WSC

Ralph Waldo Emerson

A 19th-century American transcendentalist thinker who promoted self-reliance, individual intuition, and the belief that truth is found within oneself and nature rather than institutions. His ideas shaped American intellectual culture and are often simplified into sayings about valuing the journey over the destination.

nuclear powered cars

A mid-20th century concept of automobiles powered by compact nuclear reactors instead of fuel engines; proposed during the optimism of the atomic age but abandoned due to extreme safety risks, radiation concerns, cost, and impractical engineering challenges.

food pills

Futuristic idea of replacing meals with compact pills containing all necessary nutrients; reflects technological optimism but fails to account for digestion complexity, psychological satisfaction of eating, and nutritional diversity.

progress bar

A graphical user interface element that visually indicates how much of a process has been completed, typically expressed as a percentage; important for reducing user uncertainty and improving perceived waiting time.

intermediate progress bar

A determinate progress indicator that shows partial advancement toward completion, giving users measurable feedback rather than vague activity.

splash screen

An introductory visual display shown when software launches, often used for branding or to occupy users while the program loads in the background.

console output

Text-based system feedback typically used in programming environments to display logs, errors, or step-by-step execution details.

skeleton screen

A loading interface technique that displays a simplified layout of content before actual data loads, improving perceived speed by showing structure immediately.

throbber

A looping animated icon (such as a spinning circle) indicating that a process is ongoing without specifying how long it will take.

placebo buttons

Interface elements that appear to give users control but have no actual function (e.g., elevator "close door" buttons), designed to reduce anxiety and create a sense of agency.

The New York Times Why Waiting Is Torture

An article explaining that waiting feels painful primarily due to uncertainty, lack of control, and absence of feedback rather than the duration itself; highlights psychological factors behind impatience.

Ridge Racer

A 1993 arcade racing game developed by Namco; notable for including a hidden playable mini-game (Galaxian) during loading screens, reducing perceived waiting time.

Gross Domestic Product

The total monetary value of all finished goods and services produced within a country over a specific period; widely used as a measure of economic size but criticized for ignoring inequality and well-being.

Gross National Income

The total income earned by a nation's residents and businesses, including income from abroad; differs from GDP by focusing on ownership rather than location of production.

Gini Coefficient

A statistical measure of income inequality ranging from 0 (perfect equality) to 1 (extreme inequality), used to assess wealth distribution within a society.

Human Development Index

A composite indicator measuring average achievement in key human development areas: life expectancy, education level, and income per capita.

Multidimensional Poverty Index

A measure that evaluates poverty beyond income by including health, education, and living standards to reflect real-life deprivation.

Labor Productivity

The amount of goods and services produced per worker or per hour worked; a key indicator of economic efficiency.

Happiness Index

A ranking based on surveys of subjective well-being, life satisfaction, and factors like social support and freedom.

Passport Index

A ranking system evaluating the strength of passports based on the number of countries citizens can enter visa-free or with visa-on-arrival.

Big Mac Index

An informal economic tool comparing purchasing power parity by examining the price of a Big Mac across countries.

The Second Law of Thermodynamics

A fundamental physical law stating that entropy (disorder) in a closed system tends to increase over time, implying natural processes move toward randomness rather than order.

Progress isn't natural (The Atlantic)

An article arguing that societal and technological progress is not inevitable but requires deliberate effort, institutions, and maintenance.

Surely the World is Growing Better (1909)

A satirical illustration by Will Crawford that critiques blind optimism about progress by contrasting belief in improvement with evidence of societal problems.

A Brief History of the To

Do List (The Atlantic) - Article tracing the origins of task lists and explaining their effectiveness through psychological mechanisms like memory reinforcement and goal structuring.

Eisenhower Method

A productivity framework categorizing tasks by urgency and importance to prioritize effectively.

1

2-3 Method - A simplified system focusing daily effort on 1 major, 2 medium, and 3 small tasks.

Ivy Lee Method

A method where six tasks are listed in order of importance and completed sequentially each day.

