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The flight of a starling flock at dusk, know as a murmuration, is one of nature’s most beguiling sights. Blurring the line between the individual and the group, murmurations involve synchronised swooping patterns to ward off predators and exchange information in a manner that’s still something of a mystery to scientists. This two-minute excerpt from the Dutch filmmaker Jan van IJken’s short documentary The Art of Flying follows a spectacular aerial performance from a massive, shape-shifting starling flock over an open field in the Netherlands.
Director: Jan van IJken
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Physics
Spectacular fractal patterns emerge when electricity meets a wooden surface
4 minutes
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Mathematics
How a verbal paradox shattered the notion of total certainty in mathematics
5 minutes
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Values and beliefs
How a God-fearing Jewish woman found atheism – and bacon – in her later years
9 minutes
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War and peace
Before he leaves to go to war, Artem, 18, says goodbye to the man who raised him
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Art
A mindbending trip that summons the forgotten women of surrealism
17 minutes
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Metaphysics
To see the Universe more clearly, think in terms of processes, not objects
6 minutes
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Computing and artificial intelligence
How machine learning can help historians decode ancient inscriptions
7 minutes
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Animals and humans
What the ancient city of Kars looks like from the perspective of its stray dogs
9 minutes
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Family life
A son of China’s former one-child policy remembers the sibling he never had
8 minutes