Статистика ВК сообщества "Lectures from Top Universities"

Today is Victory day in Russia and some other ex-Socialist countries. We remember the loss of 42 million civilians and the sacrifices of our great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers who saved world from fascism.

Today is International Day Against Homophobia Biphobia & Transphobia

Equality, tolerance and respect for ALL 🏻

«Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies: A Guide to Language for Fun and Spite» by June Casagrande, 2005 (Part I)

Hoping to make grammar both accessible and amusing, Casagrande offers practical and entertaining lessons on common uses and unfortunate abuses of the English language.

The author, a southern California newspaper columnist, memorably delineates "who" and "whom"; "can" and "may"; "affect" and "effect"; and provides pithy primers on the perennially problematic dark alleys of language (subjunctives, how to use punctuation marks around quoted material, possessive gerunds). In brief, cleverly titled sections, she addresses a slew of grammar and punctuation questions: "To Boldly Blow" examines the issue of split infinitives, "Snobbery Up With Which You Should Not Put" tackles prepositions and "Is That a Dangler in Your Memo or Are You Just Glad to See Me?" pokes fun at dangling modifiers and the confusion they create. By also touching on e-mail and text messaging, where traditional rules are commonly ignored, Casagrande keeps the discussion current. She maintains her sass and her sense of humor throughout, at one point calling the hyphen "a nasty, tricky, evil little mark that gets its kicks igniting arguments...the Bill Maher of punctuation."

Readers intimidated by style manuals and Lynne Truss will enjoy this populist grammar reference.

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«Fry's English Delight» by Stephen Fry (Series 1-2)

Series 1. Stephen Fry hosts four programmes on the joys of the English language — as heard on BBC Radio 4.

«Current Puns». Why does our language groan with the weight of puns? What exactly is a pun? And who, or what, is the Thief of Bad Gags?

«Metaphor». The English language is chock-full of maritime metaphors: cock up, taken aback, chip on your shoulder, and show a leg. And, with the help of a Greek removals firm, we also find the origin of the word 'metaphor'.

«Quotation». The uses and misuses of quotations are revealed, and there is also a frank confession from a quotation compiler, which we cannot divulge here.

«Cliché». Featuring sick parrots and the cliché crisis that affected the writing of Flaubert, Joyce, and Eliot, and helped shape modern language and culture.

Series 2. The second series of Stephen Fry's witty and incisive programs looking at the oddities of the English language. The four 30-minute episodes include:

«So Wrong It's Right». Fry examines how "wrong" English can become right English. With help from a lexicographer, an educationalist, a Times Sub Editor, and a judge, Fry examines the way usage changes language.

«Speaking Proper». Fry looks at the changes in what we used to call "elocution".

«Hello». Fry offers a "sweetie" in the form of an investigation into the planet's most universally understood word.

«The Joy of Gibberish». Fry investigates the phenomenon of gibberish — what it is, why we write and speak and sing it, and why we enjoy it so much. Words like awaopbopbaloobop awop bam bam and Bill and Ben's contemporary sounding catchphrase: blogalog.

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«War and Peace» by Leo Tolstoy (Part I)

A thirty-five member full cast brings to life the passion and turbulence of Tolstoy's epic masterpiece in this BBC Radio dramatization of War and Peace.

Originally published in 1865-69, Tolstoy's panoramic study of early 19th-century Russian society is generally regarded as one of the world's greatest novels. Tolstoy's insights into human nature and reflections on the concepts of history and war give the novel a breadth and scope that are brought vividly to life in this unique, full-cast dramatization featuring more than two hours of specially composed music by Neil Brand.

The cast includes Leo McKern as Kutuzov, Simon Russell Beale as Pierre Bezuhov, Emily Mortimer as Natasha Rostov and Gerard Murphy as Andrei Bolkonsky.

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International Day of Women and Girls in Science, 11 February ‍🔬

Every year on February 11th, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science seeks to promote full and equal access for women and girls to participate in science. It’s also a day to recognize the role that women and girls play in science and technology.

Take a look at the following women who have rocked the STEM world.

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«Прощай, нищета! Краткая экономическая история мира», Грегори Кларк

Почему одни страны так богаты, а другие так бедны? Почему промышленная революция - и беспрецедентный экономический рост, который начался вместе с ней, - произошла в Англии в конце XVIII века, а не в каком-то другом месте или в какое-то другое время? Почему индустриализация не сделала весь мир богатым - и почему она сделала многие страны еще беднее? В своей книге «Прощай, нищета!» Грегори Кларк рассматривает эти непростые вопросы и предлагает новый взгляд, в соответствии с которым культура, а не эксплуатация, география или ресурсы, объясняет богатство и бедность народов. Эта книга, бросающая блестящий и трезвый вызов идее, что бедные общества могут стать экономически развитыми благодаря внешнему вмешательству, способна изменить наше понимание мировой экономической истории.

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Sometimes you just need a little bit of motivation

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Today's Course

18-lecture Course: The Human Brain, MIT (Part I)

About the Course: This course surveys the core perceptual and cognitive abilities of the human mind and asks how they are implemented in the brain. Key themes include the representations, development, and degree of functional specificity of these components of mind and brain. The course will take students straight to the cutting edge of the field, empowering them to understand and critically evaluate empirical articles in the current literature.

Nancy Kanwisher is the Walter A. Rosenblith Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and a founding member of the McGovern Institute. She joined the MIT faculty in 1997, and prior to that served on the faculty at UCLA and Harvard University. In 1999, she received the National Academy of Sciences Troland Research Award.

#cognitivescience@topuniversity_lectures #neuroscience@topuniversity_lectures #MIT@topuniversity_lectures

Today's Course

24-lecture Course: Introduction to Psychology with John Gabrieli, MIT (Part I)

About the Course: This course is a survey of the scientific study of human nature, including how the mind works, and how the brain supports the mind. Topics include the mental and neural bases of perception, emotion, learning, memory, cognition, child development, personality, psychopathology, and social interaction. Students will consider how such knowledge relates to debates about nature and nurture, free will, consciousness, human differences, self, and society.

About the Professor: John Gabrieli is a neuroscientist at MIT, and an associate member of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research. He is a faculty member in the department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and director of the Martinos Imaging Center, part of the McGovern Institute. Gabrieli is an expert on the brain mechanisms of human cognition, including memory, thought and emotion. His work includes neuroimaging studies on healthy adults and children as well as clinical patients with many different brain disorders, including schizophrenia, depression, Alzheimer's disease, autism and dyslexia.

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