The second most popular form of entertainment after television, video games have rapidly become the largest segment of the entertainment industry. Mounting evidence lends support to what parents have suspected all along — violent videogames encourage violent behavior. Contemporary Pediatrics Similar:The president of the US bonds with Vladimir Putin over journalists: "Get rid of them." The…
: “Every report you ever write from this day until the day you die should start out by saying something nice about the product or service you are reviewing. Then you can get down to business.” Tog —How to Deliver a Report Without Getting Lynched Similar:Wondermark: In Which There Is a TauntingWondermark AmusingPrime Stage Theatre…
. Painfully funny small-town satire from The Onion. —Wal-Mart Opens Store in Winesburg, Ohio Similar:The world's oldest story? Astronomers say global myths about 'seven sisters' stars may rea…In cultures around the world, myths abou…CultureProfessor teaches class of 300 students from his phone while trapped in elevator with 2 sm…https://twitter.com/jayvanbavel/status/1…AcademiaMy View: What will you do with…
“If anything, the recent expansion of literacy and educational opportunities has increased our access to literature and our enjoyment of it.” J. Peder Zane —What Good is Literature? Similar:Digital Storytelling (EL231: Topics in Creative Writing) EL231 “Digital Storytelling” (Dec 1…AcademiaCollege is not a commodity. Stop treating it like one.If we are going to treat college…
“Today, I’m one of the world’s leading anthropologists, an accomplished archaeologist, and an award-winning novelist. And, at 41, I’m only now becoming aware of the globetrotting rut I’ve been in my entire life. Looking back on everything I’ve seen and done, I can’t help but ask, ‘Is that all there is?’” more satire from The…
Microsoft Word requires at least 30% more keystrokes and 100% more mouse moves to accomplish certain editing tasks than would an optimal word processor. Forbes —Bad Design Can Be Costly Similar:Google’s broken link to the webI guess now we know why for the past dec…BusinessThere are two factions working to prevent AI dangers. Here’s why…
“We are the Gist Generation. We have acquired a taste for hit-and-run, cut-and-paste knowledge. We expect a home page or e-mail correspondence to give us the gist and only the gist—time is money and you’re a click away from an iconographic trash can, so get to the point.” Jeff Barbian Similar:Elderly woman who botched religious…
This computer game tries something new. “If a character tells you he’ll call you tomorrow, he’s not kidding. You’ll have to wait a day to get his information. Faxes may arrive without warning, and instant messages may pop up onscreen when you least expect them — maybe even while you’re at work.” Wired.com —“Majestic” Invades…
“Organized religion was a primary target of every one of the twentieth century’s regimes of terror. But as is evident in Nazi and Communist terrors alike, organized irreligion (to put it in Royal’s sharp formulation) has proved far more dangerous than organized religion ever was.” Alicia Mosier Similar:In the Hands of the Prophets (#StarTrek #DS9…
You might assume there could not be a worse time for a field calling itself “Internet studies.” You would be wrong. The Chronicle of Higher Education Similar:LLM error rates I worked on LLMs, and now I go…AcademiaHow iPhone Apps Steal Your Contact Data and Why You Can't Stop ItNothing really new in this article, but…
“Lambert received the e-mail in December, a piece of scrap in the vast electronic junkyard that is the World Wide Web. Regrettably, she says now, she removed the letter’s forwarding markers and unintentionally put her name at the bottom, making it appear that she was the author.” Washington Post —Don’t forward that e-mail just yet!…
“[W]hat could be more scholarly than a nice, authoritative statistic, quoted from a professional journal in the student’s field?” The Chronicle of Higher Education —Telling the Truth About Damned Lies and Statistics Similar:The Declaration of IndependenceI recorded a recitation of the Declarati…CultureWhy 'Gangnam Style' Is Actually a Study in Mind ControlI’m not sure “thank you”…
The longer the company’s annual report, the less successful the company. This isn’t really a technical writing issue — usually companies with bad news to report need a lot of words to explaining themselves. But if this is what it takes to get some pinhead CEOs to appreciate brevity, so be it. Wired Similar:Why Is…
Danielle Preston —You Know You’re a Technical Writer When… Similar:My crazy Friday night involved tweaking the graphic for an #MLAstyle instructional web pag…AcademiaHow Not to Hate Shakespeare The problem isn’t Shakespeare—it’s h…CultureI didn't exactly set out to achieve this goal, but it's not hard to do the minimum to keep…Education'Facebook is simply not cool anymore'…
A student of mine makes comments on interactive fiction, garish colors, and dancing text. Jan Carroll —Just For the Record Similar:Ultimate Infographic Design Guide + Design Tricks – VenngageThis website is selling something. You c…AestheticsWhat You Get When 30 People Draw a World Map From Memory Tasked with creating “a piece of art…AestheticsCritical Thinking Rhetoric …
learns something from my freshman comp students. On March 13, 2000, I e-mailed web guru Jakob Nielsen to tell him that six of my freshmen spent 8-30 minutes on his site without finding a plain-text “search” link on the home page. A week or so later, I noticed that Nielsen changed his page, making the…
“[W]hen it comes to writing, whether you’re a seventh grader, a college student, a professor, a beginning copywriter, or an accomplished novelist, a B isn’t good enough.” Kathy Henning —For Writers, Writing Is Never a Waste of Time: Part 2 Similar:Academic study concludes that teaching kids to touch-type can make them better writersImproving students’ handwriting…
“[A] society without literature, or a society in which literature has been relegated–like some hidden vice–to the margins of social and personal life, and transformed into something like a sectarian cult, is a society condemned to become spiritually barbaric, and even to jeopardize its freedom.” Mario Vargas Llosa Similar:ChoiceScript tutorial for making casual, phone-friendly, stats-driven…
The creator of Cliffs Notes has died. Here’s his obituary — although I know you probably won’t bother to read the whole thing. Similar:Police raid best-selling Turkish newspaper hours after government takes it overTurkish authorities seized control of th…BusinessIndustriousness. Self-improvement. Thrift. And orange slime. The girl amusing herself on our 70m …AestheticsIn-person classes heighten age-related…
On the tasteless side, but still very funny: “Some Features You May Need on Your Computer“ Similar:Why Did Dial-Up Modems Make So Much Noise?Screeeech . . . hisss . . . squaawk. The…CybercultureWe Got A Look Inside The 45-Day Planning Process That Goes Into Creating A Single Corporat…The professionals don’t always spend 45 …BusinessWhat's in…