Leonardo da Vinci is generally recognised as one of the great figures of the Renaissance and one of the greatest ever polymaths.
As the world marks the 500th anniversary of his death, it’s important to look at some of the ways in which he showed that he was a thinker who was way ahead of his time, as well as being a painter, sculptor and engineer.

The Greatest Polymath

Leonardo da Vinci is renowned for his inventions, works of art, studies of architecture and anatomical drawings.
The documents that survive show us his ideas for a wide range of devices, such as gliders, helicopters, parachutes, diving suits, cranes, gearboxes and many types of weapons of war.
He combined an imagination ahead of his time, an understanding of the emerging principles of science and engineering, and his superlative draftsmanship to devise new uses for levers, gears, pulleys, bearings and springs.

A Mechanical Genius

Ornithopters, human-powered flying machines which mimicked bird flight, were a fascination for him – and he drew many beautiful and innovative designs. However, bird flight was not fully understood at this time and he was unaware that a human being could never generate the required power to operate such devices.

A Passion For Flying Machines

Although da Vinci is best known for his artistic works, he considered himself more of a scientist than an artist. Mathematics – in particular, perspective, symmetry, proportions and geometry – had a significant influence over his drawings and paintings, and he was most certainly ahead of his time in making use of it.Da Vinci used the mathematical principles of linear perspective – parallel lines, the horizon line, and a vanishing point – to create the illusion of depth on a flat surface.

A Mathematical Genius

Leonardo’s Last Supper is a prime example of the use of the mathematics of perspective. The architecture of the building around Jesus and the 12 apostles, as well as lines on the floor beneath the table, create a “vanishing point”, providing a subconscious focal point for the painting.

The Last Supper

Leonardo knew of Vitruvius’s work – that with the navel as the centre, a perfect circle could be drawn around a body with outstretched arms and legs. He realised that if arm span and height are related, the person would fit perfectly inside a square. His Vitruvian Man took these observations and attempted to solve the problem of “squaring” a circle. It’s not, in fact, possible to do this exactly (squaring the circle is a metaphor for the impossible), but he managed to come very close.

The Vitruvius Man

Leonardo da Vinci described water as “the vehicle of nature” (vetturale di natura), water being to the world what blood is to our bodies. From his earliest landscape drawings of a river cascading over rocks (1473), to the famous Mona Lisa (1503) and to his final deluge sketches (1517-18), a lot of Leonardo’s paintings featured water. As a polymath, he was able to combine his knowledge and ability in art, design, science, philosophy and engineering to design projects, ideas and instruments to <a href="http://hydrologie.org/bluebooks/SP009.pdf">test his hypotheses</a>.

Water: The Vehicle Of Nature

Leonardo da Vinci pioneered the study of physiognomy by introducing the concepts of “moti mentali” contained in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Codex-Urbinas-Latinus-1270">Codex Urbinae</a>, written between 1452 and 1519 and printed by Raffaelo du Fresne as Trattato della Pittura in 1651. Moti mentali can be translated as the representation of transient, dynamic mental states, thoughts and emotions. For da Vinci, the goal of portraitists should be representing the inner thoughts of their sitters, not just the external appearance.Leonardo used this method around the mouth area in some of his portraits (like Mona Lisa and Bella Principessa).

Visual Illusions: The Smile Of Mona Lisa

In many of Leonardo’s portraits, it is almost impossible to say when one colour ends and another starts – and this is evident in some crucial parts of his paintings, such as the mouths of his sitters.For example, the Laboratoire du Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France, in collaboration with the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, <a href="https://www.csmonitor.com/From-the-news-wires/2010/0716/Mona-Lisa-examination-reveals-layers-of-paint-for-dreamy-quality">reported that</a> Leonardo used up to 30 layers of varnish to achieve the subtle shading around the mouth of the La Bella Principessa (a portrait attributed to Leonardo <a href="https://books.google.it/books?hl=en&lr=&id=i2osO3TsTXQC&oi=fnd&pg=PP2&ots=lVCXPANimQ&sig=XoylZ5Qo8AhjVksY4g6T3RP6Z1Y&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false">by Martin Kemp</a> as recently as 2011).

