An experiment in which group members could pay for the privilege of fining free-loaders suggests that the threat of being punished by angry peers helps to check selfish behavior. (Consider this in light of the "Bernie Shifman" article.) —Anger Plays Key Role in Human Cooperationb> (New Scientist) Similar:Choose wisely… you have the power to turn…
“It began as a fireside story spun by a Catholic dad. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings became a great epic that has inspired conversions, steeled young people in virtue, and changed lives — including mine.” John Zmirak —The Lord and the Ring (catholic.net) Similar:The Staying Power of "A Christmas Carol" — Dennis Jerz, for…
“There’s only so much time. And there are so many great books. And every year more books are published, some of which will be great. Reluctantly, the reader begins to acknowledge the appalling necessity of choosing to read certain good things and not other good things.” —Reading Anxiety (Nat’l Post) Similar:Does the phrase "based off…
Hundreds of websites that used to give their content away for free are now charging for their services. This weblog chronicles the changes. —The End of Free Similar:The Anatomy of an Amazon 6-pagerIn the halls of power at Amazon, busy ex…BusinessBag a Bot DayAt midnight tonight, participants in the…Current_EventsI Made a Cheerful Maze Game in…
Yelling out of cars, turning your speakers out the window to blast your music onto the street, setting off M-80 firecrackers, firing automatic weapons into the air—these are all well and good. But none of them create a merry atmosphere of insouciance and bonhomie quite like a revving motorcycle. —Wow, Check out that Motorcycle Revving! (The…
You have not truly lived, until you have seen Star Wars rendered as ASCII animation. The FAQ page includes the answer to “Why (oh, God why)?” Similar:What Borges Learned from CervantesBorges reinvented Don Quixote as a playf…BooksEmissary (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 1, Episodes 1 & 2) Cmdr. Sisko establishes a Fede…Rewatching ST:DS9 The episode begins…
is an open-source encyclopedia. If it doesn’t have an entry for something, you can write it yourself! —Wikipedia Similar:I Made Cheerful Maze Game in ScratchWell, it’s cheerful unless you touch som…AestheticsThirty Years Ago, the Challenger Crew Plunged Alive and Aware to Their DeathsThe Challenger made it through the spect…CultureDissecting a Frog: How to Write a…
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house / Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse… [More or Livingston? Authorship uncertain.] —“A Visit from St. Nicholas” Similar:Stunning writing in this WaPost reflection on the Trump campaign's journey from a gold esc…I’m stunned by the writing. Here’s just …CultureStar Trek Personality Test…
Very sad: “Sixteen mothers, all of whom were pregnant on Sept. 11 and lost their husbands in the terrorist attacks, and their babies are photographed with news anchor Diane Sawyer.” —Sept. 11 Widows with NewbornsAP via Yahoo!) Similar:Ranked First out of 2 Billion Google Hits for Something Really ObscureI just noticed a mild traffic spike…
Programming bugs have bedeviled many a scientific researcher. Now, some researchers in Japan have programmed a bug. Thanks to a surgically-implanted device, scientists can control the motion of “Robo-roach.” —Weird Science (Guardian) Similar:Peer Review Paranoia: The system is built on trust between scholars. AI is undermining tha…From an essay that includes a reflection…AcademiaOminous Darkness Descending…
“An experiment to uncover the world’s funniest jokes has found that some computer-generated gags can be more amusing than those thought up by humans.” —What Kind of Murderer has Moral Fibre? (New Scientist) Similar:Letter to the editor: Setting record straight on Seton Hill newspaperHere’s my letter responding to an recent…AcademiaThe 22 rules of storytelling, according…
Children born to high-tech nerds appear more likely to show signs of a behavioral disorder similar to autism. Silicon Valley cases are booming. —The Geek Syndrome (Wired) Similar:Fired for Making a Game: The Inside Story of I Get This Call Every DayHe knows that if he’d instead posted a s…BusinessOrson Scott Card Builds an EmpireVideo…
“We are confident that you will have many years of trouble-free enjoyment if you carefully read these instructions and follow them.” (Note: Anybody who bothers to read instructions at all is probably already grouchy and impatient.) —IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ CAREFULLY! Similar:Fox News, accused of manipulating news images, relabels them as "collages," "regrets these…Using bits and…
“Does Jackson’s effort remain reasonably true to Tolkien’s richly imagined universe? And will filmgoers not inculcated with the lore of Middle Earth enjoy it anyway? The answers, happily, are ‘probably’ and ‘definitely.’” —Ring: One for the BookWired) Similar:The Rage of Virginia Woolf”The passion, if not the logic, of her a…CultureIn June 2021 I roughed out…
Search an index of 6000 frequently-updated weblogs, news summaries, and opinion pages; or, see a list of the top 40 pages cited by the ‘bloggers who create Internet buzz. My new second-favorite website (after google). —DayPop.com Similar:In September, 2001 I was blogging about… With a grant from UWEC, I was able t…Aesthetics‘Twelfth Night’ is a…
Over a century before Orson Welles’s “War of the Worlds” hoax, the New York Sun‘s moon hoax claimed that an astronomer discovered life on the moon. The website also describes many other hoaxes —Museum of Hoaxes Similar:Details like headlines matter. Journalists should work hard to avoid being misread.If you were this person’s attorney, you’…Current_EventsDebunking the…
(book review) : “…the activity stilled, the cars, houses and workplaces buried beneath layers of volcanic ash, the artefacts of a single moment preserved. What could we learn…?” —Imagine Silicon Valley Buried Like Pompeii Similar:Technology's Impact on Education Technology’s Impact on Education | V…AcademiaIn a literature class, the author's words matter more than the author's…
“Much web design has suffered from an over reliance on graphic design principles. Too many graphic designers have tried to force the Web to be what it is not…” —Information Architecture vs. Graphic Design (New Thinking) Similar:Another delightful section of #neovictorian #steampunk control panel, intended for backgro…One of many steampunk control panels I’v…Aesthetics'My Fair Lady'…
“My cookies, cakes, and brownies are always the highlight of our church bake sales, and everyone says so,” said parishioner Connie Barrett, 49, openly committing the sin of pride. —All Seven Deadly Sins Committed at Church Bake SaleSatire from The Onion) Similar:Relics (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 6, Episode 4) When a huge hollow sphere traps…
“From Oklahoma City to New York, we’ve turned violent human loss into epic narratives of suffering and patriotism. Does this help people heal or hurt them?” —Trauma Culture (Salon) Similar:Nor the Battle to the Strong #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 4) Jake Sisko, cub …Rewatching ST:DS9 On an assignment to w…EmpathyNext up for the…