to get the right emotional response.
31. Apple had three founders, not two. The company was founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne.
32. The first Apple logo was drawn by Ronald Wayne who
also wrote the original partnership agreement and the Apple I computer
manual. Unfortunately, he sold his 10% stake two weeks into the
partnership for just $800.
33. Jobs did not want to offer products in white. However, after designer Jonathan Ive showed him the shade “moon grey”, he was convinced.
34. Steve Wozniak ended his full-time employment in 1987. However, he is still an official Apple employee and receives a stipend estimated to be worth $120,000 a year.
35. Jobs purchased Pixar Animation Studios from George Lucas in 1986.
Reed College photo handout
36. Jobs attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon in 1972.
37. While working at Atari, Jobs was actually put on the night shift because of his hygiene or lack thereof. It is said that he never bathed, and would walk around the office in his bare feet.
38. Jobs never used license plates on the silver Mercedes SL55 AMG he always drove.
39. He would always park in the handicap parking zone.
40. Steve Jobs GPA was 2.65 / 4 which
is considered pretty mediocre. Jobs never thought of himself a good
student and instead preferred to learn in different ways and didn't
enjoy much for the structure of schools.
41. Steve Jobs' signature was inside every original Macintosh. Jobs
would get the team to sign a piece of paper which would become the
model for a metal plate that would go inside every Macintosh computer.
42. His attention to detail was unlike anyone had ever seen. He frantically called a Google Engineer on a Sunday with an emergency: the gradient on their O was slightly off.
43. Jobs acted as a mentor to Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page after seeing the potential in the company.
44. Jobs took on Eric Schmidt, the company’s eventual CEO choice, as one of his board members at Apple.
Android Vs Apple wallpaper
45.
Jobs felt betrayed by his former apprentices from Google after the
company entered the phone market with its Android devices.He said “Apple
didn’t enter the search business, so why did Google get into the phone
business?”
46. Jobs believed Google had stolen some of the features of the iPhone and decided to keep the development of the iPad a secret from Schmidt.
47. Older Apple laptops used to have the logo upside down. It wasn't a mistake, but a user-friendliness decision.
48. Apple I was the company's first computer and was priced at $666.66. Steve
Wozniak priced it without realising the devilish connotations, instead
pricing the machine one-third over the wholesale price of $500 and
preferring one repeating digit as it was easier to type.
Apple with Love Steve written on it (Source: Kimberly White / Reuters)
49. The Apple Macintosh computer was named after an actual apple, the McIntosh, because this was Jef Raskin's (an Apple employee working on the Macintosh project) favourite variety.
Steve Jobs (Source: Flickr/ marcopako)
50. After ending a long battle with pancreatic cancer, Jobs' last words were "Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow" while
looking over the shoulders of his family. Mona Simpson, revealed this
in her eulogy which was published in the New York Times.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic of PSG looks on
before the 2015 Trophee des Champions between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG)
and Olympique Lyonnais (OL) at Stade Saputo on August 1, 2015 in
Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
He is the captain of Swedish national team and plays as a forward.
Ibrahimovic first signed as a professional footballer with club “Malmo” in 1996 as a junior.
He represented his club’s senior side in the all Swedish club league “Allsvenskan” in the year 1999.
Currently he is playing for French club “Paris Saint- Germain F.C” as their forward. He is the Vice Captain of the team.
He was born on October 03, 1981 in Sweden to emigrant parents.
His father, a Muslim emigrated from “Bosnia” and his mother, a Catholic from Croatia.
His partner is Helena Segar. They have two sons named, Maximilian and Vincent.
At
the age of six he was introduced to football with a pair of boots. In
the initial year of junior days he played for both “Malmo” and “FBK
Balkan” clubs.
He is a great fan of Brazilian footballer “Ronaldo”. He idolized him as a teenager.
When
he was 15 years old, he preferred to work in the docks of Malmo instead
of playing football. He was persuaded against the idea by his coach.
He has honorary “Black Belt” in Taekwondo martial arts.
There
is a small football field called, “Zlatan Court” made out of recycled
football shoes in Rosengard, Malmo dedicated to Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
He
was all set to move from “Malmo” club to “Arsenal FC”. But Ibrahimovic
refused when Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger insisted for trial.
In July, 2001, Ibrahimovic joined Ajax for a transfer fee of € 8.7 million.
In
Ajax he blossomed under Coach Ronald Koeman and made his debut in
champions League on September 17, 2002. He was instrumental in “Ajax”
reaching quarter finals.
His goal against “NCA Breda” on August 22, 2004, in the Dutch league was voted by the viewers as “Goal of the Year”.
On
August 18, 2004, playing for “Sweden” against “Netherland,” he was
accused of injuring Rafael van der Vaart, his club mate on purpose. He
was sold to “Juventus” by the end the month for €16 million.
He replaced injured David Trezeguet. In his first season with “Juventus,” made his presence felt with 16 goals in the season.
By
the end of 2004 season, there was news of Ibrahimovic’s transfer to
“Real Madrid” for €70 million. It turned out to be his agent “Mino
Raiola’s” idea to inflate Ibrahimovic’s market.
On Nov 14, 2005 Ibrahimovic was awarded with Swedish Award “Guldbollen”, for being the best male Swedish footballer of the year.
Incidentally he is the only player to have won it nine times from 2005 to 2014, except for 2006.
His
2005-06 season as a striker was not fruitful. Although he was used as a
midfielder to good effect, the “Juventus” fans were frustrated.
His
stay with “Juventus” was cut short, because of 2006 Italian football
scandal, referred to as “Calciopoli Scandal”.
He signed a four year deal with “Internzionale” worth €24.8 million in Aug 10, 2006. He was a big fan of inter in his youth.
His
first season with “Internzionale” was memorable in more than one ways.
The club won 30 of the 38 matches with 17 of them consequently, which is
a record in “Serie A” matches. He was the club’s top scorer with 15
goals.
His contract with “Internzionale” was renewed in 2007, for another six seasons. He was the highest paid footballer of that time.
In Sep 2012 the city of Malmo honored Ibrahimovic with the inscription of his name in the city’s “Walk of Fame of Sports.
Ibrahimvoic
was declared as, “Serie A Footballer of the Year” for the season
2007-08. He scored 17 goals in 26 league matches in that process
“Internzionale” won its Second consecutive Serie A title.
He was declared as “Serie A Footballer of the Year” thrice, for the year 2008, 2009 and 2011.
He
was also declared as, “Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year” for the
season 2007-08. He won this award record 5 times, maximum by a player.
In
the season 2008-09 his goal in the match against “Bologna FC” was voted
“Goal of the Year”. He scored of his heel from the cross.
