Last Updated: April 3
Scholars,
This guide is a concise summary of the World Scholar’s Cup curriculum. It is designed to help you navigate a very large body of content efficiently
I do not recommend completely relying on this guide, especially for Art, Music, and Literature, where your own interpretation and analysis are essential. No summary can substitute that.
This guide is meant to help scholars save time and understand complex topics in short.
This curriculum guide is currently a work in progress. Currently about 80% complete. We will be completing the guide soon
Formatting Note: Keywords are marked in Red , subtopics are marked in Black and units marked with an asterisk (*) are incomplete.
Good Luck,
Joel Ginson
Progress bar-Invented by Brad A. Myers
-presented a paper on “percent-done progress indicators,”
-Placebo effect (The bars do nothing , often not accurate)
-Best for wait time over 10s
Indeterminate progress bar-
-Used when progress of task is unknown (No definite %)
-Shows that some progress is happening , but can't be quantified
-Best used when wait < 10s
Splash screen-
-An image or page that shows up when the program is launching
-Usually has the logo
-Acts like an introduction
-Shows that progress is happening
Console output-
-provides feedback and displays information during loading time
Skeleton Screen-
-Placeholder with a simplified skeleton of a webpage
-Mimicks final layout with grey boxes or shapes
-Reduces Cognitive Load/ overwhelming
-Best used when wait < 10s
Throbber-
-Type of Indeterminate progress bar
-Like the spinning wheel
-Does not show % , only that something is happening
-Indefinite wait can be annoying
Placebo buttons-
-Elevator close/open buttons
-crosswalk button (Only worked in Austin, Syracuse ,Gainsville)
-Thermostats in offices (90% fake , to save money)
Houston airport-Despite increasing staff, reducing baggage wait time complaints continued
-Because walk time from gate was 1 min, so most time was spent on bags
-Made the walk longer , complaints stopped
Endowed Progress Effect-
-people are more motivated to complete a task if they feel they have already made some progress towards it
-Proves why progress bars that start fast but slows towards end work best
Namco-
-Holds patent for minigames on loading screens
-The patent shouldn’t have been given
-Expiring soon
-Used for arcade racing game Ridge Racer cause of slow load times
-Used Galaxian as a minigame while loading
Chrome dino-
-Play on going back to the “prehistoric age” when you had no Wi‑Fi
-Most users come from markets with unreliable or expensive mobile data
-Added vanilla birthday cake for Chrome’s 10th birthday
Restaurant Table Games-
-Hidden fee for using the games on restaurant tablets
-Dennis Trigueros has to pay $1.99 for his kids playing
-California law states parents aren’t responsible for a minor’s unauthorized purchases
-Illinois does not have that law
Gross Domestic Product-
-Measure of the total market value of goods produced by a country
-Consumption, spending, net exports and investment
-Does not show Standard of living
-For comparison of GDP, purchasing power parity is factored
Gross National Income-
-Incomes earned by the residents
-GDP + incomes received from non-residents - income paid to non-residents
-In well-developed countries, GNI almost equal to GDP
-Developing states , GNI is often larger due to Foreign aid
Gini coefficient-Developed by Corrado Gini
-Measures inequality in values of a frequency distribution
-Used for measuring inequality in distribution of wealth
-Coefficient of 0 shows perfect equality
-Coefficient of 1 shows maximum inequality
-Slovakia has the lowest Gini coefficient
Human Development Index-By Pakistani economist, Mahbub ul Haq
-Statistical composite index
-Made up of life expectancy, education and per capita income (GNI)
-IHDI is more accurate (Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index)
Multidimensional Poverty Index-By UNDP
-To calculate a summary poverty
-Uses monetary, health, education and other indicators
-Larger figure indicates a higher level of poverty
-The method is flexible and can be adjusted to suit different needs
Labor Productivity-
-Measures economic output per hour worked
Happiness Index-
-Based of various Quality of Life factors
-World Happiness Report uses it to rank countries
Henley Passport Index-
-Ranking of countries according to the travel freedom
-Ranked by the number of countries that a passport can access visa-free
Big Mac Index-
-Method to measure the purchasing power parity between 2 currencies
-Compares the relative price to purchase a Big Mac
-was not intended to be a legitimate tool
Surely the World is Growing Better-By Will Crawford
-Depicts a battle involving ships, submarines and aircraft
-Shows the evolution of warfare from simple ship battles to complex and multi-domain conflicts
-The Artist believes that the world does not improve over time
To-Do List-
"The list is the origin of culture,"-Umberto Eco
-Leonardo da Vinci, John Lennon and Benjamin Franklin were known for using it
-The conflicting goals in the list cause unhappiness
-Incomplete/failed tasks continue to pop up into our minds (Zeigarnik effect)
Benjamin Franklin-
-Demonstrated one of the greatest pitfalls of the to-do list
-Trying to do too much at once
-His goals conflicted with each other
Zeigarnik effect-by Soviet psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik
-Tendency to remember unfinished tasks
-Inspired by a waiter remembering orders that had not yet been paid but not the ones paid
-Explains why people are haunted by unfulfilled goals
-The interference disappears when plans are made to complete that task
Eisenhower Method-
-Sorts tasks into 4 quadrants based on urgency
-
1-2-3 Method-
-1 : most important, high-impact task
-2: 2 other tasks that are slightly less important
-3: 3 small easy tasks
Ivy Lee Method-
-Ivy Lee was famous for pioneering the modern public relations
-Assign 6 tasks per day
-List them from most important to least
-Complete in the order of importance
-Move unfinished tasks to the top of tomorrow’s list
4-D Method-
-The Same Idea as the Eisenhower Method
-Do: Very important tasks , to be done immediately
-Delay: Important , but not time constrained
-Delegate: Give to someone else
-Delete: Unimportant tasks
Eat that Frog-Book by Brain Tracy
-Identify the most challenging and essential task (“frog”) and tackle it first thing in the morning
Must-Do-
-Identifying the most important tasks to prioritize
-Using many methods listed above like the Eisenhower or Ivy Lee
Bullet Journal method–
-A pen-and-paper task organization method created by Ryder Carroll
-To help manage his ADHD
-Writes down different tasks and events
-Uses Rapid logging (Short, concise points)
Done-list:-
-A much more optimistic and inspiring method of time management
-Avoid the fatigue of productivity debt
Caretaker Government-Temporary government during elections
-Does the day to day task of the government
-Does not take any major decisions
-Bangladesh restored this practice in 2025
-United States has no caretaker government
The Doomsday Clock-
-By The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
-Symbolic tracking of how close we are to annihilation
-Factors in any possible cause for destruction (Climate change , nuclear war etc..)
