Jesse

Host Hank Green of the SciShow looks at the anti-vaccination movement from a scientific perspective: why are US parents growing less likely to vaccinate their children?

In psychology, the search for these explanations is called "Explanatory Attribution" and different people have different "explanatory styles". Some people are more prone to blame themselves, while others search for an external event to blame. But one thing is clear: we are very bad at not blaming anything. It's not surprising that parents of children with autism, especially parents who notice a sudden loss of previous development, will search for a possible cause. And when the most significant recent event in the health of the child was a vaccination, as can be said for many moments in the life of a young American, we might identify that as a potential cause and deem that link worthy of further examination.

Now this, is completely logical. The problem is that over a dozen peer-reviewed papers have found no correlation between autism and the MMR vaccine, or any other vaccine for that matter. And yet, when you Google vaccines and autism, a fair number of the results claim that there is a link between the two, and that that link is being covered up either by the government or by big corporations. A parent, already experiencing frustration with the medical community's inability to tell them why this thing has happened to their child, will, on the internet, find a vibrant community of similarly frustrated people who share their values and experiences. These communities are full of anecdotes that draw connections between vaccines and autism. And so, unsurprisingly, some people become convinced that they have found the reason for their child's disability.

Once their mind has been made up, confirmation bias sets in. Confirmation bias is simply our tendency to more readily, and with less scrutiny, accept information, anecdotes, and world views that confirm our existing beliefs. And, again, it is a completely normal thing that every person does. Indeed, trying to convince someone that a previously held belief is incorrect has been proven to actually increase their affinity for that idea. And so a community is born, and the safety of vaccines is called into question. And once the procedure for getting a vaccine goes from the doctor telling you that it is now time for a vaccine -- and 99% of parents agreeing because that person went through medical school -- to it being a question to ponder, vaccination rates will go down.

Tags: Hank Green   medicine   science   vaccines   video

Photos © Alex de Rijke / GIF by Gasoline Station

Appearing as an oversized red barn, architecture and design studio dRMM‘s Sliding House has a much more complex facade than its doppleganger’s A-frame design. The project encompasses three separate buildings (house, garage, and guest annex), and was built with the intention for the owners to grow food, entertain, and enjoy the landscape from the structure. Each segment of the Suffolk, England property is connected by a 20 ton, motor-driven enclosure which slides up and down the buildings to create constantly changing coverage for the home, and exposes open-air living areas.

An escape from static architecture, the house gives its inhabitants endless options for living comfortably and freely during each season. There is even the option to extend the roofing system beyond its current length to cover a swimming pool if the owners want to add one down the line.

The innovative residential project was completed in 2009, and was the 2009 winner of the Royal Institute of British Architects East Award, and winner of “Best New-Build” and “Home of the Year” at the 2009 Grand Designs Awards. (via The Gasoline Station, Design Milk)

Photos © Alex de Rijke / GIF by Gasoline Station

Photos © Alex de Rijke / GIF by Gasoline Station

Photo © Alex de Rijke

Photo © Alex de Rijke

Photo © Alex de Rijke

There's a lot to love about poutine, the Canadian dish of brown gravy- and cheese curd-topped fries. But it's not exactly a good finger food at a party, unless you like the idea of dozens of gravy-coated fingers being wiped on the couch. Well, we'd like to introduce the solution to that problem: the Poutine Popper. Read More

"Television news is like a lightning flash. It makes a loud noise, lights up everything around it, leaves everything else in darkness and then is suddenly gone."

"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education."

Artist: Yumi Zouma

Album: EP II

Released: 2015

Style: Dream Pop

Format: MP3 320Kbps / FLAC

Size: 49 Mb

Tracklist:
01 – Dodi
02 – Alena
03 – Catastrophe
04 – Second Wave
05 – Song for Zoe & Gwen

DOWNLOAD LINKS:
UPLOADED: DOWNLOAD
RAPIDGATOR: DOWNLOAD
OBOOM: DOWNLOAD

FLAC (123 Mb):
UPLOADED: DOWNLOAD
RAPIDGATOR: DOWNLOAD

The Brooklyn-based artist Dustin Yellin (previously) was commissioned by the New York City Ballet to install a new series of his figurative collages. The artist refers to the sculptures as Psychogeographies because “they feel like maps of the psyche.”

