Australian photographer Shane Thoms recently stumbled upon the stuff nightmares are made of when he visited Western Village in rural Japan.

The American Western-themed park was built in 1975, but closed down in 2007 due to lack of public interest. Thoms says that it "now sits abandoned, derelict, and rotting away," on the outskirts of a town 70 miles north of Tokyo.

Some of the attractions of the park include a cowboy saloon, jail, post office, shooting gallery, and something called 'MexicoLand.' Unfortunately (or fortunately, if you want to sleep tonight), Thoms only captures some of these things.

Upon entering, Thoms spotted the miniature Mount Rushmore. It is one-third scale replica of the actual monument and allegedly cost $27 million to build. Within the park, there's a 'General Store.'With a... pharmacist inside?The town also has a shopping area with an 'Ice Cream Eatery.'Thoms found a Mexican themed restaurant called Café Ponchos. "Dusty chairs and tables were scattered everywhere and plates, cutlery, and salt and pepper shakers were still sitting on shelves in the kitchen," Thoms wrote. It was as if everyone had just left suddenly.He found another restaurant with a "creepy miniature version of Mount Rushmore." He said that plastic cloths still remained on the tables.Here's another shot of the restaurant.There was a shooting gallery full of western-themed mannequins. Thoms said they looked "untouched."He also found a moose head on the ground, most likely a prop that fell off the wall.Finally, he found yet another restaurant with some broken mechanical panda bears and decided to take a selfie. And for a bonus, here is an old advertisement for the park:

SEE ALSO: 21 Hauntingly Beautiful Photos Of Deserted Shopping Malls

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The recently-opened restaurant/lounge/celebrity hangout place Beautique has been getting a lot of buzz lately.

A New York Post article by Dana Schuster dubbed the West 58th street spot "New York’s newest millionaire lair."

The scene centers around a crowd of older men partying with their younger girlfriends, secret rooms for the uber-elite, and a doorman who lets you in if you look "A-list."

Frank Roberts, the managing director, came from a stint managing the stylish Rose Bar at the Gramercy Park Hotel.

In addition to bragging about celebrity clientele like Leonardo DiCaprio and Dylan McDermott, Roberts described to Schuster the lavish decor of the underground spot as “Coco Chanel, 1900s Paris-meets-New York, feminine charm and opulent glamour."

According to the New York Times, the interior was designed by Marc Dizon and Valerie Pasquiou Interiors, with the bar stools covered in Jean Paul Gaultier fabric, and the servers wearing Elie Tahari clothing.

The scene may be hot, but the food, by former Le Cirque chef Craig Hopson, has also received high marks. Yelp reviews contain a litany of mouth-watering descriptions like "salty, smooth, and sinful" bone-marrow flan, and branzino with "perfectly crispy skin and delicately tender meat."

They also verify the swanky vibe of Beauitque. "Super-sexy. Came here with friends and I think my coolness rating doubled just by walking in," wrote one user. 

And the bouncer, Eric Evans, confirmed to the Post that he only lets the posh-looking inside. “If anyone looks the part — good-looking, upscale, classy, A-list — they’re more than welcome,” he said. 

Of course, not everyone is impressed with the scene. Another Yelp reviewer wrote: "Biggest problem was the douchiest crowd you could drum up in midtown on a Wednesday. And why do old guys look better in the Hamptons?"  

But as one partygoer, Cristina Rosetti, told the Post, "The upper crust is invited here... obviously the crowd is going to be a little bit different than your average spot." 

SEE ALSO: 13 Exclusive Clubs For The Next Generation Of New York Socialites

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Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, and one of its most sacred. During this 29-30 day period, all adult Muslims refrain from eating and drinking while the sun is out. Observers do, however, have a large meal before sunrise and after sunset. With Ramadan ending tomorrow, Reuters photographers around the world asked followers to show them their favorite dishes to eat when breaking the daytime fast.

Hussain Hawi Warid, 55, from Baghdad, likes to eat a traditional Iraqi meal of vegetables and vine leaves stuffed with meat, rice, and tomatoes, known as Dolma.Mevlida Mrgic, 66, from the central Bosnian town of Zenica, enjoys Dolma as well.Patema Youssef, 22, is Uighur, a largely Muslim ethnic group living in eastern and central Asia. Here, she holds a dish of Xinjiang noodles as she poses in her home in Shanghai.Mohammad Kabir, 64, from Kabul, breaks his fast by eating shorba, an Afghan soup made from beef or lamb, served with potatoes and bread.Grilled fish is a favorite day's end meal for Hamed Mahmoud, 30, of Alexandria, Egypt.While waiting for sundown, Sara Naqvi, 36, from New Delhi prepares her favourite Iftar meal, puri-cholea, a dish with deep fried bread and spicy chickpeas.In Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Tatar woman Zelfira Mansurova, holds a jerked goose, her chosen Ramadan dish.Brongkos, a Javanese dish made from oxtail, tofu, and red bean, is the favorite dish of Srikandi Hakim, 69, from Jakarta.

SEE ALSO: This Photo Of The End Of Ramadan In Iraq Is Simply Stunning

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Tons of research shows that our adult behavior stems from what we experienced as kids. 

