Hey everyone! I hope that you are doing okay, especially after experiencing one of the hottest weathers affecting many countries. Where I live, it’s almost 122 degrees (50°C) outside, so I tend to stay at home. Last week, I couldn’t bring myself to write any blog posts because I was away from home and dealing with the stress of starting new things… which will possibly be my topic for the next article.
Anyways, I missed sharing pieces of life with you, and I want to start with the gems of this week. This week, I curated some of my favorite YouTube channels, podcasts, and some contemporary artwork that I think you may find inspiring.

1)Youtube Channels

I want to start with Ali Abdaal. He is the person who inspired me to start my online writing journey, and I owe him a big thanks because I feel so happy sharing what I have with the world. He makes videos about evidence-based strategies and tools that can help us be more productive and build a life that we love, in hisown words. His videos have helped me a lot in overcoming my fear of starting a new journey. If you want to live a life where you’ll truly be yourself and be happy, I think his channel may interest you.

2)Podcasts

So these are the two podcasts that made me start my daily “listening to a podcast and making my iced coffee journey,” which has become my favorite time of the day.
I believe that these two podcasts will be of interest to many of you because they are so easy to follow and have enjoyable topics.
The first one is Metaphysical Milkshake with Rainn & Reza, where the hosts search for the meaning of life. It covers topics such as how the world ends and what death is. Even with such deep and weird topics, the hosts manage to keep the podcast light and easy to follow. Bonus points: one of the hosts is Rainn, who is the actor playing Dwight in The Office, which makes it even funnier for fans like me.
The second one is the Mindset Neuroscience Podcast by Stefanie Faye. Stefanie provides scientific tips and strategies on things like learning, resilience, psychological safety, etc. I don’t know if there is any science behind it, but the intervals between topics in an episode are so beautifully placed that it makes it really easy for you to understand complex subjects. You can actually implement the topics discussed in an episode in your own life and give neuroscience a try.

3)Contemporary Art

If you are unfamiliar with the term contemporary art, it basically means art that is produced after the second half of the 20th century, where artists work in a globally connected world with developing technology. There was and still is a stigma around contemporary art, where people argue that “talent” is lost in today’s art because of digital technologies that allow creating work without actually using your hands. I don’t agree with this at all. One can argue the meaning of talent. Is it just the technique used in an art piece, or does it cover a more broad aspect than that, such as the creative idea behind it? I agree with the latter. I think contemporary art has allowed us to go beyond what human hands and the analog world allowed before. And I really enjoy seeing how far the imaginations of humans around the world can expand.

Here is the corrected version of my previous response:

Here are my favorites:

• Can’t Help Myself by Sun Yuan & Peng Yu
  This work went viral a few years back, and that’s for a reason. Millions of people shared the video of this work, showing their sympathy for the robot in it. The artists managed to make people sympathize with a robot, and the art piece aroused strong emotions in tens of thousands of people. People say this piece of art still haunts them to this day, and I think achieving this kind of impact among millions of people is fascinating.
• Machine Hallucinations, and honestly all works of Refik Anadol
  I love living in the digital age and seeing creative endeavors producing art with machine intelligence. If you want to see numbers and machines creating captivating art, I really suggest checking out the works of Refik Anadol.
  

Well, I hope this curation inspired you in some way and encouraged you to share who you are with the universe. Remember, no one can contribute to this world as you can, because each and every one of us is unique in our own ways. I hope that you have an amazing week ahead and see you on Wednesday.