Multilayered Portraits

Engineer, artist, mathematician, thinker: Leonardo da Vinci was all these and more.

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History

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Society, Arts & Culture

Four ways in which Leonardo da Vinci was ahead of his time

If you have a rich flavour (creamy or buttery), you'll likely need a hit of acid such as vinegar or lemon juice to balance things out properly. Salt can also make the flavours of sweet things pleasantly intense.

Know which flavours go together

When we rush, we tend to make time-consuming mistakes - increasing the heat too fast to sear more aggressively or spilling and incorrectly measuring ingredients. 'Hurry up, slow down' is a reminder that taking time to do things right the first time is usually the fastest path to success.

'Hurry up, slow down'

Cooking with softened butter will yield an entirely different result than cooking with melted butter. You'll get a much more flavourful and crispy result when you butter your bread with softened butter instead of melting the butter in the pan. It is because the fat solids emulsified in the softened butter.

Cooking with softened butter and melted butter

<ul><li>If your cutting board keeps slipping around the counter, put a wet towel or paper towel under it to make chopping safer.</li><li>Keep your elbows in when you cook. Pressing your elbows into your centre will stabilise your arms, so they don't shake and prevent small injuries.</li><li>Clean up your kitchen as you go. You'll become more efficient and always have space to work with minimal cleaning afterwards.</li></ul>

Kitchen tips

<ul><li>Don't crowd the pan, no matter what you're pan-frying. Instead, get a bigger pan or fry in batches.</li><li>Always season liberally. Adding a little more salt will make a world of difference in your food.</li><li>Season everything. Don't assume one flavour will permeate the whole dish. Season the chicken, season the pasta, season the sauce.</li><li>Taste as you go. If it tastes good to you, it will likely taste good to others.</li><li>When you're cooking burgers, make a small dent in the centre of the patty with your thumb. Your burger will stay completely flat instead of shrinking.</li></ul>

Cooking tips

A good sauce can save almost anything. Learn to cook at least three quick sauces from memory. A red wine sauce can turn a dried out piece of meat into a great meal - a cup of wine, butter, onions, salt and pepper. A quick marinara can taste as good as sauces you eat at restaurants.

Learn to make a good sauce

<ul><li>A sharp knife is a safe knife. Dull knives are more prone to slipping and causing accidents.</li><li>When you know how to use a knife, you'll save a lot of effort and reduce injuries.</li><li>'A falling knife has no handle.' Don't try to catch a knife that's falling. Instead, step back and pick it up once it's on the floor.</li><li>Always FLIP the knife over before you use it to scrape things into a pot or bowl.</li></ul>

Knife safety and knife skills

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Food

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Science & Nature

28 Culinary School Grads Share Their Best Cooking Tips

Selecting the freshest fruits and veggies is the first step to getting the longest storage life in your kitchen. Leafy greens should be richly coloured and without any limp or yellowing leaves. Root vegetables, cabbages, squash and onions should be heavy for their size without blemishes or soft spots.

Start fresh

When storing fresh fruits and vegetables, consider <ul><li>Temperature: Some produce keeps well in the refrigerator while others, like potatoes, onions and garlic, are best at cool room temperatures. Most refrigerated produce stays fresh longer when sealed.</li><li>Ethylene: Some fruits such as apples and bananas naturally release ethylene gas which speeds up the ripening and decay of ethylene-sensitive produce such as cabbage, leafy greens, lettuce, and broccoli.</li><li>Airflow: Produce that keeps best at room temperature needs air circulation and should be removed from packaging.</li></ul>

Consider the conditions

Potatoes keep for a few weeks when stored in a cool, dark place such as an air-conditioned pantry or a cellar. Sweet potatoes have a shorter shelf life. Potatoes will sprout and decay at warm room At refrigerator temperatures, they convert some starch into sugar and can brown too quickly and scorch when fried. Sweet potatoes develop a hard center when refrigerated and can take longer to cook. <ul><li>Don’t refrigerate.</li><li>Store in a cool, dark place with relatively high humidity.</li><li>Allow air circulation.</li><li>Keep separate from onions, bananas, and other ethylene-producing items.</li></ul>