If you're extremely sneaky or suffer from obesity, it's probably an issue you can trace back to your younger days.

To help you make connections between now and then, we've compiled 14 childhood experiences that shaped who you are today.

Vivian Giang contributed research to this story.

If your parents didn't let you make decisions, you might be codependent as an adult.

If you had a helicopter parent who didn't allow you to dress yourself or choose your own playmates and food, you may end up as a codependent adult, says mental health counselor Laura JJ Dessauer. 

As you get older, this means that you'll seek out relationships in which your partner has all the power and control.

If you were close with your dad, you can handle intimacy now.

If you had an emotional connection with your father as a child, you'll be able to enter a healthy, physically intimate relationship with a partner later in life.

"The research found a definitive connection between the quality of the father-child relationship and interpersonal relationships later in life," said lead researcher Dr. Nurit Nahmani.

If your parents were super controlling, you might be a stubborn adult.

Stubbornness is a defense mechanism that children adopt to escape the will of their controlling parents. The children will also likely grow up to inherit this trait.

Billionaire entrepreneur John Paul DeJoria made his fortune by cofounding mega-companies like Paul Mitchell hair products and Patron tequila. Now, he's trying to tackle the digital music arena with his new company Rok Mobile.

We talked to DeJoria about his financial successes and the lessons he learned along the way.

Produced by Graham Flanagan. Additional camera by Justin Gmoser.

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Legendary sports bettor William "Billy" Walters is auctioning his gorgeous Rancho Santa Fe, California estate for $20 million with no reserve.

Walters and his wife purchased "El Milagro" three years ago. They spent more than $7 million on renovations, but have decided to sell the home.

The auction for "El Milagro" will take place on August 15. Concierge Auctions will be hosting the event.

Walters is known for being the "world's biggest sports bettor." One prominent sports bettor described Walters to us as the "godfather of Las Vegas sports betting."

Walters grew up poor in Kentucky. He's worth hundreds of millions of dollars. He owns several homes, golf courses, car dealerships and a private jet, according to "60 Minutes." 

It was recently reported that Walters is being investigated in a possible insider-trading scheme involving billionaire investor Carl Icahn, according to The Wall Street Journal and Reuters. The men haven't been accused of any wrongdoing. It's not even clear if a case will ever be made against them.

In the meantime, let's take a tour of Walter's "El Milagro" estate. It's definitely a dream home. 

El Milagro is a 21,000 square-foot Spanish-Mediterranean-style mansion.

Source: Concierge Auctions 

The house sits on nine elevated acres in Santa Fe.

Source: Concierge Auctions

At the center of the home is a courtyard.

Source: Concierge Auctions

After bouncing on and off the market for at least 5 years, Billy Joel has finally sold his Hamptons home for around $19.95 million, reports Newsday.

The Piano Man had relisted the Sagaponack mansion for $23.5 million earlier this year.

Curbed speculates that the home had a tough time finding a buyer because it didn't have a pool, which practically a requirement for Hamptons homes.

The mystery buyer's new digs include a beachfront view, piano room, and recording studio situated in the fifth most expensive zip code in the country.

This is the view as you enter through the wooden gate.

You can gaze off the patio and look at your 145 feet of oceanfront property.

The home has classic Hamptons shingles.

Imagine you're at a party, but you're stuck in a conversation with someone you just met. You want to navigate the room, but you don't want to be rude by cutting the connection off abruptly. What can you do?

It's difficult, but certainly not impossible, to gracefully exit a conversation without hurting the other person's feelings.

Here's some helpful advice for how to do it, gleaned from personal experience, online message boards, interviews, and advice columns:

1. Ask a friend to rescue you.Before you enter a party, establish a signal for your friend to come and get you. Then, when you signal at them, they can pull you aside to talk.

2. Introduce them to someone else.If you know a friend at the party who might like to talk to your conversation partner, connect them to each other. You can stay for a while longer to facilitate the introduction. Then, when they start hitting it off, you can say, "I'll let you guys talk" and leave them be. It could end up benefiting everyone.

3. Or, ask them to introduce you to others.This is perfect for networking events. Ask them if they know someone else who shares similarities with you or might be able to help you with your future goals.

If you're not at a networking event, you can simply say that you don't know many other people at the party, and you'd love to be introduced to their friends as well. 

4. Get a drink or food. You can offer to bring them one, but chances are they will say no, so you won't have to come back. If they say yes, simply bring a friend with you. "You can hand them the drink, have a few words with them, but then continue your conversation with your friend," says Leil Lowndes, author of "How To Talk To Anyone."

Another, slightly sneaky way to leave is called "double-fisted networking." You can carry two drinks, and when you want to exit the conversation, simply say you have to deliver the other drink before your friend leaves. A bonus is that if you find yourself in a good conversation, you can share the drink with them.

5. Use your phone.Tell them you need to step out to call your parents or send a message to a friend who has been waiting on you. If you really want to be sneaky about it, there are some apps you can get that will send you a "fake call" on demand.

For example, Tickle is an upcoming iPhone app that will generate a phantom phone call if you "tickle" your phone. It's a great way to escape any awkward situation.

