Letters Remain

Gaza’s Underground Economy

Foreign Policy has a fascinating photo essay on Gaza’s (literal) underground economy.

Except for basic humanitarian supplies, Israel has blockaded the flow of goods into Gaza since June 2007, when Hamas, a militant Islamist group committed to Israel’s destruction, ousted its more secular rival, Fatah. The blockade has led to a new economic structure—a literal underground economy—in which everything from food to gasoline to underwear is illicitly imported from Egypt via underground tunnels into Rafah, which sits on Egypt’s border at the Sinai Peninsula.

Lloyd Morgan

04 December 2008
Passive vs. Active Questions

Simple advice on how to phrase questions when seeking advice: use the active voice and question marks.

When seeking information from busy people via email the little things matter. Quick, minor tip: use a question mark if you’re asking a question. Compare the following cases:

Case A: Do you have any feedback for me on this point?

Case B: I would be interested in hearing your feedback on this point.

As a commentator points out, there is a third case, to be used with caution: What are the three most important items of feedback you have for me?

Lloyd Morgan

04 December 2008
Science and Photography
Seed presents 11 stunning portfolios of science photography.

Personal favourites:
Lloyd Morgan

04 December 2008
Menu Consultants (or: Tips to Hack Restaurants)

A short piece in Time profiling Gregg Rapp: a “menu engineer” who optimises restaurant menus to maximise profits.

The first step is the design. Rapp recommends that menus be laid out in neat columns with unfussy fonts. The way prices are listed is very important. “This is the No. 1 thing that most restaurants get wrong,” he explains. “If all the prices are aligned on the right, then I can look down the list and order the cheapest thing.” It’s better to have the digits and dollar signs discreetly tagged on at the end of each food description. That way, the customer’s appetite for honey-glazed pork will be whetted before he sees its cost.

On a similar theme, another article looks at how using obscure terminology and unusual or hard-to-read typefaces can influence diners.

All this talk of influence, food and psychology reminds me of the little-known second-cheapest wine syndrome. The following from a Harvard Law Record article:

Restaurant owners will often price the wine they buy cheapest at wholesale as the second-cheapest wine on the menu. Why? Because people generally don’t order the cheapest wine and thus often turn to the second cheapest. Price that one higher, and you get a bigger marginal profit. Presto—restauranteur as microeconomist!

Tags:
food / gregg-rapp / psychology / wine

Lloyd Morgan

03 December 2008
The State of Science
Seed Magazine’s inaugural ‘State of Science’. Features include:
- Revolutionary Scientific Minds (mentioned previously).
- The Scientist in 2008.
- What’s Holding Science Back.
- Emergent Science Cities: Natal, Brazil; Jena, Germany; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Mianyang, China; Abuja, Nigeria.
- The Fundamentals: Intellectual Property, Informatics, Public Perception, Publishing, and the following excerpt from Money:
Considering that science is fundamental to the world’s productivity, we collectively spend very little on it. On average, nations spend about 2.3 percent of their GDP on scientific research and development, or roughly one trillion dollars a year worldwide. This number quickly dwindles when divided between every researcher on Earth—especially considering not all research yields immediate returns in terms of money or knowledge. Ultimately, the pressure for practical results placed on science investment can create conflicts of interest. In light of 2008’s massive economical turmoil, finding new ways to make sound investments and manage risk in scientific research has become crucial.
Lloyd Morgan

03 December 2008
The Correlation Between Poverty and IQ

The Mouse Trap, Sandy Guatam’s excellent blog on cognitive and developmental psychology, discusses the correlation between a low IQ and poverty, and the implications thereof.

What are the implications for society of a more mechanistic understanding of the effects of childhood poverty on brain development? To different degrees, and in different ways, we regard children as the responsibility of both parents and society. Parents’ responsibility begins before birth and encompasses virtually every aspect of the child’s life. Society’s responsibility is more circumscribed.

[…]

In my view the societal implications are far reaching, if low [socio-economic status] leads to lowered cognitive functioning, it becomes our duty to provide more cognitive stimulation and ensure that all children get sufficient social/emotional nurturance so that their IQ can flower to its full potential.

via Mind Hacks

Lloyd Morgan

03 December 2008
Running a Social Experiment on a City

When academic Antanas Mockus became mayor of Bogotá he used the opportunity to run a social experiment on a grand scale. Soon enough, crime was reduced, road deaths were down, and there were 400 trained mimes improving both traffic and citizens’ behaviour. Seriously.

“The distribution of knowledge is the key contemporary task,” Mockus said. “Knowledge empowers people. If people know the rules, and are sensitized by art, humor, and creativity, they are much more likely to accept change.”

via Seed

Lloyd Morgan

02 December 2008
Rules for My Unborn Son

Like David, I don’t think all of the rules for my unborn son are necessarily ‘good’, but if he followed them all I’d still be happy.

300: Surprise your dad at the office.

Trust me, whatever I’m doing is not as important as you.

via Link Banana

Tags:
lists / parenting

Lloyd Morgan

02 December 2008
£1,000,000 for a Chemical–Free Material

The Royal Society of Chemistry is offering £1,000,000 to anyone who can produce a 100% chemical–free substance.

Why? Because they have grown tired of the word chemical being used negatively, perpetuating the idea that anything containing ‘chemicals’ is inherently bad.

The Royal Society of Chemistry is today reclaiming the word chemical from the advertising and marketing industries.

It has been misappropriated and maligned as synonymous with “poison”.

The truth, as any right-minded person will say, is that everything we eat, drink, drive, play with and live in is made of chemicals – both natural and synthetic chemicals are essential for life as we know it.

[…]

“Should anyone do this, we will see thousands of years’ worth of knowledge evaporate before our eyes. We would have to tear up the textbooks, burn the degree certificates and retrain the teachers.”

To see how bad the situation is, here’s a Google search for “chemical free”.

via Richard Holden

Lloyd Morgan

02 December 2008
Your Personal Love–Growth–Cash Triangles

Personal love–growth–cash triangles: a visual method for evaluating your life, your career, and everything in between.

“If you have a shit job, come up with new ways to learn something out of it. If you have a hobby you’re super-excited about, try to turn it into a business. If you’re just starting a new gig, instill it with something you’re passionate about.”

via Link Banana

Tags:
business / infovis / inspiring / lifestyle / personal-development

Lloyd Morgan

01 December 2008