* In 1913, Igor Stravinsky debuted ''TheRiteOfSpring'' in Paris. The fantastically loud, dissonant music combined with violent ballet dancing made the audience start to riot. Recent neuropsychological research suggests that audience members were so angry because ''their brains had never heard anything like it before.''
** {{Wikipedia}} says the way that is told was a ploy by Stravinsky and company to make the music seem more groundbreaking than it was. In actuality the riot was very slightly related to the atonal music than the beastly dancing. While both were pretty avant-garde at the time you must put yourself in the shoes of a conservative couple just wanting a quiet night watching a soothing ballet and be confronted with a monstrous performance (watch it on Youtube to get an idea). Compare it to paying to going to the cinema to watch the new Pixar flick and getting treated to three hours of 2 girls 1 cup. Some may be ticked off. Then again a small few will love it.
* It is generally forbidden to collect all of the [[Literature/ArabianNights Tales Of A Thousand And One Nights]] in one set, and not just because not only would it be pretty difficult to do so. According to legend, reading them all in one sitting will make whoever does so go mad from the sheer majesty of it.
** Either that or simply your brain would short out from lack of sleep. Seriously, a thousand and one tales with a narrative thread that connects them would be a LOT of reading for a single sitting.

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* In 1913, Igor Stravinsky debuted ''TheRiteOfSpring'' in Paris. The fantastically loud, dissonant music combined with violent ballet dancing made the audience riot. Neuropsychological research suggests that audience members were so angry because ''their brains had never heard anything like it before.'' {{Wikipedia}} says the way that is told was a ploy by Stravinsky and company to make the music seem more groundbreaking than it was. In actuality the riot was very slightly related to the atonal music than the beastly dancing. While both were pretty avant-garde at the time you must put yourself in the shoes of a conservative couple just wanting a quiet night watching a soothing ballet and be confronted with a monstrous performance (watch it on Youtube to get an idea). Compare it to paying to going to the cinema to watch the new Pixar flick and getting treated to three hours of 2 girls 1 cup. Some may be ticked off. Then again a small few will love it.
* It is generally forbidden to collect all of the [[Literature/ArabianNights Tales Of A Thousand And One Nights]] in one set, and not just because not only would it be difficult to do so. According to legend, reading them all in one sitting will make whoever does so go mad from the sheer majesty of it. This is because your brain would short out from lack of sleep. Seriously, a thousand and one tales with a narrative thread that connects them would be a LOT of reading for a single sitting.

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* Georg Cantor spent years obsessively studying orders of infinity, and died in an insane asylum for his troubles.
** Though the accepted explanation is that his mental problems were more caused by being a pariah in the math community for his theories, due to Leopold Kronecker's (who was arguably the most powerful German mathematician at the time) distaste for everything but whole numbers. Still, 'Go Mad From Your Boss Being A Jerk' doesn't have the same ring to it.
* Some studies show that extreme pessimists have the most realistic grasp of their abilities, place in the world, and the probability of something happening. And they're most likely to be seriously clinically depressed. (Other studies show the opposite.)
** Most of the difference depends on what questions you ask. If it's something that people, in general, are overly optimistic about (e.g. WideEyedIdealist) the pessimists will be accurate. If it's something that people are overly paranoid about, (risk of death in a terror attack) the pessimists will be inaccurate.

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13th May '13 10:52:23 AM missourielephant

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