Intellect PlusCards starting with S
3,033 cards. Page 21 of 51.
Shingles is childhood chickenpox waking up decades later along a single nerveThe virus behind chickenpox never fully leaves. It hides in nerve clusters beside the spine or at the base of the skull, sometimes for decades, then can travel back down one nerve…
Shinobi were spies for hire, not movie assassins in blackPopular myth casts ninja as stealth assassins; historical evidence for that specialty is thin. In Sengoku Japan, Iga and Kōka jizamurai formed ikki leagues and sold mercenary spyi…
Shinto shrines were once just sacred groves, not the grand buildings we see today.Long before the iconic architecture of modern Japan, Shinto shrines began as simple, temporary spaces in nature. These sacred sites evolved from humble huts built to house spirits…
Shinty lets players swing at the ball in mid-air with either face of the stickAt first glance shinty looks like field hockey played in the Scottish Highlands. Then someone strikes a ball out of the air, using either side of a wedge-headed wooden stick, and …
Ship breaking is a vital, dangerous industry that recycles the world's massive ocean vessels.Modern ships have a lifespan of about 25 to 30 years before they become uneconomical. When they reach the end of their journey, they are dismantled to recover valuable steel and p…
Shipping Roman grain across the Mediterranean beat carting it 15 milesBy one estimate, a Roman merchant ship could carry grain the full length of the Mediterranean for less than it cost to haul the same load 15 miles by road. That arithmetic fed the…
Shipwrecks are accidental time capsules of human historyUnlike temples or graves, which were built to be seen, shipwrecks are accidental. They sink to the bottom and remain isolated, preserving a single, frozen moment in time. By study…
Shipwrecks yield more than just gold; they hold history in bottles and ink.Beyond the stereotypical piles of gold doubloons, shipwrecks often preserve fragile remnants of human life. This video explores twelve remarkable items recovered from the ocean fl…
Shiraz bottled poetry, gardens, and Elamite workshop namesShiraz, fifth-largest Iranian city and Fars capital—historic Persia proper—held 1,565,572 people in the 2016 census. Elamite tablets near 2000 BCE mention Tiraziš workshops; Sasan…
Shirley Jackson was a master of horror who lived in a house of secrets.Beyond her famous tale of a brutal village ritual, Shirley Jackson was a prolific writer whose own life was marked by domestic strain, prescription drug cycles, and a profound sen…
Shirley Jackson's final masterpiece reveals the dark, isolated world of two murderous sistersIn this 1962 psychological horror novel, two sisters live in self-imposed exile after their family is poisoned with arsenic. Narrated by the younger sister, Merricat, the story ex…
Shirley MacLaine danced a whole ballet on a broken ankle before calling an ambulanceCast as the fairy godmother in Cinderella, young Shirley MacLaine snapped her ankle while warming up backstage. She laced her pointe shoes tighter, danced the entire performance, …
Shishapangma: The 8,000-metre peak named for a tragic mountain feastStanding at 8,027 metres, Shishapangma is the world's lowest eight-thousander, yet it holds a unique place in Himalayan lore. While geologists translate its name as a crest above …
Shiva's name began as an adjective meaning kind or auspiciousSome 385 million people across India, Nepal and Sri Lanka honour Shiva as the supreme god. Yet in the Rig Veda his name was just a flattering adjective handed to several deities. …
Shivaji built a kingdom from a single captured hill fortAt sixteen, Shivaji took Torna Fort, by trickery or a bribe, while the Bijapur court was distracted by its sultan's illness. Inside he found a large treasure, which he spent build…
Shizuoka sits at the intersection of ancient volcanic power and modern Japanese urban life.Capital of its namesake prefecture, Shizuoka is a city defined by its geography. Nestled between the Pacific coast and the Minami Alps, it serves as a gateway to the iconic Mount …
Shkodër: The ancient Balkan fortress that survived empires, sieges, and communist demolitionPerched between the Albanian Alps and the largest lake in Southern Europe, Shkodër has endured for over 2,200 years. From its origins as an Illyrian capital to its role as a cultu…
Shōchū is Japan's versatile, centuries-old answer to the world of distilled spirits.Often misunderstood as a simple rice wine, shōchū is a diverse distilled spirit with a history dating back to the 16th century. From humble beginnings as a worker's drink to a mod…
Shock absorbers do not actually absorb shocks; they dissipate energy to control spring movement.Most people believe shock absorbers cushion a vehicle, but their true job is to manage the energy stored in springs. Without them, a car would bounce uncontrollably after hitting …
Shock at meeting Soviet T-34s helped rush Germany's Tiger tank into battleWhen German forces invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, they met Soviet tanks that outclassed anything they had. One designer recalled the dismay. The answer was the Tiger I, a …