6. Leave things vague.You can simply say "please excuse me." Most of the time, they won't question you. In fact, they'll probably just assume you need to go to the bathroom, so you have a good excuse. 

7. Find a natural transition."A spontaneous interruption is the glue that holds your alibi together and makes the polite excuse work," writes Jodi Glickman, author of "Great on the Job: What to Say, How to Say It. The Secrets of Getting Ahead."

Find something in the room that makes you realize something. For example, you can look at the clock and say: "Wow, I just realized it's 8 o'clock. I have to get going."

8. Be considerate of their time. Frame things from their point of view. You can say, "I don't want to monopolize your time," or, "I'm sure other people want to talk to you, too." Be careful not to do this too often, though, because you don't want to come off as disingenuous.

9. Wait for a lull in the conversation.These momentary pauses indicate turning points, where you can either introduce a new conversation topic or close the conversation without being rude. Then, you can transition without cutting them off. One example: "Listen, it's been great catching up with you, but…"

10. Bring the conversation full circle.If you want a smooth ending, bring up the reason you started talking in the first place. For example, if you started the conversation by asking for advice, thank them for the tip and summarize what you learned from them.

For instance, you could say: "Thanks for the heads up. I'll definitely check out that recipe book. I'm so glad I asked you for cooking advice!"

11. Suggest a future plan.Offer to stay in touch, whether by sending follow-up information about what you talked about or recommending their business to someone else who might be interested.

If you talked about a restaurant you liked, make plans to eat there sometime. If they told you about their favorite book, tell them you'll read it and let them know what you thought.

Even if you can't find any future plans to make, at least acknowledge what you learned in the conversation and thank them for sharing.

12. Ask for their business card or contact information. It naturally implies that the conversation is coming to an end, but it also shows that you want to stay in touch with them for the future. When you take their business card, make sure you don't just stuff it in your purse. "Take a moment to look at it," advises Lowndes. "It's a sign of respect."

13. Emphasize how much you enjoyed their company. Try this: "I loved talking to you, but I want to catch up with a few other people. Hopefully we can see each other again before the end of the event!"

Make sure you include their name, so you can show you'll remember them. If you want to take it a step further, thank them for their time. There's no harm in being gracious and showing how much you enjoyed talking to them.

14. Do what you said you would do.Of course, none of these techniques will work if you come across as a blatant liar. Even if you don't actually need to call your parents or grab a drink, walk toward your destination purposefully, and spend a bit of time there before starting a conversation with someone else.

SEE ALSO: What To Do If You Forget Someone's Name Immediately After Meeting Them

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A prominent leader in the Enron scandal of 2001, John Wing, is selling his enormous mansion in Texas for $14 million. Wing was a West Point graduate and the former chairman of Enron Europe. 

His mansion in The Woodlands, Texas includes six bedrooms, nine full baths, three half baths, and an attached garage for four cars.

There's also a two-story guest house, large pool, hot tubs, and various other amenities all around the beautiful property. Golf-lovers would adore this house – it's located right on a golf course with it's own golf house included. The game room also has a golf simulator built in.

The house is a total of 17,000 square feet indoors and 3,000 square feet of outdoor space. It's surrounded by a stone wall and gate to keep unwanted visitors out. 

Located in The Woodlands, Texas, the house has six bedrooms, nine full bathrooms, three half bathrooms, and a four-car garage.

The entire property spans 17,000 square feet indoors and another 3,000 square feet outside.

The entire property is surrounded by a stone wall with a gated entrance.

Let's face it, there are plenty of jokes to be made about New Jersey, no thanks in part to the cast of "Jersey Shore."

As Lauren Barnett, publisher of Lone Star Publications of Humor, once told The New York Times, "there are more mean-spirited jokes about New Jersey than any other state, even counting Texas."

But most people don't realize that, from the museums to the food to the slightly bizarre, Jersey actually has a lot to offer.

Here are 21 unique things you can only do in the Garden State.

Pig out any time of day or night at one of Jersey's many 24-hour diners (they have the most per capita in the world).

Walk along the longest boardwalk in the world in Atlantic City, the city whose streets the properties in the game Monopoly were named after.

Find a new appreciation for modern art at the Grounds for Sculpture, a public sculpture garden in Hamilton with works by established and up-and-coming artists.

Plan a visit this summer.

If you've never heard of Bog Snorkeling, we don't blame you. We hadn't either. Nevertheless, this past weekend, the Northern Ireland Bog Snorkeling championship took place in Dungannon, Northern Ireland, and people came out in droves to swim through the muddy course or to cheer others on. 

Competitors must swim the full length of a water-filled, 60-meter-long trench twice in the fastest time in order to win. The trenches, dug in a peat bog known as Peatlands Park, quickly fill with a nutrient rich, sloppy mess of mud.

When competing in a bog snorkel race, you are not allowed to use traditional swimming strokes. Instead, you can only use the power of your legs (with flippers on, of course).Both men and women compete in the timed trials, while fans watch and cheer.Bog Snorkeling was conceived in a bar (where else?) in Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales in 1976, by a man named Gordon Green. The first championships were held in the same town, nine years later.Once finished, contestants are invited to take a dip in the "bog jacuzzi" to relax after the grueling race.A wetsuit isn't required, but most people wear one anyway. It makes it easier to wash off all that mud and peat.The world record holder for fastest time is Danika McGuire, who completed the race in one minute, 23 seconds. That's around 2.95 miles per hour. She was 18 at the time, but people of all ages come to compete in the races.The event just happens to occur on International Bog Day and all the proceeds went to charity.