-In 2025, the Doomsday Clock was set at 89s
Apocalyptic predictions-
-Made extremely frequently
-Usually around ominous dates / years
-One of the most famous ones being 2012 (The end of the mayan long count)
1666-Ominous year
-Predicted to be the end of the world
-Great fire of london
-a millennium since Christ appeared
-Mysterious “number of the beast”, 666, prophesied in the final book of the Bible, Revelation
-People believed that a holy king was to come after four ungodly ones
-Thought Jesus would replace King Charles I
Halley’s Comet Panic-Passes every 76 years
-People in 1910s believed when it passed it would either hit the earth or release poisonous gasses (cyanogen gas) ending humanity
-Many people sold their possessions and even committed suicide
The Prophet Hen of Leeds-
-Laid eggs that said “Christ is coming.”
-Created mass unrest
-Turns out the owner wrote it and re inserted the egg into the hen
The Millerites-
-William Miller preached that the end of the world and the second coming of Jesus Christ
-When his 1843 prediction failed , he rescheduled it to 1844
-led to the event known as the Great Disappointment
Wodziwob’s visions-
-Wodziwob was a native american prophet
-Had a vision that an earthquake would swallow all the people but the native americans will be returned and allowed to live free
The Jupiter Effect-book by John Gribbin and Stephen Plagemann
-predicted that an alignment of the planets of the Solar System would create a number of catastrophes
-including a great earthquake on the San Andreas Fault, on March 10, 1982
-Did not happen lol
Hon-Ming Chen-
-Founded Chen Tao (God's Salvation Church) a UFO religion/cult
-Originated it Taiwan, Moved to Texas
-Members wore white clothes and cowboy hats, and wore cowboy boots
-Made some wild predictions (eg: God would manifest nationwide on Channel 18)
The Y2K bug-
-Computer used 2 digit dates (dd/mm/yy)
-Created a problem once the 21st century came around
-As 22/08/00 could mean 22 Aug 1900 or 2000
-Caused mass panic regarding the failure of global systems
-Created negligible effect , many countries wasted millions
Mayan Apocalypse-
-The Mayan Long Count calendar ended in 2012
-Specifically 21 December 2012
-This created a misconception that it was a prediction for the end of the world
-It had actually meant a renewal (start of a new cycle/era)
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse-By Albrecht Dürer
-included Death, Famine, War and Plague
-Says Death, Famine, War and Plague indicate the start of the apocalypse
-shows four horsemen trampling people
-Based on a passage from the Book of Revelation (Bible)
Mystic Nativity-By Sandro Botticelli
-Depicts infant Christ reaching up to the Virgin Mary
-Heaven opened up and was circled by 12 angels
-Also shows tiny demons running to take cover
-A Greek inscription mentions ‘ troubles of Italy’
-Alluding to the French invasion of Italy in 1400s
-Comparing it with the turmoil mentioned in the book of Revelations
The Last Judgment-Fresco (mural) by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel
-Depicts the Last Judgement, an assessment which decides if a person is sent to heaven or hell
-Happens during the End of the World
-Centred around the figure of Christ
-Includes references to Inferno of Dante Alighieri's Divina Commedia
-Was controversial due to obscene figures , and had to be covered up later on
The Triumph of Death-By Pieter Bruegel the Elder
-Panorama of an army of skeletons (Death) wreaking havoc
-The background looks post-apocalyptic (scorched and barren)
-The horse-riding skeletons allude to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
The Course of Empire-Series of paintings by Thomas Cole
-Depicts the rise and fall of a civilization
The Course of Empire: Destruction-By Thomas Cole
-2nd last painting of the Course of Empire series
-Depicts the fall of civilisation
-A large figure modeled on the Borghese Warrior watched the destruction
-Cole built a career painting the Hudson River Valley
The Great Day of His Wrath-By John Martin
-Found inspiration on a night journey through the Black Country (English West Midlands)
-1 of 3 works that form a triptych titled The Last Judgement
-Depicts lava , dark cloudy sky
Triptych- Artwork that is divided into three sections
World War I prints-By Otto Dix
-Called Der Krieg (The War)
-depicts scenes of world war 1 from a German perspective
Apocalypse ‘42-Viktor Schreckengost
-Model made of terracotta
-Depicts Hitler , Mussolini , Hirohito and a frightened horse
-Made during WW2
The Last of Us: Season 1 Concept Art- By Saby Menyhei
-Concept art for the TV series ‘Last of Us’
-About a post-apocalyptic world
-Shows destroyed sky scrapers being overtaken by nature
-In Boston
Where Are We Going- Song by Kevin Sherwood & James McCawley
-From the Mob of the Dead zombie map in Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Quartet for the End of Time: “Abyss of the Birds”-By Olivier Messiaen
-3rd movement of Quartet for the End of Time
-written for solo clarinet
-Composed in a German POW camp
Electric Funeral-By Black Sabbath
-Warning regarding the use of nuclear weapons
