Week 6 [20.05 - 26.05] Flexitarianism

Flexitarians, a fad or maybe a new lifestyle solution? Indisputably it would be just the right way to reduce the amount of meat consumed by a carnivore human.

Let’s start with some facts and figures:

● The meat industry emits more greenhouse gases than all forms of transportation in the world combined.

● Most cows, pigs and chickens at factory farms won't even see the sun or breathe fresh air until the day they are loaded onto trucks and sent to slaughter houses.

● Every six seconds an acre of rain forest is cut down for cattle farming.

This is common knowledge. Horrifying and bare facts of the world which requires us to choose the sides of that constant battle: to remain a meat eater or turn vegetarian or even vegan.

Personally I find it challenging, if not troublesome. Majority of us have this dilemma whether to eat meat or not. Reasons for that struggle vary. While some people believe that meat is simply unhealthy, others just can't deal with the moral dilemma and the issue of animal cruelty and suffering. I belong to the latter group. I have been trying to give up eating meat altogether for quite some time now but unfortunately without any success. And I think that many of you could easily relate to my situation.

Another downside of the problem is that people around you are not usually supportive. My friends are constantly making jokes about my 'vegetarianism' every time they find me eating a meat dish. I must admit it’s quite frustrating and demotivating.

However, I’ve recently heard about a new way to reduce the consumption of meat. It’s called Flexitarianism.

If I were to give you my own definition of Flexitarianism I would describe it as the best way to transform an average meat eater into a proper vegetarian by means of gradual meat reduction in diet. Some will still mock the idea; nevertheless, I find it intriguing and can’t wait to implement it into my lifestyle. 

Watch short video about flexitarianism

There are many ways to start. My favourite one allows me to choose one or two days in a week to still include meat in the diet. After 10 weeks I’m planning to decrease this to one day and then eventually stop.

Questions:

Are you Vegan/Vegetarian or Flexitarian? Or you are planning to give it a try?

Do you think that meet industry is a serious problem for our planet?

Do you have a lot of Vegan, Vegetarian or Flexitarian people around you?

Week 6 [20.05 - 26.05] TOO OLD FOR TATTOOS?

  Is there an upper age limit when it comes to tattooing? more and more often, many people decide very late for tattoos in their lives. Many people thinking about such a decoration on the body express the uncertainty of whether it falls out at this age? 

  

  Relax - in a tattoo studio, no one against your will will not tattoo your back at once. Tattoo can be small, delicate, discreet. If you are not sure how the environment will react, you can start with something small. A a tattoo artist is there to advise you well and cooperate with you. No worries.

TATTOO FOR ALL

The times in which the tattoo was associated only with the crime were gone. Currently, this profession grows out of the craft and aspires to the name of art. There are different people, younger people, older men, women, men, senior people, people of art, people of science, working people, fathers and mothers, wives and husband, singles, students, why there would be an upper age limit in this case ?If you have any concerns, visit the tattoo studio for a consultation, talk to the tattoo artist, ask any questions. Nobody will be surprised, nor laugh, it's normal! Tattoo slowly ceases to arouse controversy and be taboo. The truth is that a lot of time will pass before the tattoo will be widely accepted, but everything goes in the right direction.

SKIN IS A DIFFICULT MATERIAL

Our skin, as we are, is aging and over time it dries faster, flares, wrinkles. Only an experienced artist can handle such a client. Very dry and flaccid skin can react badly to the tattoo process in the hands of an untrained tattoo artist, because it reacts like a parchment, is sensitive and can easily lead to overworking of the material and prolonged healing process.

HEALTH IS THE BASIS

Please remember that tattooing is really a small procedure that has a significant impact on the state of the whole body. It comes to interrupting the continuity of the skin, during which we apply to ourselves a foreign body, which is a dye. If the body is weakened at the start, after tattooing the more will be exposed to infections and all attacks from the outside, because all its processing power will engage in the healing of a fresh wound. It is important to hydration, balanced diet and movement, so that people enjoy their health for a long time and this applies to customers of all ages, because not once or twice, very young people have a problem with it.