He
was the top scorer in 2008-09 “Serie A” season, with 25 goals from 38
matches. His club “Internzionale” won its 17 “Serie A” title.
In
the 2009-10 seasons he was transferred to “Barcelona FC”, for a transfer
fee of €69.5 million. He scored in his first five league matches, a
record for the club.
In
an interview to “The Guardian” he said, playing for “Barcelona” along
with Messi, Iniesta, Xavi, Puyol, Pique, Dani Alves and Busquets was
unbelievable. The level of play was from another planet.
He
was red carded for a foul in a match against “Almeria” and suspended for
a game along with his coach “Duo Pep Guardiola.” His relation with his
coach was not the same again.
For
2010-11 season, he was loaned out to “A.C. Milan”. He scored the only
goal in 1-0 victory against his former club in the “Milan Derby,” a
biannual football match between Milanese Clubs.
“Milan”
Won the “Serie A” championship and it was rewarding for Ibrahimovic. He
was the top scorer for the club with 14 goals. His performance earned
praise from all and was compared with Marco van Basten, the Dutch
legend.
His
temperament was tested in the match against “Bari,” where he punched
Marco Rossi in the stomach. He was red carded and suspended for three
matches.
On
Aug 11, 2014 Ibrahimovic paid US$ 51,000 to fund intellectually disabled
Swedish national football team to “INAS World Football Championship in
Brazil.”
He
was once again in the wrong side of the law when he received red card
for slapping Salcatore Aroniaca in a goalless draw against “Napoli.” He
was further banned for three matches by the Sports judge Gianpaolo
Tosel.
On a
happier note “Milan” finished second in the 2011-12 “Serie A” league,
with most win, 24 out of 38 matches. Ibrahimovic was the top scorer in
the league, with 28 goals in 32 matches.
On
July 18, 2012 he signed a three years contract with French club “Paris
Saint-Germain” for combined fee of €180 million. He was the second best
paid footballer after Samuel Eto’o.
In March 2014, Sweden issued set of five postal stamps on Ibrahimovic.
Summing
up his transfer to “Paris Saint-Germain,” he said “It is a big step in
my career and another dream come true. I am very happy because, it is a
project that I want to be involved in. I want to be part of the history
of the club. I am here to win and nothing else.”
He
helped his club to 2012-13 “Ligue 1” championship, after a gap of 19
long years. He was the league’s top goal scorer with 30 goals. He was
awarded “Player of the Year” by the French professional footballer
(UNFP).
Former
French international Jean-Pierre Papin was of the opinion that, “we
haven't had a goal scorer like him in France for a long time. He is on a
different planet to anyone else”.
On
Nov 14, 2012 in a 4-1 win against England, he scored a goal from 35
yards with his back to goal with an overhead kick. The goal was called
“Goal of the Year” and won him 2013 “FIFA Puskas Award.”
Ibrahimovic is “Sweden’s” top scorer with 56 goals in 105 internationals.
He
featured in the 2007 all-time list of 50 hardest footballers by “The
Times.” He is known for his powerful shot, acrobatic ability, agility,
finishing and technique of scoring goal with both feet on dead ball
situation.
On
Feb 14, 2015 in a match against “S.M. Caen” on scoring a goal, he took
off his shirt to reveal tattoo of 50 people names around the world,
suffering of hunger. This act was in support of “U.N. Food Programm.”
During World War II a Dutch minesweeper evaded the Japanese for eight days disguised as an island.
The crew covered the decks in cut trees and painted exposed surfaces to
look like rocks. They moved only at night and anchored closed to shore
by day, eventually escaping to Australia.
Owen J. Baggett
became legendary as the only person to down a Japanese aircraft with a
M1911 pistol hitting the pilot in the head while he was parachuting.
Polish Catholic midwife Stanisława Leszczyńska delivered 3,000 babies at the Auschwitz concentration camp during the Holocaust in occupied Poland.
Franz Von Werra,
a Nazi POW who was transfered to Canada to deter his multiple escapes
and recaptures, escaped again in less than a month, traveling through
the US, Mexico, Brazil, Spain and Italy to become the only Western held
POW to return to combat. On 25 October 1941 Von Werra took off in Bf
109F-4 (W.Nr. 7285) on a practice flight. He suffered engine failure and
crashed into the sea north of Vlissingen and was killed. His body was
never found.
The Jerrycan
is named for the ‘Jerries’, which was British slang for ‘Germans’
during WW2. Captured Jerrycans were coveted by British soldiers, as they
were superior to the leaky and unreliable British models. Jerrycans
were so superior to previous designs that the British North Africa
campaign was hindered by their inferior version, known as “flimsies”.
The Allied forces reverse engineered the jerrycan to replace their ‘flimsies’.
A Japanese pilot waged a one-man war
against the inhabitants of a Hawaiian island he crash landed on during
Pearl Harbour. He was assisted by three Japanese locals. This incident
ultimately contributed to the decision to intern Japanese-Americans
during the war.
During the German Invasion of Poland, 720 Poles defended their position against over 40.000 attacking Germans, stopping their advance for three days.
Born on October 14, 1988, the Victorian-born
cricketer has made a splash in international cricket with his ability to
clear the ropes with relative ease. In fact, Maxwell is a complete
package, as he is also an electric fielder and bowls off-spin.
Nicknamed as the 'Big Show', Maxwell broke into the Victorian side in
the 2009-10 season. Maxwell holds the record for the fastest ever fifty
in domestic cricket, scoring it in just 19 balls against Tasmania in
2011.
His all-round ability impressed the Indian IPL
side, Delhi, during the 2011-12 season, but he failed to make any sort
of impact. He also represented Hampshire in the Friends Provident T20 tournament.
With his big-hitting abilities, it was not a surprise when he was
selected to play for Australia during the tour to the Middle East for a
series of ODIs against Afghanistan and Pakistan. He failed to make a
mark on debut against Afghanistan but showed his worth when he steered
Australia to a series-clinching victory during the third ODI with a
crafty 56. It was followed by a lean period in the home ODIs against Sri
Lanka. He was promoted to open the innings when Australia were chasing a
modest score of 71 against West Indies in the first ODI in Perth in
February 2012 and he cashed in, scoring a quickfire fifty.
Maxwell was selected for the Test tour of India
in 2013 and made his debut as the second spinner in the Hyderabad Test.
He failed with the bat but grabbed his first Test wicket when he
dismissed Murali Vijay. He went on to finish with four wickets for the
innings.
