TOK: Memory
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The woman who died and lived to tell the tale
Is there life after death? For centuries, people have believed that consciousness continues long after our hearts stop beating. Now a new Netflix series searches for scientific proof.
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Lockdown could be destroying your memory
Is memory a muscle? Lockdown could be causing forgetfulness, but humans have developed a number of ingenious methods to counter it, from memory palaces to mystical theatres to “chunking”.
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Zero: the idea that changed the world
Has the number “zero” done more to advance humanity than any other idea? Many mathematicians think so – for, without zero, we could not ponder either the concepts of the void or the infinite.
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Pack your bags – it’s holiday time after all!
Is a change as good as a rest? Many families everywhere are thrilled about the return of the summer holidays as lockdown restrictions are eased and “air corridors” are announced this weekend.
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Thousands join march as protests spread to UK
Could the virus help kill racism? The high number of black victims of Covid-19, together with the murder of George Floyd, has focused people’s minds on a history of shameful injustice.
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Protest, plague, and the year the world changed
Is this 1968 all over again? America is living through the worst civil unrest since the assassination of Martin Luther King. But the similarities with that momentous year don’t end there.
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World faces worst crisis since Great Depression
Will there be another Great Depression? Experts warn that the coronavirus pandemic will provoke the most significant economic collapse in decades. But others argue that the crisis is unique.
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Row explodes over Amazon Nazi-hunter show
Is it wrong to tell fictional stories about the Holocaust? A new TV show about vigilante justice has been accused of sensationalising the genocide of millions for entertainment purposes.
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One woman’s fight to capture whiff of the past
Should there be museums for smells? As our lives move online and artificial intelligence takes over, some think it has never been more important to preserve culturally important aromas.
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Don’t lie about Christmas, warn psychologists
Should we stop telling children the Christmas myth is true? Santa Claus, the chimney and the reindeer: it is the story we all grew up with. But some experts argue these lies can be harmful.
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‘The American festival we all should celebrate’
Should Thanksgiving go global? It seems like a holiday that’s as American as pumpkin pie. But there are variants of this day all around the world, revolving around the concept of gratitude.
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Key to early humans found in giant ape’s tooth
Could this teach us who we really are? A scientific breakthrough has allowed researchers to read genetic data, effectively 12 million years old — shining a light on the origins of man.
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NATO alliance is brain dead, says Macron
Is NATO obsolete? President Macron of France has described it as “brain dead”, stressing what he sees as waning commitment to the transatlantic alliance by its main guarantor, the USA.
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The picture that gave Instagram a meltdown
What is it about Friends? It took one selfie of the show’s main cast to spark such delirium yesterday that Instagram crashed. Yet for many the comedy is sexist, offensive and outdated.
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Kurds cry betrayal as Trump withdraws support
Should Kurdistan be an independent country? Donald Trump’s abrupt cave-in yesterday, pulling support from the USA’s old allies in the fight against ISIS, has left 45 million people at risk.