4

D Method - A decision-making system: Do immediately, Defer to later, Delegate to others, or Delete entirely.

Eat That Frog

A principle suggesting tackling the most difficult or important task first to reduce procrastination.

Must

Do - A prioritization approach focusing only on essential, high-impact tasks.

Bullet Journal

A customizable analog productivity system combining planning, journaling, and tracking into one notebook.

Zeigarnik Effect

A psychological phenomenon where unfinished or interrupted tasks are remembered more vividly than completed ones due to cognitive tension.

Umberto Eco

A scholar who analyzed lists as cultural artifacts, distinguishing between practical lists (functional) and poetic lists (expressive, infinite in nature).

caretaker government

A temporary administration that governs during election periods, maintaining basic operations while avoiding major policy decisions.

Doomsday Clock

A symbolic clock created by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists representing how close humanity is to global catastrophe, especially nuclear war or climate crisis.

london 1666

Reference to the Great Fire of London which destroyed much of the city and fueled apocalyptic fears.

Doomsday predictions

Repeated historical claims forecasting the end of the world, often driven by religious beliefs, scientific misunderstandings, or social anxiety.

The Millerites (1844)

A religious movement predicting Christ's return in 1844; failure led to the "Great Disappointment."

Wodziwob's visions (1869)

Prophecies by a Native American spiritual leader predicting renewal and transformation of the world.

Halley's Comet Panic (1910)

Public fear that Earth passing through a comet's tail would release toxic gases.

The Jupiter Effect (1974)

A theory claiming planetary alignment would cause disasters; later debunked.

Hon

Ming Chen (1988) - Cult leader who predicted nuclear catastrophe and encouraged followers to prepare.

The Y2K bug (2000)

Fear that computer systems would fail due to date formatting issues at the year 2000.

Large Hadron Collider (2008)

Scientific experiment feared by some to create black holes; concerns were unfounded.

Mayan Apocalypse (2012)

Misinterpretation of the Mayan calendar predicting world destruction.

Book of Revelation

A Christian text describing symbolic visions of the end times, including judgment, destruction, and eventual renewal.

Albrecht Dürer | The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1498)

Uses chaotic composition and violent imagery to depict destruction indiscriminately; tone is one of terror emphasizing divine punishment.

Sandro Botticelli | The Mystical Nativity (1500)

Contrasts divine salvation with demonic defeat; tone blends anxiety with hope and spiritual acceptance.

Michelangelo | The Last Judgment (1536-1541)

Clearly separates ascending saved and falling damned through dynamic human forms; tone is powerful, dramatic, and morally intense.

Pieter Bruegel the Elder | The Triumph of Death (c.1562)

Depicts universal death affecting all classes equally; tone is bleak and fatalistic with no clear salvation.

Thomas Cole | The Course of Empire: Destruction (1836)

Reflects fear of civilizational collapse through violent ruin imagery, emphasizing cycles of rise and fall.

John Martin | The Great Day of His Wrath (1851-1853)

Dramatic apocalyptic landscape showing divine destruction amplified by industrial-era scale.

Otto Dix | World War I prints (1924)

Stark depictions of mechanized warfare highlighting human suffering and trauma.

Viktor Schreckengost | Apocalypse '42 (1942)

Reflects WWII fears of technological destruction and global conflict.

Harry Louis Freund | Four Horsemen (1946)

Post-war imagery symbolizing nuclear threat and modern catastrophe.

Saby Menyhei | The Last of Us Concept Art (2025)

Depicts post-pandemic societal collapse emphasizing survival and decay.

Kevin Sherwood & James McCawley | "Where Are We Going?" (2013)

Expresses existential uncertainty and anxiety about humanity's direction.

Olivier Messiaen | Quartet for the End of Time (1940)

Composed in a POW camp; uses unconventional rhythms and silence to evoke timelessness and spiritual reflection.

Black Sabbath | "Electric Funeral" (1970)

Reflects Cold War nuclear fears using heavy distortion and slow tempo to create dread.