Maxwell also became a millionaire when he was bought for $ 1 million by Mumbai during the 2013 IPL auctions, the highest paid player in that round of the auctions. He was later bought by Punjab in the IPL auctions in 2014. The right-handed middle-order batsman threatened opposition ranks at the 2014 T20
WC with his aggressive style of play and scored fighting cameos against
Pakistan and West Indies. Maxwell then carried his rich vein of form
into IPL
7, threatening the opposition with his aggressive style of batting. He
amassed over 550 runs, including four fifties and was out in 90s thrice.
His exploits in the IPL
made him a certainty in Australia's limited-overs squad. Apart from
doing well with the bat, he also bowled a double wicket maiden over,
bowling the last over in the third ODI against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi to
help Australia win the game by one run. Although, his form with the bat
dipped soon after, the selectors named him in the 2015 World Cup squad
because of his match-winning abilities.
Maxwell scored 324 runs
in the World Cup, which included a ton and two fifties. His century
came against Sri Lanka in the quarter-final, a knock that earned him the
Man of the Match award. It was also his maiden ton in ODIs.
Neuroscientists have long wondered why the
brain has a region exclusively dedicated to reading -- a skill that is
unique to humans and only developed about 5,400 years ago.
McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT),
A
new study from MIT reveals that a brain region dedicated to reading has
connections for that skill even before children learn to read.
By
scanning the brains of children before and after they learned to read,
the researchers found that they could predict the precise location where
each child's visual word form area (VWFA) would develop, based on the
connections of that region to other parts of the brain.
Neuroscientists
have long wondered why the brain has a region exclusively dedicated to
reading -- a skill that is unique to humans and only developed about
5,400 years ago, which is not enough time for evolution to have reshaped
the brain for that specific task. The new study suggests that the VWFA,
located in an area that receives visual input, has pre-existing
connections to brain regions associated with language processing, making
it ideally suited to become devoted to reading.
"Long-range
connections that allow this region to talk to other areas of the brain
seem to drive function," says Zeynep Saygin, a postdoc at MIT's McGovern
Institute for Brain Research. "As far as we can tell, within this
larger fusiform region of the brain, only the reading area has these
particular sets of connections, and that's how it's distinguished from
adjacent cortex."
Saygin is the lead author of the study, which appears in the Aug. 8 issue of Nature Neuroscience.
Nancy Kanwisher, the Walter A. Rosenblith Professor of Brain and
Cognitive Sciences and a member of the McGovern Institute, is the
paper's senior author. Specialized for reading
The
brain's cortex, where most cognitive functions occur, has areas
specialized for reading as well as face recognition, language
comprehension, and many other tasks. Neuroscientists have hypothesized
that the locations of these functions may be determined by prewired
connections to other parts of the brain, but they have had few good
opportunities to test this hypothesis.
Reading presents a unique
opportunity to study this question because it is not learned right away,
giving scientists a chance to examine the brain region that will become
the VWFA before children know how to read. This region, located in the
fusiform gyrus, at the base of the brain, is responsible for recognizing
strings of letters.
Children participating in the study were
scanned twice -- at 5 years of age, before learning to read, and at 8
years, after they learned to read. In the scans at age 8, the
researchers precisely defined the VWFA for each child by using
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure brain activity
as the children read. They also used a technique called
diffusion-weighted imaging to trace the connections between the VWFA and
other parts of the brain.
The researchers saw no indication from
fMRI scans that the VWFA was responding to words at age 5. However, the
region that would become the VWFA was already different from adjacent
cortex in its connectivity patterns. These patterns were so distinctive
that they could be used to accurately predict the precise location where
each child's VWFA would later develop.
Although the area that
will become the VWFA does not respond preferentially to letters at age
5, Saygin says it is likely that the region is involved in some kind of
high-level object recognition before it gets taken over for word
recognition as a child learns to read. Still unknown is how and why the
brain forms those connections early in life. Pre-existing connections
The
MIT team now plans to study whether this kind of brain imaging could
help identify children who are at risk of developing dyslexia and other
reading difficulties.
"It's really powerful to be able to predict
functional development three years ahead of time," Saygin says. "This
could be a way to use neuroimaging to try to actually help individuals
even before any problems occur."
Story Source:
The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The original item was written by Anne Trafton. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Who has not tried or sought ways to hack a facebook account ? A hacker from California (USA) also tried his own exploration and found a form to crack Facebook password which simply allowshim to reset any user password. Yes, a critical failure in Facebook allows a hacker to hack multiple Facebook accounts.
A very critical failure in Facebook allows a hacker to log into multiple Facebook accounts. Who has not tried or sought ways to hack a facebook account ? A hacker from California (USA) also tried his own exploration and found a form to crack Facebook password which simply allows him to reset any user password.
As we all know that the social media giant Facebook
basically uses a unique algorithm which simply generates a random
6-digit passcode that is 10⁶ = 1,000,000 possible combinations.
However
the hacker, Gurkirat Singh explained in a blog post that “It could
possibly mean that if 1 million people request a password within a short
amount of time such that no one uses their code to reset the password,
then 1,000,0001 people to request a code will get a passcode that
someone from the batch has already been assigned”.
What the hacker Gurkirat Singh tried to explain?
Basically, whenever more than 1,000,000 users request for the password reset at that time the social media giant Facebook
simply needs to store the duplicate codes for the multiple users. Yes,
this means that more than two people have the same reset code and to use
this for his purpose, the hacker Gurkirat Singh simply formed a new way
to send the code in 2 million password change requests to Facebook.
Doesn't get any simpler! #Hacking #Facebook https://t.co/2vi14s1Qtp
— Gurkirat Singh (@GurkiratSpeca) August 25, 2016
Usually, the Facebook IDs are 15-digit long, while the hacker Gurkirat Singh made queries to Facebook Graph API to see which IDs were valid simply by using 1,00,000,000,000,000. But, it is only possible if you have authorized facebook apps. After this, you can simply enter the ID in the URL like “www.facebook.com/[ID]” once the match found. It will automatically change the ID into a username.
Facebook password hackThe
hacker Gurkirat Singh used a series of commands within a file that is
capable of being executed without being compiled simply to simulate user
behaviour when a passcode is required. It simply requests a passcode to
every user in the JSON file created earlier. For the IP problem, the
Gurkirat Singh simply used a proxy server that listened to HTTP Requests
and then assigned a random IP address to each request.
The hacker told the Hacker News that “I would have never imagined that a company as big as Facebook would be susceptible to sheer computing power. The efficacy of the bug I found relied on just that”.
Also
added that “I was informed by Facebook that the patch has been applied
and that they have started throttling aggressively per IP address. Given
a much larger pool of IP addresses that can simulate a global network
flow combined with little social engineering, I still doubt if their
patch is strong enough to mitigate this vulnerability”.
