Solitude is, simply enough, the state or condition of being alone, explains Thuy-vy Nguyen, a researcher at Durham University, U.K., who studies solitude. Time alone might be voluntary or involuntary; it might be pleasant or unpleasant. It all depends on the context.So, solitude is not necessarily bad, but is it beneficial? Nguyen is the principal investigator of Solitude Lab, where she and her team work to unravel these kinds of mysteries. Theyve found that solitude offers at least two important benefits.It can provide emotional regulation, helping tamp down high-arousal emotions. It can also serve another, less immediate and perhaps even more important function: It can foster a sense of autonomy by allowing individuals to engage with their environment in a manner and at a pace that suits them best, says Nguyen.Studying SolitudeAnd that last part is essential to beneficial solitude: It must be a matter of choice. In a 2023 study, Nguyen and colleagues looked at the benefits and harms of solitude and explored the ideal balance between solitude and socializing.They found that when people spent time alone because they wanted to if they were choiceful in their solitude, as the researchers put it they felt just as satisfied as they would have felt if they had not been alone.In these days of hyper-connectivity, it can be difficult to choose solitude. And it turns out that the difference between solitude and connection is a little more complicated than once thought.Read More: What Happens When Humans Are Extremely Isolated?Rethinking What It Means to be AloneMorgan Ross, a researcher at Oregon State University who studies how people balance connection and disconnection in their daily lives, has challenged us to rethink solitude to take a closer look at what it means to be alone.We're really trying to push to have a definition of solitude that makes more sense in the current media environment, he explains. He calls this new concept social aloneness, solitude with the potential for communication.In a paper published this past December, Ross and colleagues described something they call shades of solitude. In each of these varieties of solitude, you are not interacting with other people, either in person or virtually, he explains.However, the varying hues along the spectrum of solitude stretch from intense (alone in a cabin in the woods, lacking even your phone) to being alone but having some kind of engagement with others (spending a solitary afternoon watching cooking videos or reading blog posts).You're still engaged with someone else's thoughts, whether they're written in a book or posted on a social media feed, says Ross. Knowing that you have a network of people available when youre ready to connect makes solitude more comfortable, he adds. Its a temporary kind of break from your social ties. You can talk to people before, you can talk to them after, but during that moment, you're just focused on the benefits of being alone.Nor does solitude have to be lengthy to be beneficial. You dont need to spend a week in a cabin in the woods to enjoy the benefits of solitude. You can indulge in what are, in effect, mini cabins a solitary walk in the park, a few minutes on the patio with a book and a cup of tea all with your phone in your pocket if you choose, so that your friends and loved ones are in reach if you need them.There are benefits to these lighter experiences of solitude, says Ross. And you probably have more of them than you realize. That couple minutes in the shower, that couple minutes commuting to work, are experiences that a lot of people have that they might not be thinking of as solitude but potentially get benefits from, Ross says.How to Make the Most of SolitudeRoss and Nguyen agree that getting the most from solitude requires intention and choice. Quite simply, and perhaps obviously, solitude is more beneficial if you seek it out rather than find yourself stuck in the middle of it in other words, book the cabin, dont get stranded there.And indeed, Rosss research has found that people who think that solitude doesnt disconnect them from other people and who approach it with a positive attitude find it more restorative.In addition, Nguyen suggests taking time to explore what you find pleasant and unpleasant during your alone time. It often takes time to discover what works best for you, she says. Ultimately, the goal is to ensure that your alone time feels purposeful for you. So customize that cabin in the woods, even if the cabin is your back porch.Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Thuy-vy Nguyen. Solitude LabAvery Hurt is a freelance science journalist. In addition to writing for Discover, she writes regularly for a variety of outlets, both print and online, including National Geographic, Science News Explores, Medscape, and WebMD. Shes the author of Bullet With Your Name on It: What You Will Probably Die From and What You Can Do About It, Clerisy Press 2007, as well as several books for young readers. Avery got her start in journalism while attending university, writing for the school newspaper and editing the student non-fiction magazine. Though she writes about all areas of science, she is particularly interested in neuroscience, the science of consciousness, and AIinterests she developed while earning a degree in philosophy.

