Internet Wading: Mind things

Much Internet has been waded since the last Internet Wading post in November. I skipped December because of Christmas, mainly, and January because of my birthday. I was busy a busy boy around those times. Even so, I still ran across interesting things. A couple of them are even in this Internet Wading post.

First up, Mockingbird Lane is a site at which 3D designer Marina Coates produces 3D versions of famous TV sitcom homes, replacing the fourth wall with an actual wall so they’re like real houses. She also often imagines what they might look like if they’d been remodelled. However, with the Brady Bunch house (video above), she realised that the exterior doesn’t make sense for the interior shown on the show. Still, making something more or less real out of something fake is interesting in itself.

Speaking of creative work, “Photographer Tracks Down People He Snapped In His Hometown Almost 40 Years Ago To Recreate The Remarkable Images”. Many of the images really are pretty remarkable.

A professional photographer tells us “Why I Deleted All of My Social Media and 60,000 Followers”. It’s got to do with the creative process itself. Does that means those with low engagement on social media are more authentic in what they create? Asking for a friend.

Which is a good point to talk about technology, starting with an easy one: “230 New Emojis in Final List for 2019”. I’m a big fan of emojis, actually. Emojipedia made a video about them, too:



Speaking of technology, “While we rage against the evils of media, Silicon Valley’s titans pollute our lives”. It offers some strategies (and reasons) for stepping back from social media.

But it’s not that easy for most people to quit social media. The folks at Digg put together, “The Bad Tech Companies We're Quitting In 2019 — And The Ones We Can't”. Quitting all tech companies/social media really isn’t an option for everyone.

Because we can’t resist all social media or tech companies, maybe it’s true that, “We need an ‘AI sidekick’ to fight malicious AI”.

Speaking of things most of us can’t do: “Don’t Reply to Your Emails”. Okay, than.

Back in things human, it turns out that “A Leaky Memory May Be a Good Thing”. However, there are memories we want to keep—or restore. A study has found that “Memories of music cannot be lost to Alzheimer's and dementia”. It says that, “The part of your brain responsible for ASMR catalogs music, and appears to be a stronghold against Alzheimer's and dementia.” It’s not a new article, but it’s interesting all the same.

Speaking of brains that don’t work correctly, a study has found a “Link between brain damage and religious fundamentalism established by scientists”. It’s safe to say that to some of us that may seem rather self-evident.

A more political story actually may be related: “Virginia Study Finds Increased School Bullying In Areas That Voted For Trump”. This is also not surprising. But maybe something else political is: “Eight Marxist Claims That May Surprise You”.

A local issue, though the article isn’t about New Zealand, looks at a question that sometimes comes up about this country is, why people choose to live near active volcanoes. Only a few volcanoes erupt at any time, and a volcano that’s technically active may by dormant for hundreds or thousands of years. Besides, as the article points out, referring to remarks from Jenni Barclay, a volcanologist at the University of East Anglia, “that the question of why people live near volcanoes could just as easily be posed to city dwellers, who face more crime and often, worse pollution. In both cases, residents are likely to respond that the benefits outweigh the risks.”

That’s it for this Wading in the Internet. Safer than volcanoes, it was.