Letters Remain

  • How Sounds and Words Affect Taste

    Background noises greatly affect how we taste food. I wrote about this earlier in the year — pointing out that this is the probable cause of bland in-flight meals — but how else can background noise affect our perception of taste, and can our non-gustatory senses affect how we taste, too?

    To test this, molecular gastronomist Heston Blumenthal and professor Charles Spence conducted a fascinating experiment with some ‘bacon and egg’ ice cream and some varied soundtracks. The full experiment is described in a short extract from the book Art and the Senses that also neatly summarises the various ways that our taste perception can be altered by our other senses:

    The disambiguation of the flavour of a food dish can be achieved by a number of means: either visually, by changing the colour of the food, verbally by means of labelling, by presenting pictures or other cues on the packaging, and/or by the presentation of auditory cues. […] Furthermore, even saying the word ‘cinnamon’ has been shown to activate the olfactory cortex (i.e. the part of the brain that processes smells). […] Playing the sizzling bacon soundtrack at the ‘Art and the Senses’ conference may therefore have influenced the audience’s perception of the bacon flavour in the ice cream simply by making them think of bacon. […] It is at present an open question as to whether simply writing the word bacon on the screen in the front of the auditorium would have had the same effect.

    Is there a name for this experience? The best I can come up with is ‘gustatory crossmodality‘, but that sounds far too exciting (and is most likely incorrect). I’m hoping for a pithy, Gladwell-esque ‘Something effect’.

    via @mocost

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    Lloyd Morgan

  • Hard-to-Read Fonts Improve Learning

    Much has been written on the positive aspects of cognitive fluency (in terms of typography, accents, and almost everything else), but a recent study (pdf, doi) suggests that the opposite (cognitive disfluency) could lead to better learning. The theory is that harder-to-process material requires “deeper processing” and that this deeper processing leads to superior memory performance.

    Earlier this year the ever-excellent Jonah Lehrer summarised the study, describing how long-term learning and retention improved when classroom material was set in a hard-to-read font (e.g. Monotype Corsiva, Comic Sans Italicized or Haettenschweiler).

    This study demonstrated that student retention of material across a wide range of subjects (science and humanities classes) and difficulty levels (regular, Honors and Advanced Placement) can be significantly improved in naturalistic settings by presenting reading material in a format that is slightly harder to read…. The potential for improving educational practices through cognitive interventions is immense. If a simple change of font can significantly increase student performance, one can only imagine the number of beneficial cognitive interventions waiting to be discovered.

    One of the study authors, in a comment published in a New York Times article looking at cognitive fluency in learning, emphasises how it’s not the font that matters, but the processing difficulty:

    “The reason that the unusual fonts are effective is that it causes us to think more deeply about the material, […] but we are capable of thinking deeply without being subjected to unusual fonts. Think of it this way, you can’t skim material in a hard to read font, so putting text in a hard-to-read font will force you to read more carefully.”

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    Lloyd Morgan

  • Marketing Lessons for Startups

    When Ilya Lichtenstein offered free marketing advice to startups (as a way of thanking the Hacker News community) he received over 150 requests and set to work. Certain patterns started to emerge in his advice, and so he decided to produced a three-post ‘startup marketing lessons learnt’ series (parts two and three).

    There’s some fantastic advice to be found in the series — for both those interested in marketing generally and those beginners actively involved in the craft. For example in the Articulate a Clear, Specific, Compelling Value Proposition section:

    I’m sure you’ve heard the old copywriting mantra of “list benefits, not features”. Take that to the next level. Take the single most important benefit of using your service, and make that your headline. […] If you’re building a B2B app to manage payroll, “Cloud hosted SaaS payroll for your business” is not a good headline. “Spend less time worrying about payroll” is a better one. “Cut payroll management costs by 37% instantly” is even better.

    And from Find Your Target Market, and Segment the Hell out of Them:

    When asked who their target market was, many people responded “small businesses” or, worse, “anyone”. Alright, fine, you sell your SaaS products to small business in the US. But what kind of small business owner converts the best for you? Which customers are most likely to be profitable customers? Who is most excited about your product? You have been tracking these things, haven’t you? You don’t have the budget to target all small businesses, so start with a specific niche or industry you think your product has particularly strong appeal for. Selling time tracking software? Start positioning as time tracking software for accountants, or dentists, or landscapers. How about targeting a specific task or feature and finding people looking for that feature only? […] Build super niche landing pages or, even better, microsites targeting each specific market segment you want to go after, emphasizing the specific benefits of your product to that group only.

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    Lloyd Morgan

  • A Primer on Behaviour Change

    Three necessary elements must be present for a behaviour to occur: Motivation, Ability, Trigger — and understanding this is fundamental to understanding how to change behaviour. That’s according to B.J. Fogg and his team at the Stanford Persuasive Tech Lab, as described by their Behaviour Model.