However, I know that over the years various ailments and affections like to stick to a person more and more. No one can fool us, our body wears up sooner or later. Inform your tattooist about your health, if you are taking medication for constantly, especially thinning blood, this is extremely important information. If necessary, the responsible artist will recommend consulting a doctor. If your body is generally in good shape, no problem, you can be happy to meet your dream tattoo.





tattoos/magdozaur

1. What do you think about tattooing?

2. Is the age irrelevant make a tattooing?

3. Do you have any tattoo?

Week 6 [20.05 - 26.05] Let's talk about Cosplay

Cosplay is a hobby, a lifestyle or a method of living. It's an increasingly popular phenomenon that penetrates into mass culture. Year after year, the number of organized events bringing together characters from video games, comics, movies and books is growing. 

In short, cosplayers actually play their favourite characters. However, this is no ordinary game. It's not just a disguised costume of an imitated hero, but a style of being or speaking.  And how did this phenomenon begin? Since when do we call it subculture?

The story of an alien

The beginnings of the phenomenon can be found on the Apennine Peninsula. It was there that people marched in colourful and rich costumes, hiding their faces under the mask. However, these were not outfits reflecting fictional characters.

The first mention of disguise as a fictional character appeared in the history of the Ming Dynasty. An American historian, Jonathan Spence, wrote in his book “Return to Dragon Mountain” that the local farmers dressed up as characters from a Chinese novel – “Outlaws of the Marsh”. They can be considered the precursors of cosplay, but hardly anyone speaks of them in such a context.

Mr. Skygack, from Mars

Source: https://tiny.pl/t9c4f

At the beginning of the 20th century, William A. Fell dressed up as a character from the comic book "Mr. Skygack of Mars" and went to the ice skating festival. And two years later Otto James went to the streets of Tacoma in identical clothes, for which he was arrested. It was the year 1910.

In 1939, the first global science fiction convention was held at Caravan Hall in New York City. There were many visitors, the most important being Forrest J. Ackerman and Myrtle R. Douglas, also known as Morojo. They were dressed in futuristic costumes.  Myrtle created costumes on the base of the film "Things to Come" and the magazine "Pulp Magazine". This is how they became the first cosplay.

These costumes made a big hit, which resulted in the event's growing popularity. In the following years, there were even competitions, where prizes for „best costume” were awarded. The „Costume” conventions started to progress and their number was growing steadily. Americans described such events as „masquerade”.

Japanese impetus

Over the years, conventions have changed form, and so have costumes. The real boom came in the 1960s and 1970s when the Start Trek series and films such as Rocky Horror Picture Show were made. There were fans who were really dedicated to their favourite characters, they gathered in bigger and bigger groups. And the authors of comic books and books also appeared at conventions, dressed up as characters created by them, promoted their works.

In Japan, conventions began to appear in the 1960s, and in 1975 the first Commiket took place. This place gathered fans and everything related to cosplay. At that time the term kasou( 仮想) was used. In 1983, the My Anime magazine published the article „Hero Costume Operation” by Takahashi Nobuyuki, a journalist who used the word „cosplay” for the first time. The author used two phrases in the article, costume play (コスチュームプレー) and cosplay (コスプレ), the latter adopted and functions now.

Cosplayers in Harajuku

Source: https://tiny.pl/t9c4l

Anime and manga had a great impact on cosplay. The Japanese are dedicated to prepare costumes and organizing events. All this makes Japanese cosplay unique. Cosplay culture has infiltrated the everyday life of the Japanese and many of them identify themselves with it. In the Tokyo district of Akihabara, there are many cosplay restaurants where waitresses dress up as video game characters or anime characters. And Harajuku, in turn, hosts informal cosplay meetings.

