The Most Typical Person
Is: 29 years old, a man, Han Chinese, earns less than $12k/yr, has a cell phone, and doesn’t have a bank account.
Above is a composite image of thousands of 29 year old Han Chinese men, resulting in an image of the world’s most typical human. There are 9 million 29yo Han Chinese men. Crazy, right?! 9 million!
Fascinating, right? In a special series, called 7 billion, National Geographic is going to spend a year exploring the demographics and trends in demographics of the human population and what the implications are.
With a rapidly growing population, that seems like pretty important stuff. And maybe a little scary. To me it seems like one of those things I feel like I should think about, but I might rather just remain blissfully ignorant. Like if I dig too deep I’m going to find out that we’re doomed to run out of food by 2030 or something.
But before you go into Malthusian-inspired hyperventilation, did you know that if all 7 billion of us stood shoulder-to-shoulder, we would all fit in Los Angeles? So it’s at least comforting to know that space is not an issue.
That’s according to the video above. Check it out for more intro information on this series and to find out how freaked out you really should (or shouldn’t) be.
Could Our Inherent Empathic Nature Save the World?
Do you ever wonder how humankind will continue to survive on this planet with all the awful things going on? In this 10 minute talk, Jeremy Rifkin introduces us to empathy, how it works, how we are hardwired to have it, and how it could potentially save the world as technology continues to further the connection between us and everyone else around the world (and thus further our empathic concern for them).
If you want to feel a little more hopeful about the world this morning and have a few wonderful a-ha moments, definitely watch this video!
PS- Another amazing thing you learn in this film… there really were two people, a man and a woman, that started our entire race…Adam and Eve??!
PPS- I also think this is an excellent argument for why socially responsible businesses are the future of our economy– people want to care and connect and will buy products that help them do that and will respect companies that they feel share those values.
Live the Language
These short films by Education First are brilliant advertising. They are so all over the trend of making short web films that are heavy on aesthetics and low on anything that says “this is advertising.” You can make it all the way through the film without knowing what it’s for, but it’s so awesome that at the end you’ll want to dig a little deeper to find out.
After watching those, if I were to need a language learning program in the future, would I go to EF first? You know it! Am I a sucker for pretty things despite lack of content? You know it!
The cinematography is gorgeous and the use of typography really, really got me. I now want to design everything I’m working on using French signage as inspiration (all those lines around the words, the engraving shadows, the deco fonts, the angles of the words… oh la la).
The films were a collaboration between Gustav Johansson, Nicklas Johansson, Albin Holmqvist, and Camp David, all of whom I plan to research immediately (check back soon for results!), but I’m also just so curious what advertising/marketing firm EF hired that then in turn put this team together! I can’t imagine they sought these guys out on their own…
(And now they just need that same firm to redo their logo and their website so that it is all in sync with these videos…)
Two more films here.
How To Talk To Girls (by a 9yo)
Alec Greven on Ellen (before he was published)
Pixar Behind-the-Scenes
I won’t beat around the bush, this whole post is an excuse to show this behind-the-scenes tour of Pixar from the New York Times. I am totally fascinated by animated movies. That may sound random, given that it doesn’t have a lot to do with the other interests I express on this blog, but I am so amazed by how the creators of animated movies have to think up and create an entire world from top-to-bottom!
As they say in the film, in a normal movie, if you have a scene in a grocery story, you just go out and scout the perfect grocery store. In an animated film, you have to create the whole thing from scratch! Even all the little products sitting on the shelves!
Thinking about it puts my mind on the exact same loop as the part in Inception when they talk about how your mind creates buildings and cities etc. in your dreams.
So, I totally loved this little preview into the world of Pixar, creators of my favorite animated movie I’ve seen yet– Ratatouille. The kitchen design alone was enough to make me fall in love (see above). The dozens of black and brass La Cornue ranges (oh the dreaming that animation allows… in real life that would be like $300,000+ worth of ranges!), the infinite copper pots and pans, the black and white tile floor… it’s spot on!
Highlights: That Steve Jobs oversaw the design of the Pixar building and “designed it for forced collisions of people; he felt best meetings were meetings that happened spontaneously in the hallway.” The fact that they cast animators like hollywood casts actors, depending on their strengths and style. The speakeasy behind a false bookshelf with guest book– I want one of those in my house someday.
PS- If you are as fascinated by animation as I am, check out Pixar’s website, they have great little factoids about the films, like these ones below:
