Lie Dectector Roulette
“Everyone admits that polygraphs are unreliable. So why are government employees subjected to tests that can ruin their careers?” Brendan I. Koerner —Lie Dectector RouletteMother Jones)
The ten reasons ease of use doesn't happen on engineering projects
From reason 5:”I’ve heard of teams using all their planning time doing research (typically resulting in a panic attack when specs are due), when instead they should be using at least half of their planning time generating ideas and prototypes and applying the research to actual new decisions.” From reason 13: “There is a difference…
Gender-neutral Language
“Many people believe that the general use of the term ‘man’ is offensive, or at least inaccurate. Phrases like ‘no man is an island’ or ‘every man for himself’ seem to exclude women. Unless your goal is to offend or annoy your audience, you should follow the conventions they expect.” D.G. Jerz —Gender-neutral LanguageUWEC) While…
I'll Try Anything with a Detached Sense of Superiority
“Last year, I decided to dive headfirst into the realm of the unwashed masses by attending a professional football game. What better way to experience the hive mind than by communing with 70,000 drunken, frostbitten Americans who are only too happy to blow their meager wages cheering on their date-raping, steroid-enhanced gridiron heroes?” —I’ll Try…
Techsploitation: The Lego Mystique
“The Media Lab’s main goal, obviously, is to create a working environment that early-’90s corporate guru Tom Peters called ‘WOW!’ Both the lab’s aesthetics (rooms full of Legos!) and its guiding principle (have fun!) reminded me of a fantastic dot-com during the boom years, albeit without the free food and soda.” Annalee Newitz —Techsploitation: The…