life is an experiment

The Morgan Library makes 500 Rembrandt etchings available online, a heartening digital humanities effort.

Scientists break down the physics and neuroscience behind Bruce Lee’s legendary one-inch punch, the bodily application of his famous "be like water" philosophy.

Drawing upon both physical and neuro power, Lee’s devastating one-inch punch involved substantially more than arm strength. It was achieved through the fluid teamwork of every body part. It was his feet. It was hips and arms. It was even his brain. In several milliseconds, a spark of kinetic energy ignited in Lee’s feet and surged through his core to his limbs before its eventual release.

[…]

Every bodily jerk has an apex of force. To not only maximize on that force — but to augment it — Lee perfectly synchronizes his movements, one after the other, linking them like boxcars on a train. To be sure, countless muscle men have been stronger than Lee, but few, if any, could deliver more more power than Lee with just one inch.

What makes the difference? Lee’s brain.

Or, one might argue, Lee’s mind.

The full article is well worth the read.