some of my favorite MOOCS start new sessions this week

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I just became aware that some of my favorite online classes start new sessions this week!

The Brain and Space -- "This course is about how the brain creates our sense of spatial location from a variety of sensory and motor sources, and how this spatial sense in turn shapes our cognitive abilities."

Dino 101 -- "Dinosaur Paleobiology is a 12-lesson course teaching a comprehensive overview of non-avian dinosaurs. Topics covered: anatomy, eating, locomotion, growth, environmental and behavioral adaptations, origins and extinction. Lessons are delivered from museums, fossil-preparation labs and dig sites."

The Science of Happiness --  "The first MOOC to teach positive psychology. Learn science-based principles and practices for a happy, meaningful life."

I can heartily recommend any or all of these classes.  All different, all interesting.  So glad they are still available for anyone who might like to participate.

(And all for free -- sit in and listen to as many, or as few, lectures as you like.  No risk, no obligation.  :-)  )

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Science of Happiness

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I took The Science of Happiness earlier this year, and thought it was interesting and valuable.  We learned about what makes people happy, and what doesn't, and were taught about a number of practices that have been demonstrated to help people feel more happier and/or more content.

They're offering the class again, starting in September.  I recommend it. 

A ton of study has been done about inducing negative emotions.  Only in the last couple of decades has much work been done on how we can feel better.  Interesting, and with lots of practical information, and relatively lightweight, work-wise. 

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Inside Out and the Science of Happiness

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I just learned that one of the principal teachers in the Science of Happiness class I took earlier this year was a consultant on the new Pixar movie Inside Out.  Apparently he loves the result.........






Yay for working to get the science right, even in entertainment!

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Barbara Fredrickson -- a couple more videos

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Another couple of videos from The Science of Happiness:


Positive Emotions Transform Us





The Positivity Ratio


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Barbara Fredrickson: Positive Emotions Open Our Mind

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Here's a video we watched in The Science of Happiness.

Lots of things I had no idea about, in this video!








What do you think -- never head out to an important meeting without a bag of candy??

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Science of Happiness

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I'm signed up for a new class -- The Science of Happiness.

This is my first non-Coursera MOOC.  This one is on EdX (which is the platform used by Harvard and Berkeley and I don't know who else).  The Science of Happiness is from Berkeley.

So far all I've heard about is the philosophy of happiness.  I've heard that there *is* a bunch of science, and they've told us that they're going to tell us about the science (one would hope so, given the course title), but they've started with philosophy.

Ok.....  I suppose we need to start somewhere.....


In any case, I thought this was an interesting quote:

“Anyone can become angry. That's easy. But to be angry at the right person, and to the right degree, and at the right time, and for the right purpose, and the right way; that’s not within everybody's power, and that's not easy.” -- Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics

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