Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Louvre Museum. From left to right: Portrait of Plato. Marble, Roman copy from the 2nd century CE after a Greek original of the late 4th century BC by Silanion.
Portrait of Aristoteles. Pentelic marble, copy of the Imperial Period (1st or 2nd century) of a lost bronze sculpture made by Lysippos.
Portrait of Socrates. Marble, Roman artwork (1st century), perhaps a copy of a lost bronze statue made by Lysippos.
Department of Greek, Roman and Etruscan Antiquities, Sully, ground floor, room 17
Della Porta Collection then Borghese Collection; purchased in 1807
For revision guides and content for 2018 and onwards go to the new site: www.SmashingScience.org
This site is no longer being updated.
For younger students (aged 15 and below):
Read
Any book, just make sure that you enjoy it, and that it isn't too hard or boring. You have all of your adult life to read hard and boring books. Also read New Scientist magazine.
Watch
Accessible TV documentaries like: Strip the Cosmos, The Secret Life of Plants, Life in the Undergrowth, Modern Marvels, Cosmos:
Listen
Ted Talks
Play
Musical instruments, sports and a sensible amount of computer games.
Websites
NASA (breathtaking pictures), CIA (epically surreal), TIFO (excellent factoids), Museums: London, Paris, New York, St Petersburg, National Gallery (awesome virtual tours)
Do
Museums and Art Galleries, there are some pretty cool ones in Rio, and if you leave Rio, they can be great way to help you discover a city.
Tweet
This guy's got a fascinating interest in science. If you can't find at least one thing here that's amazing you need to re-calibrate your idea of amazing. https://twitter.com/coreyspowell
Zombie Apocalypse:
It's a thing. Best cities in the US to survive a zombie apocalypse
This site is no longer being updated.
For younger students (aged 15 and below):
Read
Any book, just make sure that you enjoy it, and that it isn't too hard or boring. You have all of your adult life to read hard and boring books. Also read New Scientist magazine.
Watch
Accessible TV documentaries like: Strip the Cosmos, The Secret Life of Plants, Life in the Undergrowth, Modern Marvels, Cosmos:
Listen
Ted Talks
Play
Musical instruments, sports and a sensible amount of computer games.
Websites
NASA (breathtaking pictures), CIA (epically surreal), TIFO (excellent factoids), Museums: London, Paris, New York, St Petersburg, National Gallery (awesome virtual tours)
Do
Museums and Art Galleries, there are some pretty cool ones in Rio, and if you leave Rio, they can be great way to help you discover a city.
Tweet
This guy's got a fascinating interest in science. If you can't find at least one thing here that's amazing you need to re-calibrate your idea of amazing. https://twitter.com/coreyspowell
Zombie Apocalypse:
It's a thing. Best cities in the US to survive a zombie apocalypse
Broadening Your Horizons (for older and more mature students)
There are a variety of ways to learn important things which will allow you a richer and fuller life, but it is not easy to find out what is important. A great deal of energy and thought has gone into exploring what is and what is not important, and good, and worthwhile. This page is intended to give you some direction as to how to go about creating an analytical and mindful version of yourself.
There are a variety of ways to learn important things which will allow you a richer and fuller life, but it is not easy to find out what is important. A great deal of energy and thought has gone into exploring what is and what is not important, and good, and worthwhile. This page is intended to give you some direction as to how to go about creating an analytical and mindful version of yourself.
Reading
What books should you read?
There is an ocean of varieties of literature, most of it is was not written with the intention (or the desireless action leading to) helping you to think better. A great way to find out about good ideas is reading. I have highlighted a list of books that you could read that cuts across a variety of genres, cultures and periods in history and organised it into a Periodic Table of Literature (click here). Reading any books from this selection would be a smashing idea!
(Some might suggest that the most damaging blows to wisdom were brought about by books: many of those whom we consider to have had the noblest minds did not write anything down e.g. Socrates, Lao Tzu, the Buddha, Jesus. The assertion that books silence discussion and perpetuate dogma is a complex one, but does have value.)
What books should you read?
There is an ocean of varieties of literature, most of it is was not written with the intention (or the desireless action leading to) helping you to think better. A great way to find out about good ideas is reading. I have highlighted a list of books that you could read that cuts across a variety of genres, cultures and periods in history and organised it into a Periodic Table of Literature (click here). Reading any books from this selection would be a smashing idea!