R.E.M. | "It's the End of the World as We Know It" (1987)

Uses rapid-fire lyrics and chaotic structure to reflect information overload and ironic detachment.

chlorophyll in a lake

A pigment in algae whose fluctuations can indicate ecological instability; sudden increases often signal eutrophication and potential ecosystem collapse.

Leonardo da Vinci | Mona Lisa versions

Show subtle compositional refinements using sfumato technique and layered underdrawing transferred via sketching and grid systems.

Vincent van Gogh | Bedroom in Arles versions

Variations in color and perspective reflecting emotional intent; likely used grid transfer and direct repainting.

Edvard Munch | Despair → The Scream

Transition from narrative realism to symbolic abstraction; simplified forms transferred from sketches.

Henri Matisse | Dance I → Dance II

Evolution from rough composition to bold abstraction using charcoal sketches and scaling techniques.

The Beatles | "Strawberry Fields Forever" demo → final

Progression from simple acoustic demo to complex studio production with layering, effects, and orchestration.

Lin

Manuel Miranda | "This One's Mine" - Demo refined into structured composition with improved orchestration and lyrical clarity.

Sophia Anne Caruso | "Dead Mom"

Demo evolves into theatrical performance with enhanced arrangement and emotional delivery.

EJAE | "Golden" demos

Refinement process involving vocal layering, mixing, and production polish.

Aladdin | "Count on Me"

Likely removed due to pacing issues and redundancy in narrative themes.

Pocahontas | "First to Dance"

Cut to streamline story and maintain tonal consistency.

Book of Mormon | "Family Home Evening"

Removed for pacing and comedic balance.

Dear Evan Hansen | "In the Bedroom Down the Hall"

Cut to preserve narrative focus and emotional flow.

Magnetic compass

A direction finding tool that uses a magnetic tool that was invented in China (there is a discrepancy between Magnetic North and True North)

Gyrocompass

A compass that uses Earth’s rotation to point true north (avoids discrepancy)

Astrolabe

An astornomical instrument used to measure the altitude of the sun or stars and to determine time and lattitude

Sextatnt

A device that measures angular distance between 2 visible objects, was found in unpublished writings of Issac Newton (developed version of the astolabe)

Log Tables

対数表、helped with calculations and to find the position of celestial bodies

Ephemerides

Book with tables that give the trajectory of stars

Log and line

used for determining a ship’s speed

Chronometer

A precise time keeping tool for maritime navigation, invented by Jeremy Thacker

Magnetoreception

ability of oranisms to sense the earth’s magnetic field

Cryptochrome

blue light-sensitive proteins found in animals that are involved in the sensing of magnetic fields

Olfactory navigation

navigating using smell (used by passenger pigeons)

Echolocation

Animals using SONAR to navigate (duh)

Zugunruhe

anxious behavior in migratory animals when they are kept enclosed during migratory periods

Constant frequency

a wave with a constant frequency

sunlight polarization

the way sunlight becomes partially aligned in a specific direction after interacting with Earth’s atmosphere

spatial memory

brain stores and retrieves info regarding navigation and the physical spaces around an individual

Indigo Buntings （特徴）

migrates to central america from USA during winter, navigate using the North Pole Stars

Dung Beetles （特徴）

Rolls dung to attract femal mates, must be fast, must roll in a straight line, uses the milky way to follow a straight path because it is very visible in South Africa

Honeybees （特徴）

Follow linear landmarks to find their hive, use Olfactory navigation and changes in polarization of light

Sea turtles （特徴）

use variations in Eath’s magnetic field to navigate to nesting areas (each geo area has a distinctive magnetic pattern!)

Dessert Ants （特徴）

uses a step counter, sky compasses, olfactory and other methods to navigate

Nainoa Thompson

A native hawaiian navigator who revived traditional Polynesian methods of navigation

Inuit Navigation

Navigation styles using the night sky and other markers to find their way, even in a landscape white with snow and ice

Viking navigation

navigation system using a “sunstone” that showed the position of the sun even on cloudy days through the polorization of light

Fog of the World

An app that tracks your exploration, uncovering areas from clouds as you explore them