Stack CommerceShareWe may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more The secret to seeing in the dark? Ask an owl. Their incredible eyesight is the reason you hear them hooting outside your window at night while they manage to survive the great outdoors. Anyone who wants the same powers but doesnt possess the ability to morph into an owl can get these night-vision binoculars.Whether youre an avid birdwatcher, hunter, or just an outdoorsy person, youll love that these digital binoculars can also take pictures and videos. Whats more, theyre only $80 for a limited time during our winter sale (reg. $159.99).Get owl vision for your outdoor adventuresYou might already have a pair of binoculars, but youll find they come up short compared to these. Imagine you awake in the middle of the night to an owl hooting outside your windowyour binoculars wont give you a glimpse, and your phone camera wont get you any proof it was ever there.With infrared binoculars, youll have seven adjustable brightness levels to get a perfect view. You can also zoom in with a 10X optical magnification lens.The perk of having binoculars with a built-in camera is that you can take pictures up to 12MP resolution or record 1080p videos. Yes, even while using the night vision. Every image you capture is saved to the included 32GB memory card.Since theyre pocket-sized, you can bring them ice fishing (especially if you go at night!), camping, or even on your next vacation. Youll see the world in a whole new way.Order a pair of these mini night vision binoculars for $80 (reg. $159.99) during our winter sale. No coupon is needed to get this price.StackSocial prices subject to change.Mini Digital Night Vision Binoculars with 1080p HD Recording $80See Deal

