The 'Before I Die' Project
Artist Candy Chang had an idea to turn an abandoned property in New Orleans into a sort of collective performance art piece in which all are invited to participate, simply by declaring what is important to them. Participants are invited to complete the sentence "Before I die I want to ..." Chang has provided chalk, a large-scale blackboard, and the necessary permits. A thought-provoking piece of p... posted on Aug 06 2011, 16,045 reads

Alone But Not Lonely
An emerging body of research is suggesting that spending time alone can be good for us. Just as regular exercise and healthy eating make our minds and bodies work better, solitude, experts say, so can being alone. Sherry Turkle, director of the MIT Initiative on Technology and Self, makes the case for people to mindfully set aside time everyday when they are not engaged in so-called "social snacki... posted on Aug 05 2011, 5,369 reads

Kind Kids
Every parent wants to raise a kind, helpful child. But how? A recent study in Germany suggests that it might be easier than we think. According to the study's authors, humans have a strong predisposition toward altruism, evident from the time they're toddlers. The researchers found that it was surprisingly simple to motivate young kids to act on their altruistic instincts. When toddlers were subtl... posted on Aug 04 2011, 12,871 reads

Ways to Connect More Deeply
"Make Crows Feet. Use the Right Words. Perfect Your Handshake. Dress for a Tie. Get Close. Don't Impose Your Values. Accept Others. Pursue and Project Your Passions. Find Shared Passions. Default to Yes." In this compelling infographic, former chief evangelist of Apple, Guy Kawasaki, further details his advice for increasing likability. Or put another way, simply connecting more deeply.... posted on Aug 03 2011, 0 reads

7 Practices to Cultivate Compassion
Scientific studies suggest that there are physical benefits to practicing compassion -- people who practice it produce 100 percent more DHEA, which is a hormone that counteracts the aging process, and 23 percent less cortisol -- the "stress hormone." According to this guide, the key to developing compassion is to make it a daily practice, and it offers 7 different ways to incorporate it into ever... posted on Aug 02 2011, 48,900 reads

The Power of Feedback Loops
The premise of a feedback loop is simple: provide people with information about their actions in real time, then give them a chance to change those actions, pushing them toward better behaviors. Why does putting our own data in front of us somehow compel us to act? In part, it's that feedback taps into something core to the human experience, even to our biological origins. Like any organism, human... posted on Aug 01 2011, 5,942 reads

Sidewalks: The Way They See It
Every Tuesday volunteers serve more than 100 Chicago homeless people with food from fine dining restuarants -- all with dignity and grace. Here they are not faceless and referred to as "Guests," and sometimes even as "Artists:" for the last eight years, some of them have received inexpensive disposable cameras and have gone about the adventure of capturing their lives. This work culminates with a ... posted on Jul 31 2011, 3,522 reads

Lighting the Way in Slums
Plastic bottles jut from the roofs in a Manila slum neighborhood. But these bottles have an important purpose: they contain bleach and water and are placed snugly into a purpose-built hole in the roof. Designed by students at MIT, they reflect sunlight, spreading 360 degrees of 55-watt-light through the room beneath. Using the simplest of technologies, these bottles brighten dim and dreary shantie... posted on Jul 30 2011, 4,695 reads

Using Soccer to Turn it Around
Lisa Wrightsman used soccer to turn her life around, and now she's using it to help others do the same. Wrightsman was in a semipro league, but later succumbed to drugs, alcohol, homelessness and jail. Last year, however, she entered a Volunteers of America recovery program and discovered their street soccer program. With soccer as her pivot, she made a big shift in her own life, and then saw the ... posted on Jul 29 2011, 3,961 reads

Why Are Easy Decisions So Hard?
"Why do I squander so much mental energy on the mundane purchases of everyday life? I think I've found a good answer. Although I know that every floss will work well enough, sometimes I still can't help waste an embarrassing amount of time on the decision. What I believe happens is that instead of realizing that picking a floss is an easy decision, I confuse the array of options and excess of info... posted on Jul 28 2011, 5,251 reads