Each large-scale sculpture is individually embellished with bizarre found objects—cut-up books, magazines and trash found on the street—which are then sealed within layers of glass. “Imagine if you were to make a drawing on a window,” said Yellin, explaining his process. “And then you were to take another window and glue it to that window… until you had a window sandwich. I make window sandwiches.”

The resulting forms resemble dancers striking various poses: their multi-dimensional bodies encapsulated in suspended animation. A grand total of 15 of these “window sandwiches,” each weighing in at 3,000 pounds each, were installed in the atrium of the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center. The installation is on view for all performances through March 1, 2015 but there’s also free public viewing through February 22. If you can’t make it you can always follow Yellin’s activities on Instagram.

The Flow Hive is a new beehive invention that promises to eliminate the more laborious aspects of collecting honey from a beehive with a novel spigot system that taps into specially designed honeycomb frames. Invented over the last decade by father and son beekeepers Stuart and Cedar Anderson, the system eliminates the traditional process of honey extraction where frames are removed from beehives, opened with hot knives, and loaded into a machine that uses centrifugal force to get the honey out. Here is how the Andersons explain their design:

The Flow frame consists of already partly formed honeycomb cells. The bees complete the comb with their wax, fill the cells with honey and cap the cells as usual. When you turn the tool, a bit like a tap, the cells split vertically inside the comb forming channels allowing the honey to flow down to a sealed trough at the base of the frame and out of the hive while the bees are practically undisturbed on the comb surface.

When the honey has finished draining you turn the tap again in the upper slot resets the comb into the original position and allows the bees to chew the wax capping away, and fill it with honey again.

It’s difficult to say how this might scale up for commercial operations, but for urban or backyard beekeeping it seems like a whole lot of fun. It wouldn’t be hard to imagine these on the roof of a restaurant where honey could be extracted daily, or for use by kids or others who might be more squeamish around live bees. You can see more on their website and over on Facebook.

Update: The Flow Hive is currently seeking funding on IndieGogo. So far they’ve raised $1.8 million dollars in 16 hours.

There's a lot of bad tofu out there (particularly bad grilled tofu, I'd add), and more often than not, it's because people try to cook it like it's a piece of meat. Tofu is really easy to dislike when it's soggy, mushy, bland, or burnt. But great tofu—tofu with a tender center surrounded by a well-seasoned, crisp crust—is one of the most satisfying bites of food I can think of. Here are 9 tips to help you grill tofu so good even tofu-haters might come around to it. Read More

Videographer Paul Parker used the ‘echo’ effect in video editing software After Effects to show the flight paths of birds near his home in Cornwall, UK. Parker also filmed birds flying past his window for an hour and compressed it into just a few seconds to show what it would look like if they all flew by at once. Artist Dennis Hlynsky uses the same effect any many of his own bird and insect videos seen here previously. (via Kottke)

The winners have been announced in the 2015 edition of the always-charming DWR Champagne Chair Contest in which contestants compete to build the coolest little chairs using only a single champagne cork. The winner and the runner-up:

I actually like the second place chair more than the winner. You can check out all of the submissions to the contest on the main contest page, including this fantastic swiveling chair:

(via @fromedome)

Tags: design   Design Within Reach

Photographer Jarred Decker recently stopped by Silver Falls, Oregon where he captured this amazing view of North Falls that looks uncannily like an eyeball. The final image is actually three stitched shots Decker took from inside a cave, and he says it wasn’t his intention to create an eyeball-like photo, just a happy coincidence. He has prints available through Fine Art America. (via Colossal Submissions)

Fascinated by the mysteries of the ocean his entire life, photographer Pierre Carreau (previously) documents the power and serenity of ocean waves in his now decade-long project AquaViva. After obtaining a business degree and going into IT, Carreau dramatically changed course in 2004 and moved with his family to the Caribbean island of St. Barthélemy where he now photographs waves as an artistic pursuit.

