Trains of Thoughts trainsofthoughtspod.com

Where is home? … There are plenty of texts in literature and music that take up that question. In this episode, I want to share some of them with you that are really valuable.Find the transcript of this episode here: https://trainsofthoughtspod.com/e/10-where-is-home/Worth a look:“Home” – Passenger, https://passengermusic.com“Where Is Home?” – Rich Jacques, https://richjacques.com“Rolling Stone” – Passenger, https://passengermusic.com“Creating A Dream” – Xavier Rudd, https://xavierrudd.com“Der Heimatforscher” (Researching home) – Yared Dibaba, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20643621-der-heimatforscher

Why do we like some languages more than others? What criteria defines the sound of language? Together with Mirjami Heikkinen, we approach the question of what’s in language based on her professional experience as a voice actress. What are the qualities or tricks one needs to make a listener being drawn in by the spoken words? What are the different perceived or unperceived colors of language that make language or the spoken word in general interesting or appealing to us? And ultimately, what means language to us humans in the first place?
Find the transcript of this episode here: https://trainsofthoughtspod.com/e/09-voice-acting-or-the-beautiful-colors-of-language/Highly recommended:Meidän Festivaali: https://meidanfestivaali.fi/Website of Mirjami: https://www.mirjamiheikkinen.com/

Have you ever watched a TV program in which almost nothing is happening? Watching co-called Slow-TV with seemingly little content is a huge thing in Norway. What’s behind it? Why are Norwegians so fascinated by it? Let’s take a look at some examples and work out why Slow-TV is not boring, but actually highly addictive…Find the transcript of this episode here: https://trainsofthoughtspod.com/e/08-slow-tvInspired by:Thomas Hellum, TEDxArendal, The world’s most boring television … and why it’s hilariously addictive, 2014, https://www.ted.com/talks/thomas_hellum_the_world_s_most_boring_television_and_why_it_s_hilariously_addictive

"In my most natural state, I'll be introverted for say, six days in a row, and then on the seventh day, I'll become very extroverted, completely inside-out. Then I'll have to go back inside myself. Sometimes the change can be quite forceful — it's something I can't really control." (Björk). Many of us can probably relate to that. However, why are we often behaving like this? – I’ve been asking myself this question already for years – until I eventually found an answer. Where? In science, of course! So, here are my thoughts about it – and the ones of scientists.
Find the transcript of this episode here: https://trainsofthoughtspod.com/e/07-when-a-train-of-thought-crosses-the-border/
Sources:
“Production blocking and idea generation: Does blocking interfere with cognitive processes?”, Nijstad, B. A., Stroebe, W., Lodewijkx, H. F. M., 2003, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-1031(03)00040-4
“What is an ambivert?”, https://www.scienceofpeople.com/ambivert/, accessed 2021-07-06.

We have a huge problem. Plastics are littering the environment and they survive here over thousands of years. Companies therefore started to produce plastics that should biodegrade. Therefore, solutions are already existing. But is that really the case? Tests have revealed that even biodegradable plastics do not always dissolve into the environment and can survive years. Corresponding labeling of such bioplastics seems to be misleading. Are we suffering again a severe setback on our way out of our environmental crisis? No – provided that we draw the right conclusions and take the necessary next steps. And the first are taking a closer look – not only on biodegradability.
 
Find the transcript of this episode here: https://trainsofthoughtspod.com/e/06-bioplastics-can-they-solve-our-waste-problem/
 
Interesting articles and main sources:
Ellen MacArthur Foundation, McKinsey & Company, World Economic Forum, “The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the future of plastics”, 2016, https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/The-New-Plastics-Economy-Rethinking-the-Future-of-Plastics.pdf
European Bioplastics, https://www.european-bioplastics.org/bioplastics/, accessed: 2021-06-20.
ETH Zürich, P. Rüegg, “Soil bugs munch on plastics”, https://ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/eth-news/news/2018/07/soil-bugs-munch-on-plastic-films.html, accessed 2021-06-20, based on: M.T. Zumstein et al., “Biodegradation of synthetic polymers in soils: Tracking carbon into CO2 and microbial biomass”, Science Advances, Vol. 4, no. 7, 2018, https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/7/eaas9024.  
I. E. Napper, R. C. Thompson, “Environmental Deterioration of Biodegradable, Oxo-biodegradable, Compostable, and Conventional Plastic Carrier Bags in the Sea, Soil,and Open-Air Over a 3‑Year Period”, Environmental Science & Technology, 53, 9, 2019, https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.8b06984.
University of Plymouth, “Biodegradable bags can hold a full load of shopping three years after being discarded in the environment”, 2019, https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/news/biodegradable-bags-can-hold-a-full-load-of-shopping-three-years-after-being-discarded-in-the-environment, accessed: 2021-06-20.

To note or not to note, that is the question. … How often do you forget things? How often are you in a situation in which you cannot remember something that happened or something that someone told you? We usually keep the colorful memories of our lives in our hearts until they go black and white, or worse – disappear. Can note-taking or journaling help us to prevent such situations?Find the transcript of this episode here:https://trainsofthoughtspod.com/e/05-to-note-or-not-to-note/Interesting articles:- Kira M. Newman, How Journaling Can Help You in Hard Times, Greater Good Magazine, The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley, 2020, https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_journaling_can_help_you_in_hard_times.- K.M. Chan, K. Horneffer, Emotional expression and psychological symptoms: A comparison of writing and drawing, The Arts in Psychotherapy, vol. 33-1, 2006, p. 26-36, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2005.06.001.