December 14, 2010
Parasite single is a Japanese term for a single person who lives with their parents until their late twenties or early thirties in order to enjoy a carefree and comfortable life. In English, the expression ‘sponge’ or ‘basement dweller’ may sometimes be used. The expression is mainly used in reference to Japanese society, but similar phenomena can also be found in other countries worldwide.
In Italy, 30-something singles still relying on their mothers are derided as ‘bamboccioni’ (literally, big babies) and in Germany they are known as Nesthocker (German for nestling), who are still living at ‘Hotel Mama.’ In the U.K. they are referred to by the acronym NEET (not in employment, education, or training). The expression was first used by Professor Masahiro Yamada of Tokyo Gakugei University in 1999. The catchy phrase quickly found its way into the media and is now a well-known expression in Japan.
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December 14, 2010
Emerging adulthood is a phase of the life span between adolescence and full-fledged adulthood, proposed by Clark University professor, Jeffrey Arnett in a 2000 article in the American Psychologist. It primarily applies to young adults in developed countries who do not have children or begin a lifelong career in their early 20s. That emerging adulthood is a new demographic is contentious, as some believe that twenty-somethings have always struggled with ‘identity exploration, instability, self-focus, and feeling in-between.
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December 14, 2010
The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method developed in the late 1980s. The technique uses a timer to break down periods of work into 25-minute intervals called ‘pomodoros’ separated by breaks. The method is based on the idea that frequent breaks can improve mental agility, and seeks to provide an effective response to time as an anxiety-provoking state.
There are five basic steps to implementing the technique: 1) Decide on the task to be done; 2) Set the (timer) to 25 minutes; 3) Work on the task until the timer rings; record with an x; 4) Take a short break (5 minutes); and 5) Every four “pomodoros” take a longer break (15–20 minutes). The Pomodoro Technique is named after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer that was first used by technique creator Francesco Cirillo when he was a university student (Pomodoro is Italian for tomato).
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December 14, 2010
The executive system is a theorized cognitive system in psychology that controls and manages other cognitive processes. It is also referred to as the executive function, supervisory attentional system, or cognitive control. The concept is used by psychologists and neuroscientists to describe a loosely defined collection of brain processes that are responsible for planning, cognitive flexibility, abstract thinking, rule acquisition, initiating appropriate actions and inhibiting inappropriate actions, and selecting relevant sensory information.
The executive functions are often invoked when it is necessary to override responses that might otherwise be automatically elicited by stimuli in the external environment. For example, on being presented with a potentially rewarding stimulus, such as a tasty piece of chocolate cake, a person might have the automatic response to take a bite. However, where such behavior conflicts with internal plans (such as having decided not to eat chocolate cake while on a diet), the executive functions might be engaged to inhibit that response.
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December 14, 2010
Simo Häyhä (1905 – 2002), nicknamed ‘White Death‘ by the Soviet Red Army, was a Finnish sniper. Using a modified Mosin-Nagant rifle in the Winter War of 1939 he tallied 505 confirmed kills, the most in any major war. Häyhä, born near the present-day border of Finland and Russia, was a farmer before entering combat. He joined the Finnish militia at 17, and his farmhouse was reportedly full of trophies for marksmanship.
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December 13, 2010
Lagom is a Swedish word with no direct English equivalent, meaning ‘just the right amount.’ It is also widely translated as ‘in moderation,’ ‘in balance,’ ‘optimal,’ ‘suitable,’ and ‘average.’ But whereas words like ‘sufficient’ and ‘average’ suggest some degree of abstinence, scarcity, or failure, lagom carries the connotation appropriateness although not necessarily perfection. The archetypical Swedish proverb ‘Lagom är bäst,’ literally ‘The right amount is best,’ is translated as ‘Enough is as good as a feast.’ The concept of lagom is similar to that of the Middle Path in Eastern philosophy, and Aristotle’s ‘golden mean’ of moderation in Western philosophy.
The value of ‘just enough’ can be compared to idiom ‘ess is more,’ or contrasted to the value of ‘more is better.’ It is viewed favorably as a sustainable alternative to the hoarding extremes of consumerism. It can also be viewed as repressive: ‘You’re not supposed to be too good, or too rich.’ In a single word, lagom is said to describe the basis of the Swedish national psyche, one of consensus and equality. In recent times Sweden has developed greater tolerance for risk and failure as a result of severe recession in the early 1990s. Nonetheless, it is still widely considered ideal to be modest and avoid extremes.