A
team of scientists from the National Space Institute at the Technical
University of Denmark (DTU Space) and the Racah Institute of Physics at
the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has linked large solar eruptions to
changes in Earth's cloud cover in a study based on over 25 years of
satellite observations.
The solar eruptions are known to shield Earth's atmosphere from cosmic rays. However the new study, published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics,
shows that the global cloud cover is simultaneously reduced, supporting
the idea that cosmic rays are important for cloud formation. The
eruptions cause a reduction in cloud fraction of about 2 percent
corresponding to roughly a billion tonnes of liquid water disappearing
from the atmosphere.
Since clouds are known to affect global
temperatures on longer timescales, the present investigation represents
an important step in the understanding of clouds and climate
variability.
"Earth is under constant bombardment by particles
from space called galactic cosmic rays. Violent eruptions at the Sun's
surface can blow these cosmic rays away from Earth for about a week. Our
study has shown that when the cosmic rays are reduced in this way there
is a corresponding reduction in Earth's cloud cover. Since clouds are
an important factor in controlling the temperature on Earth our results
may have implications for climate change," explains lead author on the
study Jacob Svensmark of DTU. Very energetic particles
These
particles generate electrically charged molecules -- ions -- in Earth's
atmosphere. Ions have been shown in the laboratory to enhance the
formation of aerosols, which can serve as seeds for the formation of the
cloud drops that make up a cloud. Whether this actually happens in the
atmosphere, or only in the laboratory is a topic that has been
investigated and debated for years.
When the large solar eruptions
blow away the galactic cosmic rays before they reach Earth they cause a
reduction in atmospheric ions of up to about 20 to -30 percent over the
course of a week. So if ions affect cloud formation it should be
possible to observe a decrease in cloud cover during events when the Sun
blows away cosmic rays, and this is precisely what is done in this
study.
The so-called 'Forbush decreases' of the cosmic rays have
previously been linked to week-long changes in Earth's cloud cover but
the effect has been debated at length in the scientific literature. The
new study concludes that "there is a real impact of Forbush decreases on
cloud microphysics" and that the results support the suggestion that
"ions play a significant role in the life-cycle of clouds."
Arriving
at that conclusion was, however, a hard endeavor; Very few strong
Forbush decreases occur and their effect on cloud formation is expected
to be close to the limit of detection using global atmospheric
observations measured by satellites and land based stations. Therefore
it was of the greatest importance to select the strongest events for
study since they had to have the most easily detected effect.
Determining this strength required combining data from about 130
stations in combination with atmospheric modeling.
This new method
resulted in a list of 26 events in the period of 1987-2007 ranked
according to ionization. This ranked list was important for the
detection of a signal, and may also shed some light on why previous
studies have arrived at varied conclusions, since they have relied on
events that were not necessarily ranked high on the list. Possible long term effect
The effect from Forbush decreases on clouds is too brief to have any impact on long-term temperature changes.
However
since clouds are affected by short term changes in galactic cosmic
radiation, they may well also be affected by the slower change in Solar
activity that happens on scales from tens to hundreds of years, and thus
play a role in the radiation budget that determines the global
temperature.
The Suns contribution to past and future climate
change may thus be larger than merely the direct changes in radiation,
concludes the scientists behind the new study.
Story Source:
The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Technical University of Denmark. The original item was written by Morten Garly Andersen. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
The researchers targeted the thalamus with low-intensity focused ultrasound pulsation.
Credit: Martin Monti/UCLA
University of California - Los Angeles,
A
25-year-old man recovering from a coma has made remarkable progress
following a treatment at UCLA to jump-start his brain using ultrasound.
The technique uses sonic stimulation to excite the neurons in the
thalamus, an egg-shaped structure that serves as the brain's central hub
for processing information.
"It's almost as if we
were jump-starting the neurons back into function," said Martin Monti,
the study's lead author and a UCLA associate professor of psychology and
neurosurgery. "Until now, the only way to achieve this was a risky
surgical procedure known as deep brain stimulation, in which electrodes
are implanted directly inside the thalamus," he said. "Our approach
directly targets the thalamus but is noninvasive."
Monti said the
researchers expected the positive result, but he cautioned that the
procedure requires further study on additional patients before they
determine whether it could be used consistently to help other people
recovering from comas.
"It is possible that we were just very
lucky and happened to have stimulated the patient just as he was
spontaneously recovering," Monti said.
A report on the treatment is published in the journal Brain Stimulation. This is the first time the approach has been used to treat severe brain injury.
The
technique, called low-intensity focused ultrasound pulsation, was
pioneered by Alexander Bystritsky, a UCLA professor of psychiatry and
biobehavioral sciences in the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human
Behavior and a co-author of the study. Bystritsky is also a founder of
Brainsonix, a Sherman Oaks, California-based company that provided the
device the researchers used in the study.
That device, about the
size of a coffee cup saucer, creates a small sphere of acoustic energy
that can be aimed at different regions of the brain to excite brain
tissue. For the new study, researchers placed it by the side of the
man's head and activated it 10 times for 30 seconds each, in a 10-minute
period.
Monti said the device is safe because it emits only a small amount of energy -- less than a conventional Doppler ultrasound.
Before
the procedure began, the man showed only minimal signs of being
conscious and of understanding speech -- for example, he could perform
small, limited movements when asked. By the day after the treatment, his
responses had improved measurably. Three days later, the patient had
regained full consciousness and full language comprehension, and he
could reliably communicate by nodding his head "yes" or shaking his head
"no." He even made a fist-bump gesture to say goodbye to one of his
doctors.
"The changes were remarkable," Monti said.
The
technique targets the thalamus because, in people whose mental function
is deeply impaired after a coma, thalamus performance is typically
diminished. And medications that are commonly prescribed to people who
are coming out of a coma target the thalamus only indirectly.
Under
the direction of Paul Vespa, a UCLA professor of neurology and
neurosurgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, the
researchers plan to test the procedure on several more people beginning
this fall at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. Those tests will be
conducted in partnership with the UCLA Brain Injury Research Center and
funded in part by the Dana Foundation and the Tiny Blue Dot Foundation.
If
the technology helps other people recovering from coma, Monti said, it
could eventually be used to build a portable device -- perhaps
incorporated into a helmet -- as a low-cost way to help "wake up"
patients, perhaps even those who are in a vegetative or minimally
conscious state. Currently, there is almost no effective treatment for
such patients, he said.
The study's other co-authors are Vespa,
who holds UCLA's Gary L. Brinderson Family Chair in Neurocritical Care
and is director of neurocritical care at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical
Center; Caroline Schnakers, a UCLA neurosurgery researcher; and
Alexander Korb, a Semel Institute researcher.