Shock means tissues are starving for blood flowCirculatory shock is not emotional jolt—it is insufficient blood reaching body tissues. Early signs can be weakness, racing pulse, fast breathing, sweat, anxiety, and thirst. Untr…
Shoes are a two-hundred-billion-dollar left-and-right industryFootwear usually comes in mirrored pairs to protect and comfort feet that already handle rough ground. Form followed function, then fashion—high heels for occasions, sandals to sn…
Sholay flopped first, then ran five years in MumbaiRamesh Sippy’s 1975 Hindi adventure paired Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan as hired guns chasing Amjad Khan’s Gabbar Singh. Critics shrugged and audiences hesitated—until word of …
Sholokhov’s Don epic survived a plagiarism warMikhail Sholokhov won the 1965 Nobel Prize for literature steeped in Don Cossack life. And Quiet Flows the Don took fourteen years to finish (1926–1940). Rivals called it stolen f…
Shonisaurus: The Triassic Giant That Redefined Our Understanding of Ancient Marine PredatorsShonisaurus was once imagined as a rotund, toothless wanderer of the Late Triassic seas. New research reveals a different reality: a sleek, macrophagous predator with a deep body …
Shor's algorithm could break modern encryption, but only if we build massive quantum computers.In 1994, Peter Shor changed cryptography forever by proving that quantum computers could factor large integers in polynomial time. This theoretical breakthrough threatens RSA and …
Short of oxygen, your kidneys can boost one hormone a thousandfoldYour kidneys constantly monitor how much oxygen reaches them. When supplies run low, they ramp up a hormone called erythropoietin, sometimes a thousandfold, ordering the bone marr…
Short seller Hindenburg Research targets legendary investor Carl Icahn in new reportHindenburg Research recently released a critical report targeting Carl Icahn, one of the most prominent investors in the United States. This video breaks down the details of the s…- Short selling lets you profit from falling stock prices, but carries significant risks.Short selling is a strategy that enables investors to bet against a company. This video explains the mechanics of shorting, the associated risks, and how to execute the trade usin…
Short-term diet swaps rapidly reshape the human gut microbiomeResearchers who put volunteers on diets made entirely of animal products or entirely of plant products found that gut microbial communities shifted quickly, with diet-driven chang…
Should a firm keep producing when prices drop?This video explains the critical rules firms use to decide whether to continue operations or exit an industry entirely, depending on their time horizon.
Should every nation reach net zero simultaneously, or is a staggered approach more equitable?While global net zero is essential, the path there is fraught with political and ethical complexity. Myles Allen argues that historical emitters like the UK must lead, yet warns t…
Should every nation reach net zero simultaneously, or is a staggered approach more equitable?While global net zero is essential, the path to achieving it remains contentious. Myles Allen argues that historical emitters like the UK must lead the way, yet warns that a stagg…
Should governments ignore our identities or center them in the political process?This episode of Crash Course Political Theory examines the complex role identity plays in governance. By tracing the evolution from social contract theory to modern debates, it as…- Should lawyers always be the ones doing the talking in court?In the courtroom, lawyers typically act as the primary advocates for their clients. This video explores how legal aid activist Lam Ho proposes a shift in this power dynamic to emp…
Should members of Congress be allowed to trade stocks while in office?Patrick Boyle examines the ethical and legal landscape of congressional stock trading. This video explores the history of the STOCK Act, recent controversies involving senators, a…
Should parents have the power to select their children's genetic traits?Explore the ethical complexities of genetic engineering through the story of a deaf couple. This video examines whether choosing specific traits for a child is a matter of cultura…
Should physicists prioritize aesthetic elegance over empirical truth in their scientific research?Physicist Hermann Weyl famously favored beauty over truth in his work. This episode examines whether prioritizing aesthetic appeal is a reliable strategy for advancing physics or …
Should the Catholic faith serve as the foundation for all public law and policy?Integralism is a political philosophy arguing that civil society should be subordinate to Catholic moral principles. Once a dominant force in European governance, the movement has…
Should the judicial laws of ancient Israel serve as the foundation for modern civil governance?Theonomy, a theological movement emerging in the 1970s, argues that Old Testament judicial laws remain morally binding on all nations today. While mainstream Christianity views th…
