Chasing the Why

How Salt and Spite Won a Nobel

"due to the electrolytic theory of decomposition" Born in 1859 in Sweden, Svante August Arrhenius was connected to the Nobel Committee long before he received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1903. In 1900, he was part of the team preparing for the establishment of the Nobel Institute and the Prize Committee. Since he started his career as a physicist, he was a full member of the Nobel Physics Committee and an unofficial member of the Chemistry Committee.

Read the full article: https://www.okbutwhy.org/nobel-chemistry-award-1903-svante-august-arrhenius/

This episode was created with AI-assisted voice generation.

How learning an instrument rewires your brain

Many of us have had an interest in art at some point in our lives. Some of us have continued this interest, while others have given up on it for various reasons. Music is just one of the branches of art, and those who are involved in music know that walking on that path, although enjoyable, is a bit of a struggle.

Read the full article: https://www.okbutwhy.org/is-playing-a-musical-instrument-really-important-for-brain-development/

This episode was created with AI-assisted voice generation.

Why Forced Breaks Make You Faster

In these days when everything is moving much faster, our efforts to catch up with time can make us feel like we have to race against time. So, is it possible to be a winner in such a race? It is possible if we change our perspective! What if we do not race against time and make peace with it? Because as we chase time, we become weak and unmotivated, and as we become aware of time, we slow down and become more productive. The Pomodoro Technique supports us exactly at this point. But how?

Read the full article: https://www.okbutwhy.org/a-technique-that-makes-peace-with-time-pomodoro/

This episode was created with AI-assisted voice generation.

Hitler's Kingmaker and the Axis Collapse

The history of world wars has witnessed many bloody wars, crimes against humanity, and interesting events, but there is nothing like World War II. Moreover, 25 years before this war, the whole world was saying the same thing about World War I. Up until that point, the bloodiest war the whole world had ever seen was neither the war between France and England that lasted for years nor the Ottoman-Russian wars. Now, that record was held by World War I, led by England and Germany.

Read the full article: https://www.okbutwhy.org/world-war-ii/

This episode was created with AI-assisted voice generation.

How Turkish Warriors Became Academic Scholars

We may have seen Turkish tribes and states briefly in middle school, high school, or university history classes. Asian Huns, European Huns, Karakhanids, Ghaznavids, Ottoman Empire… We remember all these states with more than one important title due to their specific characteristics. Therefore, they are all very important in terms of Turkish history.

Read the full article: https://www.okbutwhy.org/founders-of-turkish-literature-gokturks-and-karakhanids/

This episode was created with AI-assisted voice generation.

How past failure rewires your brain

Have you ever heard of the Seligman experiment? For those of you who haven't heard of it, the Seligman experiment is not the first chemistry-related experiment we think of. It's much more abstract and psychological! Let's expand a bit more on this. Do you try again to do things you couldn't do before or do you give up? For example, "I can't paint. I've never gotten beyond stickman before." Or do you think, "I've always gotten low grades in my physics exams before, it's impossible for me to succeed in this class."?

Read the full article: https://www.okbutwhy.org/the-seligman-experiment-getting-used-to-helplessness/

This episode was created with AI-assisted voice generation.

Why coffee and DNA share a shape

"for his work on sugar and purine synthesis" The second Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1902. The prize in the field of chemistry was awarded to Hermann Emil Fischer. The German chemist was 50 years old when he received the prize. Until then, he had worked on many pioneering topics in his field. However, the work that led Fischer to the Nobel was on the synthesis of sugars and purines. Sugars are water-soluble organic molecules with the general formula CnH2nOn.

Read the full article: https://www.okbutwhy.org/nobel-chemistry-award-1902-hermann-emil-fischer/

This episode was created with AI-assisted voice generation.

How a Failed Heart Drug Became Viagra

Today, we are going to learn the story of the accidental discovery of the well-known blue pill that is always taken "for a friend "! Let's get to know a medicine that can make you choose the "blue pill" without even thinking about Morpheus' offer, even if you really want to know the truth! "If you take the blue pill, the story ends. If you take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland." What is Viagra? Viagra is a sexual enhancement drug manufactured by Pfizer and approved in 1998.

Read the full article: https://www.okbutwhy.org/the-fallens-friend-the-accidental-discovery-of-viagra/

This episode was created with AI-assisted voice generation.

Why Descartes Doubted His Own Existence

"I think, therefore I am," or in Latin, "cogito ergo sum," is perhaps the most famous saying in the history of philosophy, told by Descartes. But what if we tell you that many people actually misunderstand this saying? The real meaning of this saying is much different than what is first understood. At first glance, we perceive it as a statement about the importance of thinking and the existence of a thinking person. But what is the truth?

Read the full article: https://www.okbutwhy.org/i-think-therefore-i-am-descartes-and-his-meditations/

This episode was created with AI-assisted voice generation.

How Atatürk Built Turkey From Scratch

World history has seen many great leaders. Napoleon, Tsar Ivan of Russia, Frederick the German monarch, Mehmet the Conqueror, and many more. All of these leaders, in one way or another, have influenced both the world and their countries. Some of them won great wars; others became famous for domestic issues. Some have ruled their people ruthlessly; some have shown the greatest examples of dictatorship, while others have worked day and night to lead their people and their country forward.

Read the full article: https://www.okbutwhy.org/ataturk-and-his-worldview/

This episode was created with AI-assisted voice generation.