Story Source:
The above post is reprinted from materials provided by University of California - Los Angeles. The original item was written by Stuart Wolpert. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
In a series of tweets on Sunday afternoon, Finn Balor opened up about
the labrum tear that forced him to vacate the WWE Universal
Championship last Monday on Raw.
Balor said that he knew the injury was serious the moment he got powerbombed into the barricade by Seth Rollins at SummerSlam, and the severity of it was confirmed after hours of scans.
He noted that surgery was more complicated than expected, but vowed to make a comeback. Balor’s tweets are compiled below:
What
a rollercoaster week. I woke up the morning of SummerSlam with nothing
but positivity & feeling physically better than ever. The moment I
got injured I knew it was serious, it was an instinctive reaction to
pull on my wrist, I entered survival mode.
When the bell rang, I
had won, I was the Champion, but I was reluctant to celebrate as I
already knew in my heart what awaited at Raw. Disappointed yes, but I
was CHAMPION and I was not missing an opportunity to fulfill my duty and
appear on @GMA Monday morning.
After hours of scans & despite
some hope, the worst was confirmed at 5 pm Monday. I would need surgery
ASAP & relinquish the title on Raw. The most difficult part of
relinquishing the title was when I came back through the curtain and I
was over come by a feeling of inadequacy. Despite every emotion I had felt the previous 24 hours… I was still the CHAMPION. That gave me strength. Now I was not….
Tuesday at 3 am I traveled to Birmingham, Alabama. Dr. Dugas prepped me for surgery as a photo
of Seth Rollins watched over us. What was supposed to be a 1 hr surgery
turned into 4 hrs, as once I was opened up, the Dr. found a lot more to
the injury the the scans showed. 180* labrum tear, torn bicep, pectoral
tendon cartilage damage, and fracture to the glenoid neck socket (I
have it in a jar on my dresser).
Wednesday morning at 5 am I awake
after the surgery groggy and sore. The gravity of the situation began
to set in. Rehab will start at 9 am. Thursday 5 am fly back to Orlando,
check-in with Performance Center medical staff & we begin planning
The Comeback.
Balor also talked about the surgery in a
video interview with WWE, saying that it may take at least six months
of rehabilitation to heal.
Height: 5’10” Weight: 182 lbs. Representing: Pakistan Style: Technical, high-flying Signature Move: Inverted 450 Splash
A veteran of the cruiserweight wars, Mustafa Ali will aim to bring
his years of experience to Full Sail University in pursuit of the
Cruiserweight Classic crown.
Ali is no stranger to stiff competition, having traveled all over the
country for a decade-plus, squaring off with some of the toughest
competition both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions have to
offer. Will his multi-level experience help him float and sting to glory
in the Cruiserweight Classic?
1. There are two modes of thinking: Focused and Diffuse Focused
mode happens when you work on a problem intently, such as when taking a
test or really concentrating on memorising something. You use most of
your working memory for this mode of thinking.
Diffuse mode is
thinking behind the scene. Say you encountered a difficult math problem
you just can't solve even after a long time, so you take a break. While
you are taking a break, your brain doesn't stop trying to solve the
problem -- it will keep on working, without you even realising it. If
you've seen how some people come out from hot shower all excited because
they think they just had a brilliant breakthrough, it's diffuse mode.
Neither
is better than the other; they are useful in different settings. If you
want to be a better learner, you need to be aware of and know how to
use both efficiently.
2. Chunking Chunking is a process
whereby you try to make sense of something complex by breaking it down
and working on smaller units ("chunks"). For example, in learning a new
language, you learn the phrases, grammars, vocabs, etc that would help
you construct complex sentences. Had you tried to form a complex
sentence right from the get go, it would have been much more difficult,
because everything seems foreign. Chunking makes difficult subjects more
manageable.
Another benefit to chunking is that it can help you
in future chunking, even when you are learning something completely
different. For instance, some songs are used as mnemonic device to
memorise periodic table. Polyglots all around the world also agree that
the more languages they know, the easier it is to learn yet another new
language. The chunks they've accummulated from their previous learnt
languages help in the chunking process of the new language.
3. Spaced repetition Instead
of reading and memorising the textbook 20x in a day for the test
tomorrow, it's much better to spread out the 20x throughout the month
before the test. Why? By interweaving the learning over a longer period
of time, you move the material from short term memory to long term
memory. This consolidation period happens when you sleep -- so sleep!
Sacrificing sleep the night before tests/presentation is
counterproductive.
4. Procrastination Learning is
painful (and also fun!) -- your brain wants to avoid feeling pain
because it's uncomfortable. The solution it came up with is to
prioritise short term gain as opposed to long term benefits (which
requires the painful work). That's why instead of reading the textbook,
you watch cat videos.
The key is to realise two things: A. The pain is only in the beginning. Once you get started, the pain will dissipate.
B. Focus on the process, not the product.
Too often we focus on the product -- "I want to be fluent in another
language," "I want to be ripped," -- but nothing gets done in the end
because often the path to the product is long and arduous. If we can
enjoy the process, we'll get much farther.
More on #2 below.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
1. How to remember and understand better: Use your focused mode to understand and memorise the material initially, and then stop. Do something else. Allow your diffuse mode to kick in to etch the idea even deeper.
Practice, practice, practice (remember the concept of spaced repetition). Sleep to consolidate learning and put them in your long term memory.
Learning myth: that mind maps and re-reading materials will make you competent at the subject.
No.
They only create the illusion of competence. Only recalling and practice help
make you remember the material better and at a deeper level. That's why
it's important to take tests (a form of recalling & practice).
To memorise easier, use memory palace technique and vivid imaginations.
Memory palace technique is a technique used by memory athletes around
the world to memorise a huge number of random words/numbers in a very
short amount of time. They can even regurgitate the memorised words in
reversed order!
How? By attaching each word to a location they
know well -- like their own home. For example, "egg" in the entrance
door, "milk" in the shoe rack, "meatball" in the guest room, "wallet" on
the dinner table.
They also memorise difficult words using
vivid imaginations and creativity. For example, "phosphorus" might be
memorised as "frost forest." They sound similar, but much more
memorable!
Use checklist to reduce the working memory
used. Without checklist of the things need to be done, you will be
constantly thinking about what to do next and hope nothing gets missed.
By creating a checklist (ideally done the night before to consolidate
the tasks while you sleep), you can release the working memory and use
the capacity for other more productive things.
