Richard S. Wallace has created Alice, an artificial life form that gets along with people better than he does. —Approximating Life (NY Times — registration req’d) Similar:Let's talk about books, old sport.BooksParable of the Polygons – a playable post on the shape of societyA very clever interactive essay that use…CulturePaper too short? Here are actual…
"[U]sers—confounded by too many choices—fail to take advantage of their office equipment’s power-saving features." —One researcher’s unlikely crusade: to overthrow the on/off button. (Technology Review) Similar:Updating a handout I originally wrote in 1998. #tech #writingA mechanism description analyzes (that i…AcademiaCredible case that a lost Shakespeare sonnet has been identified A dedication in the script of a 1603…
The Method of Lies vs. the Method of Truth: “The sincerity of the propagandist is no protection; some of the worst excesses in history were engineered by persons motivated by zealous belief.” Julian Simon Note particularly the (unsourced) quotation from Stephen Schneider, describing how environmental scientists manipulate the media in order to get attention: “[W]e…
“It’s very enjoyable to visit a website that works, where everything just clicks for you. In contrast, a user interface that doesn’t do things the way you want feels sluggish, unpleasant, and possibly even hostile, despite the designer’s no doubt sincere attempt to invoke positive emotions.” Jakob Nielsen —User Empowerment and the Fun Factor (Alertbox) Similar:What…
“Despite the best efforts of poets, emotions are largely beyond words, and this is another reason why, in Kagan’s view, psychology and psychiatry have stalled.” Peter Watson —Why Psychology has FailedNew Statesman) Similar:Not sure whether I should be proud or embarrassed… As part of a journalism lesson about b…Amusing“for every cliché of a barista or…
“When Socrates was asked where he came from, he did not say, ‘From Athens’, but ‘From the world’, an attitude that our own reading and travels may encourage.” Alain de Botton —A Journey and a Book are Perfect Companions (Times Online) Similar:Great energy at our Comp & Culture poster paper session. So proud of these…
“The kids who grew up steering Pac-Man around his dot-filled maze have grown up to make video games one of the biggest slices of the entertainment-industry pie. Yet no game to date has come close to dominating the popular landscape the way Pac-Man did in the early 1980s.” Chris Green —Pac-Man (Salon) Similar:That Class Where Stanford…
“[T]he war on terrorism is unlike any other war in its dependence on intelligence, and the interrogators and “document exploitation” teams in Afghanistan occupy a crucial front.” —Greg Miller, Intelligence Officers Read Between the Enemy Lines (LA Times) Similar:How newsroom managers can invest more time developing their staff — and why it mattersOne of my…
A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools is an unconstitutional “endorsement of religion” because of the addition of the phrase “under God” in 1954 by Congress. —Lawmakers Blast Pledge Ruling (CNN) Similar:Yes, Virginia, There Is a Journalist!My new hero is NPR’s Michael Oreskes. S…Current_EventsJustine Sacco Is Good at…
FlingTheCow.com: A catapult… a target… a cow. Don’t just sit there… fling the cow! Similar:‘WarGames’ and Cybersecurity’s Debt to a Hollywood Hack After finishing his synopsis, Reagan…CybercultureMy 1951 day DuoLingo streak was fun, but… Ever since DuoLingo announced it…BusinessMisSpelled: Premiering Oct 1In this podcast series, I voice a mage w…AmusingSoldiers of the Empire #StarTrek #DS9…
“Dr. Seuss makes Horton the sort of agent… who dominates stories from Beowulf to Braveheart, powerful, generous, and resourceful; and he makes Horton’s goals unmistakable, admirable, and urgent: the struggle not to be cast out of his community, the survival of a whole people.” Brian Boyd —The Origin of Stories: Horton Hears a Who (Philosophy…
“I had seen a 9-year-old boy blowing away guards with a shotgun in a preview version of State of Emergency, an ultraviolent Rockstar game that encourages players to smash shop windows and assassinate executives in an urban street riot. ‘That’s not cool,’ he said flatly. ‘We’re not about cute games for kids.’” Logan Hill —Why…
“Um … there’re these psychologists, right? And they’ve, uh, come up with, like, the idea that ‘um’ and ‘uh’ are really words, which speakers, um … use to highlight their conversational problems. Ok?” John Whitfield —‘Er’ Cautions Listeners to Stay on Side (Nature) Similar:New Handout on Surviving Group Projects in CollegeI posted a new handout…
The complex sociology of a college dorm: “‘We play video games at least half the day,’ says freshman Tyler Manker. He’s exaggerating. A little. He estimates that he spends five hours a day playing video or computer games, two hours watching TV or videos, and an hour on the Internet. Oh, yeah—he also spends three…
“I strongly believe that Toast is the very thread which holds together the uneasy seams of modern society. Therefore, it seems only appropriate that I pay some sort of homage to this humble Slice of Heaven.” —Dr. Toast’s Amazing World of Toast See also: weather-forecasting toaster; toaster art; “Flying Toasters” (a short story); “When Flying…
“What is in common between faith and programming?… both are about truth.” Hierodeacon Makary —Orthodox Faith and Computer Programming (Pravda) A thought-provoking little article, but even more surprising is its source. Yes, that’s Pravda, the official publication of the Communist Party in Russia. Similar:My son showed me #PacificRim.My son showed me #PacificRim. Liked the …CybercultureFirst-Gen…
Welcome to www.villainsupply.com, your best online source for everything EVIL. If you are a supervillain, mad scientist, warlord, dictator, or despot, then this is the place for you. Similar:My Parents (aged 72 and 78) Demonstrate a Ballroom Dance PoseThis is how my parents finish their Arge…AestheticsWAOB MisSpelled (final episode airs)The final episode of the fantasy/comedy…
“Shakespeare was a hugely popular commercial writer who asked big questions about the world he lived in. The world has changed but the questions remain the same, and they still need asking.” —Guns and Roses (Guardian) Similar:All the 'Happy Birthday' song copyright claims are invalid, federal judge rules In a stunning reversal of decades of…
“Open the pod bay doors, please,” astronaut Dave implores Hal 9000. We command, the machines execute. If they fail, they do so politely: “I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.” W. Wayt Gibbs —Whatever You Say (Scientific American) Yeah, after they have killed our astronaut partner, but that’s not the point the author’s…
Playwright Arthur Miller, on anabolic steroids: “Let’s imagine you’re a young playwright, trying to stay clean… But over at the Virginia you know there’s a writer shot up with more Lasix than a Kentucky thoroughbred and he’s going to take your ticket-buyers, your house, your money, your troubled and needy movie-starlet wife.” —Surrey with the…