Potatoes and sweet potatoes

Beets, turnips, rutabagas, carrots, parsnips, and ginger are long-term storage superstars. Since they don’t release much ethylene gas, you can store root vegetables next to more gas-sensitive produce like leafy greens, cabbages, broccoli, and cauliflower. <ul><li>Remove any leafy green tops.</li><li>Refrigerate in a plastic bag for the longest life.</li><li>For a shorter term (up to two weeks), store loose in your crisper drawer.</li></ul>

Other roots and tubers

Common onions and garlic, members of the allium family, are easy to keep fresh if you keep them away from moisture. Choose firm, unblemished bulbs with dry skins and store them in a cool, dry, dark place with air circulation, not in a plastic bag. <ul><li>Don’t refrigerate.</li><li>Store in a cool, dark place with low humidity.</li><li>Allow some air circulation.</li><li>Keep separate from potatoes and sweet potatoes.</li></ul>

Onions and garlic

Cabbage can last for ages in the fridge. You can store it quartered in a zip-top bag if space is an issue. Broccoli and cauliflower are hardy and versatile. Whole crowns stay crisp for up to two weeks in plastic bags or containers with lids. <ul><li>Refrigerate in sealed containers.</li><li>Uncut heads can be refrigerated without a bag.</li><li>Once cut, seal in an airtight container.</li></ul>

Cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower

<ul><li>Store at room temperature away from direct sunlight until you cut them up.</li><li>Keep away from bananas and other ethylene producers.</li></ul> Once cut, peel, chop and store the remaining squash in a sealed container or plastic bag so it’s ready to cook.

Winter squashes

<ul><li>Refrigerate unwashed as excess moisture causes leafy greens to rot faster in the fridge. If you prefer prewashing so your greens are ready to use, wrap them in a clean towel, paper towel, or butcher paper to absorb the excess moisture.</li><li>Discard any brown or slimy leaves, then store the rest in a zip-top bag or airtight container.</li></ul> Celery is an exception. It’ll stay crisp for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator when sealed in a zip-top bag.

Leafy greens

<ul><li>Refrigerate in a plastic bag.</li><li>Ideally, use a crisper drawer that you’ve designated for non-ethylene-sensitive fruit, such as strawberries, blueberries, navel oranges, and raspberries.</li></ul>

Apples and pears

<ul><li>Store on the countertop for up to a week.</li><li>Refrigerate loose for longer storage.</li></ul> You can store citrus fruits out on the countertop (so you remember to use them) or keep them fresher longer in the fridge. Oranges and grapefruits aren’t ethylene-sensitive, so you can store them with apples and pears. However, lemons and limes are ethylene sensitive.

Citrus fruit

Now that you’re going to the store less often, here’s how to pick the produce items that will last the longest and how to store them smartly for weeks.


How to Keep Your Produce Fresh for Weeks (Hint: It’s Not Always in the Fridge)

Before you start, have everything prepped, organized, and ready to go. It means chopping all of your veggies, measuring out your spices, and gathering your tools, pots, and pans before you start cooking.

The start to successful cooking is mise en place

Acid helps brighten flavours, adds freshness, and can help make a heavy dish feel lighter. If you find yourself stuck with a dish that tastes flat, use an acid to season food such as white wine, lemon juice, or a splash of vinegar.

When it comes to seasoning food, acid is as important as salt

Those crusty brown bits stuck to the bottom of your pan are the secret to making restaurant-quality sauces. They are the key ingredient for a rich, savoury sauce.

Making super-flavorful sauces

Sugar can help to transform a lacklustre sauce into something balanced and bright. If you find yourself with produce that tastes dull or underripe, or the sauce is bland, try adding a pinch of sugar to improve the flavour of a dish.