It’s the End of the World as We Know It- By REM
-Known for its quick-flying rant with many diverse references
-Different factors for the end of the world
Chlorophyll-Indicator for ecosystem collapse
-Bass was added to destabilize and ecosystem of small fish that fed on Phytoplankton
-As Bass increase , small fishes swam near shoreline to avoid being eaten
-Caused increase in Phytoplankton
-Increased Chlorophyll values predicted this collapse
-This technique will only work in lakes
Plane turbulence-Increasing frequency recently
-Severe turbulence is defined as when > 1.5g-force is exerted on your body
-Becoming more common due to climate change
-Most common on UK-US and Canada-Caribbean routes
-3 main causes:
-convective (clouds or thunderstorms)
-orographic (air flow around mountainous areas)
-clear-air (changes in wind direction or speed)
-Convective and orographic are easy to avoid
-Costs £1.5 million per airline annually due to maintenance and refunds due to cancellation
-Causes airlines to fly extra distance (producing 19,000 extra tonnes of CO2)
-Korean Airlines stopped serving noodles 😡 (turbulence)
-Geoff Kitchen died from a heart attack during turbulence on Singapore airlines flight
-Barn owls have wings that act like a suspension and stabilise the body during turbulence
Climate Change-
-first climate tipping point was 1.2 C above pre-industrial levels
-We crossed this mark , meaning effects of the world are starting to be seen
-Next tipping point is 1.5 C
-Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (Transports heat to North Atlantic)
-Once it collapses, Northern Europe would see extreme temperatures
Stardust Solutions-solar geoengineering firm
-Developing a system to reduce warming by covering earth in reflective particles
-To reflect sunlight
-Finn Murphy invested $1 million into it
-Actively profits from climate change (More heat , more demand for their product)
-Their investors are generally young, pragmatic and imaginative
Mona lisa-
-Portrait of Lisa Gherardini by Leonardo da Vinci
-wife of Florentine fabric merchant
Mona Lisa (Isleworth)-Earlier version of the Mona Lisa
-The background was crude and undetailed
-Acquired by Hugh Blaker
-Got the name Isleworth because Blaker's studio was in Isleworth, West London
-Mixed opinions on whether it was da Vinci’s work or not
Bedroom in Arles-By Vincent Van Gogh
-Made 3 almost identical versions
-1st one used the most saturated colors, destroyed in a flood while he was in hospital in Arles
-He then made 2 copies of the same work
-One was smaller and more detailed , meant for his family
-The other was larger
-Van Gogh was referring to Japan through the various colours and simple interior
Despair- By Edvard Munch
-Despair is the 1st version of The Scream
-expresses the feelings of anxiety he had when he went on a walk
-Depicts a man standing on a bridge in front of a cliff at Sunset
-Takes place at Kristiania fjord (Oslo fjord)
The Scream- By Edvard Munch
-Everything becomes more distorted and lower resolution that Despair
-While the setting looks similar , the man is replaced with a mysterious figure
-even has its own emoji
Dance- Artwork by Henri Matisse
-was intended to hang on the landing of a staircase
-Its over-simplification was attacked as willfully crude
-The 2nd version , adds a lot more detail and more saturated colors
Strawberry Fields Forever (Home Demo Sequence)-By The Beatles
-Raw demo version of ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ by John Lennon
-It feels like it was recorded in an intimate setting (Likely in his home)
-The lyrics differ , and parts feel incomplete
-The opening tune is also different
This One's Mine- By Lin-Manuel Miranda
-The first draft for “Helpless” from the musical Hamilton
-rewrote the song as his wife said it sounded incomplete
-Kept the line “This one’s mine” in the final version
Dead Mom (Demo)- By Sophia Anne Caruso
-A rock-influenced demo of "Dead Mom" from the musical Beetlejuice
Count on Me- by Alan Menken
-It is a cut song from the movie ‘Aladdin’
-Sung by aladdin
-About his ambition and destiny
First to Dance-Deleted song from Pocohontas
-Supposed to be sung by Grandmother Willow, Pocahontas, and John Smith
-They were trying to convince John Smith to not start a war
-John Smith refused to dance with them during this song
The Book of Mormon (musical)-
-Follows 2 missionaries as they attempt to preach christian faith to the an Ugandan village
Family Home Evening-Deleted song from ‘The Book of Mormon’
-Was in early workshops of the show though
-Family Home Evening is a tradition of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
-Typically held on Monday nights
-They gather together, pray, sing and play
Dear Evan Hansen (Musical)-
-follows Evan Hansen, a high school senior with social anxiety
-Evan wrote a letter to himself for therapy , this was stolen by his bully Connor Murphy
-When Connor commits suicide, this letter was found and people believed Evan and Connor were best friends
-Evan plays along
‘In the Bedroom Down the Hall’- deleted song from Dear Evan Hansen
-Replaced by ‘Anybody Have a Map?’
