A confusing name for an amusing medieval personality test. What kind of vocation would have suited you back in ye olde days? —KingdomalityCareer Management International) Similar:Peter Thiel Just Got His Wish: Gawker Is Shutting DownAFTER A 14-YEAR run, Gawker.com is shutt…Business700-year-old picture of 'Mickey Mouse' found in Austrian church”Walt Disney first sketched his characte…ArtThe Journey…
Why choose Renoir’s “Luncheon of the Boating Party” as a subject for poetry? Stewart Conn says “The painting chose me.” —Luncheon of the Boating Party Similar:Puns really matter to us over here in English.I swore I would wield my powers only for…AcademiaA Message from Hester Prynne (Student Video)Have I mentioned lately that I have awes…AcademiaFences…
“Some weblogs wither once the first flush of enthusiasm passes, while others go from strength to strength, attracting contributions and feedback from experts and interested Internet surfers.” Laurel A. Clyde —Weblogs and Blogging (FreePint) One of her examples looks very familiar… Similar:Children struggle to hold pencils due to too much tech, doctors sayWhen I was…
Do you remember learning that black moths gained an evolutionary advantage in soot-covered woods? “Once it had been cited enough times, it became an irrefutable article of faith. Hooper’s meticulous research provides a fascinating insight into the fallibility of scientists – after all, as she points out, they are only human.” —Darwinism in a FlutterGuardian)…
(NY Times): “At its best, the Internet can educate more people faster than any media tool we’ve ever had. At its worst, it can make people dumber faster than any media tool we’ve ever had.” Thomas L. Friedman —Global Village Idiocy Similar:Wikipedia:VisualEditor – Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaWikipedia is testing a visual editor, in…CybercultureStop trying to…
“Instead of a link… put a search box on your home page.” (UseIT.com) I e-mailed web guru Jakob Nielsen on 13 March 2000, telling him that 6 out of 6 college freshman couldn’t find the “search” feature on his website. I wrote: “I think it might help if, instead of a link, you actually put…
(UseIT.com) : “A company’s homepage is its face to the world and the starting point for most user visits. Improving your homepage multiplies the entire website’s business value, so following key guidelines for homepage usability is well worth the investment.” Jakob Nielsen —Home Page Usability Guidelines Similar:Unemployment rates for recent college grads: Overall, 5.8%; Computer…
“All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.” — Abraham Lincoln —Tribute to Mothers Similar:Trump’s Claims About Media Coverage of Terror Attacks Are BogusThe difference between PR and journalism…CultureWe're Teaching Books That Don't Stack UpOur provost sent this link to English fa…AcademiaConnecting the Dots…Madeline Cash reflects on her…
“FACT: A 1987 survey found that Canadians have the worst handwriting in the whole world. They also frequently misspell the word ‘sauce.’” —The Truth about Canada Similar:Robot wars: 100 years on, it's time to reboot Karel Čapek's RURI was honored to play Alquist in Artisti…BooksWhat Does the Demise of Cursive Mean?Are you aware that…
“What if a dispassionate computer had been making the decisions about [Andrea] Yates’ care, rather than a human doctor sitting across a desk from her? Would a computer have left her on medication? Would her children still be alive?” Ivan Oransky —Robo-docs (Salon) Similar:Why Computers Will Never Write Good Novels If it were possible to…
Geek website Slashdot was reporting, as of about 20 minutes ago (6:20 EST), that the actor best known for his role as Chief Engineer Mongomery “Scotty” Scott from the original Star Trek series, was in a coma and not expected to recover. In the time it took for me to post this message, Slashdot posted…
“I have too many books. I have begun to hate their mess and reprimand (“You haven’t read me in a long time,” or even, in the case of Silas Marner, “You have never read me”). Many of them are crap….. And yet…” Ian Jack —Throw Out All My Old Books? I Don’t Have the Spine…
Humans appear to have a hard-wired internal resistance to persuasive arguments. “Scientists are uncovering ways of making messages more persuasive. Politicians and salesmen use such tricks already. Who can afford not to read on?” —Persuasion (The Economist) Similar:KTVU Buries News of Asiana Airlines Lawsuit over Fake Pilot NamesLast week, the Fox-afiliated KTVU fell f…BusinessNo, Dr.…
A National Science Foundation survey reveals that 60% of Americans believe in ESP, and 51% feel that science is a dangerous profession. [The online presentation of the report is an excellent example of the effective use of blurbs.] —Science and Technology: Public Attitudes and Public Understanding Similar:In February, 2002, I was blogging about…In February, 2002,…
When writing Copenhagen, playwright Michael Frayn saw science only as a metaphor. But the play fanned the flames of a smoldering debate among science historians about the events surrounding the invention of the atomic bomb. —Unraveling the Drama of Science (Wired) Similar:Copper Destroys Viruses and Bacteria. Why Isn’t It Everywhere? Copper is antimicrobial. It kills…
“[H]is predictable language and trite sentiments lend the piece an incredible tedium. Formulaic phrases like ‘the cause of’ and ‘is survived by’ sound like they’re straight out of a Microsoft Word obituary template…” Noam Weinstein [Thanks, Matt!] —Death Critiqued: An Obituary Reviewed (Modern Humorist) Similar:Poetry Stimulates the Brain's Reward-Anticipation Arousal Near Ends of StanzasI fixed…
“Bad names have played a tremendously powerful role in the history of the world and in our own individual development. They have ruined reputations, stirred men and women to outstanding accomplishments, sent others to prison cells, and made men mad enough to enter battle and slaughter their fellowmen.” — Institute for Propaganda Analysis (1938) —Propaganda…
See 1,247 vibrant engravings—many in color—from the classic 1918 publication, as well as a subject index with 13,000 entries ranging from the Antrum of Highmore to the Zonule of Zinn. —Gray’s b>Anatomy of the Human Body (Bartleby.com) Similar:As White Evangelical Vaccine Refusal Reminds Us, Sometimes Religion is the ProblemWhen reality contradicts the truths that…CultureTwo Cheers…
A follow-as-you-go tutorial, the Inform Beginner’s guide creates three small games of increasing depth. No previous experience of computer programming or interactive fiction design is assumed. This book (available for free as a PDF) concludes with helpful summaries and reference tables. Firth and Kesserich (edited by Jerz). —Learn the Text Adventure Programming Language Inform(IF Library)…
—Blue Moon e-zine is looking for a literary blogger. Similar:Serious reading takes a hit from online scanning and skimming, researchers say The brain was not designed for r…Books The Expensive Education of Mark Zuckerberg and Silicon Valley Because what he never managed to grok …BusinessResults of the 18th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition The 18th Annual Interactive Fiction…