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Quick Studies

Learn, Stanford style, without going back to class. Presenting Quick Studies, a monthly collection of articles, videos and podcasts curated exclusively for you.

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How Energy Literate Are You?
Approximately what percentage of U.S. oil comes from Canada? No idea? Associate Professor of Energy Resources Engineering Margot Gerritsen is here to help.
Read the Stanford University News Q&A; (and take an energy literacy quiz)  »

 

 

Relax, Pour Some Wine and Get Creative
Learn how laughing, getting groggy and broadening your social circle can make you more creative. And why sociologist Martin Ruef, MA '94, PhD '99, believes that entrepreneurs with the most diverse friendships are more innovative.
Read the Wall Street Journal story  »

Why Learning Leads to Happiness
Ever feel so engaged in what you're doing that the hours fly by? This is what psychologists call "flow." According to Laura Carstensen, director of the Stanford Center on Longevity, and others, finding your flow frequently will not only make you happier but also might add years to your life.
Read the U.S. News article  »

Watch

The Tobacco Conspiracy Revealed video
Six trillion cigarettes are smoked every year, and the worst of the tobacco-related health catastrophe is still ahead of us. Stanford professor Robert Proctor, author of the bombshell Golden Holocaust: Origins of the Cigarette Catastrophe and the Case for Abolition, makes the case for why cigarettes should be outlawed.
Take in the Stanford University YouTube video  » (3 min.)

Bill Gates: How Big Ideas Can Turn the Tide video
"Pick a country," Bill Gates told a crowd of Stanford students at a recent talk on the importance of innovating new products to improve the lives of the world's poorest. "Then you get down on the level where you actually meet the people and that's when you really can't give it up."
Watch the Stanford University YouTube video  » (5 min)

How Robots Learn video
How do you teach a robot to clean your house, find your coffee mug or fly a helicopter? Computer Science Professor Andrew Ng explains.
Tune in to the Stanford University YouTube video » (16 min.)

Listen

The Physics of the Ponytail audio
What's the key to having a fuller, bouncier ponytail, mathematically speaking? Weekend Edition math guy Keith Devlin, a senior researcher at Stanford, reveals the answer to this $40 billion question.
Listen to the NPR podcast  » (3 min.)

Are Unplanned Pregnancies Always Unplanned? audio
"All birth control makes you kind of crazy," said one woman interviewed by NYU sociologist Paula England. Stanford host Diantha Parker talks with England about how young women think about contraception when their economic future is uncertain.
Listen to the Stanford Center for the Study of Poverty and Inequality podcast  » (7 min.)

Reid Hoffman on How to Be an Entrepreneur audio
"I think everyone needs to be the entrepreneur of their own lives." LinkedIn founder and serial entrepreneur Reid Hoffman, '89, spoke to a Stanford audience about how to take intelligent risks, build thoughtful networks and continually adapt skills to navigate a fulfilling career path.
Listen to the STVP Entrepreneurship Corner podcast  » (60 min.)