Why Our Brains Make Us Click on Lists

The article-as-numbered-list has several features that make it inherently captivating: the headline catches our eye in a stream of content; it positions its subject within a preëxisting category and classification system, like “talented animals”; it spatially organizes the information; and it promises a story that’s finite, whose length has been quantified upfront. Together, these create…

I’m nerdy enough to give my 15yo a used copy of “The Hero with a Thousand Faces.”

I’m nerdy enough to give my 15yo a used copy of “The Hero with a Thousand Faces.” He’s halfway through it now. (Nerd kids are awesome kids.) Similar:Irrational Geographic : snopes.comBoosting the signal. This is a real Nati…BusinessGames as Text and K12 Social Studies Rather than training students to ident…CultureDogmeat and I may yet win…

Modern Masterpieces of Comedic Genius: The Art of the Humorous Amazon Review, Part Deux

I love me a good Amazon mock review. Here are several. From scientific miracles to literary criticism, by way of bodily functions and failures of common sense. Many moons ago, I wrote about the art of the humorous Amazon review as a modern masterpiece of parodic genius, embodying Arthur Koestler’s seminal “bisociation” theory of how…

I would never have chosen to watch “Cowboys and Al…

I would never have chosen to watch “Cowboys and Aliens” but it was surprisingly enjoyable. Similar:What kids do when Dad won't hand over the iPod So I’m not being selfish… this is …EducationShe doesn't have keys or a phone or an ID. Why does my tween need a purse?To stash her Lemonheads and Smarties. ht…AmusingProto…

RT @dloehr: 12yr: “Those Muppets are lip-synching….

RT @dloehr: 12yr: “Those Muppets are lip-synching.” Similar:Classroom collaboration marketplaceWhile I am uncomfortable with the whole …BusinessAnd the girl has succeeded in getting me to wear t…And the girl has succeeded in getting me…TweetsMy Minecraft-obsessed tween made this blocky foam pig at art camp. Next up: Stage Right summer musical th…AestheticsFormer student: "I remember sometimes…

RT @mkirschenbaum: Can’t see them well enough to r…

RT @mkirschenbaum: Can’t see them well enough to read, but guy sitting next to me is typing out short, broken lines of text. Tempted to ask… Similar:Tweet: Came around the corner and saw my kids huddled on…Came around the corner and saw my kids h…TweetsLoved seeing A Comedy of Errors @setonhillLoved seeing A Comedy of…

Giving Obsolete Books an Afterlife as Theatre Props

Once, someone really cared about these old periodicals. The bound copies have been weeded out of my school library. Post by Dennis G. Jerz. Similar:Building a ridiculous amount of detail as I create tiles for distant sections of a #blende…AestheticsWhat Could Have Been Entering the Public Domain on January 1, 2012?Current US law extends copyright protect…BooksFacebook exec…

Gettysburg Address event marks 150th anniversary of President Lincoln’s historic speech

On the Civil War battlefield where President Abraham Lincoln gave a speech that symbolized his presidency and the sacrifices made by Union and Confederate forces, thousands gathered Tuesday, historians and everyday Americans alike, to ponder what the Gettysburg Address has meant to the nation. —The Washington Post. Similar:#PPTPlaytime Tartuffe @thepublicpgh (Looking forward to Part 2…

Grr! That “15 Xs who did Y” link looked interestin…

Grr! That “15 Xs who did Y” link looked interesting, but on the first page I saw it was broken up into 63 parts. Bad meme. No link for you. Similar:What kids do when Dad won't hand over the iPod So I’m not being selfish… this is …EducationRT @PhilKomarny: A floppy disc… In #context htt…RT…

‘Because’ has become a preposition, because grammar

The construction is more versatile than “because+noun” suggests. Prepositional because can be yoked to verbs (Can’t talk now because cooking), adjectives (making up examples because lazy), interjections (Because yay!), and maybe adverbs too, though in strings like Because honestly., the adverb is functioning more as an exclamation. The resulting phrases are all similarly succinct and…

Do television and electronic games predict children’s psychosocial adjustment?

Wow… what a drab, unquoteworthy, unsoundbiteable, graphics-free presentation of findings that will be of tremendous interest to the general public. TV but not electronic games predicted a small increase in conduct problems. Screen time did not predict other aspects of psychosocial adjustment. Further work is required to establish causal mechanisms.. Similar:[2.5] FPS MouseLook ScriptYay, me.…

RT @avantgame: 11,000 kids tracked for A DECADE to…

RT @avantgame: 11,000 kids tracked for A DECADE to see if videogames lead to negative attention, behavioral, mood impact. Result: NO http:/… Similar:Hello, there, mini.Hello, there, mini. Let’s restore you fr…TweetsWhat kids do when Dad won't hand over the iPod So I’m not being selfish… this is …EducationTweet: For an anatomy project, my #geekling made…

@JustJoshReardon Excellent work from the whole cas…

@JustJoshReardon Excellent work from the whole cast & crew. A great night of theater @setonhill #biglove Similar:How hate and misinformation go viral: A case study of a Trump retweetOn Sunday night, President Donald Trump …AcademiaOverheard at Quora: "Why after all these years is Moodle still so ugly?"Moodle is a free course-management tool …AcademiaTweet: For an…

Setting out to take my teen to see #biglove at #se…

Setting out to take my teen to see #biglove at #setonhill Similar:Parallel Structure vs. Faulty ParallelismI just touched up a handout on Parallel …HumanitiesFormer student: "I remember sometimes being annoyed with all of our blogging assignments, …A third alum in the last few weeks has c…AcademiaHello, there, mini.Hello, there, mini. Let’s restore you fr…TweetsLoved seeing A Comedy…

Dennis G. Jerz | Associate Professor of English -- New Media Journalism, Seton Hill University | jerz.setonhill.edu

Nerd siblings are awesome siblings

My 15yo wanted to show me Terminator 4, but he opted to watch T3 w/ his little sister (her first time). Nerd siblings are awesome siblings. Similar:Girlhood 2014They don’t even seem to want to watch Fr…CultureKirby Delauter SagaLet’s hope many, many more journalism st…HomeAnnie Sullivan on teaching:  Helen Keller, rendered blind and dea…CultureHacking the WordPress…