Programming Is the New Literacy

Will the need for a separate scribe tribe of programmers continue through the twenty-first century, or will the skill set of an educated person soon include programming fluency? I think that as programming becomes increasingly easy (which it will) and as the need to show rather than explain becomes important (which it will) and as…

Abridged too Far

Similar:xkcd: Pathogen ResistanceThis is just an excerpt. Read the whole …AmusingI just learned I only have months to live. This is what I want to say. – The Boston GlobeWhat a storyteller. Boston Globe jour…AwesomeThe Six Things That Make Stories Go Viral Will Amaze, and Maybe Infuriate, YouOverblown Headline of New Yorker Article…CybercultureWhat happened when…

We Only Think We Know the Truth About Salt

WHY have we been told that salt is so deadly? Well, the advice has always sounded reasonable. It has what nutritionists like to call “biological plausibility.” Eat more salt and your body retains water to maintain a stable concentration of sodium in your blood. This is why eating salty food tends to make us thirsty:…

LinkedIn: now officially the most annoying of all social media

I’m generally ambivalent about the whole “LinkedIn experience,” but if it wants to inspire confidence, the company should devote the same amount of attention it currently places on badgering its members on tightening its security. —LinkedIn: now officially the most annoying of all social media | Loren Steffy | a Chron.com blog. Similar:Actually, this post…

York Corpus Christi Play — Introduction

In an age when the concept of “separation of church and state“ was unthinkable, the Corpus Christi Play was an integral part of the religious, economic, political and artistic context of life in medieval York.  —York Corpus Christi Play Similar:Any Interaction with a Service Dog Is DistractingThe director of our counseling and accom…Academia'Little Mermaid' brings new…

It Evolved Into Birds: Ten Science-Fictional Thinkers On the Past and Future of Cyberpunk

Interesting collection of reflections on the status of cyberpunk, that branch of science fiction devoted to the exploration of dystopian networks and augmentations and hacking and  information, rather than galactic empires, huge space objects, aliens among us, etc. It Evolved Into Birds: Ten Science-Fictional Thinkers On the Past and Future of Cyberpunk Similar:"The Nightmare of…

MLA Journals Adopt New Open-Access-Friendly Author Agreements

And there was much rejoicing. The journals of the Modern Language Association, including PMLA, Profession, and the ADE and ADFL bulletins, have adopted new open-access-friendly author agreements, which will go into use with their next full issues. The revised agreements leave copyright with the authors and explicitly permit authors to deposit in open-access repositories and…

Maker Faire and Science Education: American kids should be building rockets and robots, not taking standardized tests.

I was at a “serious games” conference several years ago. During a crowded seminar, where I found myself seated on the floor because there were no open seats, one of the industry types was frowning because an educator kept speaking critically of testing. “If you don’t test,” asked the pragmatic businessperson, “how can you assess?”…

We’re Creating a Culture of Distraction

I’d argue that what’s happening is that we’re becoming like the mal-formed weight lifter who trains only their upper body and has tiny little legs. We’re radically over-developing the parts of quick thinking, distractable brain and letting the long-form-thinking, creative, contemplative, solitude-seeking, thought-consolidating pieces of our brain atrophy by not using them. And, to me,…

Stage Right’s Alice in Wonderland

My daughter shared the role of Alice this weekend (she played “Small Alice”). On one night, she also doubled as the mouse, for a different Alice. Similar:Kafka Meets Charlie BrownThis year marks the 100th anniversary of…Amusing#blender3d is teaching me more than I ever thought I’d need to know about roof geometry. E…#blender3d is teaching me…

Is Bilderberg a conference on world affairs or a powerful global cabal? Depends on who you ask. – The Washington Post

I love the obscure Prufrock reference win this Washington Post story: So as the motorcades come and go, are they talking of Marco Rubio? via Is Bilderberg a conference on world affairs or a powerful global cabal? Similar:Gem of the Ocean (August Wilson's Century Cycle, 1 of 10)August Wilson’s Century Cycle > Spoil…Bookswhen someone say…

Redshirt (fan video for Jonathan Coulton song)

Similar:Edible Chess Chess pastry cutters handmade in bra…AestheticsA Man, a Plan, a Pointless(?) ProgramI readily admit that my accomplishment h…AmusingMasks (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 7, Episode 17) Ritual symbols start appearing on the… Rewatching ST:TNG Masks (#StarTre…AestheticsMy daughter who sometimes does things will be singing & swinging August 16 – 25 with @fron…My daughter who…