"Where Penguins Fly,"Honorable Mention Cold Water."We all know penguins as iconic flightless birds, charmingly clumsy and seemingly maladapted for life on land. Rarely are penguins viewed in their element, underwater, where their endearing awkwardness transforms into something of astonishing agility and grace. It is a privilege to behold the beauty of animals, mastery over their habitat in the wild, and penguins are no exception...In a picture, I had discovered one of nature's greatest secrets: here in the icy blue water, this is where penguins can fly!"Credit: Jill Crosby / Ocean Art 2024 SharePenguins can fly. Not in the sky, but in icy waters. Photographer Jill Crosbys face was freezing as she watched penguins zip around near the Salisbury Plain in South Georgia (located about 800 miles from the Falkland Islands). But with icy fingers she snapped photographs and captured the moment a penguin zipped by (seen above).He released a shimmering trail of tiny microbubbles from his plumage, coating himself with a lubricating layer of air to cut drag and maximize speed, Crosby said. Perhaps most enchantingly, underwater, his wings came to life, flapping to propel him forward and steering like rudders as he soared. Get the Popular Science newsletter Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.The image took Honorable Mention in the Cold Water category of the 13th Annual Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest.Feeling FreedomHonorable Mention Compact Wide AngleI recently had the incredible opportunity to swim with humpback whales in Tonga, and let me tell you, it was one of the most amazing experiences Ive ever had! Vavau, Tonga, is one of the few places where swimming with these magnificent creatures is possible. Every year, from July to November, humpback whales migrate to Tongas warm waters, from Antarctica, to breed and give birth. Its such a special place for these gentle giants and their little ones. During my swim, I managed to capture a photo of a curious calf that ventured away from its mom to check me out! The mother whale kept a close eye on her baby as it swam back and forth between us. I could honestly sense the calf feeling of Freedom, while the mom was always watching over him. Its hard to put into words how amazing it is to be in the water with these giant whales. Watching them glide through the ocean, seeing a mother and calf swimming side by side, and listening to their hauntingly beautiful songs underwater is something Ill cherish forever. Every moment felt so personal, as if time stood still just for me.Credit: Nancy Berg / Ocean Art 2024 This years contest garnered thousands of entries from more than 90 countries. The Best in Show prize went to Eduardo Labat for his photo Dancing White Tips showing dozens of sharks forming a tight, swirling group underwater.Visit Underwater Photography Guide for a full gallery of winners. (Click to expand images.)Emerging HopeHonorable Mention PortraitIn the shallow, dark waters of an Amazonian Brazilian river, a boto (pink river dolphin) surfaces, framed against the lush green canopy above. This image captures the delicate balance between the boto and the Amazons rich ecosystem, both of which face significant threats. Yet, it also symbolizes hope and resilience, reminding us of the urgent need for conservation efforts to protect these natural treasures and ensure a brighter future.Credit: Olivier Clement / Ocean Art 2024 Dugong LunchHonorable Mention Place Compact BehaviorCredit: Grzegorz Krysiak / Ocean Art 2024 Spinner Dolphins in Sataya4th Place Wide AngleSataya Reef (also known as Dolphin Reef) is located in the Marsa Alam region of the Southern Red Sea, Egypt. The most distinctive feature of this location is the presence of permanently residing pods of spinner dolphins. I visited the area on a liveaboard tailored for underwater photographers. We spent around 1.5 hours snorkeling in the water with dolphins. During this time, snorkelers from a couple of day-trip boats were also in the water. Our group stopped the activity as soon as the dolphins began showing sleeping behavior, in contrast to the playful behavior we had witnessed earlier. I visualized the image I wanted to capture as one of the pod or individual dolphins swimming toward me, rather than chasing them for side or tail shots. This presented a challenge: I needed to align the early morning sun in the right direction, as I was shooting with natural light. Another important consideration was keeping other snorkelers out of the frame as much as possible. Given the amount of swimming required, I kept my camera rig as compact as possible and brought freediving fins specifically for the dolphin snorkeling, even though this was primarily a scuba diving trip. To minimize motion blur, I shot most images at 1/320s. As the available light increased with the rising sun, I gradually lowered my starting ISO from 800 to 400. One advantage of using my water-contact Nikonos RS 13mm lens was its ability to shoot at relatively wider apertures, in addition to its compact size. For post-processing, I used Adobe Lightroom Classic. Most adjustments were global, such as white balance, contrast, and exposure adjustments for shadows and highlights. I also used Lightrooms auto subject selection tool to enhance the contrast of the dolphins, helping them stand out more.Credit: Mehmet A. Gungen / Ocean Art 2024 Housemates3rd Place Compact MacroThese yellow gobies usually inhabit discarded bottles at certain muck dive sites here in Anilao. While I was photographing two gobies perched at the mouth of a bottle, a dwarf lionfish suddenly emerged from inside. This was an incredibly rare encounter based on my experience. To enhance the scene, I used a snoot to highlight the subjects and the bottles opening, creating a more natural and focused composition.Credit: Jayson Apostol / Ocean Art 2024 Hunting in the Night1st Place Compact Wide AngleWe are at one of the most famous night dive sites in the world: Maya Thila. I noticed a whitetip reef shark moving in cyclical patterns, visibly attracted to a cloud of silverfish positioned along the Thila drop-off. Using a nearby boulder for cover, I carefully hid and minimized my bubbles, trying to get as close as possible without disturbing the predators behavior. Once the shark grew accustomed to my presence, I waited for one of its cyclical movements to bring it within flash range. I timed the shot to capture not only the shark but also the evasive motion of the cloud of potential prey. The shot was taken from a bottom-to-top angle, intentionally including the surface of the sea to add depth and dimension to the image. Understanding the subjects habits and behavior was essential to the success of this shot.Credit: Marco Lausdei / Ocean Art 2024 PiggybackHonorable Mention Marine Life BehaviorA quite special encounter, as for the first time in my life I was able to have a dugong in front of my lens. I was freediving in the Red Sea, Marsa Alam, Egypt, when this beautiful individual showed up. He was ever so chilled, floating around, eating some seagrass, coming back up for air, when all of a sudden, he laid himself sideways on the seafloor and started rolling around like a puppy scratching an itch away. Even-though his eternal smile might say otherwise; this dugong was getting pretty annoyed by the dozen of remoras hitching a free ride with him.Credit: Ines Goovaerts / Ocean Art 2024 InesEye ContactHonorable Mention PortraitThere is a place in the Philippines named Kimud Shoal, where you can meet perhaps the most beautiful shark in the world in a natural environment. This shark is the thresher shark, which mainly decimates schools of mackerel, herring and sardines. It swims around shoals of herring and sardines, striking the water with its long tail fin that sounds far away. After having gathered the fish in this way, he swims among them and drops prey from the crowd. At this dive site there is a small coral reef surrounded by hundreds of meters of depth. At dawn, after they have finished hunting, they swim up above the reef, where the cleaner fish remove the parasites from their skin. For 10 days, we sailed out every early morning to this point, where I studied the sharks behavior and habits. I managed to take this picture after several hours of diving, of the shark circling above the cleaning station. I didnt use an external flash when taking the picture, just natural light so as not to disturb the shark. This made my job very difficult, because the light and visibility under the water are poor in this area early in the morning.Credit: FldiLszl / Ocean Art 2024 Battle Positions4th Place Marine Life BehaviorTwo American crocodiles cross paths off Cayo Centro, a mangrove island at Banco Chinchorro. As territorial reptiles, crocodiles exhibit various behaviors to challenge intruders including lifting their heads as seen here. If one of them does not back down, they will have to fight it out.Credit: Suliman Alatiqi / Ocean Art 2024 Blue Face2nd Place PortraitSome days in September and October offer the best opportunities to capture great images of pilot whales. However, its essential to wait until they are truly calm and relaxed. When the sea is like glass, the sun is in the perfect position between 9:30 and 11:00 a.m., theres zero wind, and the pilot whales are cooperative, it becomes possible to take an exceptional photo. But believe me, achieving all these conditions in the wild is incredibly challenging. I truly appreciated this rare moment as a photographer. This photo was taken with special permission from the Ministry of Ecological Transition in Spain.Credit: Eduardo Acevedo / Ocean Art 2024 Turtle Conservation2nd Place Underwater ConservationWWF turtle monitor volunteers measure a green turtle (Chelonia mydas) captured near Dravuni Island, Kadavu Province, Fiji. After the measurements, the green turtle is released back into the water. Green turtles are classified as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). From left to right: Vanivasa Vone, Lynn Vuli, Mikaele Finau.Credit: Tom Vierus / Ocean Art 2024 Tom VierusFight5th Place Marine Life BehaviorIn areas where these fish gather in large numbers, territorial battles between males often occur. However, in most cases, the outcome is decided in an instant, making it extremely challenging to capture such moments. When I took this photo, the fight lasted for more than 10 minutes. Since it was taken during a period of poor visibility with a lot of floating particles, I worked to reduce glare and flare effects.Credit: Keigo Kawamura / Ocean Art 2024 FeveredHonorable Mention Black & WhiteIn late spring, the waters around Baja California Sur are teeming with mobulas. Known as fevers, these groups of rays are often gathered by the thousands. Here for feeding and mating, their dance is an unbelievable sight to behold from both above and below the water. On this day, the water was exceptionally clear for this time of year. Mobulas eat plankton, and plankton means murky visibility. Conditions aligned for a clear shot of the rays from directly above. An endless wall of mobulas slowly glided below me, circling for hours, as I happily snapped away.Credit: Brittany Ilardi / Ocean Art 2024 Fight2nd Place Marine Life BehaviorI took this photo in Sado, Japan. This diving point is called Akaiwa and is a sacred place for the Asian Sheepshead Wrasse. This photo shows two males fighting over territory. On the right is the winner with a wider mouth, the boss of this Akaiwa. He has a name and is called Yamato.'Credit: Reiko Takahashi / Ocean Art 2024