SEE ALSO: What It Is Like To Race $10,000 Lawn Mowers In Texas [PHOTOS]

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Finding a new home is a challenge, but moving piles of stuff into your new digs can be even more stressful.

We recently published a post on the best packing hacks for your next move. Because a lot of the tips are hard to visualize, we created a handy infographic of 10 of our favorite packing tips.

So the next time you move, here’s how to make packing and unpacking less horrible.

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Thanks to computers and tablets, good handwriting seems less important than ever.

But handwriting is an important developmental skill, and your handwriting says a lot about you.

We spoke with calligraphy expert Laura Hooper of Laura Hooper Calligraphy, a calligraphy expert who offers handwriting classes in cities around the country. Hooper shared seven tips to help anyone improve his handwriting.

1. Get The Right Materials

Before you start writing, invest in materials that will help you practice.

Some people believe that a fountain pen is superior for handwriting, but this may not necessarily be true for you. Find a pen or pencil that feels comfortable to hold, and that flows smoothly without having to push it too hard onto the paper.

Once you find a writing utensil you like, you can start to experiment with different-sized nibs and thicknesses, as well as colors. People who are left-handed may be interested in buying specially designed left-handed pens, which are fast-drying to prevent smudging and hooked to allow lefties see what they’re writing.

Aside from a pen, you’ll want a notebook, preferably one with grid-lined paper. This will be useful when you’re practicing capital and lower case letters, and will allow you to keep track of your progress.

Hooper also suggested buying a light box. “For personal correspondence or holiday cards, a basic light box is handy,” she said. “It allows you to put guidelines underneath what you’re writing on, and you’ll have nice straight lines to help you as you work.”

2. Stretch

“Before I start working, I usually flex my hands and roll my wrists a bit so they’re loosened up,” Hooper told us. “Especially if I haven’t written in the past few days, you get a little bit tight just like any other muscle.”

In the beginning, you’ll be working muscles you never thought you needed to write in your wrist, forearm, and shoulder. Do a few minutes of stretching to loosen yourself up.

3. Develop Good Posture

Sit up straight and use your non-dominant hand for balance for more control while you’re writing.

“Without thinking about it, I use my non-writing hand for balance,” Hooper said. “This allows me to steady myself so I have better control with my right hand.”

When you’re practicing, sit at a table at a hard-backed chair — not on a couch or in a recliner. Hooper said that having the right posture and giving yourself ample room is important when you’re re-learning how to write.

4. Assess Your Grip

Pick up your pen and check out your grip: the writing utensil should rest between your thumb, index, and middle fingers, resting lightly on the ring finger knuckle, according to Hooper.

Hold your pen and pencil closer to the nib, but not too tightly — your grip should be supportive, but without unnecessary tension. Don’t squeeze your pen because this will just make your hand cramp unnecessarily.

If this doesn’t feel comfortable for you, don’t worry — there’s no perfect way to hold a pen. “It really depends on the person,” Hooper explained. “We have a lot of adults in our class, and when you’ve been writing for over 20 years, it’s difficult to correct what someone has been doing for that long.”

5. Retrain Your Wrist and Arm

Most people write with their fingers, which means that they “draw” the letters. Calligraphy artists and professionals, however, don’t use their fingers at all. “Keep your arm and your wrist in the same position for every letter and motion,” Hooper advised. “You’re not wiggling your arm and your wrist around — it’s very controlled.”

To practice, hold your pen and write big letters in the air. The muscles you’re using are the ones you’ll be using to write on paper. Picture yourself writing on a chalk board. You have to use your arm and your wrist to write because if you were drawing the letters with only your fingers, the letters would be too small for someone across the room to read.

Writing this way will also make your writing more fluid. “What I try to instruct my students to do is pulling the pen rather than pushing it up and down the paper,” Hooper told us. A finger writer puts the full weight of his or her hand on the paper and picks up the hand repeatedly to move it across the page. A calligrapher will let his or her letters flow freely.

Once you get used to this way of writing, your fingers will move very little, allowing your forearm to guide the pen and your shoulder to lightly push it into the paper for a much more streamlined style.

6. Slow Down

“One thing I see a lot in my classes is that people write really fast as though they’re trying to do it as fast as they can,” Hooper said, “but it’s not a race. The point isn’t to see how fast you can do it, but how nice you can make each letter. Go slow and concentrate on making each letter look its best.”

This is especially true when you’re practicing by yourself, which brings us to…

7. Practice, Practice, Practice

Start by writing a row of lines and loops, concentrating on making the shapes evenly spaced with identical-sized lines and spirals.

Gradually as your control increases, you can start writing out the alphabet, and then connecting the letters together in groups (ab, az, am, etc).

Make your letters larger than you usually would to get your arm and wrist accustomed to doing most of the work. Once the movement starts to feel more natural, slowly decrease the size of the letters to your normal writing style.