Cosplay is a business

Jessica Nigiri cosplay Lux

From League of Legends

Source: https://tiny.pl/t9c4n

Many cosplayers attend conventions for fun, but there are some who make money from their "disguise". One such a star is Jessica Nigri, who appears at conventions as a model presenting many fictional characters such as Connor Kenway (Assassin's Creed III), Vivienne Squall (Killer is Dead) or the female version of Captain Edward Kenway (Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag).

Jessica has accounts on Istagrami, Facebook and Twitter, where she is watched by millions of fans. And on her website you can buy an autographed poster. In addition, Jessica creates outfits for new video game characters for which she is paid.

Cosplay is an interesting and constantly evolving phenomenon. The evolution began with a masquerade ball on Venetian streets to an art form and a way of life. Every hobby can turn into a simple and fast income. What can be seen through the influence of business on this subculture. Game developers invite cosplay players to work together to promote their products.

That's all, and now I invite you to answer the questions.

1. How do you think cosplay can develop?

2. Have you participated in any cosplay convention? If not, would you be interested in participating in such an event?

3. Is there a character that you could cosplay? If so, what is the character and why.

Bibliography:

[1] https://the-artifice.com/cosplay-overview/

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosplay

[3] https://geeks.media/history-of-cosplay
[4] https://www.gordsellar.com/2015/05/20/late-ming-cosplay/

Week 6 [20.05 - 26.05] This horse is amazing

Over the last few years, Netflix and other streaming services started creating and supporting cartoon shows for adults. 

We all remember shows such as South Park, The Simpsons, Family Guy or even Adventure Time (which is also considered as a show for adults due to its details, movies inspirations and topics which wouldn't be understandable for a young audience). Lately, cartoon shows were taken to the next level. Old shows which still had a great audience are being improved from season to season and there are a lot of new shows which won the hearts of the audience. I would like to focus on one of them which had a big impact on me and some of my friends' life.

The show is called Bojack the Horseman, maybe You've heard about it. At first look, it's trivial tv series based in Hollywood, but most of the characters are drawn as animals. Bojack supposed to be a great comedy show for cold evenings but in the end, it turned out to be pastry of modern showbusiness and society. Every character has been written very carefully and animals played by them are selected by their habits, behavior, lifestyle, and profession. After a few episodes, You still see intended jokes, easter eggs, and pop culture inspirations but Bojack the Horseman starts to be something more than casual cartoon comedy. 

Below there is a video from TedX conducted by one of the show's designers. She shows how detailed and how much work has been put into this show to make every set alive, why You can see more emotion on those drawn animals than on the actor's face.

Going back to the show's impact. Characters at some time in the storyline are being divided by their personality and thing that scares me the most is that we can rely on almost every one of them. We can see ourselves dealing with problems, but the problem is that there are no happy endings and we see how awful people (animals in this case) can be. We want to see how people like us deal with real life's problems, how sometimes they make mistakes, but when everything is happening under colorful cartoon cover it doesn't touch us, or does it? That's maybe why people love Bojack.

Why does this show get so good ratings? 

Because it's supposed to be relaxing and easy series, which turns to be one of the most detailed and emotional cartoons and You wouldn't tell it when You see the first episode.

Questions:

1. Have You been watching any adult cartoon series?

2. What do You think about cartoons which are trying to be something more than just a simple comedy show?

3. What do You think about modern cartoon's boom and where do You think it's going?

Week 6 [20.05 - 26.05] Coffee and Health

Good coffee is a permanent element of the morning of most of us, and is associated with many moments in our lives: everyday work, hobby or social meetings. But not only because of this is important to us - the healing properties of coffee are also increasingly noticed and appreciated all over the world where people drink more than three billion cups of coffee every day.

http://longevityfacts.com/health-benefits-instant-coffee-vs-brewed/  

This precious drink is obtained from seeds of red fruits of evergreen shrubs of coffee trees (Coffea) grown in the tropic zone, mainly in Africa and South America. Most of the coffee consumed comes from Robusta or Arabica varieties. As much as 70 % world production is Arabica, aromatic and mild in taste. Robusta comes from south-east Asia and Brazil, has a slightly bitter taste and contains about 50 % more caffeine than Arabica. Its aroma, taste, power and aftertaste depend not only on the brewing method, but also on the type of coffee. The most well-known and valued ingredient of coffee that determines its healing properties is caffeine. Coffee found application in anti-migraine, anti-asthma, analgesic and stimulant preparations. The therapeutic dose is 200 mg, which translates into two cups of ground coffee. It is a source of valuable antioxidants that not only neutralize oxygen free radicals in the body and improve the body's cleansing of harmful toxins, but also improve the body's defenses against some cancer diseases. The caffeine, theophylline and theobromine present in the coffee beans act on the central nervous system, accelerating the flow of electrical impulses in the brain, or thought processes. It works so stimulating the mind, increases short-term memory and facilitates concentration, and long-term reduces the risk of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. Finally, caffeine also accelerates metabolism in the body, and especially fat burning. That is why coffee has become one of the desirable ingredients in preparations that help overweight. It should be remembered, however, that frequent pice of coffee with milk harms health, acids contained in coffee react to protein in milk, making digestion difficult. After drinking a cup of coffee and milk, eaten foods are in the stomach. Do not drink coffee because it weakens or increases the effects of some of them. In addition, caffeine stimulates the secretion of hydrochloric acid, which promotes the development of stomach ulcers.

It is impossible to list and describe all the positive aspects of drinking coffee. Both those having a beneficial effect on our health but also those that make it easier to start the day, or collect thoughts before a difficult conversation or exam. There are even more types and ways of preparation. Let's enjoy and savor its taste, at the same time taking care of our health. These days, it is quite a rare combination.

How often / do you drink coffee?
What is your favorite coffee variety? 
What is your favorite way of making coffee?
Are you a coffee gourmet? 
Do you ever spend more money on good coffee?
Will the awareness of the beneficial properties of coffee make you more likely to drink?

Sources:

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/top-13-evidence-based-health-benefits-of-coffee
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-healthy-addiction-coffee-study-finds-more-health-benefits/https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/270202.php

Week 5 [6.05 - 12.05] Quantum computers

Today computers, laptops, and smartphones are common in our lives.  
Every day there is some technology news that can help us with our everyday problems.
Except that, there is a technological revolution going on that is not so sudden
like in other fields of technology.
Quantum computers slowly come to existence.
This is a video about quantum computing compared to normal computers:

This piece of technology will allow engineers and scientists
to simulate the quantum environment, simulate particles in biology and how they interact. Also, it will create opportunities to compute
optimization problems much more efficiently.

Because of that quantum computers will allow us to for example:

• use maps and routing systems making sure that route you are going is the fastest one
• create new medicine using only computers and simulations without needing to test new products on animals and humans
• compute astrophysics simulations faster and allow us to discover wonders of the universe
• simulate the quantum world with an actual quantum computer!

One of the things that quantum computers are known for is that they will break
the RSA algorithm that is the basis of the security of data on today internet.
In classical computing, we use bits that can be in one of the possible states 0 or 1.
So, for example, one byte is constructed from 8 bits and can represent 256 possible values.
In quantum computers, we have qubits that are in a superposition, so they are 0 or 1 at the same time. If we take qubyte then we
will have the value that is 256 values at the same time.
If we would use one byte as a password to our computer.
If someone else would like to, guess which value is the proper one it would
take at maximum 256 takes to check if our guess is proper. Quantum computer can pass
‘all’ values at once one get proper value in a moment. The same situation
we are facing with internet security is ensured by the RSA algorithm.

