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Deadly cost of pollution prompts new regulation
The cost of air pollution in Europe is deadly. In 2010, 400,000 Europeans died prematurely as a result of poor air quality, according to a recent report by the European Environmental agency. The cost of such pollution to member countries of the EU is around 23 billion Euros per year. And though Read More...
Acupuncture relieves pain in children after tonsillectomy
Tonsillectomy—surgical removal of the two tonsils—is typically associated with severe throat pain for up to 10 days after the procedure. For many years, codeine was the drug of choice to treat this pain, but in February 2013 the Food and Drug Administration banned the use of codeine in children Read More...
A man with balls
On a sultry night in October of 2011, two young men sit on the edge of a fountain in the city center of Damascus. It’s near midnight and a threatening silence hangs over the old Arab city with its narrow, mysterious streets and numerous bazaars and coffeehouses. The men speak softly with each Read More...
Silent heroism
Alisa Resnik never had much confidence in herself. Perhaps it was the way her family criticized her as a child, or maybe it was the general negativity of communist Russia when she was growing up in St. Petersburg in the 1980s. Whatever the reason, she often thought she was unworthy, and the idea of Read More...
Coffee couture
Jason Chen, founder of Taiwanese textile manufacturer Singtex, made what may be the company’s most important decision because his wife told him he smelled bad. They were getting coffee at a Starbucks, and he had just been to the gym. “Why don’t you just put coffee grounds in your Read More...
Knowing without words
Margaret Rekers was planning to start her own business, but a job opened up that suited her perfectly—or at least that’s what everyone else told her. The educational psychologist and youth coach in Bodegraven, the Netherlands, took the job. “I let myself be convinced,” she says. “I worked Read More...
Lessons from the present
Eckhart Tolle doesn’t shy away from difficult subjects. Recurring bouts of anxiety and suicidal depression, which he suffered in his 20s, became fodder for a transformation that led him to drop his graduate studies and spend his days on park benches in London, watching the world go by. During Read More...
Why the new year will be even happier
We keep getting healthier The healthy food trends of 2013 will continue in 2014. People take responsibility for their own health. We prepare our own meals, with local products such as vegetables from our own garden. We check the origins of our food and are critical about meat. Fish consumption will Read More...
Colofon
About The Intelligent Optimist The Intelligent Optimist (formerly Ode) is an independent international media platform focused on solutions, possibility and inspiration. We present optimism as the most effective, efficient and by scientific research confirmed strategy to drive the innovation and Read More...
Better relationships mean a better night’s sleep
Sleep patterns often change when kids hit puberty. Traditionally, the explanation for this drop to less than 9 hours of sleep per night was biological. Doctors attributed sleep loss to puberty and hormonal changes. Dr. David J. Maume, sociology professor at the University of Cincinnati, directed a Read More...