“The key is to practice,” Hooper said. “Seems really simple, but it’s true. I recommend getting a set or printing out a set of grid lines and writing each letter several times as carefully as possible. Then move onto letter combinations.”

After you’ve gotten a good handle on letter combinations, start writing the phrase “the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” over and over again. The sentence contains every letter of the alphabet, which gives you lots of opportunities to practice making every letter as perfect as possible, as well as connecting your letters together.

Keep practicing whenever you can, and you’ll see a vast improvement in your handwriting.

SEE ALSO: Here's What Your Handwriting Says About You

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In 2011, Scott Leonard moved his family of five onto a 50-foot catamaran called Three Little Birds.

He sold his Southern California house and all of the furniture in it; gave away or donated nearly all of his three sons' toys; and made arrangements to remotely run his wealth management business.

"Getting rid of everything was actually really liberating," Leonard says. "You don't realize how much stuff you have until you get rid of it."

Leonard flew home once a quarter to meet with clients, but otherwise managed his business from the boat. He shares the infrastructure he created to do it in his book, "The Liberated CEO: The 9-Step Program To Running A Better Business So It Doesn't Ruin You," but here, he shares something even more fun for those of us who are desk-bound: photos from his adventure, illustrating how his family learned to live with less.

Leonard, his wife Mandi, and their sons Griffin, Jake, and Luke — who were 10, 9, and 4 when they set sail — spent two and half years abroad, visiting everywhere from Panama to St. Kitts and Nevis to French Polynesia. 

On the boat, Leonard remembers, the boys' only toys were Legos. "Part of what the kids learned was how to play with what's in your environment," he says. "Most places we visited were pretty poor countries, and if they had one ball in the entire village it was a luxury for them." The boys explored, climbed, leapt, paddle boarded, and tubed. 

In fact, Leonard found, the trip was surprisingly budget-friendly. "Traveling on a boat, there really wasn't much to spend on," he recalls. "No sports events, no concerts, and in the South Pacific, we didn't eat out much."

His favorite memories of the trip were similarly low-cost: a two-hour family dinner every night, which they had rarely managed to do at home between all of the boys' after-school activities. "Watching the sun set together as a family, every night, was one of the most special treats of our trip," remembers Leonard. 

"The highlight of the whole trip was the time together," Leonard says. "It was kind of like the boys had no choice but to talk to us. I think whether or not they appreciate it now, that's going to be one of the greatest aspects of the trip."

Today, the family is back home in California, while Three Little Birds awaits its next owner in New Caledonia.  

SEE ALSO: A Single Meal Convinced This Millennial Not To Pursue Wealth

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Warning: This video contains strong language.

Costumes were everywhere you looked at last year's New York Comic Con (NYCC).

We met Jenni Hashimoto, a 25-year-old cosplayer living in New York, at the Diasuki booth at NYCC. She and her friends were dressed as characters from 'Cowboy Bebop' for the day.

Hashimoto took us inside her world of anime and tight vinyl costumes.

Produced by Alana Kakoyiannis and Kamelia Angelova. Originally published in October, 2013.

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Trying to "win" an argument rarely convinces anyone of anything, because when people feel like their beliefs are being threatened, they guard them even more. 

Brain scans help us see why. In one study of political beliefs during the 2004 election year, participants were shown divisive video clips of George W. Bush or John Kerry.

TIME Magazine reports:

As soon as [study subjects] recognized the video clips as being in conflict with their worldview, the parts of the brain that handle reason and logic went dormant and the parts of the brain that handle hostile attacks — the fight-or-flight response — lit up. This is what happens when a discussion becomes an argument. It's no longer an exercise in logic and reasoning. It's just a fight.

So if you want to convince anyone of anything, you need to make a point without starting a fight. 

This is where the tactic of extreme agreement — or showing people the logical conclusion of their beliefs — comes in. It can help people loosen up in even the most charged of political arguments, like around the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.

In a study published this month, Tel Aviv University scholars recruited over 150 Israelis to watch videos. As the LA Times reports, half of them watched clips "that related the conflict with Palestinians back to values that many Israelis hold dear," while the control group watched TV commercials. 

The study revealed that "showing people versions of ideas that confirmed — not contradicted — their opinions on a deeply divisive issue actually caused them to reconsider their stance and become more receptive to other points of view," the Times reports.  

The key here: the videos took lots of commonly held beliefs to their logical conclusion. 

Again, the Times:  

"For example, the fact that they are the most moral society in the world is one of the most basic beliefs of Israeli society," [study author Eran] Halperin said. So when the researchers showed participants a video that claimed Israel should continue the conflict so that its citizens could continue to feel moral, people reacted angrily.

"You take people's most basic beliefs and turn them into something that is absurd," Halperin said. "For an outsider, it can sound like a joke, but for them, you are playing with their most fundamental belief."

The video viewing — which happened in the months before the 2013 Israeli election — left an impression. Participants self-reported that they were 30% more likely to reconsider their views than the control group. The change in perspective lasted more than a year afterward, and it carried into politics, too, as participants were more likely to vote for moderate candidates after viewing all those videos.

