how to know yourself
/Make things = know thyself.
ideas that challenge / comfort / inspire
confuse them
/If you cannot convince them, confuse them. -Harry S Truman
Feeling Like Getting Married
/Part of the reason we feel like getting married is to interrupt the all-consuming grip that love has over our psyches. We are exhausted by the melodramas and thrills that go nowhere. We are restless for other challenges. We hope that marriage can conclusively end love’s painful rule over our lives.
It can’t and won’t: there is as much doubt, hope, fear, rejection and betrayal in a marriage as there is in single life. It’s only from the outside that a marriage looks peaceful, uneventful and nicely boring.
Lying to ourselves
/Lying to ourselves is more deeply ingrained than lying to others. -Fyodor Dostoevsky
living in opposition
/Living purely in opposition to something, rather than for something, hollows you out inside. To be a whole human being, you have to spend your life building something good. -David Wong
Articles of Interest - week of Dec 11
/***SOCIAL MEDIA
Instagram tests standalone messaging app CNN
Teenagers are growing more anxious and depressed Economist
How Duterte Turned Facebook Into a Weapon—With Help From Facebook Bloomberg
10 Things You Can Do Now to Up Your Social Media Game in 2018 PBS Mediashift
Fourth Judge Says Social Media Sites Aren’t Liable for Supporting Terrorists–Pennie v. Twitter Technology & Marketing Law Blog
***MOBILE
Video will make up 75 percent of mobile traffic in five years Recode
Apple reveals 2017’s most popular apps, music and more Apple
Google’s research team releases three new experimental photo apps for Android & iOS 9 to 5 Google
***PRODUCING MEDIA
Facebook offers free music and sound effects for video makers The Next Web
How the New Media Rebellion in Video is Reshaping the Publishing World Tubular Insights
***INTERNET
Sad poop emoji gets flushed after row BBC
Page Not Found: A Brief History of the 404 Error Wired
How Email Open Tracking Quietly Took Over the Web Wired
How Bots Are Threatening Online Discourse PBS MediaShift
Before Net Neutrality, There Was Radio Regulation Jstor
***TECHNOLOGY
Netflix pulls some Big Brother nonsense with your data Mashable
***BIG DATA & STATISTICS
AI's brightest minds are still figuring out how to understand their creations Quartz
Microsoft has set up an internal AI University to try and get around the skills shortage Business Insider
Machine Learning to catch a Hacker Tech Republic
***THE BUSINESS OF MEDIA
The TV business is changing, giving auteurs creative opportunities they’ve never had before 1843 Magazine
How brands secretly buy their way into Forbes, Fast Company, and HuffPost stories The Outline
***JOURNALISM
Good video for classes about the process of reporting on a story Washington Post
ProPublica announces 7 newsrooms for its Local Reporting Network Poynter
Local newspaper ‘headline’ goes viral after proofreading error PR Daily
How do you use an anonymous source? The mysteries of journalism everyone should know Washington Post
Journalism’s New Patrons: Enterprise journalism emerges in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains Columbia Journalism Review
How Washington Post journalists broke the story of allegations against Roy Moore Washington Post
Report: The repeal of net neutrality will hurt local news Poynter
Your 17 favorite tools for journalism from 2017 Poynter
***JOURNALISM: THE NEW MOVIE “THE POST”
Steven Spielberg's homage to The Washington Post is a fine movie, but not history Poynter
Steven Spielberg's The Post: The story behind the new Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep movie First Post
***THE BUSINESS OF JOURNALISM
The 3 types of news subscribers: Why they pay and how to convert them YouTube
The journey from print to radio storytelling: A guide for navigating a new landscape NPR
Boston Herald files for bankruptcy protection to pursue sale Reuters
***TEACHING JOURNALISM
How OZY is Equipping Educators for Changing Media Audiences PBS Media Shift