-As a duet between Heidi (Evan’s mom) and Cynthia (Connor’s mom)
-They were looking back at the things they did for their kid helplessly
La Sagrada Família-Catholic basilica in Spain designed by Antoni Gaudí
-Currently the oldest active construction project
-When asked for the schedule of completion , he said “my client is not in a hurry”
-Stained glass is placed so that brighter colours are lower and translucent ones are higher up
-Interior looks cooler in the morning and warmer in the evening
-Inspired by a kaleidoscope
-Disrupted by the Spanish Civil War (set fire to it )
-Will become the tallest church building in the world
-To be completed by 2026-2030
Nusantara-New capital of Indonesia
-Sustainable smart city to redistribute growth beyond Java
-Meant to be in the geographic center of Indonesia
-Proposed during Joko Widodo’s presidency
-After change in leadership, it was left forgotten (2024 election)
-Foucused more on food security, energy sovereignty and defense modernization
-Failed due to weak logistics, infrastructure and distance from population
-Most examples of capital relocation had failed (Sejong, Egypt)
-No formal cancellation of the project (Left untouched)
Ryugyong Hotel-North Korea
-Unfinished multipurpose pyramid-shaped skyscraper
-Temporarily halted due to an economic crisis caused by the fall of USSR
-Planned to open on 2012 (Cancelled)
-In 2018, led screens were added to display propaganda
-Would’ve been the tallest hotel in the world
-Was the tallest unoccupied building in the world
Wonderland Amusement Park-Beijing, China
-designed to be the largest amusement park in Asia
-Construction stopped in 1998 due to financial problems
-Further attempts also failed
-It was demolished in 2013
-A shopping mall was built on that site
Berlin Brandenburg Airport-
-Berlin has 3 airports: Tehel & Tempelhof (West berlin) , Schonefeld
-This was inefficient
-Built the Brandenburg airport next to Schonefeld airport
-Planned to open in October 2011
-The fire systems and back-up generators did not work, lightning rods were missing
-Almost everything didn't work 😭
-Finally opened in 2020
There's a really good Half as Interesting video on this topic:Why Berlin's 15 Year-Old Airport has Never Had a Flight
Milan Cathedral-Italy
-Took almost six centuries to complete (600 years)
-Started in 1386
-Last major construction (The façade) was done by Napoleon
-Finally completed in 1965
-Although some uncarved blocks remain to be completed as statues
Crazy Horse Memorial-South Dakota
-By Korczak Ziolkowski
-He dedicated his entire life to the sculpture (his wife divorced him because of it)
-To honor Native American warrior Crazy Horse
-The world's largest monument
-It is being sculpted into a granite mountain
-After 70 years it’s still nowhere near completion
-There are no photos of Crazy Horse , so its symbolic
-Just 17 miles away from mount rushmore
-Very few people working on it (4-5)
The Gantt Chart-Developed by Henry Gantt
-Improve project scheduling and monitoring
-Easier to track progress and allocate resources
-In the form of bar graphs
-The Hoover Dam project used it to allocate resources
Iron Triangle-
-in project management: scope, time, and cost
-You can only have any 2
-A large project that is finished fast would cost a lot
Kanban-a scheduling system to improve manufacturing efficiency
-By Taiichi Ohno, an engineer at Toyota
-Gets its name from cards that track production in a factory
-to limit the buildup of excess inventory
-Items/tasks are visualised as cards
-Each area has a limit (testing max:3)
-When limit is not reached it pulls a card from the backlog as assigns it
Harmonogram-
-A polish term for a schedule
-Similar to the Gantt chart
-Visualised as a bar chart
Dependency-
-In project management, shows the dependency between tasks
- Eg: Task A must start before Task B , Task A must finish before Task B does etc….
Risk Register-A document used to track risks
-Includes impact , probability and priority
Stakhanovite movement-
-A mass movement by workers in the USSR
-Followed after the productivity of Alexei Stakhanov, a coal miner
-They took pride in contributing to the strength of the state
-saw themselves as contributing to the common good
Critical Path Method-
-an algorithm for scheduling activities
-Critical path is found by finding the longest stretch of dependent activities and the time required
Program evaluation and review technique (PERT)-
-Used to represent the tasks involved in completing a given project
-By Charles E. Clark
-Used with the critical path method
Hawthorne effect-People change their behavior if they know they are being watched
-involved workers who made electrical relays at the Hawthorne Works
Hofstadter's law-It is difficult to estimate time taken for complicated tasks
-People predicted it would take 10 year till machines beat humans in chess , yet after 10 years it didn't happen
90-90 Rule-
-1st 90% of code take 90% of the time , last 10% of code takes the another 90% of time
Conway's law-organizations will design systems that copy their communication structure
Putt’s Law-
-Technology is dominated by two types of people, those who understand what they do not manage and those who manage what they do not understand
Illich’s Law-
-Beyond a certain threshold productivity decrease, eventually becoming negative
-Typically around 90 minutes to 2 hours
Laborit’s Law- aka Law of Least Effort
-Humans are wired to prioritize easy tasks that provide immediate gratification over complex, high-value, or difficult ones
Brooks’ Law-
-Adding manpower to a delayed project makes it more delayed
-because new members waste training time and communication difficulties
Pareto Principle-The 80-20 Rule
-80% of results come from 20% of efforts
-named after economist Vilfredo Pareto
Alfred Speer-Patented the idea of moving sidewalks
-would transport pedestrians along 3 belts
-Each belt has a different speed
1893 Columbian Exposition-
-1st electric sidewalk was built for carrying visitors arriving in steamboats to attend the expo
-Held in chicago
-1900 Paris Exposition also had one
Hildebrands-German chocolate manufacturer
-Made cards depicting moving sidewalks in the year 2000
Temple Street Parking Garage- New haven
-Designed by Paul Rudolph in 1962
-700 feet long (213 metres)
-6 stories high
Lego Parking House-Billund , Denmark
-By architecture studio CEBRA
-Covered with a metal sheet with Lego-stud sized holes
-You can attach Lego bricks to its exterior
Parking des Célestins-Lyon, France
-By Michel Targe , Jean-Michel Wilmotte and Daniel Buren
-Buren's work "Sens dessus dessous" (Upside down) can be seen through a square periscope
Michigan Theater-Detroit
-It was closing down due to lack of profits
-One factor that caused the closure was a lack of parking
