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:Bryan A. Louiselle, 1966-2022 (musician, composer, orchestrator, musical…
“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:Joe Turner's Come and Gone (August Wilson's Century Cycle, 2 of…
“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:Multiple Choice = GoogleNo big…
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:STEM Needs a New LetterCreativity alone does not foster innovat…ArtAdding a media project to a semester-long paper assignment is like adding a jetpack to a d…AcademiaViral App FaceApp…
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:Carnegie Science Center's Guitar ExhibitThis summer, I’m a “CSC Insider” — mean…AestheticsReport to bay 3, where tea will be served as the gondola delivers you to the planet's surf……
is an open-source encyclopedia. If it doesn’t have an entry for something, you can write it yourself! —Wikipedia Similar:A WWII Propaganda Campaign Popularized the Myth That Carrots Help You See in the DarkYet another widely held cultural myth fa…CultureTechnology won’t fix America’s neediest schools. It makes bad education worse.[N]o matter how good the design, and…
‘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:"A Mushroom at Last… A Mushroom Forever"I asked my 10yo why she was moping. “…AmusingAn Hour of Monastic Silence in Media Studies Class (plus an…
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:If you want to work with words, then journalism courses are very practical options.AcademiaMeme unfairly blames "protesters" for…
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:Clever Modernization of Hamlet: Polonius with an iPhoneI teach Shakespeare in a literature clas…CultureKids Whose Parents Limit Screen Time Do Worse in College,…
“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:Colossal Cave: The Board Game by Arthur O'DwyerThe kids and I enjoy nerdy board games. …Culture‘Unexpected item’: how self-checkouts failed to live…
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:Astronaut Luca Parmitano describes near-drowning experience in spaceWith water already obscuring his vision,…Current_EventsLetter to the editor: Why our English department deserves more respectI came very close to accepting…
“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:I'm happy with today's #steampunk control panel. To fill out the master plan I'm constrain…One…
“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:Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Coloring PagesOver the past few weeks, I spent several…ArtThe Problems of Real-Time Feedback…
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:I Hate Your BlogI hate your blog. Your recipe for vegan …AmusingGoogle's AI could probably beat you at AtariWhat’s…
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:Two decades of Alzheimer's research may be based on deliberate fraud that has cost million… Over the last two…
(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:A former student contacted me to share her thoughts.A few years ago, I told myself I would s…AcademiaPolice Say A Lot…
“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:I think this #denoising filter makes my #CGI scene look a bit like a hand-illustrated chil…I think this #denoising…
“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:Shipwreck Diary of a Content MarketerDay 1 Today was my first full shipwre…AmusingThe Mom…
“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:‘Tragedy of Macbeth’ Review: The Thane, Insane, Slays Mainly in DunsinaneWhat a headline. The poet John B…CultureEpiscopal bishop on President Trump: ‘Everything he has said and done…