    To make behaviour change easier the team identified the fifteen ways that behaviour can be changed, described each with precision, and related them to a specific “psychology”. Together this information became the Behaviour Grid:

    Behaviour Grid

    To use the behaviour grid and to see the detailed information and advice for each behaviour type, follow the necessary steps in the useful Behaviour Wizard tool or view the grid directly.

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    Lloyd Morgan

  • Guest Posts (2) – Thanks

    Last week my friend Andrew Smith looked after the site and published three posts worthy of your time:

    I’m now back home and free from jet lag, so your nor­mal service here at Lone Gun­man resumes tomorrow.

    Please join me in thank­ing Andrew for his posts.

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    Lloyd Morgan

  • How not to screw up your career

    Starting a career is daunting. Office politics, poor management and unchallenging work are issues that many of us will have to navigate in our jobs.

    Ryan Holiday‘s advice to young careerists is cynical and pragmatic.

    The point isn’t just to prove that you’re capable, but also that you’re sane. In fact, if you had to pick between the two, being well-adjusted the better one. You can teach people how to do things. You can’t make them normal. In other words, leave your crazy at home.

    Have an exit strategy. Know how this all fits into your grand strategy, this is the Start-Up of You. But also have the easily explainable, non-threatening goal that you tell people so you can maneuver in peace. If you’re working at a management company, don’t tell everyone your goal is to be a stand up comedian. The grand strategy is just for you.

    Most importantly, remember that you are not special. There were a million other kids on this path before you and there will be another million after. […] What will set you apart, what is rare, is humility, diligence and self-awareness.

    Advice to a Young Man Hoping to Go Somewhere (Or Get Something From Someone Successful)

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    Andrew Smith

  • A first hand account of foreclosure

    A recent reddit thread about questionable jobs revealed an real-estate worker willing to talk about his experiences foreclosing on homes. He expanded his experiences into a longer post that is eloquent, emotionally charged and revealing about the lasting impact of the global financial crisis.

    [T]hey can get angry and defensive, tell me that they were never foreclosed on, tell me that I am trespassing and owe them $5,000 in “land use fees” for “using” their property as I walk to the front door. They threaten to sue, they threaten to call the cops, they say I should look under my car before I start it from now on. They send letters written in various forms of English – one time scribed in crayon – detailing their rights and how I am violating some maritime treaty from the 1700s. In my travels I have learned that if you copyright your name you can’t be named in any kind of legal action, if you never write down your ZIP code then you aren’t a resident of the United States and that if I tell somebody that their lender is offering them money to vacate while leaving the staircase (yes, these get stolen) and driveway (yes, these get stolen) in place then I am guilty of slave trading under some United Nations something or other.

    Why my job is to watch dreams die (via the excellent NPR Planet Money blog)

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    Andrew Smith

  • Learning storytelling from a Sitcom writer

    What is a story? How can you tell better stories?

    There is a wealth of knowledge and research into story telling, story structure and techniques for enhancing narrative. The classic text is The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell, but this tome has been is criticised for being dense and academic. Syd Field‘s book Screenplay has influenced the writing of many recent movies, but Field has been criticised for never producing a successful script himself.

    If only a successful writer would set out clearly and accessably the theory behind writing a good story.

    Enter Dan Harmon the creator of the superb TV series Community. He learned his craft developing short episodes for the internet TV station Channel101. Channel101 runs a monthly screening of low budget (or zero budget), five minute episodes. They’re often over the top, vulgar, and hilarious. Check out (not at work!) the ridiculous Laser Fart, the viral sensation Chad Vader, and the teen drama pastiche The ‘Bu.

    Despite the silliness of the episodes they exhibit a compelling writing style that Harmon attributes to his understanding of storytelling. Harmon wrote a series of articles to teach perspective submitters to Channel101 how to write a well structured story. The basis of these articles is a series of eight elements that should be included in every story. The eight points are:

    1. You – Who are we? A squirrel? The sun? A red blood cell? America? By the end of the first 37 seconds, we’d really like to know.
    2. Need – something is wrong, the world is out of balance. This is the reason why a story is going to take place. The “you” from (1) is an alcoholic. There’s a dead body on the floor. A motorcycle gang rolls into town. Campbell phrases: Call to Adventure, Refusal of the Call, Supernatural Aid.
    3. Go – For (1) and (2), the “you” was in a certain situation, and now that situation changes. A hiker heads into the woods. Pearl Harbor’s been bombed. A mafia boss enters therapy. Campbell phrase: Crossing of the Threshold. Syd Field phrase: Plot Point 1.
    4. Search – adapting, experimenting, getting shit together, being broken down. A detective questions suspects. A cowboy gathers his posse. A cheerleader takes a nerd shopping. Campbell phrases: Belly of the Whale, Road of Trials. Christopher Vogler phrase: Friends, Enemies and Allies.
    5. Find – whether it was the direct, conscious goal or not, the “need” from (2) is fulfilled. We found the princess. The suspect gives the location of the meth lab. A nerd achieves popularity. Campbell phrase: Meeting with the Goddess. Syd Field phrase: mid-point. Vogler phrase: Approach to the Innermost Cave.
    6. Take – The hardest part (both for the characters and for anyone trying to describe it). On one hand, the price of the journey. The shark eats the boat. Jesus is crucified. The nice old man has a stroke. On the other hand, a goal achieved that we never even knew we had. The shark now has an oxygen tank in his mouth. Jesus is dead- oh, I get it, flesh doesn’t matter. The nice old man had a stroke, but before he died, he wanted you to take this belt buckle. Now go win that rodeo. Campbell phrases: Atonement with the Father, Death and Resurrection, Apotheosis. Syd Field phrase: plot point 2
    7. Return – It’s not a journey if you never come back. The car chase. The big rescue. Coming home to your girlfriend with a rose. Leaping off the roof as the skyscraper explodes. Campbell phrases: Magic Flight, Rescue from Without, Crossing of the Return Threshold.
    8. Change – The “you” from (1) is in charge of their situation again, but has now become a situation-changer. Life will never be the same. The Death Star is blown up. The couple is in love. Dr. Bloom’s Time Belt is completed. Lorraine Bracco heads into the jungle with Sean Connery to “find some of those ants.” Campbell phrases: Master of Both Worlds, Freedom to Live.

    They sound simplistic. But in the article Harmon dissects well known movies and Channel101 episodes explaining how they conform to this structure.

    Story Structure Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.

    As a member of a public speaking organisation I frequently tell stories in front of an audience. Reading these articles has changed my approach to story telling. Rather than beginning with a blank page I plan the progression of my story using Harmon’s eight points as subheadings, and attempt to give the correct emphasis to every point.

    For more insights from Dan Harmon you can check out his website or twitter. And I highly recommend his appearance on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast (bad language a plenty).

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    Andrew Smith

  • Guest Posts (2)

    I’m away on vaca­tion, and last week david (b) hayes took over Lone Gun­man and produced this indispensable seven-part guide, How to Internet:

    This com­ing week, your host is Andrew Smith—a good friend and a guy with diverse (and good) taste.

    I’ve known Andrew for a number of years and he has consistently kept me entertained over drinks and on travels with interesting stories and generally informative and enjoyable conversation. I’m looking forward to seeing what he posts here over the coming week.

    As always, Andrew is on Twitter (follow him here) and has a Tumblr blog (here).

    One of Andrew’s current passions is public speaking and stand-up comedy. If you’re even remotely interested in those topics you’ll want to keep an eye on his public speaking site, The Naked Speaker.

    Thanks to David and thanks to Andrew.

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    Lloyd Morgan

  • How to Internet: Epilogue

    I’ve only scratched the surface of things that you may or may not want to do on the internet. I know that, I accept that, and I hope you don’t mind.

    Two things I might have liked to address but didn’t: podcasts and Twitter. These were both kicked in preference to what I did address because they’re rather easier and better known than the topics I did write about. For 90% of podcast listeners iTunes does “podcatching” so effortlessly they didn’t know that was a word. Twitter is world-famous and pretty well understood, so my advice would mostly be superfluous.

    But what I want to take a second to say is this: don’t wait for perfect understanding of something to give it a try. As Merlin Mann makes clear, the first time, perhaps times, you do something you’ll really be terrible at it. As Ze Frank said, saving up ideas with nothing but the notion that you’ll one day execute them perfectly and be greeted with immense volumes of praise and money is a sure recipe for stagnation.

    The internet’s the native home for amateurs. It’s a place where 90% of the stuff is made by people who could never have convinced someone to pay them for what they built but felt a strong enough desire to that they put it out here on the web for us. The purpose of learning How to Internet is so that you can better deal with the wealth of that diversity of stuff that exists on the internet and use it to entertain, inform, and improve yourself.

    The internet is a freer place than any other because of the twin engines of anonymity and low costs of entry. Surely anonymity has problems, which /b/ shows well, but it also creates scary brilliance. Imagine how unlikely someone would have been to publish LOLcats if they were risking their reputation on it.

    A low barrier to entry makes it possible in a way it never was to be only constrained by your effort. This is incredibly empowering and a little scary. Never before have you been so able to rise through a rather pure meritocracy, never before have you been so unable to blame some gatekeeper for your lack of success.

    Great things are afoot on the internet. Mind-bendingly great things are produced every single second of the day and put on the internet. What I hope I managed to give you this week was a competent sampling of the tools you can use to find, follow, and share those great internet things you love.

    Thanks for your time and attention.

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    David Hayes