-And is now converted into a parking lot (Hell yeahhhhh)
Garagenatelier-Car park in Herdern, Switzerland
-Has space for 8 cars (☹️🥀 )
9th Avenue Parkade- Calgary, Canada
-Parking lot that can be transformed into a 600-person office or residential building
-can fit 510 cars
-In the shape of a long oval , and ramps to higher floors have a very low level of inclination
-Making it easy to convert
Snout houses-
-Houses in which the garage pokes out like a big snout
-For most houses in the US, the garage is the most prominent element
-Utility-first design (Use > Beauty )
Frank Lloyd Wright-
-Wanted to include garages within the house and not as a separate structure
-Called it the ‘carport’
-Loved spiral ramps around buildings
-Designed Fallingwater and the Guggenheim Museum
Robie House-Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for Frederick C. Robie
-In Chicago
-Prairie style
-last of Wright’s true Prairie houses
-Had a turbulent history of ownership
Grand Park-Downtown Los Angeles
-Transformed from a massive parking lot into a community gathering place
-The magenta park furniture has come to be known as “park pink”
-The layout takes inspiration from Goode’s homolosine projection (WSC 2024 reference)
Iphone prototype-Called the M68 or Purple 2
Prototyping process-
-Creation of the idea
-Low fidelity prototypes
-High-Fidelity Prototypes
-Refinement
-Final design
Sketches-Fast freehand drawings to get a rough idea about the model
-Low fidelity
Storyboarding-
-simple illustrations displayed in sequence (Similar format to a comic)
-Used for prototyping movies and other motion graphics
-developed at Walt Disney Productions
Paper prototypes-
-Low fidelity
-Hand sketched or printed 2d versions of final product
Low fidelity prototypes-Used in early stages of prototyping
-Usually varies significantly from the final product
-Inexpensive method
High fidelity prototypes-Final stages of prototyping
-Similar to the final product
-Usually a working model
Wireframing-Low fidelity blueprint of a digital product
-Shows the skeleton of a website/application
-Used for content placement / testing functionality
Mockup - A model of the final product
-High fidelity
-Used for final testing / demonstrations
-Can be full sized or scale
Proof of Concept-Small scale model proving the feasibility of an idea
-Helps to avoid pouring of resources into something impossible
user testing-A high fidelity prototype of an idea given to the target consumers to test
Minimum viable product- A version of a product with absolute minimum features that can be tested by users
Minimum marketable feature-Absolute smallest feature of a product that gives value to a user
Sarah Boone-African American dressmaker
-awarded a patent for her improved ironing board
-Until then, dressmakers were ironing on a wood plank placed across two chairs
-Fine for a wide skirt but not for tight, fitted material
-Created a narrower, curved board that slipped into sleeves
Vibe coding-Using AI to generate code
-code first, refine later mindset
-They get the code working using AI , then refine it
-Helps in fast-prototyping
-Makes debugging increasingly difficult
-And overall code quality drops
Mechanical Turk-By Wolfgang von Kempelen (Hungarian)
-Automatic chess playing machine from 1770
-Consisted of a mechanical man who sat at a wooden cabinet that with a chessboard
-When Napoleon tried to cheat by making an illegal move , it moved the piece back
-Was human controlled and has fake gears to look like a machine
-Impressed Charles Babbage and Benjamin Franklin
-People suspected that he was using tiny humans to control it
Wizard of Oz technique-
-Interactions with the prototype are done by invisible “wizards” working behind the screen
-People review it on the assumption that it fully works
Tesla Bot-The prototype turned out to be a man dancing in a costume
-Instead of an actual prototype of the humanoid (badly implemented Wizard of Oz technique)
Tesla’s Optimus humanoid-Stops working when the teleoperator takes off his headset
Amazon’s Just Walk Out-Cashier-less stores that use AI checkout
-You could grab anything and the AI would charge it to your Amazon account
-Turned out to be a 1,000 human video reviewers in India
-Replaced it with shopping carts with a scanning system
Fireflies.ai-Claimed to be an AI meeting notetaking software
-Was valued at $1 billion
-Turns out it was one of the founders manually taking notes
-They would join the meet as Fred from Fireflies.ai and listen in to make notes
Doorway effect-We often forget things when we pass through a door into a new room
-The brain clears short-term memory when the setting is changed
Liminality-state of being in between 2 stages
The Backrooms-originating from a 2019 4chan thread
-liminal space aesthetic
-Usually infinitely large
-You have to no-clip out of reality to enter it
Backrooms (web series)-By Youtuber Kane Pixels' (Kane Parsons)
-About Async, a fictional research institute that discovers The Backrooms
-They attempt to document it
Pools (Video game)-
Uses a lot of liminal space (empty places that are eerie and often surreal)
-The map is made up of abandoned pools
-Inspired by the backrooms
The Stanley Parable-
-You play as Stanley , who discovered that his co-workers have mysteriously vanished
-Uses eerie landscapes, abandoned buildings, and foggy nowheres
Immanuel Kant-
-“Beauty is something that affects us as if it had a purpose even when it doesn’t”
Rain, Steam, and Speed-Painting by J.M.W. Turner
-Depicts a steam engine crossing the Maidenhead Railway Bridge
-Turner was very interested in painting new forms of transport
The Railway Station-By William Powell Firth
-Depicts London's Paddington Station
-Paddington Station and Maidenhead Railway Bridge were designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel
-Shows a massive crowd gathered to board the train and bid goodbye to their family
-Firth and his family was also depicted in the background
Picture of the Railroad at Takanawa- Artwork by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi
-A Triptych (3 panels) depicting a train passing over a sea-bridge
Gare Saint-Lazare-Claude Monet
-one of a dozen views of the Gare Saint-Lazare he had painted
-Lesser finished and more freely painted than other versions at the same place
Drip, Drip, Drip-Taiwanese folk song (Yilan Folk Song)
-About a train that goes thru a tunnel and drops of water fall on it
Train Station, Agra, 1983-Photograph by Steve McCurry
-Shows his preference for working in low light
-Photographed the station at dusk
-Shows a steam train at a station
Six in Four-Art installation by Richard Artschwager
-4 elevators with 1 or more of the 6 subjects (door, window, table, basket, mirror, and rug)
-At the Whitney Museum of American Art
Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?