Preparing students for careers through journalism classes Salina
Let’s welcome experts to our journalism schools Monday Note
***FAKE NEWS
How can we stop the train wreck of fake news on Facebook? Muckrack
This website helps you find related fact checks — and it was built by a 17-year-old Poynter
BBC to help students identify 'fake news' BBC
When news breaks, Google still can’t separate rumor from fact The Outline
***PERSONAL GROWTH
Why trying new things is so hard Becoming (my blog)
Optimism Medium
How Labels Can Affect People's Personalities And Potential NPR
Evaluating Personality Tests NPR
***LANGUAGE
It’s Nerve-wracking not Nerve-wrecking Chronicle of Higher Ed
Merriam-Webster’s word of the year for 2017: ‘Feminism’ Associated Press
Suspicion, Italian StyleHow does one teach in a world of fake news? William Germano examines a strategy to help young students understand what a lie looks like Chronicle of Higher Ed
***LITERATURE
British novelist Kazuo Ishiguro accepts Nobel Prize, recounts its meaning in Nagasaki Japan Times
***GENDER
Dad writes brilliant letter to school after daughter was sent off for a makeover Metro
The Credibility Gap in Academe Chronicle of Higher Ed
The Gender Balance of The New York Times Best Seller list Pudding
She Showed a Video in Class in which the use of gender-neutral pronouns was debated: Now She’s a Hero to Some, a Pariah to Others Chronicle of Higher Ed
Maternity leave is like a vacation, right? A feminist comic The Guardian
Pentagon Officials Say Transgender People Can Enlist In Military Next Year NPR
How do your views on gender compare with those of other Americans? Pew Research
Sexual Harassment Training Doesn’t Work. But Some Things Do New York Times
***RACE & ETHNICITY ISSUES
The Boston Globe’s new investigative series on racism Boston Globe
Ask Code Switch: Who Can Call Themselves 'Brown'? NPR
***FAMILIES
Read this before you have a baby (especially if you're a woman) The Guardian
How Spanking Affects Later Relationships The Atlantic
A global snapshot of same-sex marriage Pew Research
***LEGAL ISSUES
Lawsuit Over Mashup of 'Star Trek' and Dr. Seuss Gets Past Alpha Quadrant Hollywood Reporter
Jury sides with San Diego in Comic Con trademark battle CBS News 8
***RELIGION
Types of Church Mcsweeneys
Evangelicals and Domestic Violence: Are Christian Men More Abusive? A sociologist looks at the data on domestic abuse against women Christianity Today
Died: ‘God’s Smuggler’ and ‘The Cross and the Switchblade’ ‘The Hiding Place’ Coauthor John Sherrill Christianity Today
American evangelist leads rare event in communist Vietnam Associated Press
Pope Francis Suggests Translation Change To The Lord's Prayer NPR
Died: Harry Blamires, the C. S. Lewis Protégé Who Rediscovered ‘The Christian Mind’ Christianity Today
Is the Term “Evangelical” Over? Context
US evangelical preacher, Franklin Graham, should be banned from entering UK, critics say The Guardian
***RELIGION AND THE MIDDLE EAST
To Some Zionist Christians And Jews, The Bible Says Jerusalem Is Israel's Capital NPR
Creation Festival Founder Arrested for Alleged Child Molestation Christianity Today
Make way for a new wave of cosmopolitanism in the Middle East The Economist
***RELIGION AND MUSIC
Rockin' for the One who is the Rock March Shrednes
Gospel music as a tool to uproot drug abuse New Times
***RELIGION AND POLITICS
Trump is losing (some) white evangelicals Religious News Service
God’s Plan for Mike Pence (opinion) The Atlantic
The Christian Right Has A New Strategy On Gay Marriage FiveThirtyEight
White evangelicals are now more tolerant of immoral behavior by elected officials than the average American The Atlantic
Why evangelicals are OK with voting for Roy Moore The Conversation
***ART & DESIGN
The Vibrant Color Wheels Designed by Goethe, Newton & Other Theorists of Color (1665-1810) Open Culture
2017 Book Covers We Loved Spine Magazine
***MUSIC
What Apple is likely to do with Shazam, the early name-that-tune iPhone app USA Today
The Sound of Modern Pop Peaked This Year — and Now It Needs to Change Vulture