Quantum computers will break the RSA algorithm by using
Shor's algorithm and taking advantage of qubits. See more about Shor’s algorithm here:

More details about quantum computers and the current state of work under them:

1. Do you believe that quantum computers are going to revolutionize our lives? On which field they are going to be the most needed?
2. Which technology invention are you excited the most?
   Is quantum computing can help other technologies evolve to be more efficient and available to other people.

Week 5 [6.05 - 12.05] The future of banking

The future of banking

Over the past few years, the banking sector has slowly adopted a modern technology
stack. The reason is that new financial services are constantly pushing conventional
banks to a tipping point.

In the last 5 years companies like N26, Revolut or Monzo have gained massive
popularity. They are all digital banks that are accessible only through a smartphone.
They aim to simplify the way we are using banking products. Easy setup, multiple
accounts for different currencies, instant currency conversion with good exchange rates,
free ATMs in EU, no hidden costs, free to use. Those companies even offer a digital
money manager that will help analyze your budget and help build good financial habits.
With this, you can travel to different countries without having to worry about converting
your money to euros, pounds or dollars. Need to buy a travel insurance? No problem,
you can buy it from your app. Furthermore, app-only fintech like Mozno started to use
machine learning technologies to boost their business capabilities. Revolut invested in
blockchain ledgers and you can buy cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Litecoin or Ethereum
in their app. As a result, those companies are valued at approximately $2.2 billion each.

This new trend is not taking over only in the west. For example, China’s FinTech
companies have almost as many customers as top western banks and generated more
than 60b USD in 2016. Big tech companies like Apple or Amazon have also started to
invest in this sector. Apple card is coming this summer. A credit card connected with every
iPhone that will even offer smart payment suggestions to encourage us to pay off our
balance faster. Currently, it will be available only in the United States but with some time
it might come to EU and Asia.

With this new wave of fintech startups, customers expectations are growing and forcing
banks to change their digital strategies. And while nobody can really know at present how
the banking industry will be shaped in the future, the general consensus is that billions of
dollars are on the line.

Sources:
1. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47768661
2. http://www.moneyguideireland.com/n26-compared-revolut.html
3. https://www.businessinsider.com/interview-number26-valentin-stalf-2016-04?IR=T
4. https://www.accenture.com/pl-en/insight-future-fintech-banking

Questions:
1. Have you heard about Revolut, N26 or Monzo before?
2. Do you think app only fintech companies can compete with traditional banks?
3. Would you trust your money with such companies?

Week 5 [6.05 - 12.05] Modern democracy

Have you ever thought how long will current form of democracy prevail? Nowadays a lot of people believe it’s the best and probably the final form of government but is it really true?

Actually it’s not. Many communities, especially smaller ones decided to experiment with another form of governing. One of the results of those experiments is direct democracy, also called pure. What makes it so pure? Mostly the fact, that it aims to completely eliminate the need of politicians and representatives. Its concept is pretty straightforward - everyone from a given community meets together and decides about the law by voting. Unfortunately it’s almost impossible to implement it in its original form, since it would be difficult to gather a few million people in one place. There were some attempts to bring it to life though and probably the best known country using it at the moment is Switzerland.

Public voting in Glaris, Switzerland, 2016

Another new form of democracy is liquid democracy. Even though it’s not as simple as direct democracy, it tries to combine the benefits from both pure and representative democracies. Similarly to the classic approach the society select politicians to represent them but unlike now they are free to revoke their vote anytime they want and choose new ones. This way the government is constantly changing and adapting to a country’s situation. Although it seems perfect, it doesn’t seem to be doable with current infrastructure and the costs of maintaining this form of governance are huge.

Liquid democracy example

XXI century and the Internet revolution brought us another concept - E-democracy. It’s still a young idea and it’s still not as clarified as the previous ones. No one is still sure how such a country would look like but it seems it’s trending towards the Internet-controlled direct democracy. Even though it’s fresh, people are already working on the implementation of such a structure. One of it is the Smart Contract system which is a part of  Ethereum cryptocurrency platform. It allows to “securely” vote without the worry of tampering with votes. It’s one of the many though and I’m sure we still have to wait many years before this kind of system will be used in real country.