-Artwork by Paul Gauguin
-Deptics our destiny or life cycle (Infant-Old)
-Shows stages of life right to left
-Looks like a mural (Not intended to though)
-Painted after he moved from France to Tahiti because of a psychological crisis
The Treachery of Images-By René Magritte
-Depicts a pipe , but it says “This is not a pipe” (Ceci n'est pas une pipe)
-Example of a meta message
-She wrote that because it was a drawing and not a pipe
The Persistence of Memory-By Salvador Dali
-Used self-induced psychotic hallucinations to create this piece
-Solid hard objects are as limp as cloth
-Depicts ants attacking a gold watch
-Feels like a fever dream
Christina's World-Artwork by Andrew Wyeth
-Set in coastal Maine
-Depicts a woman lying in grass
-Has a very eerie backrooms-esque appearance
-Took inspiration from his neighbour, with a degenerative muscle condition
-She refused to use a wheelchair and instead crawled (Like the woman in the panting)
Ascending and Descending-By M. C. Escher
-Mostly a normal building
-But on the top there is an infinite staircase that leads to itself like a loop
-The staircase ascends and descends leading nowhere
Beneath the Roses-Album of photographs by Gregory Crewdson
-Has a very eerie and empty feel
-eg: a singular car in an empty street among sky scrapers
The Distant is Imminent- By Camille Seaman
-Pictures and videos of Iceburgs melting
-Also pictures of the effect of rising sea levels in major cities
Waiting for Godot-play by Samuel Beckett
-Revolves around Vladimir and Estragon as they wait for Godot (never arrives)
-They believe that he will give them salvation
Keeping Still-Poem by Pablo Neruda
-Recomends everybody to stop what they are doing and take a break
-Because we are so busy all the time
J'attendrai le suivant (I'll wait for the next one)- Short film by Philippe Orreindy
-Starts off with a lonely single woman boarding a train
-In the train, there was this lonely guy looking for love
-He asks interested people to get off at the next station
-The woman gets off excited
-He then whispers to her that it is a skit 😭
The Man Who Could Walk Through Walls-Short story by Marcel Ayme
-About Dutilleul, a man who could pass through walls
-Allows him to defy the harsh decrees of the new associate office director
-Inspired Jean Marais to make a statue of Dutilleul
A Gentleman in Moscow-Novel by Amor Towles
-Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov, Russian aristocrat had to spend his life in the Metropol Hotel
-He arrives at the Hotel to find that the Bolsheviks took his luxurious suite and gave him an attic room
Ambient 1: Music for Airports- By Brian Eno
-Ambient music for airports
-Can blend in with the background and reduce stress
Music for Nine Postcards-By Hiroshi Yoshimura
-Ambient music
Sleep-By Max Richter
-Ambient music for helping with sleep
-Lacks loud sounds
-Very monotonous to avoid distraction
Compass-Used for navigation
-Uses a magnetic needle that aligns in the North-south direction
-Invented in China , called “south pointing spoons”
-Oriented to point south rather than north
-There is a discrepancy between Magnetic North and True North
-The gyrocompass uses Earth’s rotation to point to true north (Avoid the discrepancy)
-There are compasses using stars as well
Astrolabe-
-Star chart and model of the visible half-dome of the sky
-Used to measure the altitude above the horizon
-Can also work as an inclinometer
-precursor to the sextan
Sextant-measures angular distance between 2 visible objects
-Used for celestial navigation (Navigating using celestial bodies)
-Can be used to mark the positions of different celestial bodies at different times
-Was found in unpublished writings of Isaac Newton
Log tables-contain the logarithms of commonly used numbers
-Used extensively before modern calculators
-Logarithms convert multiplication and division into addition and subtraction (Easier)
-Helped simplify complex spherical trigonometry calculations
-Used to find the position of celestial bodies easily
Ephemerides-
-Book with tables that gives the trajectory of astronomical objects
-Calculation of these tables was one of the 1st uses of computers
-Used as far back as 1000 BC
-Includes artificial spacecraft as well
Log and line-used for determining a ship’s speed
-The log-ship was dropped and the line was allowed to pay out of the reel
-For a set period from the sand-glass
-As the line payed out of the reel , the number of knots were counted
-The knots were made and fixed intervals (eg: 1m)
Chronometer- Extremely accurate mechanical timepiece
-Made for maritime navigation
-coined by Jeremy Thacker
-No longer used as the main method of navigation
-But kept as a back up
Latitude and Longitude-The earth is divided into a grid using this
-Latitudes run east-west starting from the equator
-Latitudes are always parallel
-Length of latitudes decrease as you go away from the equator
-Longitudes run north- south
-They merge at the poles
-360 total longitudes
-Used for time zones
-When they both intersect it creates unique coordinates used for navigation
Magnetoreception-
-Ability of organisms to sense the earth’s magnetic field
-mainly used for orientation and navigation
-Common in migratory birds due to a protein present in their eye (Cryptochrome)
Cryptochrome-sensitive to Blue light
-Involved in the Circadian rhythm and Magnetoreception
Olfactory navigation-Navigating using smell
-Based on a hypothesis that Passenger pigeons used smell to navigate and return home
-One model proposed that they make a map of distribution of odours
-Not enough evidence to back this up
Echolocation-Animals using SONAR to navigate
-Emits sounds and listen to the echoes of those sounds
-Can use a constant frequency or a Modulating frequency sound wave
-On the basis of the Doppler effect
Zugunruhe-Anxious behavior in migratory animals
-Happens when animals are kept enclosed during migratory periods
-increased activity later in the day and changed sleep schedules
Constant frequency-A wave with a constant frequency
-i.e the number of waves per second is constant
frequency modulation-number of waves per second changes
Sunlight polarization-Occurs when sunlight passes through the atmosphere
-This causes the wave to be restricted to one plane
-So a wave vibrating on 3 axes , would be forced into 1 axis
Spatial memory-Brain stores and retrieves info regarding navigation and the physical spaces around one
Indigo Buntings-Migrates to Central America from Northern USA during the winter
-Navigates using stars
-They learn this just after birth
-Proved with an experiment by Stephen Emlen
-He raised one in a planetarium in which the sky centered around the Betelgeuse instead of the North pole star
-When he released them , they migrated in the opposite direction to that star
-This was because usually the sky is centered around the north pole star , and flying away from it would take you down south
Dung Beetles-Rolls dung to attract female mates
-Need to be as fast as possible to avoid competition
-So they have to roll in a straight line
-It uses the Milky Way to follow a straight path
-Beacuse Milky Way is extremely visible in South Africa (Major dung Beetle habitat)
Honeybees-
-Follow linear landmarks to find their hive (Canals, rivers etc..)
