In this 1968 video, pianist Glenn Gould plays bits of Wolfgang Mozart‘s musical compositions, and explains why he, Gould, feels that Mozart was a hack composer. Here’s a partial transcript of what Gould says: “That example came from Mozart’s piano concerto in C minor, one of the last works he produced in that form, one […]
Encyclopedia Sciplayer made these two videos, each about a different Ig Nobel Prize winner: “Why can itch can be relieved by mirror scratching”: “How do wombats make cubed poo”:
This week’s Feedback column (that I write) in New Scientist magazine has three segments. Here’s how they begin: Reptiles(?) in Ancient Egypt— “Did prehistoric people consider themselves as equals or unequals?” asks a publication from 2020. The question is broader than it may appear. An earlier study by the same scientist suggests that some of those people weren’t people. It […]
Phrasing something a different way can flip its apparent meaning. Here’s an example. A press release begins by saying this: “Adults over 50 who sleep for five hours or less per night have a greater risk of developing more than one chronic disease…” Now re-phrase that — in a way that is equally true — […]