Sugar can help balance savory dishes

While you can use a paring knife, other tools work much quicker. A mandoline makes the most consistent knife cuts in the least amount of time. Mandolines might seem intimidating but go slow, use the handguard, and you’ll be slicing like a pro in no time. Y-shaped peelers can make thin ribbons of vegetables, cheeses, and other delicate items.

You don’t always need expert knife skills

A brine is a solution of water, salt, and sometimes sugar used to keep proteins moist and tender. You simply soak your meat in it (usually pork or chicken) for several hours, dry it off, and cook it as usual.

Brining makes chicken and pork nearly impossible to overcook

Cleaning as you go makes cooking easier and more enjoyable. It clears up workspace, makes it easier to focus on the task and prevents a mountain of dishes at the end. The easiest way to adopt this practise is to simply wash your dishes as you’re cooking.

Clean as you go

Ultra-high heat adds a distinct savoury flavour to dishes. This is because of the Maillard reaction, which occurs between amino acids and sugars when they come into contact with heat and make food turn golden-brown. Let your pans heat up for a good amount of time. It might feel like a long time, but it will help you achieve a deep, flavorful sear. When you see small wafts of smoke coming from the pan, it’s ready to use.

High heat means high flavor

Dull knives are prone to slipping and sliding off of vegetables, putting you at risk of cutting yourself. Sharp knives make cooking more enjoyable, safer, and faster, so don’t neglect them. Sharpen your knives every six months to a year.

A sharp knife is a safe knife

The 9 Most Important Things I Learned in Cooking School

The creator economy is booming and more people than ever are turning to content creation as a source of income. But what happens when there are too many options?<ul><li>With so many options to choose from, people find it very difficult to choose at all.</li><li>There are just so many ways to make money online, through online media sites, platforms like Youtube and Instagram, blogs, newsletters, corporate clients, and more.</li><li>Each opportunity comes with trade-offs: barriers to entry, difficulty, potential income, consistency, and preference. These trade-offs are all different for different people.</li></ul>

Too Many Options

The problem is that with so many options, it’s difficult to choose one that works for you. Moreover, once you start struggling on your journey to become a YouTuber or start a successful newsletter, it can be tempting to jump ship and dip your toes into another stream of income. Instead of putting all of your energy into building a successful business, you end up spending most of your time wondering whether you made the right decision.

The Opportunity Cost Of Choice

Opportunity costs subtract from the satisfaction that we get out of what we choose, even when what we choose is terrific. The more options there are to consider, the more attractive features of these options are going to be reflected by us as opportunity costs

Take some time to weigh and measure your options. Decide, based on your skill set, preferences, and practical information like barriers to entry, potential income ceilings, which kinds of work suit you best, and — this is really important, especially when it comes to writing — whether that type of work will make it easier to pursue other projects down the line. Then, prioritize your direction on that basis. You can always change your mind, but the most important thing is to make a choice.

How to Overcome the Paradox of Choice: Plan

Persistence is key.  Everyone from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Toz7XEsSH_o">YouTuber Ali Abdaal</a>, who made 4.7 million dollars last year after 7 years of building his content creation business, or <a href="https://www.mic.com/articles/99838/14-brilliant-authors-who-didn-t-succeed-until-way-after-30">Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison</a>, who didn’t publish her first novel until she was 39, says the same thing: to be successful, you’ve got to stick with it. Not for a few weeks, not for a few months, but for years, maybe even decades. Once you choose which path you’re going to take, commit to it for as long as it takes

Follow Through

This is closely tied to number two. The only way to achieve your goals is through persistence and the only way to persist is through self-belief. You must believe that you can do what you set out to, against all odds.Writers are subject to so much imposter syndrome. Anyone can call themselves a writer, and no one really knows what a solid career is supposed to look like, so who’s to say your work is legitimate, especially when you’re just starting out.

Seek Help and Believe in Yourself

Lately, I’ve been jotting down meaningful phrases and tacking them to my wall. One that has motivated me most in the past couple of months, as I navigate a shift in my freelance career has been the…

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Marketing & Sales

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Leadership & Management

How the Paradox of Choice Is Stifling Your Content Creation

AI writing assistants are software tools that automatically generate content for specific topics or industries. Their job is to provide suggestions, ideas, samples and editing suggestions. AI can also create a blog post for a specific topic and deliver it instantly. If you want to generate content ideas, AI writing tools can generate stories and customised content. It can generate specific emotions as well.

