The Six Things That Make Stories Go Viral Will Amaze, and Maybe Infuriate, You

Overblown Headline of New Yorker Article on Memes Will Amaze, and Maybe Infuriate, You In 350 B.C., Aristotle was already wondering what could make content—in his case, a speech—persuasive and memorable, so that its ideas would pass from person to person. The answer, he argued, was three principles: ethos, pathos, and logos. Content should have…

Not Bad for an English Major

I didn’t have much choice when it came to picking a background for some publicity shots for Stage Right’s production of a new musical, “Little Red.” At the time, this background seemed better than all the alternatives, but when it came time to design a Facebook ad, I ended up very unsatisfied. Fortunately, I have…

Where Professors Send Their Children to College

To understand this story, you have to keep in mind the distinction between a large research–oriented university (where professors teach about 2 courses a semester and spend a lot of their time conducting their own research and supervising graduate students) and a small liberal arts college (where professors teach about 4 courses per semester, spend…

When a Blogger Shares a Too-good-to-be-true Meme Featuring Hilarious Handwritten Notes from a Passive-Aggressive Attention Whore Who Can’t Deal Maturely with One of Life’s Routine Disappointments and Some Random Person Who Isn’t Benefitting in the Least from all the Attention, You Won’t Believe What Happens Next

Or something like that. Similar:Incoming Seton Hill Students Pick Up Their MacBooks and iPads TodayI find it impossible not to be cheerful …AcademiaThe Declaration Of Independence, 240 Years Later (NPR)When in the Course of human events, it b…CultureWriting That Demonstrates Thinking Ability While reflecting on my semester for …HomeI Canna Give Ye Any More Screens,…

RT @emshort: Big juicy set of links on how/where t…

RT @emshort: Big juicy set of links on how/where to publish IF: intfiction.org/forum/viewtopi… (Feel free to add more information to the thread!) Similar:Hello, there, mini.Hello, there, mini. Let’s restore you fr…TweetsI'm no longer surprised, but still want to document.This is really noteworthy. Today the Pre…Current_EventsDesert Bus: The Worst Video Game Ever CreatedPenn and Teller are…

Infinite Scrolling: XKCD’s Creative Insight on a Common Interface Indignity

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‘Jane Austen, Game Theorist’ by Michael Suk-Young Chwe Is a Joke

When [Chwe] says that Austen was a game theorist, he means for us to take him at his word. Never mind the fact that game theory did not emerge until the middle of the twentieth century. Austen, he claims, was a “social theorist” who “carefully establishes game theory’s core concepts” and “systematically explored” them in…

Dear 11yo Daughter

You are growing up smart, talented, determined, and beautiful. (And mercurial. And obstreperous.) For a little while longer, please keep thinking that problems like these are so important, because I know I can fix them so easily. Similar:The boy tied for second place in Saturday's Monroeville Chess Club tournament.Peter was the lowest-ranked player to en…GamesA…

If You’re Getting Walled in a Cellar I Feel Bad for You Son

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The Whole Internet Hates Me

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Komarny

Seton Hill’s #CIO @PhilKomarny is moving on to @robotsNpencils

Seton Hill’s #CIO @PhilKomarny (who inspired SHU’s innovative mobile learning achievements) is moving on to @robotsNpencils. One to watch! Similar:Talked too much during a meeting today.Talked too much during a meeting today. …AcademiaIn "World Drama" I'm adding the absurd, optimistic "The Skin of Our Teeth" (dropping bleak… In light of current events, I’m droppi…AcademiaNew Data…

RT @SetonianOnline: Reeves Library to become the n…

RT @SetonianOnline: Reeves Library to become the new Technology Learning Commons. Does this mean the end of the library? Find out here: bit.ly/1dXEsI7 Similar:How hate and misinformation go viral: A case study of a Trump retweetOn Sunday night, President Donald Trump …AcademiaParallel structure in writing: Use it!These comic panels cover the issue well….HumanitiesYes, I do…

First Stanford code poetry slam reveals the literary side of computer code

Leslie Wu, a doctoral student in computer science at Stanford, took an appropriately high-tech approach to presenting her poem “Say 23” at the first Stanford Code Poetry Slam. Wu wore Google Glass as she typed 16 lines of computer code that were projected onto a screen while she simultaneously recited the code aloud. She then…

RT @JanetSymmons: Academic blogging will shape how…

RT @JanetSymmons: Academic blogging will shape how intellectualism develops: ow.ly/spcWR #blog #academia #uni #university Similar:Tweet: Came around the corner and saw my kids huddled on…Came around the corner and saw my kids h…TweetsRT @JordanFor: One of the counters from the Civil…RT @JordanFor: One of the counters from …TweetsHow hate and misinformation go viral: A case…