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December 13, 2010
Paris syndrome is a transient psychological disorder encountered by some people visiting or vacationing in Paris. It is characterized by acute delusional states, hallucinations, feelings of persecution (delusions of being a victim of prejudice, aggression, or hostility from others), derealization, depersonalization, anxiety, and also psychosomatic manifestations such as dizziness, tachycardia, sweating, etc. Japanese visitors are observed to be especially susceptible, and around twenty Japanese tourists a year are affected. It was first noted in Nervure, the French journal of psychiatry in 2004.
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December 13, 2010
The Jerusalem syndrome is a group of mental phenomena involving the presence of either religiously themed obsessive ideas, delusions or other psychosis-like experiences that are triggered by a visit to the city of Jerusalem. It is not endemic to one single religion or denomination and has affected Jews, Christians and Muslims of many different backgrounds.
The best known, although not the most prevalent, manifestation of the Jerusalem syndrome is the phenomenon whereby a person who seems previously balanced and devoid of any signs of psychopathology becomes psychotic after arriving in Jerusalem. The psychosis is characterised by an intense religious theme and typically resolves to full recovery after a few weeks or after being removed from the area.
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December 13, 2010
Stendhal [sten-dahl] syndrome (also known as hyperkulturemia and Florence syndrome) is a psychosomatic illness that causes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, fainting, confusion and even hallucinations when an individual is exposed to art, usually when the art is particularly beautiful or a large amount of art is in a single place. The term can also be used to describe a similar reaction to a surfeit of choice in other circumstances, e.g. when confronted with immense beauty in the natural world.
The condition is named after the famous 19th century French author Stendhal (Henri-Marie Beyle), who described his experience with the phenomenon during his 1817 visit to Florence, Italy. Although there are many descriptions of people becoming dizzy and fainting while taking in Florentine art, especially at the Uffizi, dating from the early 19th century on, the syndrome was only named in 1979, when it was described by Italian psychiatrist Graziella Magherini, who observed and described more than 100 similar cases among tourists and visitors in Florence.
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December 13, 2010
Stanley Mouse (b. 1940) is an American artist, best known for his 1960s psychedelic rock concert poster designs and Grateful Dead album cover art. He got his start in the Kustom Kulture scene working for Ed ‘Big Daddy’ Roth in 1958. The posters he produced were heavily influenced by Art Nouveau graphics, particularly the works of Alphonse Mucha and Edmund Joseph Sullivan.
Material associated with psychedelics, such as Zig-Zag rolling papers, were also referenced. Producing posters advertising for such musical groups as Big Brother and the Holding Company, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Grateful Dead led to meeting the musicians and making contacts that were later to prove fruitful. Mouse and artist Alton Kelley are credited with creating the skeleton and roses image that became the Grateful Dead’s archetypal iconography, and Journey’s wings and beetles that appeared on their album covers from 1977 to 1980.
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December 13, 2010
Chartjunk refers to all visual elements in charts and graphs that are not necessary to comprehend the information represented on the graph, or that distract the viewer from this information. Examples of unnecessary elements which might be called chartjunk include heavy or dark grid lines, unnecessary text or inappropriately complex typefaces, ornamented chart axes and display frames, pictures or icons within data graphs, ornamental shading and unnecessary dimensions.
Another kind of chartjunk skews the depiction and makes it difficult to understand the real data being displayed. Examples of this type include items depicted out of scale to one another, noisy backgrounds making comparison between elements difficult in a chart or graph, and 3-D simulations in line and bar charts. The term was coined by American statistician Edward Tufte in his 1983.
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December 13, 2010
The Tata Nano is a low-cost, rear-engined, four-passenger city car built by the Indian company Tata Motors, which began selling its ‘one-lakh’ (100,000 Rupees or $2,200) car in 2009. The price has risen somewhat since its introduction due to increasing materials costs. It features a 623cc, 2 cylinder engine with a top speed of 43 mph. It is an example of ‘Gandhian engineering,’ a concept involving deep frugality and a willingness to challenge conventional wisdom.
The Nano’s design implements many cost-reducing innovations: the trunk is only accessible from inside the car, as the rear hatch does not open; one windscreen wiper instead of the usual pair; no power steering, unnecessary due to its light weight; three lug nuts on the wheels instead of the usual four; only one side-view mirror; no radio, no air-conditioning, and no airbags.
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