Should the state have the power to dictate how we study history?As more nations implement 'memory laws' to regulate historical narratives, Professor Timothy Garton Ash examines whether state coercion actually combats historical distortions or …
Should the U.S. Constitution evolve to address modern threats like drones and social media?The U.S. Constitution was written in 1789, a world away from the internet and modern weaponry. As political landscapes shift, legal scholars are debating whether the document must…
Should we fix capitalism or simply return to a broken normal?The COVID-19 pandemic has unleashed a triple crisis in health, the economy, and the climate. Economist Mariana Mazzucato argues that instead of retreating to the status quo, we mu…- Should we mandate retirement at 70 to clear the path for younger workers?As retirement ages trend later, younger workers worry about stalled career growth. This episode examines the tension between an aging workforce and the next generation, featuring …
Should we measure the world's richest people by their generosity instead of their wealth?Randall Lane, chief content officer of Forbes, challenges the status quo of billionaire rankings. He argues that traditional lists encourage the ultra-wealthy to hoard capital rat…- Should we pack our prejudices and exploitation into our interstellar journeys?As humanity prepares to settle on Mars and beyond, Jorge Mañes Rubio explores the essential cargo for space exploration. This video examines whether we should bring our cultural p…
Should we teach school children facts or big ideas?In this 2011 Ri Unconference talk, science communicator Alom Shaha questions the current state of science education and how we might inspire a more scientifically literate populat…
Should we treat pandemic risks like we treat the risk of fires?When the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904 devastated the city, it sparked a massive cultural shift in how we defend against fire. Epidemiologist Jennifer B. Nuzzo argues that pandemic…
Should wealthy nations delay boosters to prevent new virus variants?As some countries prepare for booster shots, others are still struggling to provide a single dose. This creates a global dilemma: is it better to protect the already vaccinated, o…
Should you actually be terrified of the so-called brain-eating amoeba?Brain-eating amoebas are undeniably deadly, but they are not a reason to lose sleep. This video breaks down the reality of the threat, helping you distinguish between genuine dang…- Should you adjust your portfolio to survive a period of rising inflation?As inflation shifts from transitory to a more persistent threat, investors are debating whether to actively reallocate assets or stay the course. This video examines historical ma…
Should you always follow moral rules, even when breaking them saves a life?Rule utilitarianism argues that moral actions are defined by their adherence to rules that maximize overall good. While this approach avoids the chaos of judging every individual …
Should you be allowed to harm yourself if it doesn't hurt anyone else?If you decide to take a dangerous risk, does society have the right to stop you? According to the harm principle, the answer is a resounding no. This philosophical boundary separa…
Should you choose the action that causes the best outcome?When faced with a choice, do you act based on what your decision will physically cause, or what your decision reveals about the world? While most people intuitively follow their g…
Should you date a coworker? An organizational psychologist answers common workplace romance questions.Organizational psychologist Amy Nicole Baker explores the complexities of office relationships. This video addresses frequent questions about dating coworkers, the necessity of se…
Should you grind food scraps or turn them into garden soil?Host Kevin O'Connor challenges two home improvement specialists to determine the best disposal method for various kitchen items. This segment helps homeowners decide when to use a…
Should you join the crypto bandwagon or is the Bitcoin opportunity already gone?Many people still lack a clear understanding of what Bitcoin actually is, despite its widespread adoption. This video explores whether it is too late to start investing in cryptoc…
Should you keep wooden borders in your no-dig garden beds?Wooden edges can be helpful when starting a garden, but they may not be necessary forever. This video demonstrates the process of removing five-year-old timber sides from a no-dig…
Should you keep your spring vegetable covers on or take them off now?Spring crop covers accelerate growth by trapping solar warmth, but timing their removal is a delicate balance. While these materials protect young plants from wind and pests, leav…- Should you let an AI chatbot manage your bank and investment accounts?ChatGPT now allows users to link financial accounts for personalized advice. This development raises significant questions about the role of automation in personal finance, the re…