Diplomacy, ping pong and gift exchanges
How did two ping pong players manage to definitively change their countries’ diplomatic relations by exchanging gifts? War chaos, ideological rivalries, and a universal suspicion painted the canvas of the 1970s. Against this warlike current marched two champions in 1971 during the World Ping Pong Championship in Nagoya, Japan, which constituted fertile ground for bridging […]
“The man in the dark blue suit” Photo-Episode A, pt.2
“Once again I was right on the mark and dear Kostas fell into my trap,” said Daphne about an hour later, as she was closing the car door. No response. ” What’s wrong with you?” she asked, her tone of voice immediately changing from proud to worried, “You’ve hardly uttered a word since we saw […]
The dishonesty of feelings
When I was young, I was under the impression that feelings were accompanied by a sense of weakness, they show how affected you are by different situations, how fragile you are, they may even be a sample of immaturity. Growing up we were told “Don’t cry, you’re not a baby”, “Don’t grumble, you are a […]
Modern-day Bohemian Rhapsody or Do schools kill intelligence?
Picture this: One day, a persistent beeping sound wakes you up earlier than your brain can function. It’s not the construction site next door, just your alarm marking 7:00 am. You’re forced to get up and perform everyday tasks of personal hygiene and maintenance, only you’re not sure whether this is real life or just […]
Golden Blood
Sensitive content warning: reference to blood Terms such as ‘hair color’, ‘eye color’, ‘body type’, or ‘height’, bring about different thoughts and connotations in mind. If we take a careful look, though, we realize that there is common ground between them. They constitute characteristics that exist in different forms and make us special. Among them […]
Why can’t we measure Great Britain’s coastline?
Since the dawn of humanity, maths and geometry have been proven to be very useful and critical tools in the process of deciphering the world around us. Many claim that these sciences are “the language of the universe,” and for a good reason: nature is indissolubly linked with mathematical notions, from the simplest examples of […]
”Waiting for Godot” or Our tendency to live in the future
Better days are coming! But, in the meantime, what happens with the ones already here? Whether we admit it or not, humans love dreaming…when we are awake. We spend endless hours imagining our future. Not a distant future with flying cars, trips to Mars and robot-servants, but our close and personal future, in which life […]
Body shaming: a common bullying technique
Body shaming is known as the tendency of people to criticize others or even themselves based solely on their appearance. It has always been a thing, but in modern times, especially through the extensive use of social media and the subsequent provided anonymity, this phenomenon is in a bigger outbreak and that’s why it’s a […]
The dark side of positivity
How many of us have wanted to open up to someone about a bad day and received an answer such as “It’s not a big deal, why are you reacting this way? Think positively.” At a first glance this seems like a harmless reaction from our interlocutor whose intention is to make us feel better. […]
Human bonds
Human bonds are complicated. No instruction manual guarantees their success, but neither is there an absolute system that will distinguish right from wrong before they are created. Some will be weak and break easily, while others are strong and last for years. Some bonds are created in an instant without us realizing it, while others […]