Author: Lloyd Morgan
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Evolutionary Consumption
Geoffrey Miller, author of the excellent Mating Mind, has recently released Spent; a look at consumerism and marketing through his lens of evolutionary psychology. With an existing knowledge of evolutionary psychology theories the ideas in Miller’s latest will come as no surprise. These two reviews are still worth perusing, however: Jonathan Gottschall provides a concise…
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What Beliefs Will Appall Future Generations
“Many of our grandparents were racist, and some of our parents are homophobes. Which of our own closely held beliefs will our own children and grandchildren be appalled by?” That’s a question being posed on Reddit and the majority of responses are thought provoking and intriguing. Phil Dingra selects a few of his favourite replies,…
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Option Paralysis: The Quarterlife Crisis
Kate Carraway sums up that modern existential angst experienced by countless twentysomethings: The Quarterlife Crisis, a somewhat disabling mix of akrasia, apathy and ennui brought on by a number of realisations. This phenomenon, known as the “Quarterlife Crisis,” is as ubiquitous as it is intangible. Unrelenting indecision, isolation, confusion and anxiety about working, relationships and…
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The Longevity of Our Work
I’m not a Flash designer, but Jonathan Harris’ inspiring and rousing speech from Flash on the Beach 2008 really got me thinking about the longevity of my work. It appears that some attendees of the conference felt Harris was admonishing the Flash community. However, after reading this speech I feel inspired and I can’t help…
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Consumer Profiling and Credit Card Data Mining
I’ve always loved reading and learning about data mining and its applications in various fields. Because of this,Ā Charles Duhigg’s comprehensive look at the consumer profiling practices of credit card companies was my favourite read over the weekend. [Researchers] emphasized that the biggest profits didn’t come from people who always paid off their bills but rather…
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Cardiff Characters
I have recently become enamoured with two photo projects showing two very different sides to my home city, Cardiff. Cardiff at Night: a set by Maciej Dakowicz showing the debauchery that is quite typical of the city on weekend nights (I’ve posted on this previously). Cardiff Characters: the people who make Cardiff the city it…
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The Future of the Calendar
The calendar has the possibility to become “the biggest software revolution of the future”, says Scott Adams in an article looking at how crucial time and proximity are in making information (more) relevant. I also found myself agreeing with Adams’ thoughts on news: When I read the news, I’m generally most interested in how stories…
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How Do Free Online Book Releases Affect Sales?
Do free book releases (gratis and/or libre) affect books sales in a positive or negative way? To try and find out, John Hilton of Brigham Young University tracked the sales of books 8 weeks prior and following a number of promotional free release from various publishers. On March 4 of this year, Random House announced…
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(Un)Successful Assignment Proposals
I could/should have included this in my previous post on Baum, but I believe these merit separate mention: Successful assignment proposalsĀ for publications such as Playboy, Rolling StoneĀ and The New York Times. Unsuccessful assignment proposalsĀ for Gourmet, The New Yorker, and more. As Jason points out, New Yorker editor John Bennet called Baum’s proposal for a story…