Giant phantom jellies were discovered in 1899 and since then have only been spotted around 120 times.

submitted by /u/A-AON-A [link] [comments]

You can now generate road networks with features like crosswalks, lanes, and arrows in PLATEAU SDK for Unity, a free toolkit using Japan's 3D city model data provided by the Japanese government.Download here: https://80.lv/articles/build-realistic-japanese-cities-in-3d-with-this-unity-tool/#unity #unity3d #gamedev #gamedevelopment

Check out this slimy 2D soft body simulation, where both the visualization and physics are fully powered by the GPU in a custom engine for @ZoldenGames's Simulario, a sandbox 2D physics-based game.Wishlist: https://80.lv/articles/blob-2d-soft-body-simulation-with-3d-like-effect-fully-powered-by-gpu/#gamedev #indiedev

Severance has returned with a bang in its highly anticipated second season, marking the return of Mark, Helly, Irving, and Dylan as they got a taste of the outside world in season 1's grand finale. The mind-bending series follows a group of workers who have chosen to separate their work life from their personal life while working at Lumon Industries, thus creating their "Innies" to complete their time at work. Although the premise of Severance is intriguing, much of the show is powered by its impeccable cast, who thrive on such dramatic and comedic material.

The journey through Miraland in Infinity Nikki not only tests the limits of your fashion skills in order to become the greatest stylist, but also your proficiency behind the camera lens. Certain types of quests in the game require players to get creative with photography, whether they're finding hidden secrets with Photo Investigations or conveying the illusion of something via Forced Perspective.

In a time when lots of franchise movies have final scenes and stingers that allude to larger concerns in their universes, show off a dizzying network of inter-movie connective tissue, or tease the next project coming down the release pipeline, Star Trek: Section 31 goes against the grain.Its surprising late-game cameo isnt about franchise ties at all: It features a familiar actor whos never appeared in Star Trek before. Section 31 star Michelle Yeoh told Polygon this one was all about the personal, real-world connections she made in her Oscar-winning movie Everything Everywhere All at Once.[Ed. note: This piece contains spoilers for a guest appearance in Star Trek: Section 31.]Section 31 gives viewers a hint at the cameo in its opening scenes, when the artificial intelligence known as Control lays out the assignment for the movies central Section 31 team, via voiceover and graphics. But we dont see Controls holographic guise until the movies final scenes, when the victorious team is celebrating. Thats when Section 31 reveals that Controls voice and digital persona are provided by none other than Halloween franchise and Freaky Friday star Jamie Lee Curtis.Section 31s executive producer Alex Kurtzman and director Olatunde Osunsanmi carefully kept mum when Polygon asked how Curtis cameo came together, not wanting to spoil anything. But Yeoh gushed when we brought up her Everything Everywhere All at Once costar, raising her hands in the shape of a heart. And she confirmed she was a part of bringing Curtis into Section 31.Yes! Oh yes, of course, Yeoh said. I was a little apprehensive, you know, its like should I? And then someone said, do it, because she will expect that from you. And I was like, OK!Curtis has become known for her nerdy hobbies, including video games and cosplay, but was she a fan of Star Trek, or just best buddies with Yeoh?She doesnt do anything she doesnt believe in, Yeoh said, with confidence. First of all, I have complete faith in that. And I do also have faith that she did it because she loved me. I believe that. [Laughs] [] And she did such an incredible job.Its a fair contrast from the last time we saw the Control artificial intelligence, as the faceless, bodiless big villain of the second season of Star Trek: Discovery (which is set after the events of Section 31). Who would have thought Control was so personable before its betrayal?