***FILM
Movies You Missed: 'It's A Wonderful Life' NPR
***SEXUAL HARASSMENT & ASSAULT
Two female scientists talk about the troubling misogyny they've faced in online communities Warm Regards Podcast
I Spoke Up Against My Harasser — and Paid a Steep Price Chronicle of Higher Ed
Local TV news has a harassment problem — from people who watch the news Vox
A High-Profile Anti-Tobacco Crusader Is Being Sued For Sexual Harassment BuzzFeed
Zero newsrooms responded to CJR’s request for information about sexual harassment policies Columbia Journalism Review
Women and men in both parties say sexual harassment allegations reflect ‘widespread problems in society’ Pew Research
Why do women get all attractive if they don't want to be harassed? Glad you asked Baltimore Sun
***SEXUAL HARASSMENT & POLITICS
Sexual Harassment Charges Put Politicians On Defensive NPR
Legislators Move To Take On Sexual Harassment In Their Own Halls NPR
Paul Pressler, former Texas judge and religious right leader, accused of sexually assaulting teen for years Texas Tribune
Charges Of Sexual Impropriety Upends Congress NPR
***SEXUAL HARASSMENT & HIGHER ED
What Happens When Sex Harassment Disrupts Victims’ Academic Careers Chronicle of Higher Ed
Can Sexual Predators Be Good Scholars? Chronicle of Higher Ed
Dirty Old Men on the Faculty (opinion) Chronicle of Higher Ed
KU pays $395,000 to settle Title IX lawsuits by women who alleged sexual assaults by football player Lawrence Journal-World
***HEALTH
The other big drug problem: Older people taking too many pills Washington Post
The body changes dramatically during pregnancy — and that might mean medication doses are all wrong Stat News
***SCIENCE
Everything We Know About Physics in One Neat Infographic Big Think
Another example of why replication is important in science The Scientific Method Economist
The trouble with big science is essentially that it is a profiteering enterprise Los Angeles Review of Books
***PSYCHOLOGY
Bad News for the Highly Intelligent: Superior IQs associated with mental and physical disorders, research suggests Scientific American
Why are America's farmers killing themselves in record numbers? The Guardian
I study liars. I’ve never seen one like President Trump The Washington Post
***NEUROSCIENCE
Neuroscientists Just Launched an Atlas of the Developing Human Brain Wired
Stopping A Plan Already In Motion Could Give You A Headache NPR
***CRITICAL THINKING
Fined for "doing math without a license" in Oregon: State will let engineer refer to himself as an 'engineer' The Register
***PHILOSOPHY
Western philosophy asks, “What is being?” Japanese philosophy asks, “What is nothingness?” Quartz
Why physicists need philosophy OUPblog
***HISTORY
The Mayflower generation and the burden it bears Economist
***ETHICS
Baby Born To Uterus Transplant Patient Raises Ethics Questions NPR
‘Doxxing’ someone, even if he’s a Nazi sympathizer, poses a serious ethical dilemma CNBC
***RESEARCH
Scientific peer review: an ineffective and unworthy institution (opinion) Times Higher Education
Jeffrey Beall’s boss at the University of Colorado, Denver weighs in on the closure of Beall’s list, and scientific publishing in general (PDF) Shea Swauger, College & Research Libraries News
A Guide to Spotting Shady Statistics The Open Notebook The Open Notebook
Some big pharmaceutical companies are meeting legal standards for disclosing results—but many studies still go unreported The-Scientist
A “quantitative review” of a book about priming research touches on replications, publication bias and other issues Replication-Index
A new book looks at academic fraud and how the response to it has changed over the years Inside Higher Ed
Detecting image manipulation in the world of science Lab News
It's Gonna Get a Lot Easier to Break Science Journal Paywalls Wired
***HIGHER ED
Rural America’s Neglected Higher-Education Problem The Atlantic
Moody’s Downgrades Higher Ed’s Outlook From ‘Stable’ to ‘Negative’ Chronicle of Higher Ed
Why One University Wants to Close Lots of Small Libraries and Create ‘Hubs’ Wisconsin State Journal
