quarta-feira, 23 de maio de 2012

Ler é uma necessidade humana / Humans have the need to read


Um estudo científico revela que a leitura é uma necessidade humana. Daí que os avanços tecnológicos ou a situação de crise não levem a que as pessoas ponham os livros de lado. Em papel ou em formato digital, ler continua a ser uma prioridade.

«Why should we bother reading a book? All children say this occasionally. Many of the 12 million adults in Britain with reading difficulties repeat it to themselves daily. But for the first time in the 500 years since Johannes Gutenberg democratised reading, many among our educated classes are also asking why, in a world of accelerating technology, increasing time poverty and diminishing attention spans, should they invest precious time sinking into a good book?

The beginnings of an answer lie in the same technology that has posed the question. Psychologists from Washington University used brain scans to see what happens inside our heads when we read stories. They found that "readers mentally simulate each new situation encountered in a narrative". The brain weaves these situations together with experiences from its own life to create a new mental synthesis. Reading a book leaves us with new neural pathways.

The discovery that our brains are physically changed by the experience of reading is something many of us will understand instinctively, as we think back to the way an extraordinary book had a transformative effect on the way we viewed the world. This transformation only takes place when we lose ourselves in a book, abandoning the emotional and mental chatter of the real world. That's why studies have found this kind of deep reading makes us more empathetic, or as Nicholas Carr puts it in his essay, The Dreams of Readers, "more alert to the inner lives of others".»

Leia o resto do artigo do jornal The Guardian AQUI.

terça-feira, 22 de maio de 2012

7 citações sobre fotografia / 7 quotes about photography

Behind the camera, I was invisible. When I lifted it up to my eye it was like I crawled into the lens, losing myself there, and everything else fell away.


Sarah Dessen














To photograph is to hold one’s breath, when all faculties converge to capture fleeting reality. It’s at that precise moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy.

Henri Cartier-Bresson, The Minds Eye







segunda-feira, 21 de maio de 2012

Quem não vê ainda "A Guerra dos Tronos"? / "A Game of Thrones" quote




Abaixo deixo uma citação de A Guerra dos Tronos ("A Game of Thrones") de George R. R. Martin. Para quem não conhece os livros talvez tenha visto episódios da série da HBO a passar actualmente no canal SYFY. Eu gosto desta história: além da fantasia e da história bem construída, há o facto de as mulheres serem todas extremamente fortes, mesmo as que começam por parecer as clássicas e enjoativas donzelas em perigo. De resto aviso que há muitas cenas violentas. A própria história é psicologicamente difícil e os protagonistas a que nos afeiçoamos caem que nem tordos. Mortinhos da Silva e não de morte natural. Ainda assim vale a pena. Passa hoje à noite na televisão.



Este é um diálogo que eu gosto especialmente, entre Jon Snow e Tyrion Lannister:


«“Let me give you some counsel, bastard,” Lannister said. “Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armor yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.”
Jon was in no mood for anyone’s counsel. “What do you know about being a bastard?”
“All dwarfs are bastards in their father’s eyes.”
“You are your mother’s trueborn son of Lannister.”
“Am I?” the dwarf replied, sardonic. “Do tell my lord father. My mother died birthing me, and he’s never been sure.”
“I don’t even know who my mother was,” Jon said.
“Some woman, no doubt. Most of them are.” He favored Jon with a rueful grin. “Remember this, boy. All dwarfs may be bastards, yet not all bastards need be dwarfs.” And with that he turned and sauntered back into the feast, whistling a tune. When he opened the door, the light from within threw his shadow clear across the yard, and for just a moment Tyrion Lannister stood tall as a king».



George R. R. Martin, A Guerra dos Tronos



Ler é realmente sexy / Reading is really sexy

Foto de 10 de Abril do meu Projeto 365 / My april 10 photo for my "Capture your 365" project


Rendilhado.

sábado, 12 de maio de 2012

Ó Tuga, tira o hífen!

Zé Pedro Cobra, advogado e humorista fala No TEDCascais sobre a crise e a forma "tuga" de a encarar:



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