How might this finding carry over to a real life argument? A recent University of Colorado study helps here: When political extremists were asked to explain how their favorite policy would create change — rather than rattle off the reasons for why the policy should be enacted — their views quickly softened. 

For example, let's say you have a family BBQ in the next few weeks and your ultra-conservative Uncle Ted shows up. Making arguments with Ted about immigration reform won't get either of you anywhere. But if you practice extreme agreement, you would ask Ted to tell you the full conclusions of his views and how those views can actually translate into policy. 

The takeaway from all this research: If you're trying to change your spouse, colleague, or uncle's mind, ask them what the logical conclusion of their stance would be, and then ask them to explain how their theories could be put into practice.  

SEE ALSO: The Secret To Winning An Argument Is Ridiculously Simple

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It isn't easy being the most important car in the lineup of a luxury auto brand striving to keep up with the BMWs and Lexuses of the world. But the Infiniti Q50, an ambitious sequel to the highly successful G-Series sedan (now renamed the Q40), is just that. Nissan's luxury brand has to anoint a successor to its popular and well-regarded Q40 model. But Infiniti also wants the Q50 to be the centerpiece of a reboot for the nameplate. 

The now-aging G-series has performed admirably for a brand that has struggled to gain a solid footing in the hyper-competitive luxury-car market. In 2012, the G-Series accounted for a whopping 68% of Infiniti's car (versus SUV and crossover) sales. Even in 2013, when the first Q50s hit the market, the G-Series accounted for 48% of Infiniti's car sales. 

The challenge is stark: For the Q50 to be successful, it has to sway buyers from industry heavy hitters, such as the BMW 3-Series, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, and the Lexus IS. 

Fortunately, Infiniti has stuffed the Q50 with every ingredient it needs to succeed. State-of-the-art powertrain? Check. Bucketloads of the latest car tech? Check. Supermodel looks? Check. 

To get an idea of how these elements come together, Business Insider spent a week driving a fully loaded Q50 S Hybrid All-Wheel-Drive (AWD), in fetching Venetian Ruby, around the streets of Manhattan and Northern New Jersey. 

Here is our takeaway.

Behind The Wheel 

The first time you get behind the wheel of a Q50 your senses are inundated with bright LCDs, the smell of fine leather, and the growl of its engine. From its striking good looks to its gobs of high-tech goodies, the Q50 communicates in hyperbole. The Q50 Hybrid's engine is no different. Propulsion comes from the marriage of the 3.5-liter VQ series V6 engine and a hybrid electric drive system. Together, they produce a hefty 360 horsepower and all the torque you're ever going to need.

And make no mistake, the hybrid system wasn't developed exclusively so that the Q50 could be environmentally friendly; it also helps the car go faster. Speed comes with price. Although Infiniti claims the Q50 Hybrid delivers 27 mpg in the city and 31 on the highway, Business Insider recorded a combined fuel economy of just under 25 mpg.

Our test car was crammed with more technology than the latest $250,000 Bentley that I drove, not that tech probably makes all that much difference to most Bentley buyers. The lineup is dizzying: cameras on all four corners of the car, a system that keeps the car in the middle of the lane, another one that accelerates and brakes based on the car in front, and a gizmo that predicts whether the vehicle two cars in front of you will slam on the brakes. 

Our Q50 came equipped with Infiniti's revolutionary direct adaptive steering (DAS) system. When the car is moving under engine power, there is no physical connection between the steering wheel and the front wheels. Instead, when you steer, your actions are piped through an onboard computer to the wheels. It's like the control systems on most modern jets. Many automotive journalists, for whom a direct mechanical link between steering wheel and tire grip is a sacred covenant, have complained about the numb and detached feel of the "steer by wire" system.

But it didn't bother me. While it's not perfect, the DAS provided adequate feel and effectively communicated the lay of the land. Sure, I couldn't sense every crack, pebble, or asphalt nuance. But I didn't really want to.

With power routed through a 7-speed automatic transmission and Nissan Group's legendary ATTESA all-wheel-drive system, the Q50 Hybrid rockets to 60 mph in a scant 5 seconds. The AWD Q50 grips hard; you're not going to spin the wheels when you floor the throttle.

There are instances, unfortunately, where Infiniti has to adjust how the gasoline powertrain interacts with the hybrid drive system. Under hard acceleration, there is a pronounced delay between the time the Q50's electric motor requests help from the gasoline engine and the time the gas engine can turn on and provide power. This becomes dangerously evident on highway on-ramps, where acceleration on demand is essential. 

Like many of its competitors, the Q50 comes with a pair of paddle shifters mounted behind the steering wheel. Sadly, they don't simulate manual control in the way they're supposed to. While most shiftable automatic transmissions allow the driver a range of gears to choose from, the Q's electronic brain seems to want the driver to shift only into the precise gear that the car demands, defeating the purpose of having a manual-shift option in the first place.

As part of the sports package, Infiniti has given the Q50 S a stiff performance-tuned suspension that makes the sedan incredibly composed at high speed and in corners. However, by stiffening the Q50's shocks and springs, its ability to soak up bumps and potholes has been greatly compromised. I could blame New Jersey's poorly paved roads, but the ride is too rough to make the Q50 a good daily driver.