AI writing assistants

AI writing assistants are not replacing humans but can assist by overcoming writer's block and generating content ideas. Marketers can use AI writers as an assistant or as writers. This can save time and money. The disruption is a step forward as AI can replace repetitive tasks and free up employees for more meaningful tasks.

How to view the AI writing assistant disruption

AI writing assistants are software tools that are disrupting copywriting and content creation.

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Reading & Writing

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Computer Science

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Artificial Intelligence

Why AI Writing Assistants are a Good Thing for Content Creation

One of the biggest mistakes founding leaders make is that they assume that everyone in the company is clear on the vision.
Just because it is clear to the founding leaders, it's not necessarily clear to everyone else.

Acculturating the vision

Unfortunately, many visionaries replace themselves with operators. An operator can do a visionary job, however, they have to understand it's a different job with a different skill set. The difference between a visionary and an operator is that one skill set is up and out and the other down and in.

The visionary and operator are not interchangeable

Many CFOs or COs are considered the number two in the company and in line for the big position.  However, what makes an organisation highly functional is <ol><li>the partnership between its visionary and operator, and </li><li>the tension between the two ways of operating up-and-out and down-and-in.</li></ol>

The partnership between visionary and operator

You want a visionary person to do a visionary job, and the operator to do an operator job. <ul><li>You should extract the purpose from the founder in terms that are compelling and resonant with everyone.</li><li>Build into your incentive structure performance and values so that the organisation is equipped to survive the founder leader if necessary.</li></ul>

How an organisation should function

A company needs both visionaries and operators, but they have different skill sets. One is focused on up and out, while the other is focused on down and in. + + + Simon is an unshakable optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together. Described as “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect,” Simon has devoted his professional life to help advance a vision of the world that does not yet exist; a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single morning inspired, feel safe wherever they are and end the day fulfilled by the work that they do. Simon is the author of multiple best-selling books including Start With Why, Leaders Eat Last, Together is Better, and The Infinite Game. + + + Website: http://simonsinek.com/ Live Online Classes: http://simonsinek.com/inspireU Podcast: http://apple.co/simonsinek Instagram: https://instagram.com/simonsinek/ Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/simonsinek/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonsinek Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simonsinek Simon’s books: The Infinite Game: https://simonsinek.com/product/the-in... Start With Why: https://simonsinek.com/product/start-... Find Your Why: https://simonsinek.com/product/find-y... Leaders Eat Last: https://simonsinek.com/product/leader... Together is Better: https://simonsinek.com/product/togeth... + + + #SimonSinek

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Motivation & Inspiration

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Problem Solving

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Startups

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Videos

Visionaries vs. Operators | Simon Sinek

The legacy of Nelson Mandela lives on in the hearts of global communities, who find inspiration and hope in his way of life and way of leading the country.  We can reflect on some of the things he taught us about leadership and change.

The legacy of Nelson Mandela

When you engage in a noble cause, you become energised and passionate. That passion fuels perseverance. Opposed to the policies of his country's white minority government, Madiba was instrumental in the action against apartheid in South Africa that caused him to be imprisoned for 27 years. However, he emerged from incarceration and became South Africa's first black president.

Passion produces perseverance

Innovation and change is rarely a neat path. Pushing for change often leads to sacrifice and difficulty. But just because it is difficult does not mean that what you are working on is not right.  Mandela was a partner in the only black-run law firm in South Africa. The company was overwhelmed by aggrieved clients demanding compensation for the government's actions against non-whites. Mandela could have created a comfortable life for himself, but instead focused on making a worthwhile change.

Expect change to be messy

When Mandela was released from prison, former president Bill Clinton of the United States observed the anger and hatred on Mandela's face as he walked from his cellblock to the front of the prison. Then in a moment, Mandela's rage seemed to vanish. Madiba taught us that at some point in our lives, we are all victims of something. But, we don't have to be victims of our past. We can let go of our bitterness and achieve greatness.