At the end I encourage you to watch a short TED video about new forms of democracy and even more futuristic approach made up by the speaker.

Q

Questions:

1. Do you think the future societies are still going to use democracy?
2. Do you think the digital voting is a good and secure idea? Why/why not?
3. Have you ever used the Internet services provided by our government, i.e. Trusted Profile? Do you think they are a step towards the better future or a complete failure?

Sources:

1. https://www.britannica.com/topic/direct-democracy
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delegative_democracy
3. https://www.ethereum.org/dao
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-democracy

[Week 5 6.05-12-05] What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger

[Week 5 6.05-12-05]  What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

 

 

Source:  http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2012/06/12/not-vaccinated-no-kisses/#.XLWrV6Qwg2w

 

Source: https://www.thedrum.com/news/2018/10/19/anti-vaccination-ad-goes-viral-billboard-owner-concedes-error

About a year ago the Polish media rose alarm that there had been  measles epidemy in the Czech Republic and even an army had helped in coping with the problem.  Although this was only fake news and the Czech Republic Embassy in Poland officially denied it, the matter of inoculation was in the centre of attention again.

The founder of the first successful vaccination was Edward Jenner and it took place in 1976^[1], so immunization has long history. For many decades people believed that vaccinations were one of the most important invention in medicine.  We were assured that they had been safe and protected us from illnesses, which may cause serious complications. 

And still pharmaceutical industry convinces that there is nothing to be afraid of. On the other hand, there are more and more organizations around the world (also in Poland), which mission is to inform people about the dark side of immunization.

Side effects were reported already at the end of 19^th century^[2], but as Italian researchers said in their report “it seems that they have increased in number and seriousness” ^[3]. Vaccines are linked with allergies, SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), autism, multiple sclerosis and year after year new reports appear and deny their safety. Today it is said that they may not always prevent but make illness milder and I even read somewhere that some people even after immunization don’t create immunity. Italian researchers mentioned above made investigation to check quality of vaccines (they checked 44 types of vaccines) and found out that there were polluted, which means that producers  lost control of the production and its quality.

Vaccinations are obligatory in Poland and parents, who decide not to fulfil the obligation, may bear consequences, but in some countries they are voluntary or only a few are required. Irrespective of vaccinations, contagious diseases are monitored in every country and by European Agencies. In April 2019, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) produced a report^[4], with conclusion that measles spread across Europe because “[…] vaccination coverage in many countries is suboptimal.” To interrupt measles circulation vaccination coverage must be at least 95% in each country, but only in four achieved that level.

                                             Figure 1. Vaccination coverage for first and second dose of measles- and rubella-containing vaccine [4].

So we have two points of view: official that vaccination is necessary and they have more profits than harms and unofficial that they make more harm than good.

Who do you believe? Are you for or against it?
Do you vaccinate yourself? Do you (or will you) vaccinate your children?

Sources (access 15.04.2019):

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smallpox_vaccine

[2] Vaccines and the Peanut Allergy Epidemic https://thedoctorwithin.com/vaccines-and-the-peanut-allergy-epidemic

[3]New Quality-Control Investigations on Vaccines: Micro- and Nanocontamination https://medcraveonline.com/IJVV/IJVV-04-00072

[4] Monthly Measles and Rubella Report https://ecdc.europa.eu/sites/portal/files/documents/monthly-measles-rubella-monitoring-report-april-2019.pdf

[5] http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2012/06/12/not-vaccinated-no-kisses/#.XLWrV6Qwg2w

[6] https://www.thedrum.com/news/2018/10/19/anti-vaccination-ad-goes-viral-billboard-owner-concedes-error