The Race for Absolute Zero

We continue this week looking at Absolute Zero.

Accompanying the 2 films are some questions: Absolute Zero Questions



Absolute Zero -The Race For Absolute Zero by costello74

Game theory, cooperation and very cool stuff

We're reading this press release about some interesting research that shows mathematically how cooperation can arise as part of evolution:
https://news.upenn.edu/news/penn-biologists-show-generosity-leads-evolutionary-success



If you wish to cite this work, use the full version:
Alexander J. Stewart and Joshua B. Plotkin. (2013). "From extortion to generosity, evolution in the Iterated Prisoner’s Dilemma" PNAS 2013 110 (38) 15348-15353. Retrieved from: http://www.pnas.org/content/110/38/15348.full

This is what else we've been looking at:


Absolute Zero -The Conquest Of Cold by costello74

In the first part of Absolute Zero, we see how our understanding of coldness developed through experimentation, documentation, creating a standard scale of measurement, a credible but false theory, trying to find a commercial application...

A transcript of the program is available here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/3501_zero.html

We're going to Mars!

Stephen Petranek is an optimist.

He believes that within the next 15 years, humans will settle on Mars. In the following lecture, he talks about how we might solve the challenges of living in a hostile environment. It's a really positive and hopeful talk. As well as being full of interesting facts, it also raises questions.

Watch the video, download this accompanying document that contains the transcript and questions. Prepare yourself for this next great journey!

Petranek, S. (2015, March). Stephen Petranek: Your kids might live on Mars. Here’s how they’ll survive. [Video file]. Retrieved from: https://www.ted.com/talks/stephen_petranek_your_kids_might_live_on_mars_here_s_how_they_ll_survive/

True stories

Storytelling is probably as old as humanity.

Discuss: What stories have you heard? What functions do you Think these stories have?

Now to some examples...

Have you heard about Mikey and how he was born in a toilet?

Or about Gosey's false teeth?

Or DJ's home decorating tips from the tip?

Stories such as these are told in the following "documentary":



Sadly, we have no time to watch the rest in school, but here are the links you need to see the rest of this fine example of trashy TV:

Toughest Villages in Britain Part 3

Toughest Villages in Britain Part 4

Toughest Villages in Britain Part 5

Do you have any similar stories to tell?

Examples of how you had to "make do", or examples of what people get up to (or got up to) in places where you have lived?

I'd like us to create a compendium of these stories to share with one another. In doing so, we'll not only be practising English writing, we'll also be ensuring that these stories are passed on and the lessons learnt!

What makes a good life?

Here is a great TED talk based on results of the Grant Study that began over 75 years ago and continues today. It looks at people's health and happiness over the course of their lives.


Here is the transcript along with questions to test your understanding and see if you can relate the ideas in the talk to your own life experiences and knowledge.
Robert Waldinger.docx

Please email or write down your answers!

Here are the questions for those of you who choose to just watch the video:





Questions

1) “Over 80 percent (of millennials) said that a major life goal for them was to get rich. And another 50 percent of those same young adults said that another major life goal was to become famous.”

Are you surprised by these survey results? What major life goals do you and your contemporaries have?

2) “For 75 years, we've tracked the lives of 724 men, year after year…”
Give 4 or more examples of things that happened to some of those men during the course of the study.

3) “The first (lesson of the study) is that social connections are really good for us, and that loneliness kills.”
According to Waldinger, what are the negative effects of loneliness on our health?

4) “The second big lesson…is…it's the quality of your close relationships that matters.”
What does Waldinger mean by poor quality and good quality relationships?

5) “The third big lesson…is that good relationships don't just protect our bodies, they protect our brains.”
What has the Grant study revealed about memory and relationships?

6) “What we'd really like is a quick fix, something we can get that'll make our lives good and keep them that way.”
Think of 3 or more such “quick fixes” for a healthy/happy life that you have heard about (that have nothing to do with building up good  relationships).

7) “What might leaning into relationships even look like?”
Robert Waldinger gives a few ideas – can you think of one or two practical ways to build up good relationships?