-Also use Olfactory navigation and changes in polarization of light
Sea turtles-
-Uses variations in Earth's magnetic field to navigate to nesting areas
-Each geographic area has a distinctive magnetic pattern
-Younger turtles use it to get a general heading
-While older turtles acquire a more sophisticated map
Desert Ants-
-Uses a step counter, sky compasses, olfactory and many other methods to navigate
Nainoa Thompson-Reviving traditional Polynesian methods of navigation
Innuit navigation-
Vikings navigation-
-Used a ‘Sunstone’ that showed the position of the sun even on cloudy days
-Most likely a polarizing crystal like Icelandic spar (transparent calcite)
Fog of the World-An App that tracks your exploration
-Covers unexplored areas with clouds
-Removes them as you explore it
The Terminal-Film
-Depicts a person who travelled to the US only to find that his country had collapsed, making his passport invalid
-He can’t go back nor enter the US
-He starts living in the terminal
Mehran Karimi Nasser-An Iranian refugee that resided in Paris's Charles de Gaulle Airport
-Stayed there for 18 years
-He was deported from Iran because of protests against the Shah of Iran
-Claims his papers were stolen while travelling
-People suspect that he was never deported and lied about his papers
-Inspired “The terminal”
Edward Snowden-Worked for the National Security Agency
-Leaked documents showing the existence of global surveillance programs
-Spent 6 weeks hiding in Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport
-Journalists camped outside waiting to see him leave
-Left the airport without a trace
-The escape was supported by the Russian Government
St. Louis -A ship carrying Jewish Refugees from Germany
-To escape the holocaust
-Cuba, USA and Canada refused entry
-The ship then had to return to europe
The New Colossus- Poem by Emma Lazarus
-a Sonnet (14-lines)
-Written to raise money for the construction of the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty
-Says that Lady Liberty is NOT like the Greek Colossus
-Calls the statue a beacon of hospitality towards immigrants
-She was an advocate for Jewish refugees fleeing persecution in Imperial Russia
Prospective Immigrants Please Note-Poem by Adrienne Rich
-About the risks associated with trying new things or following new paths
We Are Americans Now, We Live in the Tundra-Poem by Marilyn Chin
-Written from the perspective of a Chinese immigrant in San Francisco
-Uses extinct animals as symbols of loss and displacement
-Bids goodbye to ancestors and traditional culture
The Sound of One Immigrant Clapping- Poem by Adrian Castro
Mother Country-Poem by Richard Blanco
-About his mother leaving Cuba for the US
-She carries her memories with her (doorknob, dirt from backyard,wedding veil)
-As she attempts to assimilate with the new culture
-“It isn’t where you’re born that matters, it’s where you choose to die”
The Bus-Painting by Frida Kahlo
-Depicts different classes of Mexican society in a bus
-Housewife, a blue-collar guy , Indian mother , businessman , and a girl (Frida Kahlo)
-Also a depiction of the bus accident that changed her life
-Shows Diego Rivera's influence on her style
Migration- By Jacob Lawrence
-Sieres of Artwork depicting life of immigrants
Immigrant Song-Song by Led Zeppelin
-alludes to Norse mythology
Far From The Home I Love- Song from the musical Fiddler on the Roof
-The musical is about a milkman in a russian village
-Attempts to protect Jewish traditions from outside influences
-The tsar evicts all Jews from the village
-The song plays when his daughter wants to travel to Siberia to follow a man she loved
Illegal Alien-Song by Genesis
-Inspired by their difficulty getting visas to enter the US
-Story of an Illegal immigrant trying to move to the US
-Received very negative response , mainly being labelled as racist/stereotypical
Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears-Ballad by Brendan Graham
-Story of Annie Moorea, an Irish girl
-The first immigrant processed at Ellis Island
-Isle of Hope and Isle of Tears are Nicknames for Ellis Island
-This specific recording was done by ‘The Celtic Woman’
Borderlands-Collection of photographs by Kovi Konowiecki
Somos Más Americanos-A spanish song by Los Tigres del Norte
-About being told to go back
-Man made borders divided the continent
-About how they are more American because they lived there longer
Roman Road network-
-Roman Empire reached its greatest extent in A.D. 117 under Emperor Trajan
-First example of a large integrated road network
-Had highways (ex: Via Appia or Via Augusta)
-Vast majority were not paved nor named
-Installed milestones along major roads
-Integrated desert Camel paths into it after conquering Egypt
Via Augusta-
-Constructed by Rome’s first emperor, Octavian aka Augustus
-Linked port city of Cadiz with Italy
The Royal Road of Persia-
-From Sardis near the Aegean Sea to Susa in modern-day Iran
-Made long before the Roman roads
-It was special because of its speed
-Couriers could cover it in just 9 days
-Herodotus said “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor darkness of night prevents these couriers from completing their appointed course.” about the road
-This quote inspired the motto of the United States Postal Service
Inca Road System-
-Connected Cusco (Capital of Inca Empire) to Colombia and Chile
-Built high in the mountains through rough terrain
-Since Incas didn't have any vehicles or wheels , these were used by running messengers called Chasquis
Via Francigena-A famous pilgrimage route in Europe
-connected Canterbury in England to Rome in Italy
The Trail of Tears-Not a road in the traditional sense
-United States forced Native Americans to leave their homelands and walk to what is now Oklahoma
-This march was called Trail of Tears
The Grand Trunk Road-
-Stretches from Bangladesh to Afghanistan, through India and Pakistan
The King’s Highway-
-Ran from Egypt through Jordan and into Syria
-one of the oldest continuously used routes in the world
Macadam-a type of road construction pioneered by John Loudon McAdam
-Crushed stone is placed in layers and compacted
-Then covered with a cement or bituminous binder
-Later covered with tar after the advent of Cars
Pavement-the surface of a road covered with concrete or tarmac
Asphalt-Also called Bitumen
-Made through Fractional Distillation of Crude Oil
-Used to make the surface of roads
Corduroy road-Also called Log Road
-Made by placing logs perpendicular to the direction of the road
-Used in swampy or muddy areas
Gallery road-also known as Cliff Roads or Plank Roads
-Used in mountainous regions of China
-Made up of wooden planks fastened into cliff sides
