I’m always on the lookout for interesting stories that one can tell with statistics — and cautionary tales about misusing statistics in order to create news where there isn’t any. Via MetaFilter — this OK Cupid article breaks down responses to user-generated dating profile questions. Green states were more likely to answer “yes” than the…
“What if I had a check on my desk for $5,000? And what if I rewarded the writer whose introduction most caught my attention, who most effectively made me want to continue because of a solid and clear thesis, with a check for five grand? Would your introductions improve even more?” Cries of “Absolutely!” filled…
The first few panels of a 12-panel cartoon. Thanks for the suggestion, Mike. Similar:Rightful Heir (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 6, Episode 23) Worf's quest for the return o…Rewatching ST:TNG Worf is uncharacter…CultureOne Author Breaks Down the Reality of Violent Games in the MediaChris Person posts a link to this very c…AcademiaWhy Student Athletes Continue to…
LA100: Basic CompositionEL200: Media Lab and SetonianEL227: News WritingEL237: Writing about LiteratureEL266: American Literature I (1800-1915) Similar:Maybe Star Wars 7 won't suck, but I'm not holding my breath.I was burned in 1999 when I saw The Phan…HomeThe Rule of Capek's Robots: A public lecture, in which the word “robot” is traced, precurs… HomeYou'll Cry…
Teen tries out a Walkman for a week. It took me three days to figure out that there was another side to the tape. That was not the only naive mistake that I made; I mistook the metal/normal switch on the Walkman for a genre-specific equaliser, but later I discovered that it was in fact…
This is from the online version of a paper being presented at Hypertext09. I already knew the general shape of the history, and I’m not sure that the author is actually providing us with a new take or a new insight (the introduction simply establishes the facts, rather than emphasizing how a new archival discovery,…
My favorite “winner” in this year’s Lyttle Lytton Contest, which awards writers who can, in one sentence, imitate the infamous “It was a dark and stormy night” novel opening. Alex turned to Gertrude, in much the same way Martin Landau turned to Barbara Bain in the opening of Space: 1999. — Alex Dering Similar:8yo who…
I can’t say I understand my creation, but it sure was fun making it. Similar:By the way, humans sent a robot to another planet, and the robot sent us the sound of a du… Mars rover captures first sound of d…AwesomeI don't usually post animal videos on my blog… But when I do, it’s because…
A high school secretary has been charged with illegally changing grades in a school computer system to improve her daughter’s class standing and with lowering the grades of two other girls. —Elanor Chute, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Similar:Teachers finding games give a leg up on learningThanks for the link, Dana. Experts sa…CultureHere's some good writing from The…
I just supervised a teaching demonstration in the Writing Popular Fiction program here at Seton HIll, and the experience inspired me to touch up an old handout on developing ideas for short stories. A short story is tight — there is no room for long exposition, there are no subplots to explore, and by the end…
Big, two-dimensional drop-down panels group navigation options to eliminate scrolling and use typography, icons, and tooltips to explain the user’s choices. — Jakob Neilsen Similar:Text Games in a New Era of StoriesClever NYT writer cleverly notices a gen…Culturei trained an ai chatbot on my childhood journal entries – so that i could engage in real-t…I…
Set phasers to “meh”! My wife arranged a visit to The Franklin Institute a couple of weeks ago. We didn’t actually know that this Star Trek exhibit was there. I was ready to pass, in favor of the more educational exhibits, but my wife made it a Father’s Day treat and shelled out enough gold-pressed…
Chris Anderson is best-known for championing the long tail (marketing to the niche customers who fill out the trailing end of a demographics chart, rather than trying to create products to please the mass market) and has been promoting a book on the topic. One of the early reviewers for his book identified great swaths…
Woah! Trying to charge bloggers who quote more than 5 words was bad enough (I no longer quote from or link to AP stories). But the most contentious element in the new policy, which the union also decried as “vague,” gives this instruction to employees using Facebook: “Monitor your profile page to make sure material…
I’ve never been a phone guy. My voicemail recording advises people to e-mail me rather than wait for me to remember to check my messages. Around 2004, I told a class of students that I didn’t use instant messager because I would have nobody to talk to. I got a generous “awww!” of pity from…
But does the label Twitter Revolution, which has been slapped on the two most recent events, oversell the technology? Skeptics note that only a small number of people used Twitter to organize protests in Iran and that other means — individual text messaging, old-fashioned word of mouth and Farsi-language Web sites — were more influential.…
Long before web forums, blogs, Twitter, and in many cases, the web itself, Usenet was where the internet gathered to shoot the breeze about anything and everything under the sun. — Koala eye Similar:The Challenger disaster, Jan. 28, 1986On this day in 1986, the Challenger spac…EducationAllergic to Grammar ErrorsSource: Cyanide & Happiness (Explosm…AmusingYou are standing…
A few years ago it was enough for a game world to look realistic. Now, in its every action and reaction, it must behave realistically. Physics is what graphics was ten years ago – a yardstick to judge and compare games.– Keith Suart, Guardian The first article in a series. Similar:Magnetic Scrolls Original Games Source…
Sore throat. Sinus pressure. Upset stomach. Exhaustion. I’m sitting at home recovering from the flu, which I started to come down with during the Computers & Writing Conference this weekend. I had planned to attend Digital Humanities 2009 in Maryland, where I’m part of a group that’s presenting tomorrow. The group will survive without me as…
Here’s a surprising statement I found in a news article, quoting a Yale psychology professor. “Moms vary markedly in their roles as breadwinners from no income at all to really helping dads,” The language implies that money-making is the father’s responsibility, and the best rating on the scale that a woman can achieve is “helping”…