Carreau’s high-speed photos capture waves that appear frozen in time, giving them an almost sculptural appearance. “Water is amazing,” Carreau says. “Basically it has no color, but through reflection and refraction it can possess all of them, the entire spectrum of light.” More from his statement about AquaViva:

Carreau observes that the photographic images of AquaViva may sometimes be perceived as objects rather than as two-dimensional representations. The play of light off the multitude of facets and curves on the water’s surface gives the image a sculptural quality that enhances the sense of stillness and power. This simultaneous depiction of roiling movement and suspended kinetic energy parallels the dual nature of the oceans and of water itself: life-giving and yet dangerous, inviting and yet fearsome, primordial and yet ever-changing and always renewed.

Seen here is a collection of new photos from 2014 mixed with a few earlier shots we had yet to feature on Colossal, and there’s plenty more to see.

"If you look good and dress well, you don't need a purpose in life."

"Oh, I don't blame Congress. If I had $600 billion at my disposal, I'd be irresponsible, too."

Here at Colossal we’ve long been fans of photographer Michael Paul Smith whose broad life experiences lead him to the creation of Elgin Park, a fictional 20th century town filled with miniature 1/24th-scale models of cars and buildings. Smith mixes his carefully crafted model sets with die-cut automobiles and real-life backdrops, taking advantage of an optical illusion known as forced perspective. The photos have been a massive hit with the internet, racking up over 70 million views on his Flickr account alone.

Smith recently sat down with documentary director and producer Danny Yourd of Animal to discuss his significant personal challenges and life experiences that are now the driving force behind his photography. This is a must-watch for any creative grappling with aspects of identity or personal history in their artwork. He’s is also on the verge of publishing a new book, Elgin Park, which is available now for preorder. Seen here are some of his most recent photos along with behind-the-scenes views, there’s much more over on Flickr. (via PetaPixel)

Liquid Slam! [ more › ]

These rich, super fudgy brownies are topped with generous dollops of homemade dulce de leche and a generous sprinkle of sea salt. The thick layer of dulce de leche has the same fudgy texture as the brownie underneath, and the salt wakes the whole thing up. Consider yourself warned, because you're gonna want to make these every day. Read More

Turkish graphic designer and electrical engineer Tolga Girgin continues to experiment with calligraphy that seems to jump off the page. Girgin uses shading, shadows, and different forms of perspective to create three-dimensional letters that float, stand, drip, and slant. You can see more on Instagram and over on Behance. (via Lustik)

"The only reason some people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory."

Weather photographer Mike Hollingshead, whose impressive storm photography we first featured around this time last year, has taken his editing a bit further by importing his supercell thunderstorm photos into Photoshop and setting them in motion. Hollingshead says these animations aren’t created like more traditional cinemagraphs, where moving elements from a video are isolated and the rest of the image is masked out. Instead, he uses only a static image and creates the animation from thin air. Most of the photos you see here were shot in Nebraska between 2004-2013. You can see many more examples on his website.

Soda Pop’s

4 bites

The amazing sandwich shop also makes a killer burger.

Great, fresh, burger flavor not doused in sauce.
A good size burger, even if it does stand a little tall.

Soda Pop's 
349 North La Cienega Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90048

I took a moment to compare Apple’s latest MacBook Pro specs with a Sony VAIO S Series Laptop, and I was shocked how little they differed in specs, and how much they differed in cost. Although, I was not altogether surprised.

The MacBook has a slightly better screen resolution, marginally better up-gradable RAM (4GB more when both computers are upgraded), less storage (sure, it’s a solid state drive, but it still has 128GB less default capacity), has half as much dedicated graphics memory, a few minutes more battery power, a 0.2 less GHz processor, and a small amount of included software that can’t possibly be worth more than a couple hundred bucks.

Both computers seem to be fairly even in their ups and downs, and yet Apple charges a whopping $1530 more for their laptop. That is simply absurd! Sure, some people have grown fond of the operating system (even though it has less compatibility with various games and software than Windows), and it has a sleek lightweight design, but is it really worth over fifteen hundred more than a decent PC laptop?

I am truly amazed that Apple can still compete with other companies with prices that outrageous. It’s just baffling.

Products mentioned in this article:

• Apple MacBook Pro with Retina Display
• Sony VAIO S Series Custom Laptop

"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."

“Supercell tornado at West Point Nebraska.” via Reddit.