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Fireworks scare us—that’s why we love them
After seeing these light-up shows over and over again, our brains anticipate the bang that comes after the flashes of light. That's unlike a thunderstorm in which we know thunder follows lightning, but when or how loud the next boom will be is out of our control.
This also explains why these celebratory pyrotechnics often terrify dogs. While we know a sound is coming after the firework takes flight, dogs are caught off guard by the sudden, loud noise.
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Key Ideas
The magnetic fields of the sun distort and twist as the Earth rotates on its axis. When these fields become knotted together, they create sunspots. Usually, these sunspots occur in pairs.
A...
Auroras also occur on planets such as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. These gas giants have thick atmospheres and strong magnetic fields. These auroras are a little different from Earth's as they are formed under different conditions.
Venus has an aurora generated by its magnetotail. Mars experiences local auroras due to magnetic fields in the crust. There are also northern hemisphere auroras caused by particles hitting the Maritan atmosphere.
Northern lights occur roughly every eleven years. Record-keeping of the sun's activity began in 1749. Since then, there have been 22 full cycles.
Particles ejected from the sun travel 93 million miles toward Earth before they are drawn toward the magnetic north and south poles. As the particles move through the Earth's magnetic shield, they mix with the oxygen, nitrogen, and other elements that result in the display of lights.
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Bringing awareness, or mindfulness, to the way we communicate with others has both practical and profound applications.
We can train ourselves to:
Each of us already has this natural communication system that feeds us information all the time. So when we close down and become defensive—for a few minutes, a few days, months or even a lifetime—we’re cutting ourselves off not only from others, but also from our natural ability to communicate.
Mindful communication trains us to become aware of when we’ve stopped using our innate communication wisdom.
When we react to fear by shutting down the channel of communication, we’ve put up a defensive barrier that divides us from the world.
Signs you’re in the red light zone:
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Art is most exciting when it creates states of psychological conflict, confusion, or dissonance.
While in other circumstances, such an onslaught might make us run a mile, with art, we ...
It occurs when we are presented with something that we don't immediately recognize. It creates a degree of cognitive dissonance that may be frustrating or even unpleasant.
For example, seeing a vague shape in the corner of a room that might be a cat or a bag. A second look is needed to satisfy our curiosity.
Complementary colors lie opposite one another on the spectrum. For example, red complements blue, yellow complements violet.
When complementary colors are placed in close proximity, it is apt to cause conflict and disturb the eyes. Used subtly, it can make our eyes dance to a discordant tune.