How Can Colleges Head Off Homegrown Extremism? Chronicle of Higher Ed
The University of Baltimore has cut nearly 400 employees' salaries in an effort to reduce costs amid falling enrollment Baltimore Sun
Students don't seem to be getting much out of higher education The Atlantic
An MIT Dean Planned a University With No Classrooms. Here’s Where It Stands Chronicle of Higher Ed
An institution eliminates its English major, but more has been lost than a degree program Chronicle of Higher Ed
Christian University announces plans to sell radio station Andersonian
A graduating senior reflects on why she chose to stay at her evangelical college after coming out Newnownext
Christian colleges want protection for the DREAMers San Gabriel Valley Tribune
Aspiring journalists at conservative Liberty University see themselves as the antidote to ‘fake news’ Washington Post
***TEACHING
End of Semester Bingo McSweeneys
What I Know About My Students Chronicle of Higher Ed
Teaching Is a Private Act. How Can Professors Open Up About It? Chronicle of Higher Ed
***ACADEMIC LIFE
Dirty Old Men on the Faculty Chronicle of Higher Ed
Academic Conference Panels Are Boring Chronicle of Higher Ed
***STUDENT MEDIA
Coronado students protest alleged censorship KGTV-TV
At 130 years, The Daily Collegian says goodbye to daily print. But our mission remains the same Collegian
***STUDENT LIFE
This College Student Is Stuck Wearing a Christmas-Tree Costume to Class After Actually Getting All the Retweets She Asked For New York Magazine
Stressed Out Kids Are More Likely to Become Bad Decision Makers Vice
What A Tax Overhaul Could Mean For Students And Schools NPR
The Importance of Dumb Mistakes in College New York Times
'Millennials': Be Careful How We Use This Label NPR
Why is choosing a college major so fraught with anxiety? Washington Post
if then
/If God does not exist, then everything is permitted. – Fyodor Dostoevsky
being good
/I'm pretty sure that most of what we consider being good in this culture is just having disdain for the right things. David Wong
And how are you mad?
/When first looking out for a partner, the requirements we come up with are coloured by a beautiful non-specific sentimental vagueness: we’ll say we really want to find someone who is ‘kind’ or ‘fun to be with’, ‘attractive’ or ‘up for adventure…’
It isn’t that such desires are wrong, they are just not remotely precise enough in their understanding of what we in particular are going to require in order to stand a chance of being happy – or, more accurately, not consistently miserable.
All of us are crazy in very particular ways. We’re distinctively neurotic, unbalanced and immature, but don’t know quite the details because no one ever encourages us too hard to find them out. An urgent, primary task of any lover is therefore to get a handle on the specific ways in which they are mad. They have to get up to speed on their individual neuroses. They have to grasp where these have come from, what they make them do – and most importantly, what sort of people either provoke or assuage them. A good partnership is not so much one between two healthy people (there aren’t many of these on the planet), it’s one between two demented people who have had the skill or luck to find a non-threatening conscious accommodation between their relative insanities.
The very idea that we might not be too difficult as people should set off alarm bells in any prospective partner. The question is just where the problems will lie: perhaps we have a latent tendency to get furious when someone disagrees with us, or we can only relax when we are working, or we’re a bit tricky around intimacy after sex, or we’ve never been so good at explaining what’s going on when we’re worried. It’s these sort of issues that – over decades – create catastrophes and that we therefore need to know about way ahead of time, in order to look out for people who are optimally designed to withstand them. A standard question on any early dinner date should be quite simply: ‘And how are you mad?’