2. How to avoid procrastination Focus on the process instead of the product by using Pomodoro technique.
Pomodoro technique regiments your focus for 25 minutes at a time, with 5
minute break at the end. During the focus session, completely remove
all distraction and just work on the material. During the 5 minute
break, reward yourself with coffee, walk, short conversation, etc. Then
take another Pomodoro session. Rinse and repeat.
There are
Pomodoro apps you can download from your app store for free that will
time the pomodoro sessions out for you. Search for "Pomodoro."
Have a ton of rep to learn, and not much time?
You’ve heard the old adage “practice makes perfect.”
And you’ve probably heard the saying “perfect practice makes perfect.”
That’s all fine and dandy, but both imply that motor learning occurs only during practice. That how we practice – our practice strategies, methods, and techniques – are the primary determinant of how quickly we improve.
Those things do matter greatly, of course.
But it turns out that there are other factors that contribute to motor learning too (wait…what?!).
For instance, researchers have found that learning actually continues for at least 24 hours after you have stopped practicing. In fact, a number of studies have found significant gains in performance 24 hours later – even with no further practice.
Hmm…how
can this be? And what are the implications? Is this something we can
optimize – is there something we can do to maximize the learning that
takes place after we leave the practice room?
Let’s take a look.
A 20.5% improvement in 12 hours
So
how is it that we continue to improve even when we’re not practicing?
Do things simply settle in with time? Or does sleep have something to do
with it?
A team of neurophysiologists at Harvard conducted a study to see if they could answer this question.
They
trained 62 participants in a finger tapping task. Each participant
received 12 30-second training trials, and then were tested to see
how effectively (based on speed and accuracy) they could reproduce this
sequence.
Group A received their training at 10am, and were
re-tested every 4 hours (at 2pm, 6pm, and 10pm). There was no meaningful
change to speak of. Basically just some minor improvement likely
resulting from the continued repetitions at each re-test.
Group
B was also trained at 10am, and tested 12 hours later at 10pm, and
again at 10am the next day. They showed a non-significant 3.9%
improvement in performance when tested at 10pm. But when tested at 10am
after a night of sleep, they demonstrated an 18.9% improvement relative to their scores 24 hours prior (with no decrease in accuracy), and 14.4% relative to their scores the night before.
To make sure it was actually the sleep that contributed to this improvement
in scores, and not simply the extra time, another group was trained and
tested at 10pm, then 10am, and 10pm the following day. These
participants demonstrated a 20.5% improvement from 10pm to 10am. And only a 2% improvement from 10am to 10pm.
So it’s not just the passage of time, but actual sleep, that seems to have an impact on the learning of motor skills.
Of
course, this is just a study of a bunch of college kids learning some
contrived motor skill task in a lab. Is this really applicable to
musicians?
Sleep = fewer mistakes
Amy Simmons and Robert Duke (learn more about Dr. Duke via this violinist.com article) conducted a study of 75 music majors at the University of Texas – Austin, all with 2 years of experience in piano class.
Each learned to play a tricky 12-note melody, and were instructed to play the melody as “quickly and accurately” as possible, using the fingerings specified in the music.
Like
the Harvard study, there were multiple groups, some which were tested
after periods of sleep, and others which were tested without sleeping in
between.
The results were consistent with the other
research in this area – and a little more illustrative of how this
relates to musicians.
Unlike the Harvard study, where gains were made primarily in speed, accuracy was the factor that improved most in the musician study.
Participants
made fewer errors when tested after having had a period of sleep
between tests. And no, they didn’t just play slower in order to make
fewer mistakes.
Why didn’t speed improve?
The researchers
noted that participants appeared to find a particular tempo that made
sense to them given the particular way in which the melody was written,
and didn’t seem that intent on playing the passage above that tempo –
even when accuracy no longer seemed to be an issue.
Makes sense,
right? As music majors, they all probably had a pretty good sense of
what the “right” tempo for a particular passage ought to be.
How much sleep is enough?
So how much sleep do we need to see benefits?
A recent study by researchers at Brown gives us some clues.
They set out to identify what exactly happens in the brain during sleep that contributes to this performance improvement.
One
group of participants were trained in a finger tapping task (somewhat
akin to typing or playing a keyboard). Then they were allowed to sleep
for 3 hours, at which point researchers woke them up.
An hour later, they were tested on the tapping task.
A control group did not get to sleep after learning the task, but were simply tested 4 hours after the training.
As in the other studies, those who slept performed the task faster and more accurately.
There are several cool things about the study, but two takeaways are:
Three hours seems to be enough to observe the beneficial effect of
sleep on motor skill improvement. Might more than 3 hours be more
helpful? It’s not certain what the optimal “dose” of sleep might be.
However, the researchers were able to identify the exact phase of
sleep that seems to be responsible for the associated performance
improvements. Namely, deep sleep.
That’s the phase of sleep when you’re totally zonked out and it’s
really difficult to wake you up (and is, interestingly, the phase when
sleepwalking occurs). It takes some time to get into deep sleep, so a
quick 20 minute nap is probably not long enough to produce these
performance improvements.
Take action
So is the big takeaway that we should sleep? But…how is that helpful? We’re all going to sleep eventually.
Here’s one way we might be able to apply these findings.
A student recently
told me a story about a time when he had only 7 days left to prepare
for a concert, and was getting really stressed out about it until he
realized he could turn 7 days into 14 days.
How?
He
practiced in the morning for 3 hours. Slept for 3 hours. Then did 3 more
hours of practicing later in the day. In essence, turning each day into
two days.
He was half-joking when he said this, but given the research above, perhaps there’s something to this strategy after all!
Studying isn’t one task, it’s many. You may need to memorize facts or
just understand the basics. You might need a broad conceptual base, or
just skills. To add even more variety, each person has different
learning styles and preferences.
No one tool is the right one. But with fifty here, you’re bound to find something that might help. **Authors Note: I realize this article is fairly long, so you may want to bookmark it to finish it later**
1) Visualization
The
idea here is that you want to put abstract information into a picture.
If you are struggling to understand a concept, visualization is a good
technique to start with.
2) Rote Memorization
I’m not a
huge fan of this method, but sometimes brute force is required. Rote
memorization involves pounding information into your brain by repeating
it continually. Works best when the information is arbitrary and
fact-based, so applications won’t go beyond simple memory.
3) Interlinking
Take
two ideas and ask yourself how they relate. They can be ideas within a
specific field (short roads) or between two completely different fields
(freeways). By doing this you create a roadmap for traveling between
information in your brain. I suggest reading my article on holistic learning if you want to find out more.
