A new paper assessing the
circulation of currents in the Atlantic has warned that the recent chaotic
weather could pale in comparison to what lies ahead for Europe. The
so-called Amoc, a system that brings warm water north, plays an essential
role in the European climate and is at risk of collapse.
Scientists are
divided on the paper’s prediction that Amoc could collapse within the next
decade but oceanographer Robert Marsh wrote
about how concerning the new findings are, even if the
warnings don’t become reality immediately. For years, he has been studying
how conditions in the Atlantic relate to weather in Europe and he fears
more extreme events ahead.
Given how much our lives are
affected by the global financial system, it’s surprising how little most
of us understand it. Arguably, this lack of knowledge decreases the power
of the populace and enables inequality to become entrenched. Those who
know how to work the system prosper while the rest of us are left behind.
On a quest to improve our financial literacy, a multidisciplinary group
has produced an
immensely detailed illustration intended to represent how
money flows around the world.
If an imminent summer holiday has you
frantically tapping away at a language learning app in a panic to acquire
some essential vocabulary, consider that your conversational skills might
also improve after you’ve arrived at your destination. Sitting down with
formal exercises can get you a long way but you also need to immerse
yourself in a culture to really speak like a native. The good news is, in
this hyperconnected world, you don’t need to literally travel to make that
happen. So whether going on holiday or not, you could still have an
immersive
foreign language experience this summer, even just by playing
online games. Gamers, it turns out, have a higher than average ability to
speak other languages as a result of their interactions with each
other.
Archival research has thrown up some super
fun images of young people having a wild time in 1920s Spain,
where the craze of “dancings” — organised dances in large venues — swept
Madrid and Barcelona. These huge parties got sweaty and very flirty,
offering the chance to break free from the constraints of family life and
maybe even find a girlfriend or boyfriend. Older people were appalled at
the antics, which probably only added to the fun.
The dances do,
however, seem rather mild when compared to equivalent events from the
ancient period. Greek and Roman orgies featured a lot more than just
sweaty dancing. A lot more. But this
ancient history scholar realised that much of what we think
we know about these erotic festivities comes from the corny movies of the
1970s, so he wants to set the record straight. Brace yourself as he
reveals what amounted to a good time when ancient leaders such as Caligula
gathered friends (and, er, family) for a little get
together.
A more wholesome ancient ritual is investigated in
this
article looking at archaeological evidence from viking
graves. Digs have found the remains of horses and other animals alongside
humans, pointing to a level of emotional attachment that has perhaps not
been understood before. Texts from the period even suggest that some
Scandinavian communities viewed horses as almost human in their own
right.
- Laura Hood, Senior Politics Editor and Assistant
Editor at The Conversation UK