Holloway roads-Also called Sunken lane
Ridgeway-Uses hard surface of hilltops as unpaved roads
-Very narrow
-Low maintenance
Milestones-Marker that shows distance from/to a town or city
Trackway-A path formed by people walking over an area repeatedly
Piezoelectric materials-Can create electricity because of a mechanical force (Walking, Cars driving)
-Japan is converting footsteps into electricity ahh🥀😭
Inductive charging-Wireless charging
-In the context of roads, Electric cars can theoretically be charged during driving
-As of 2024 there were about 10 operational electric road systems that supply power while driving
-Could use either in-ground or overhead lines to charge
-Some Trams use this as well
DSRC-Stands for Dedicated short-range communications
-Used to transfer data from and to cars
-Used for electronic toll collection
-Using the 5.9 GHz band
Self-healing asphalt-Designed with AI from Google Cloud
-made from biomass waste
-Can repair cracks automatically
Modular pavement-Consists of small modules similar to bricks or tiles
-Makes repair easier and faster
-Shorter construction time
Permeable pavement-Made of porous materials allowing water drainage
-Prevents cracks from forming due to water pooling
Caravanserais-Was an inn for travellers on the silk road
-Were fortified and offered food
-Common in Asian and North African regions
Hotel-The term emerged from the french word meaning a mansion
-Became popular in the 17th century
-More specialized service compared to Inns
-The Grand Hotel in London and Hôtel de Richelieu were first examples of modern hotels
Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan-Japan
-world's oldest hotel and oldest operating business
-It has changed buildings and renovated multiple times though
The Grand Tour-
-An expensive tour for English aristocrats
-Started in France
-France->Italy->Germany->Netherlands->Belgium and back to England
-Often learn the language, culture and history of the places they pass through
-Giovanni Antonio Canal sold his artwork to tourists as memories
-The French revolution and invasion of Italy disrupted this route
Mass tourism-Started once methods of transportation improved and became cheaper
-Interrupts local life though
The Golden Age of Travel Starts with You- Campaign by the US dept. Of transportation
-To restore courtesy and class to air travel
-To bring back the golden age of travel
-Due to an increase in misbehaviour mid-flight
-Includes dressing better and treating each other with respect
Xiaohongshu-Chinese equivalent of Instagram
-Known for promoting niche tourist sites (Ironically making them less niche )
-For example, Pyeongsan Bookstore- a rural bookstore in south korea
-Extremely popular
-But not sustainable due to same photos being reused 100s of times
-Tourists visit those places just for the sake of recreating those photos
heritage tourism-Visiting historically and culturally significant places
-To learn about that region’s culture , traditions and heritage
Ecotourism-Nature oriented tourism
-Help towards the conservation of that environment
-Minimal negative impact
-Often a buzzword for nature related tourism that does nothing good for the environment
Gastrotourism-AKA culinary tourism
-To experience local food
-Became popular after Erik Wolf, World Food Travel Association, wrote a white paper on it
Agritourism-Visits to agriculture related aspects of a destination
-Vineyards , tea plantations
Monastic Retreats-Very niche form of tourism
-Where one lives in a Monastery and experience their daily life
Voluntourism-Tourism + Volunteering
Edutourism-Educational tourism
-People travel the world to learn different aspects from different cultures
-An example would be the Grand Tour
Wellness retreats-Focused on mental and physical health of a person
-Eg: Spas, meditation , Yoga detox diets
Dark tourism- WSC 2024 reference !?!?!?
-Involves visiting places with a dark past often associated with death and tragedy
-Eg: Paris Catacombs, Alcatraz , Auschwitz
Entrepôt-Literaly means 'that which is placed between
-A place goods are brought for import and export and distribution
-Used to store goods for exporting
-Usually in strategic locations to reduce shipping time
-Eg: Hong kong, Dubai
Way station-Stopping point or transit location in a journey
-Usually transit locations for goods
Free-trade zone-Area where goods can be imported or exported Tax-free
Transshipment-Shipment of goods through a transit point
-Mainly to combine small shipments into a large shipment
-If you want to ship between Country A and C , but that isn't a popular route
-Then it will pass though Country B , where all shipments to C are consolidated together
-Helps reduce shipping costs
Silk Road-Network of Asian trade routes
-Gets its name from Silk from China that was transported along this route to Europe
-Great Wall of China was built to protect this route
-Was NOT a singular road (Umbrella term for China-Europe routes)
-The naming is controversial as it overlooks other trading countries
Piraeus-port city in Athens, Greece
-The current chief port in Greece
-Was historically a naval base
-Long Walls were built to fortify route from main settlement to the port
Tyrus (Tyre)-Port city in Lebanon
-Used to be an island
-Became a peninsula due to a massive causeway built by Alexander the Great
-Increased width over the centuries due to silt deposits
-Was a phonecian seaport
Lothal-Gujrat, India
-Part of Indus Valley civilisation
-Believed to be the world's earliest known dock
-Used for trade with other parts of the civilisation
-Transtales to ‘the mound of the dead’
Carthage-Modern day Tunisia
-Capital of the Carthaginian empire and Port city
-Developed from a Phoenician colony (trading empire)
-According to a myth , the Queen wanted some land from a tribe
-They said she can have as much as an Ox-hide could cover
-She cut it into strips and laid it around the perimeter of the city
Shimoda & Hakodate-Japenese port cities
-1st cities to allow american vessels under Convention of Kanagawa
-Ended Japan’s isolation by force
-Previously foreign trade was done exclusively with China and the Dutch through Nagasaki
Malacca- Port city in Malaysia
-Was once an international trade centre
Istanbul-Turkiye
-Entrepôt
-Serves as a link between Asia and Europe
-With Russia and surrounding areas being closed, Chinese goods have to pass through Istanbul to reach Europe (Trans-caspian route)
-Also a hub for air traffic (Transit)
Chicago-USA
-Massive waystation and logistics hub
-Connected with the Great lakes
-Rail and air waystation for East-West and North-South headed goods
Hong Kong-
-Gateway between China and the world
-Operates as a Free trade zone