The Walkaround

The exterior of the Q50 features some of the most striking sheet metal in the marketplace (optional 19-inch wheels up the ante). More than a few passersby commented on our car's eye-pleasing aesthetics. The Q50 is the most successful implementation of the aggressive front grill and headlight design found across the Infiniti lineup. Infiniti balances out the more aggressive elements by using sculptural lines to pull your eyes toward to the softer curves that dominate the rest of the car.

Step Inside

While not as striking as the car's exterior, the Q50's interior is a strong selling point. It's stylish, sensible, and remarkably pleasant. As you climb into the driver's seat, the Q50 gives you an immediate sense of modernity blended with sportiness. The centerpiece of the interior is the Q50's pair of touchscreen LCDs, a rarity even in ultrahigh-priced sedans.

The dual-screen layout allows for an incredible level of flexibility, offering occupants the ability to tweak the car's settings, access infotainment, and adjust climate controls without taxing the navigation interface. The Intel-powered lower screen can be laggy, but its tablet-style setup is clear and easy to use. On the downside, the Q50's voice activation is incapable of understanding standard American English, and the navigation system looks like a dated rehash of the same system that Nissan has been using for the better half of a decade. 

Overall, the cabin is swathed in soft-touch leather panels and accented with real maple wood trim. Hefty control stalks are cut from the finest plastic. Seating is ample up front, but rear legroom is limited, especially for taller occupants. Trunk space for the Hybrid model is also limited, because that's where the lithium-ion battery lives. 

Should You Buy It?

I put the car through its paces on the streets of Weehawken, New Jersey, tracing the course that screaming Formula One cars would take should the proposed Grand Prix of America ever come to fruition. Like the F1 race that's perpetually stuck in limbo, the Q50 has all of the elements required to be great. Sadly, the Q50 hasn't quite revealed its full potential because of some small but irritating faults. Fortunately, annoyances like the throttle timing, paddle shifters, and navigation system can be easily fixed.

How does it compare to its rivals? The Q50S Hybrid doesn't offer the raw driving experience of the BMW 3-series, the brand cache of the Mercedes C-Class, or the refinement of the Lexus. However, it does a great job of aspiring to those qualities. What the Q50 does deliver is a powerful high-tech sports sedan that rocks a level of gizmofication usually seen only in ultrapremium sedans.

At a fully loaded price of $55,000, the Infiniti Q50 S Hybrid is one heck of a good deal. Comparably equipped competing models cost thousands more. While its imperfections keep it from reaching greatness, the Q50 is still a terrific car, offering great bang for the buck. A worthy successor to the G-Series has arrived.

SEE ALSO: Dodge Could Be Building The Most Powerful Sedan Ever

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The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius ruled from 161 to 180 AD, and developed a reputation for being the ideal wise leader Plato termed the "philosopher king."

Marcus has remained relevant for 1,800 years largely due to his writings collected as "Meditations," which President Bill Clinton has said is one of his favorite books.

"Meditations" is not a typical philosophical treatise. It's closer to a diary. Marcus wrote the 12 books that make it up sometime during the last decade of his life. "That this was a dark and stressful period for him can hardly be doubted," Gregory Hays writes in the introduction to his translation of Marcus' original Greek. The emperor was faced with constant fighting, the rebellion of his general Cassius, the deaths of his wife and close friend, and the realization that his son Commodus was destined to be a bad ruler.

He dealt with these hardships by turning to philosophy, specifically the Stoicism of the ancient Greeks and his contemporary Roman philosophers. "Meditations" reveals that Marcus remained in control of his emotions through the beliefs that nature unfolds in a perfect way and that one must accept that they cannot change the past or what other people feel in their hearts.

We went through Hays' translation and picked out some key points on one of the main themes of "Meditations," how to recover from massive setbacks.

Here are some of the philosopher king's timeless lessons on how to be resilient:

Don't worry about people whose actions don't affect the common good.

Your energy and time are both limited, so don't waste them on what inconsequential people are doing, thinking, and saying, when you could be focusing on your own issues.

Live in the present.

"Each of us lives only now, this brief instant. The rest has been lived already, or is impossible to see," Marcus writes.

Refrain from imposing your feelings onto reality.

Your company collapses, your house burns down, you lose all your money — none of these are "bad" (or "good" for that matter), according to Marcus' philosophy. When you see things as what they really are, you're able to avoid succumbing to your emotions and accept what has happened.

Turn an obstacle into an opportunity.

Ryan Holiday's new book "The Obstacle Is the Way" is based off this Stoic fundamental, which says that we should use inevitable challenges as a chance to become a stronger person. Holiday likes Nassim Taleb's definition of a Stoic, who is someone who "transforms fear into prudence, pain into transformation, mistakes into initiation, and desire into undertaking."

Find peace within yourself.

Marcus writes that people try to retreat from their problems and responsibilities by going somewhere like the mountains or the beach, but that travel isn't necessary to recollect yourself. He advocates a kind of brief meditation, where you withdraw into yourself and quiet your mind.

Don't resent people for their character.

If someone's character flaw has caused one of your problems, do not exert energy trying to change that person's character. Let things go. "You might as well resent a fig tree for secreting juice," Marcus says.