4) Metaphor
Take
a more complex idea and compare it to a simpler one. When learning
computer programming, I found it helpful to look at a function like a
pencil sharpener. A parameter was a dull pencil, inside processes
sharpened and returned a sharp pencil. Some metaphors have limited
applications while others can be used for deep understanding.
5) Diagram
Draw
it out. I love using diagrams for sorting large pieces of information.
When I used to write computer programs fairly heavily, my desktop would
have pieces of paper with hastily scratched diagrams. I consider
creating a diagram to be the upgraded version of visualization.
6) Fluid Notes
Most
people take notes in a linear fashion, writing one statement after the
next. Fluid notes may look less organized, but involves you drawing
connections between ideas and writing in all directions across the page.
Remember the point of note taking is to encourage learning, not just
record what was said.
7) Acronyms
A bit more efficient
than rote memorization is to use mnemonics. Acronyms simplifying
memorized information are a great way to do this. When I used to
lifeguard, I had memorized all sorts of acronyms for various procedures
such as RED or ABC. Make up your own acronyms to store arbitrary info.
8) Link Method
This
is an advanced memory technique. I’ve found it works surprisingly well,
but it takes longer to set up and requires practice if you want to do
it quickly. The basic idea is that you link two ideas together by
forming a bizarre picture that involves both of them.
If I wanted
to memorize a grocery list that had apples, milk and beans, my goal
would be to create two images that linked apples to milk and milk to
beans. The first could be a picture of a giant apple milking a cow. The
second could be a milk container that poured baked beans.
9) Peg Method
A
variation of the link method, this one helps you memorize numbers.
Instead of linking two pictures together, you use a system of phonetics
to remember all the digits. From that you create short words and
sentences to encode numbers. This article isn’t enough to fully explain
the technique, but a Google search should give more depth if you’re
interested.
10) Retracing
Another technique that works
well with holistic learning is retracing. Basically this involves you
starting with one concept in your class. From that you find a
relationship between that idea and another idea. You continue doing this
path until you get back where you started or reach a dead end.
11) Zoom and Check
Skim
through any material you have to learn. Your goal isn’t to learn the
information but to notice what you don’t already know. If more than one
or two ideas pop out in a chapter, you should probably stop and go back.
12) Self-Test
Give yourself a test. Testing is a good way to see if you know what your doing, so try it out.
13) Anthropomorphize
Sounds
complicated but isn’t. Anthropomorphizing is the process of taking
non-human things and giving them human characteristics. Describing a
rock as being lonely would be an example. You can use this tool by
giving abstract ideas human qualities so they become easier to remember.
A
great example was given by my psychology professor. He showed how
signals are conducted along a neuron by describing it as people running
down the hallway of a hotel, as doors opened and closed.
14) Visceralize
Similar
to visualization except you use all your senses. This one is harder to
explain, but you can create a feeling, sound or sense that corresponds
with an idea. I remembered how to do basic matrix determinants by
linking the feeling of my hand moving through a box.
15) Leverage Previous Understandings
What
do you already know that could be useful? Make use of the information
you already have. Many times the specifics between subjects are
different, but founding principles are similar. Look for connections.
16) Gap Avoidance
I’ve
made use of this technique to pass tests I didn’t study for. Although I
always recommend actually learning information first, this can be a
booster to help in a crisis. The basic idea of gap avoidance is that you
become aware of what you don’t know and collect everything that you do.
I
once won an inter-province chemistry test where one question was to
write an essay on soap. I know very little about soap, so my first step
was to collect anything I knew that could be remotely related to soap.
Next I made note of what I did not know, so I could consciously avoid
displaying my ignorance when writing the essay.
I’d like to point
out that this technique isn’t magical. If you don’t know something,
you’ll still probably fail. But it can help if you are missing pieces of
information and can’t go back to study.
17) Brainstorming
Get
a couple people in a room and think it out. I find one or two other
people to be ideal, although some experts recommend up to six.
18) Mindstorming
Consider
this individual brainstorming. Write down all the ideas, thoughts and
information you can think of. A brain dump to get it all out on paper.
19) Relationship Diagrams
Diagrams
that focus on the relationship between information are a great tool.
Instead of just displaying information, show how it links together.
Combined with fluid note taking, this is a great way to piece all the
information together.
20) Give it a Hand
Use your fingers
and thumbs as a memory tool. Link different words or names to specific
fingers and memorize which go where. There are limits to this
application, but it can be useful if a good acronym doesn’t come
immediately.
21) Imaginary Room Method
A reader sent me
this one and it builds on the link technique. Imagine a room you are
familiar with. Now visualize all the major objects in this room. The
next step is to individually link specific information or details to
each object in your room.
Another variation on this technique uses
your body instead of a room. I suppose it depends on whether you are
more visual or visceral in your learning style.
22) Make it Interesting
Sounds
obvious, doesn’t it? You’ll remember information you find more
satisfying to know. Find ways you can use the information beyond just
getting a grade and it will become more real to you.
23) Teach It
Find someone and explain it to them. Nothing forces you to learn better than teaching.
24) The Kindergarten Rule
Similar
to teaching, the kindergarten rule proclaims that you should be able to
explain your subject to a six year old. While this isn’t going to work
for your advanced level calculus or biochemical courses, the idea is
that you should dumb down the information so it becomes obvious.
25) Song or Story
Another
memorizing technique, this one links information together by placing it
in a sequence of a song or a story. You could list all the bones in
your hand by creating a story in which you meet each of them in
sequence.
26) Chunking
Learn for fifteen minutes at a
time. Take frequent breaks and let your mind absorb what was learned. I
never do creative or learning work for more than an hour or two without a
change in pace.
27) Watch the Recorder
Are you learning
or just reading sentences off the page? Be conscious of when your mind
has slipped but your eyes are still gazing down. When the recorder
stops, go back and restart.
28) Learn it Once
What would
you do if you could only look through your textbook once? The
learn-it-once philosophy basically states that studying is a waste of
time. You should learn things immediately as they come to you rather
than delegating them to future study sessions. It may be slower, but it
forces you to learn instead of just skim.
29) Define Quality Information
What
information is important? Define your goals for learning and the
expectations of any examiners. By doing this you can figure out what
information is critical to memorize and what can be skimmed.
30) Cram
I hate cramming, but it seems popular enough for me to include it anyways. Put on another pot of coffee and expect little sleep.
31) Immersion
This
involves learning way more than you need to. The equivalent of diving
into the deep end of a pool full of sharks it can be one of the fastest
ways to learn (if you don’t get eaten alive). I know many people who
have used this method when trying to learn new languages. Basically you
become obsessed with the subject and hope that if only a small fraction
of it sticks, that will still be more than you could have learned by any
other method.
