Archive for the ‘Human Interest’ Category
Posted by Ted Hopton on July 13, 2008
OK, I’m going to expose my English-major roots here, not to mention my first career as an English teacher. I am tired of hearing and seeing “a perfect storm” used to describe a rare confluence of factors that produces a negative result. It was a pretty cool phrase when the usage began, inspired by the powerful book and movie, The Perfect Storm. It was a concise and visual way to make a point about, essentially, really bad luck causing a really bad result.
But is *everything* negative that results from multiple factors really worthy of the label, “a perfect storm”? I think not. Instead, it’s a lazy way to explain complicated causal relationships. We don’t have to actually provide any explanation of cause and effect, let alone Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Human Interest, Language, Media, Trends | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on July 10, 2008
I’m trying to explain what the fantastic charts at the Go Big Always blog are about and why you should look at them, but it’s tough. I’ve copied one of them here to give you a peek. They are funny, clever, insightful, irreverent, iconoclastic — in short, they really hit the mark in many ways. It only takes a couple of minutes to view them all, so check them out!
Posted in Human Interest, Humor, Management, Metrics, Statistics, Strategy, Technology | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on July 2, 2008
Two new papers illustrate the continuing power of Stanley Milgram’s shock experiments — and the diverse interpretations they still inspire.
I’ll never forget the powerful impact that learning about Milgram’s experiments had on me as a young man. Surely it was part of my strong belief in questioning authority. If you’re not familiar with these ground-breaking experiments in which subjects were encouraged to inflict terrible pain on another person, I urge you to read this article.
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Posted in Ethics, Human Interest, Research, Science | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on July 2, 2008
This article is rather unnerving, as it cites research demonstrating that in addition to being skeptical of others who claim to be acting moral, we also should be just as skeptical of our own convictions that we are acting ethically. Yes, we humans are that good at rationalizing our own behavior that we can’t really trust ourselves. So much for a *true* moral compass.
A moral hypocrite convinces himself that he is acting virtuously even when he does something he would condemn in others.
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Posted in Ethics, Human Interest, Politics, Research, Science | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on June 30, 2008
To reclaim productivity lost to responding to e-mail, an I.B.M. employee shifted his means of communication to other tools.
I like the idea here. It’s not for everybody, but clearly something has to give. Too many of us spend too much time toiling on email — we aren’t controlling our own schedules or task lists, as we’ve let ourselves be sucked into a Faustian bargain that seems hopeless.
It’s not going to be easy (if it were, we’d all have freed ourselves from email’s tyranny, wouldn’t we?). But if we don’t try new ways to break free, we never will break email’s grip. Try something different!
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Posted in Human Interest, Technology, Web 2.0 | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on June 25, 2008
Lore Sjöberg is hilarious. I’ve listened to his Alt Text podcasts for Wired for years (his dry delivery style makes the audio performances even better than reading his commentaries). In fact, with George Carlin’s passing on my mind, it strikes me that Sjöberg is something like the George Carlin of geek technology. This commentary isn’t his very best, but it’s a good sample of the way he skewers traditionally accepted ideas.
Humans have been attempting to send messages to the stars since … I’m going to say the early ’70s. I mean, theoretically some caveman could have yelled, “Hey! Stars! You suck!” a hundred thousand years ago, but he was an idiot. But of all the messages sent into space, which ones are good? Which ones conform to quality standards? That’s what I’m here to tell you.
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Posted in Human Interest, Humor, Science, Technology | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on June 25, 2008
I live in the country, in a cottage on a horse farm, and I love it. But I’m not surprised by the findings explained in this article:
Skyrocketing energy prices are inflating the costs of living on the distant edges of metropolitan areas.
One of the key changes that may also be accelerated is the shift to more telecommuting. That’s how I can manage my country lifestyle. If you remove your commute completely, or even several days per week, it has a tremendous impact on both time and costs. I’m surprised this angle was not mentioned in the article.
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Posted in Economics, Human Interest, Trends | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on June 23, 2008
Why is it that in an age when we can create community anywhere, we often don’t know the people who live next door?
This is an extraordinary story about a man who decided to make a big change in his neighborhood by truly getting to know his neighbors: he asked to spend the night at their houses.
I really don’t think I could do what he has done, but I wish I had the boldness that it takes, because what he has accomplished is a really good thing.
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Posted in Human Interest, Networking | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on June 20, 2008
I’m settling into my new house, which is a cottage at the top of a hill on a horse farm with gorgeous views and a seemingly endless cool breeze. And I am getting to know my closest neighbors, a bird family with a nest in the wall just outside my patio doors. The little ones cheep-cheep constantly, almost like a chorus of crickets. The parents fly to and fro with insects or grubs or whatever it is they are catching to feed the chicks.
Mother or father will land on the deck railing, eyeball me through the doorway, then swoop into the knot hole in the side of my house to feed their young. They will also regale me with a song now and then, too.
A farm is quite a busy place for nature. I don’t have any pets, so I must say Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Animals, Human Interest | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Ted Hopton on June 19, 2008
This article, “Lights, Camera, Inaction,” is not really about the tiny, new Flip Video Mino camera, as I thought it was when I chose to read it. Instead, it’s a funny riff by Michelle Slatalla on the urge so many of us feel to archive our lives with photography, and the guilt we thereby create for ourselves when we fail to do it well.
Years went by without pictures. It became too hard to be the family archivist in an age of ever-changing technology, especially for someone like me who fears any gadget more complicated than a cocktail shaker. Every time I tried, a battery died or a memory card went missing or I pushed the wrong button or accidentally taped over someone’s piano recital.
I liked this comment after her oldest daughter complains because there is only one viewable family video left: “She got good at guilt at college,” Slatalla observes. And she demonstrates Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Human Interest, Nostalgia, Technology | Leave a Comment »