You are the only person responsible for your happiness.

"Choose not to be harmed — and you won't feel harmed. Don't feel harmed — and you haven't been," Marcus writes. Furthermore, the only way people can truly harm you is if they change your character.

We first read about Hays' accessible translation in Holiday's book on Stoicism, "The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph."

SEE ALSO: 7 Hard Lessons Everyone Needs To Learn About Success

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Though many of tech's most successful entrepreneurs are college dropouts — Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Michael Dell, just to name a few — a degree can goes long way when it comes to starting a business. 

Whether it's because of a strong business and engineering curriculum or a helpful alumni network, some top universities tend to produce more tech executives than others.

Bloomberg lists the schools that have produced the most CEOs of U.S. technology companies with market capitalizations of more than $1 billion. We also looked at the alma maters of executives of large tech companies like Cisco and Microsoft, as well as young startups like Snapchat and Instagram, and schools that have the most venture capital-backed startups.

We picked out the schools that have produced the most important tech graduates. Our non-scientific findings are below.

Although Princeton has produced the most tech CEOs, according to Bloomberg's ranking, we think Stanford is clearly #1 when it comes to the tech industry.

From HP's William Hewlett and Dave Packard to Snapchat's Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy, many founding stories of major tech companies have centered on Stanford's Palo Alto campus. 

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman, PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel, and Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom all have undergraduate degrees from Stanford. An additional 17 tech CEOs have graduate degrees from the school.

According to Business Insider's Karyne Levy, "Whether it's through programs like StartX, an accelerator that offers students the help of different mentors and experts in the industry, or through the classes they take, it's almost a sure bet that if you're reading about a successful tech startup, its founders got their start at Stanford University." 

Princeton is a close second. According to Bloomberg, the Ivy League school is the country's top college for producing CEOs of tech companies with market caps of more than $1 billion. 

Eight Princeton grads have served as CEOs of major U.S. tech companies, including Amazon chief Jeff Bezos, HP head Meg Whitman, and former Pandora CEO Joe Kennedy. Google chairman Eric Schmidt also attended Princeton, earning a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1976.

The University of California at Berkeley has also minted some big tech success stories, thanks in part to its proximity to Silicon Valley. Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak is perhaps UC Berkeley's most famous tech alum, but the school has also been home to plenty of other successful entrepreneurs.

Intel cofounder Gordon Moore, MySpace cofounder Tom Andersen, and Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs all have undergraduate degrees from Berkeley. Google chairman Eric Schmidt also earned his master's in design there. 

It's no surprise that Harvard fares well when it comes to successful tech alumni, either. As one of the oldest and most selective colleges in the country, and it has yielded a total of 7 billionaire tech CEOs, according to Bloomberg. 

Mark Zuckerberg launched Thefacebook in a Harvard dorm before dropping out of school in 2004. Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates is another famous Harvard dropout. 

Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, and Sun Microsystems cofounder Scott McNealy all earned degrees from Harvard before going on to make major contributions to the tech industry. 

Several other prestigious universities around the U.S. have also minted their fair share of tech executives.

Though Ann Arbor is pretty far from Silicon Valley, the University of Michigan has done well in this regard.

Google cofounder Larry Page, Groupon CEO Eric Lefkofsky, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo, and Skype cofounder Niklas Zennström are some of the university's biggest success stories.

Houston's Rice University, another school far from Silicon Valley, has also had its fair share of successful tech grads. According to Bloomberg, four Rice alumni have gone on to lead tech companies worth more than $1 billion.

One of Rice's most notable grads is legendary Silicon Valley investor John Doerr, who's invested in Amazon, Google, Coursera, Flipboard, and Twitter, among others.

Grads of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business and School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have played a significant role in New York City's startup scene. Many of them were frat boys, too, like Thrillist's Ben Lerer and TechStars' Dave Tisch. 

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner are also UPenn grads. 

Two schools known for their engineering curricula stood out to us: Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Carnegie Mellon University.

According to Bloomberg, four former MIT students have gone on to become CEOs of tech companies with market capitalizations of more than $1 billion. Among the school's famous alumni are Dropbox CEO Drew Houston and Qualcomm cofounder Irwin Jacobs, as well as numerous Google executives.

And Carnegie Mellon, consistently ranked one of the best engineering programs in the country, counts former Cisco VP Frank Marshall and Sun Microsystems cofounder Vinod Khosla as notable alumni.

Among the rest of the Ivies, Cornell and Yale have contributed several execs to tech's highest ranks.

Yale's strong alumni network has helped entrepreneurs like 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki and Pinterest founder Ben Silbermann go on to successful careers in tech. Former Palm CEO Donna Dubinsky, Gilt Groupe founder Kevin Ryan, and Electronic Arts cofounder Bing Gordon also completed their undergraduate degrees at Yale.

And Cornell, which is in the process of opening a new school for entrepreneurship and technology, has a healthy startup scene, having served as the home base for Hotels.com founder David Litman, Palm founder Jeff Hawkins, Wanelo founder Deena Varshavskaya, and Priceline.com founder Jay Walker.

SEE ALSO: Meet The Richest Tech Tycoon From 14 Major Countries

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