32) Learn as You Need It
Opposite to the
immersion method is the learn-as-you-go method. This works great when
the learning is for a field where mastery isn’t important. I used this
approach when learning the technical matters of blogging.
33) Pop Quiz
My
grandfather used this to teach my multiplication table when I was
little. At random points during the day he would say something like, “Quick!
What’s 8×12?”. This method might require an understanding friend or a
complex computer program, but it can force you to remember information
in any situation.
34) Give it Form
Don’t let an idea sit
as an abstraction in your head. Give it a shape, form, color and
meaning. Use your hands to describe it as a potter would sculpt a bowl
on a potters wheel.
35) Sleep on It
Sleep has been shown
to impact memory. Take time to rest yourself and get enough sleep so
that you can remember what you have learned.
36) Complete Focus
Occasionally
I’ll see people “studying” while listening to music or watching
television. Although they may have a gift in multitasking I wasn’t born
with, I think it is more likely that they are fooling themselves. Turn
off all the distractions and focus completely or don’t focus at all.
37) Ask Why
Ever
sat next to one of those annoying kids that asked “Why?” to everything
you said? Maybe it’s time you became that annoying kid and started
asking why to more of the information you are supposed to learn. When
information forms a logical pattern it becomes far easier to remember.
38) Find Your Peak Mental Hours
Everyone
has different creative peaks. Mine tend to be early afternoon and late
morning. When I try to work late in the evening I’m restless. When I try
to work early in the morning my mind is usually too fuzzy to think.
Find your peak mental hours so studying works for you.
39) Exercise
Cal Newport, mentioned these next two on his blog.
This first is exercising. Healthy body, healthy mind. I’ve found the
stereotype of the dumb jock to be fairly inaccurate. Usually the people
who keep fit are able to stay sharper mentally.
40) Burn Off Stress
Party,
mediate, socialize, whatever you need to do to relax. Being in a
depressed state won’t help your studies, so have fun and find a balance.
Then again, hangovers aren’t the best way to write an exam so know
where to draw the line.
41) Create
Learning and creating
are, in essence, the same activity. Don’t let learning become a passive
activity where you try to absorb information. Instead create
information. Form your own relationships, descriptions and examples.
42) Get a Tutor
Get
personalized instructions that match up with your learning style. Don’t
force a square peg into a circular hole if you don’t have to.
43) Know Thy Weaknesses
Did
you get a bad mark on that last test. Why? Was it just a lack of
preparation. Did you not remember the information, or did you have
trouble applying it? Figure out your weaknesses so you can develop tools
(or use these) to work around them.
44) Post It’s
Place
Post It’s all over your room with information from subjects. Mix them up
every few days so that you will notice them as you walk around.
45) Organize
I
must admit that organization has always been a struggle for me. I’m far
more inclined towards total environmental chaos and lost files than
robotic storage. But I have found that working on my organizational
skills allows me more mental room to learn. Ordered environment, ordered
mind.
46) Create a Learning Ritual
I can’t think of
article ideas if I’m not sitting in my chair. If I try going for a walk
or sitting somewhere else, my mind doesn’t focus. I’ve developed a
ritual for writing posts that makes it difficult to do anything else.
The advantage is that when I go through this ritual, I can think of
ideas fairly quickly. Creating a learning ritual where you study or read
in the same place can create a similar advantage.
47) Performance Flow
I’m incredibly relaxed when I’m
about to write tests. I’m rarely nervous, but I have a degree of tension
that keeps me focused. If you get too nervous during performance
situations, try breathing and meditation exercises to slow yourself
down.
48) Eat Light
Digestion uses a large amount of
energy in your body. By eating light before studying or a test you can
ensure you don’t feel groggy.
49) Write it Down
Writing is
one of the best ways to learn. I use it for problem solving,
brainstorming and working out ideas. Thinking is a rather inefficient
process where distractions easily push you onto a tangent. By writing
things down you can record your position and think more clearly.
50) Grades are Just Letters
My
final suggestion is to stop thinking about classes in terms of grades
and degrees. Think of school as just one facet of the larger
self-education in your life. Find reasons to learn information for its
own sake, instead of just to pass the class. While this may sound
obvious, I believe it is the most important tip on this list and the one
few people actually use. Study to learn, not just to pass.
Slash-and-burn: The human footprint is
heaviest in the world's biologically-richest areas, such as tropical
rainforests. Here, farmers are burning the Amazon rainforest for
charcoal.
Credit: William Laurance
James Cook University,
A
James Cook University scientist says a new map of the ecological
footprint of humankind shows 97 per cent of the most species-rich places
on Earth have been seriously altered.
JCU's
Professor Bill Laurance has taken part in a study to map the ecological
effect of people on the planet. He said the news isn't great.
"The
most species-rich parts of the planet -- especially including the
tropical rainforests -- have been hit hardest. In total, around 97 per
cent of Earth's biologically richest real estate has been seriously
altered by humans," he said.
The scientists found environmental pressures are widespread, with only a few very remote areas escaping damage.
"Humans
are the most voracious consumers planet Earth has ever seen. With our
land-use, hunting and other exploitative activities, we are now directly
impacting three-quarters of the Earth's land surface," said Professor
Laurance.
Researchers combined data garnered from unprecedented
advances in remote sensing with information collected via surveys on the
ground.
They compared data from the first survey in 1993 to the last available information set from 2009.
Professor Laurance said that 71 per cent of global ecoregions saw a marked increase in their human footprints.
But he said the news was not all bad.
"While
the global human footprint expanded by nine per cent from 1993 to 2009,
it didn't increase as fast as the human population -- which rose by a
quarter -- or economic growth -- which exploded by over 150 percent --
during the same period."
Professor Laurance said wealthy nations and those with strong control of corruption showed some signs of improvement.
"In
broad terms, industrial nations and those with lower corruption appear
to be doing a better job of slowing the expansion of their human
footprint than poorer countries with weak governance. But the wealthy
countries have a much higher per-capita footprint, so each person there
is consuming a lot more than those in poorer nations."
Professor
Laurance said the suitability of lands for agriculture appears to be a
major determinant in where ecological pressures appeared around the
globe.
"The bottom line is that we need to slow rampant population
growth, especially in Africa and parts of Asia, and demand that people
in wealthy nations consume less," he said.
The updated and temporally intercomparable global terrestrial human footprint maps and the data behind have been published in Nature Communications and Nature Scientific Data.
Oscar Venter at the University of Northern British Colombia led this
effort with support from the Wildlife Conservation Society, James Cook
University, CIESEN at Colombia University and the Green Fire Science lab
at the University of Queensland.
Story Source:
The above post is reprinted from materials provided by James Cook University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
