Tag: interesting
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Video Clip Search Tool
As both a movie lover and a Xennial, I still (unashamedly) send a lot of video clips and gifs when texting with friends. If nothing apt comes up immediately, there’s a couple of sites I use where I can enter any phrase and immediately get a clip of it being said in various films and…
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Paper Aeroplanes for Young and Old
Being a father to two six-year-olds means that I spend a not-insignificant amount of time folding and colouring paper. Paper aeroplanes are an infrequent but not unusual sight in the house. For those times, Fold ‘N Fly is my go-to website, offering “a database of paper airplanes with easy to follow folding instructions, video tutorials…
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Equipping for Emergencies: What Items Disappear First?
As someone who lives in an economically, climatically and politically stable Western country, the chances are somewhat remote that I’ll ever encounter an emergency that requires forethought and careful planning1. Nevertheless, that doesn’t stop me from enjoying this list of the 100 most in-demand goods during an emergency. This list apparently originates from someone called…
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Cialdini’s Principles of Persuasion and the Importance of Recognising “Enforced Compliance”
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion is Robert Cialdini’s 1984 book discussing what he calls the six fundamental psychological principles of compliance: consistency, reciprocation, social proof, authority, liking and scarcity. The conclusion to Cialdini’s book points out why, in this increasingly complex world, resisting attempts at “enforced compliance” (deception) through these key principles is as important…
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The Long Game: Civilization II and Sim City’s Magnasanti
After ten years of playing the same Civilization II campaign (my favourite game ever), Reddit user Lycerius has ended up creating a dystopian semi-self-sustaining world, where the three remaining “super-nations” are in a constant state of espionage and nuclear war. The details of Lycerius’ “hellish nightmare” world are absolutely fascinating: the military stalemate; the 1700-year…
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The Personal Business of Recommending Books
For book recommendations, most of us rely on the suggestions of trusted friends and on word of mouth. This, at least, allows us to hold someone accountable for those inevitable poor recommendations. But what of ‘professional’ book recommenders (writers in publications, not algorithmic ‘recommenders’)? Laura Miller–author of the book recommendation Slate column, –looks at what…
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The Ideas of Frank Chimero
Designer Frank Chimero presents his ‘Ideas’: his manifesto of sorts principles on creativity, motivation and innovation. Chimero briefly covers seven topics, entitled: Why is Greater Than How Not More. Instead, Better. Surprise + Clarity = Delight Sincire, Authentic & Honest No Silver Bullets, No Secrets Quality + Sincerity = Enthusiasm Everything is Something or Other I’m…
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Underestimating Others’ Willingness to Help
We vastly underestimate how likely people are to provide assistance when asked, in both social settings and when soliciting funds. That’s the verdict coming from research conducted by associate professor of organizational behavior at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Frank Flynn. Flynn found that we underestimate how much others are willing to provide in…
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For Continuous Learning and Generalisation
Stating that our “reality is out of date” and coining the term “mesofacts” for those pieces of knowledge that pass us by unawares, Samuel Arbesman shows why continuous learning and generalisation are advantageous behaviours–or at least that specialisation to the degree that it is currently encouraged is outdated. Slow-changing facts are what I term “mesofacts.” Mesofacts…