Forgiveness is key to moving forward

In marriage, social justice or business, you can focus your energy on being right or ending right. Being right is often about our ego and focuses on the past. Ending right is about the future and what you want to achieve. Nelson Mandela vehemently fought for what he believed in, but he was not willing to humiliate the opposition. He stated that "no one is more dangerous than one who is humiliated." To be successful in a relationship of any kind requires the ability to let all sides gain.

End right vs being right

Madiba learned through his years in imprisonment to look in the mirror and create within himself that which he most wanted for South Africa: peace, reconciliation, equality, harmony and freedom. Self-awareness is a good leadership skill. Madiba understood that leading his nation into a peaceful democracy meant that he had to be the change.

Change begins from the inside-out

A good leader can engage in a debate frankly and thoroughly, knowing that at the end he and the other side must be closer, and thus emerge stronger. You don’t have that idea when you are arrogant, superficial and uninformed.

In a world desperate for civility, unity and hope, we need optimistic leaders who can bring innovation, creativity and bold, audacious ideas to bear on the problems we face. Here are 5 lessons about change from one of the most visionary and influential political figures the world has ever seen.

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Personal Development

communication

Communication

Madiba Leadership: 5 Lessons Nelson Mandela Taught The World About Change

Though 1972’s Pong has often been credited as the first popular video game, the mantle goes to Tennis For Two, which was created by a nuclear physicist, William Higinbotham, in 1958.
The primitive game was a sideways view of a tennis court, with the ball moving back and forth, and the two players watching the five-inch cathode ray tube display and using a mechanical-electrical system filled with wires, and the world’s first joystick: a large cube with a button and knob.
The video game arcade era went mainstream in the 80s, also a time when the physicist was finally credited for his pioneering work.

The First Video Game

It's a far cry from the immersive video game experiences of today, and it took a nuclear physicist to assemble, but 'Tennis for Two' was a milestone in gaming history.

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Technology & The Future

What Was The First Video Game?

In 2015, Discord offered the sprawling gamer community with a niftier option to connect via chat and voice, even when they were not playing their favourite multiplayer online game. 
The well-thought-out, customizable communication tools have since made Discord the center of the gaming universe with over 100 million active users.

Discord: The Gaming Community That Shaped The Internet

<ul>
<li>Discord was in gaming and gaming-related communities since the early days of the internet and even had an app on the Apple Store when it launched in 2008. </li>
<li>It has since pivoted multiple times, and has improved voice communication technology in its platform, showcasing its intent to be gamer-centric. </li>
<li>Long-time gamers understand that Discord gets it, and the community has thus exploded.</li>
</ul>

Pivoting Genius: Discord

Discord has worked hard on ensuring the lowest latency possible during a voice call, and that hard work is now paying off when they realize that it’s not just gamers who want sub-millisecond latency.
With so many communication tools available in various online platforms, Discord offers nothing new on the surface and feels like a mashup of Slack, Reddit, Zoom and similar tools. However, the way the tools are offered feels like people are hanging around and enjoying being connected passively, and are not working. The USP of Discord is the sense of play.

Communication Frankenstein

With decades of experience with the online communities, fickle gamers, and serious hardware and software issues, Discord has evolved as the place to talk about anything, and for simply hanging out with like-minded people on the internet.
While the other tools come with a purpose and a sense of urgency, the users and gamers at Discord are hooked to the casual, non-purposeful nature of the platform which resembles an online version of a college campus.

The Ultimate Pivot: A Place To Talk

Discord's founders just wanted to create a way to talk to their gamer friends. They created something much bigger.

Four ways in which Leonardo da Vinci was ahead of his time

28 Culinary School Grads Share Their Best Cooking Tips

How to Keep Your Produce Fresh for Weeks (Hint: It’s Not Always in the Fridge)

The 9 Most Important Things I Learned in Cooking School

How the Paradox of Choice Is Stifling Your Content Creation

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