(Some might suggest that the most damaging blows to wisdom were brought about by books: many of those whom we consider to have had the noblest minds did not write anything down e.g. Socrates, Lao Tzu, the Buddha, Jesus. The assertion that books silence discussion and perpetuate dogma is a complex one, but does have value.)
Newspapers and magazines
The world's best newspaper (and one of the oldest) is The Economist. If you want to know about what is happening and why in the world this is probably the best way to do so. If you are interested in applying for Oxbridge or an Ivy League university, this should be something you read from every week. Their Style Guide on how to right well is proper awesome and extra usable. There are genuinely smashing ideas about effectively communicating complex ideas to a reasonable audience taken in part from influential writers like George Orwell.
New Scientist and Scientific American are excellent and easily accessible magazines on science in popular culture.
Watching
Documentaries
Watching documentaries while you do something else is one of the easiest ways to accidentally learn, particularly useful whilst playing computer games, or doing less intellectually demanding tasks (one is in the background as I type this, for instance).
Legendary TV series:
Civilisation: A Personal View by Kenneth Clark (1969) - Excellent if you are interested in classical visual arts
The Ascent of Man: A Personal View by Jacob Bronowski (1973) - Jolly good show.
The Day the Universe Changed: A Personal View by James Burke (1984) - Excellent if you are interested in the history of science
Useful lists of the best MOVIE documentaries:
The British Film Institute gives an expert's consensus view
Anything by Werner Herzog
[50] Documentaries to see before you die (compiled by Morgan Spurlock, an awful man who makes terrible documentaries, but a useful list of what is accessible, popular and recent)
Rotten Tomatoes Top 100 list
Browsing
Internet and mobile apps
Reddit, Flipbaord and BBC news are also good online sources for the news (and they make free apps as well), but there is very little depth, they basically will tell you that something has happened, rather than why, or what it could lead to, so better for younger students.
Wikipedia's Featured Article updates every day and gives you an outstanding insight into an amazing variety of topics.
WikiQoute - Absolutely awesome if you are interested in using a quote for an essay, make sure you check this first. Also useful if you are interested in a book or a historical figure, by just looking at the most famous quotes you can get a very quick and brief insight into what they said.
Today I Found Out - Quite good to kill time learning factoids
The world's best newspaper (and one of the oldest) is The Economist. If you want to know about what is happening and why in the world this is probably the best way to do so. If you are interested in applying for Oxbridge or an Ivy League university, this should be something you read from every week. Their Style Guide on how to right well is proper awesome and extra usable. There are genuinely smashing ideas about effectively communicating complex ideas to a reasonable audience taken in part from influential writers like George Orwell.
New Scientist and Scientific American are excellent and easily accessible magazines on science in popular culture.
Watching
Documentaries
Watching documentaries while you do something else is one of the easiest ways to accidentally learn, particularly useful whilst playing computer games, or doing less intellectually demanding tasks (one is in the background as I type this, for instance).
Legendary TV series:
Civilisation: A Personal View by Kenneth Clark (1969) - Excellent if you are interested in classical visual arts
The Ascent of Man: A Personal View by Jacob Bronowski (1973) - Jolly good show.
The Day the Universe Changed: A Personal View by James Burke (1984) - Excellent if you are interested in the history of science
Useful lists of the best MOVIE documentaries:
The British Film Institute gives an expert's consensus view
Anything by Werner Herzog
[50] Documentaries to see before you die (compiled by Morgan Spurlock, an awful man who makes terrible documentaries, but a useful list of what is accessible, popular and recent)
Rotten Tomatoes Top 100 list
Browsing
Internet and mobile apps
Reddit, Flipbaord and BBC news are also good online sources for the news (and they make free apps as well), but there is very little depth, they basically will tell you that something has happened, rather than why, or what it could lead to, so better for younger students.
Wikipedia's Featured Article updates every day and gives you an outstanding insight into an amazing variety of topics.
WikiQoute - Absolutely awesome if you are interested in using a quote for an essay, make sure you check this first. Also useful if you are interested in a book or a historical figure, by just looking at the most famous quotes you can get a very quick and brief insight into what they said.
Today I Found Out - Quite good to kill time learning factoids
