What Makes People Tick?

With Hollywood's new movie Noah causing a flood of reactions both positive and less so, I decided to investigate the new movie and the flood story for myself. I've not yet seen the movie, however this Time Magazine article by Ken Ham has definitely made me curious! The movie is indeed about a man named Noah who builds a huge ark, however that's about as far as the story sticks to the Biblical account, apparently. Now the movie may not be faithful to the Biblical account about Noah, but is it faithful to any other accounts?

Remember all the panic pre-2012? Remember those who shouted about the end of the world? Remember reading hyped up reports about a planet that would approach earth, causing all sorts of mayhem and natural disasters? Well, what if the 'conspiracy nuts' got it partly right after all? I read an article today that I simply had to share! It states that a tiny planet has been discovered far beyond Pluto that has been calculated to have an elliptical orbit around our sun. Earth and the planets 'near' us all have a 'round' orbit (my words), which makes this new planet quite something. There might even be a much bigger planet still out there... The mystical planet the 'conspiracy nuts' talked about, known as Nibiru, is also said to have an elliptical orbit. Now I'm not saying that Nibiru of legend is real or anything of the sort - I'm not a scientist, nor a conspiracy theorist in all honesty. I did make the connection, however and it made me wonder i...

Here at What Makes People Tick? we love learning about what drives and shapes people -- religion, history, science, technology, ecology, curiosity... You name it! We like looking at what we see as positive things - new scientific or technological discoveries that shake our world or discoveries about ancient history that totally change what we thought we knew. Göbekli Tepe belongs to the second category and if we had it, would belong to the Wow, this is Amazing! category as well! While the excavation is still a work in progress, we have already learnt so much from this amazing place. It is thought to be the world's oldest temple and some even theorise it may be the Bible's famed Garden of Eden. Whatever it turns out to be, this site provides evidence of amazing skill and workmanship. For a people who lived before modern tools were invented, who lived before the invention of pottery even, this is a grand feat and one well worth keeping an eye on in the future! This Smith...

Check out New Scientist 's section about space, it is FULL of amazing articles we'd be thrilled to share! http://www.newscientist.com/section/space Stay tuned for more from us later this weekend!

Check out this very cool vid of Europe's shifting borders over the past 1000 years. Video here at Loiter.co The rise and fall of Hitler's Germany and of the Soviet Union look especially spectacular! Hope y'all enjoy!

I've been trying to think of religious topics to write about that won't upset too many people, none at all if possible. So, I started thinking. What can I write about and what experiences can I share with an audience to help foster understanding and respect between peoples? One of my main interests when it comes to the world's religions is to look at the similarities instead of the differences. So, I've decided that I will be focusing on just that - our similarities. What kind of similarities? Many believe that the world was created by a Higher Power or Creating Force. Most have a basic system of laws like those against murder and theft. Many religions hold that there are clean / good and unclean / bad / forbidden foods. Prayer, meditation and becoming a better person are encouraged by all religions I know of. It is similarities like the ones above that I want to write about and focus on. I want to look at the basics that connect people of all religions - the...

Gravity. I'd always thought of it as something relatively simple. "The force that makes sure that everyone and everything on earth stays on earth", pretty much. This article makes me rethink everything I ever thought I knew about gravity! "Nearly a century ago, Einstein came up with the idea of gravitational waves. Now, in a discovery that physicists are calling "extraordinary" and "spectacular," observers at the South Pole have found the first direct evidence they exist" Read the full article at Time.com

"Alongside conventional physics I believe school children should also be taught the alternative theory of fat bottomed girls making the world go 'round." Source : Facebook! For those who don't get the joke, this is a QUEEN reference. Check out Queen's YouTube page where you can listen to Fat Bottomed Girls and so many of their other songs!  

The necessity of renewable energy sources Interesting article and blog about wind power and the necessity of renewable energy sources. Global warming and climate change are real, they are not fantastical stories thought up by sensation-seeking scientists. Humans and out use and abuse of our planet are the cause. Be part of the solution! For The Wind blog @ Wordpress Enjoy this read and don't forget to check back often for new content!

According to this nature.com article; Italian scientists have managed to detect and measure dark matter ---AGAIN !!!  I love living in a world where technology makes it possible to research that which is so immensely far away or HUGE or alien or different that we never before thought it was possible to learn more about it. Who would have thought only  a few hundred years ago that we would be mapping the brain, performing open heart surgery or sending people into space? Who but the most imaginative sci-fi writer could have thought up our current technological and scientific advances? I love it! :-)

It may sound like it comes straight from science fiction but is very much becoming reality. How cool is this!!! A 'telepathy machine' that reconstructs speech from brain waves! I quoted the article's introduction below to give you an idea of how amazing this is! "When you read this sentence to yourself, it's likely that you hear the words in your head. Now, in what amounts to technological telepathy, others are on the verge of being able to hear your inner dialogue too. By peering inside the brain, it is possible to reconstruct speech from the activity that takes place when we hear someone talking." --  Telepathy machine reconstructs speech from brain waves  - New Scientist

If the question "what else is there that humans can't yet see or detect?" bugs you as much as it bugs me, stay tuned. This 2008 article claims that dark matter and dark energy - which cosmologists say is what fills and keeps the universe together, very simply put - may not exist at all. Instead we should be looking for dark fluid. Why? Check out this Space.com article and decide for yourself!