Way Back When

One of the really good web resources for internet researchers is the wayback machine maintained by the Internet Archive. I have to admit I am not good at using it, but I really should. This was pointed out by David Brake, PhD researcher in London: You suggest in Personal Publication and Public Attention that “the…

Is Discourse Human Research?

When I teach “memoir writing” to what degree am I “intervening” with human subjects when I grade their personal essays and confessional writing? It’s not research that I would ever report, but I wonder to what degree I am treading on fuzzy privacy matters as a teacher when it comes to grading my “human subjects”?…

Gauging, and Improving, How Colleges Teach

Colleges have good reasons for not exposing their flaws, scholars said. Mark D. Soskin, associate professor of economics at the University of Central Florida, said, “Establishing standards or even publishing measured learning would reveal that the emperor, if not naked, has a much skimpier wardrobe than commonly presumed.” Once inadequate teaching and learning are revealed,…

Writing (in) Cyberspace Hyperpacket

—Writing (in) Cyberspace Hyperpacket (Arizona State University) A good collection of resources, compiled by Katherine Heenan. Similar:She was the PTA mom everyone knew. Who would want to harm her?Great reporting from Christopher Goffard…EthicsThose mean fake news people at the Washington Post are at it again, this time publishing a…Those mean fake news people at the Washi…CultureThesis…

A ''Waist'' of Time?

Meetings are often routine if not downright boring. How many journalists have counted up the number of hours wasted in a career sitting at night week after week, month after month, with a bunch of dull politicians? As opposed to the worthwhile hours they might spend in a local tavern engaged in lofty conversation over…

Irony

As Cicero put it, Socrates was always “pretending to need information and professing admiration for the wisdom of his companion”; when Socrates? interlocutors were annoyed with him for behaving in this way they called him eiron, a vulgar term of reproach referring generally to any kind of sly deception with overtones of mockery. The fox…

The Faith-Based Encyclopedia

The combination of prolificacy and inattention to accuracy that characterizes this process is highly suggestive of the modern pedagogic technique known as “journaling.” For decades, (following, we are probably meant to assume, some breakthrough research at a school of education somewhere) young students have been not merely encouraged but required to fill pages of their…

The Powerpoint Anthology of Literature

–Daniel Radosh —The Powerpoint Anthology of Literature Via KairosNews. Similar:Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?A good feature from the New York Times: …BooksMoonBot (from the family steampunk bedtime RPG 2007-2013) vs. a crate and lamps.https://youtu.be/h2P2Ve-oZ1U AestheticsThe six wives of Henry VIII, in pie chart formIf you’ve ever wanted to see the reigns …AmusingHomage to…

IF Comp 2004 Results

—IF Comp 2004 Results (IFComp.org) Luminous Horizons, by Paul O’Brian, is the winner. Similar:ifMUD IF discussion | Emily Short's Interactive StorytellingEmily Short on the limitations of parser…CybercultureHiggs and Englert Are Awarded Nobel Prize in PhysicsBeautiful, beautiful science writing by …Current_EventsNew Kindle Helps Readers Show Off By Shouting Title Of Book Loudly And Repeatedly New Kindle Helps…

Firefox 1.0 Makes Flashy Debut

Firefox 1.0 has excellent bookmark-management features, some of which were present in earlier versions of the browser. Users can, with one click, sort bookmarks according to site name, location, date last visited, etc. The newest bookmark feature is Live Bookmarks, which allows users to browse RSS feeds from their favorite websites directly from the site’s…

Liberal Groupthink Is Anti-Intellectual

After Nixon crushed McGovern in the 1972 election, the film critic Pauline Kael made a remark that has become a touchstone among conservatives. “I don’t know how Richard Nixon could have won,” she marveled. “I don’t know anybody who voted for him.” While the second sentence indicates the sheltered habitat of the Manhattan intellectual, the…