we should ask
/If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
moldy bread
/If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can sure make something out of you. -Muhammad Ali
Articles of Interest - Dec 4
/***SOCIAL MEDIA
Here’s how to use the newly redesigned Snapchat (Hint: It’s not as hard) Recode
Snapchat redesigns confusing app as user growth stalls CNN
5 ways social media has reshaped the PR industry PR Daily
OMG! Texting is 25 years old CNET
10 Things You Can Do Now to Up Your Social Media Game in 2018 Media Shift
***INTERNET
Google Street View can predict voting patterns and race Journalism Resources
***TECHNOLOGY
Should Law Enforcement Need a Warrant to Track Your Cell Phone? Scientific American
When Robots Invade the Kitchen Wired
Deciding At What Age To Give A Kid A Smartphone NPR
What DNA Home Testing Can Tell You NPR
Blockchain: A new technology for global health development? Journalism Resources
***JOURNALISM
Who's that interrogating you? These tools can help you avoid a sting Poynter
Here are three tools that help digital journalists save their work in case a site shuts down Harvard’s Nieman Lab
Small-market newspapers in the digital age Columbia Journalism Review
The woman who tried to sting The Washington Post also lied to a Student Press Law Center intern Student Press Law Center
Is It Ever OK for Journalists to Lie? Politico
'Rope. Tree. Journalist' T-shirt was on sale at Walmart.com until RTDNA spoke up Poynter
How can journalists responsibly cover neo-Nazis? A media scholar gives his advice Vox
***THE BUSINESS OF JOURNALISM
Trump's attacks on CNN helped their revenues far more than his praise helped Fox News, new figures suggest The Independent
New Secret LA Weekly owners cut nearly half the staff LA Times
***FAKE NEWS
A satirical fake news site apologized for making a story too real Poynter
How can we stop the train wreck of fake news on Facebook? MuckRack
Experts Say Facebook's Latest Attempt To Stop Fake News Isn't Foolproof NPR
Do teens care about ‘fake news?’ Recode
***BIG DATA & STATISTICS
Five ways to fix statistics Nature
MIT and Harvard: we just built one of the largest quantum computer "simulators” ever MIT Tech News
The leap forward this year may be when AI and intelligent process automation are harnessed together IT Proportal
Choosing hyperparameters with population-based training Deep Mind
***PERSONAL GROWTH
Alone Together Becoming (my blog)
Why Trying New Things Is So Hard to Do New York Times
Museum of Failure Opens in LA NBC Los Angeles
***WRITING & READING
How to Get Your Mind to Read New York Times
Wrestling With ‘/s’ (sarcasm) Chronicle of Higher Ed
***LANGUAGE
‘Nothing to See Here’: the Evolution of a Catchphrase Chronicle of Higher Ed
A Map Showing How Much Time It Takes to Learn Foreign Languages: From Easiest to Hardest Open Culture
Just Google It: A Short History of a Newfound Verb Wired
Why One Dictionary Made 'Complicit' Its Word Of The Year NPR
What Are the Most Effective Strategies for Learning a Foreign Language?: Six TED Talks Provide the Answers Open Culture
***LITERATURE
Why So Many Adults Love Young-Adult Literature: Over half of today’s YA readers are over the age of 18 The Atlantic
***GENDER
Children are victims in the latest identity-driven culture war Economist
Women in Academia Unite Scholarly Kitchen
***RACE & ETHNICITY ISSUES
Why America Fails at Gathering Hate Crime Statistics ProPublica
***LEGAL ISSUES
Supreme Court Considers Cellphones And Digital Privacy NPR
Could Joe Scarborough Sue President Trump for Libel? Politico
The Supreme Court’s justices want to enhance privacy protections for a digital age Economist
Watchdog group urges media not to use 'religious freedom' in upcoming Supreme Court case Poynter
***RELIGION
A Beautiful City in the Bible Was Ravaged by Disease and Chaos Because of Climate Change Newsweek
This Evangelical Action Movie Is Giving Away A Free Assault Rifle Fast Company
Temple Baptist Church falls prey to internet meme generator Las Cruces Sun-News
Former LDS bishop calls for church leaders to stop interviewing teens about sexual practices Fox 13
Book review: Family’s agenda behind Washington’s newest museum Washington Post
Samaritan’s Purse Loses Support for Operation Christmas Child VOCM
Christian apologist caught lying about himself for years Raw Story
Ravi Zacharias Responds to Sexting Allegations, Credentials Critique Christianity Today
***RELIGION AND POLITICS
From Roy Moore To Tax Debate, A Spotlight On Christian Nationalism NPR
Westboro Baptist Church Will Protest Trump, Says His Sex Life Puts 'Entire Nation In Peril' Newsweek
Pence tells Christian broadcaster: ‘Trump is a believer’ The Hill
***ART & DESIGN
The rise and rise of performance art Economist
***MUSIC
U2's 'Songs of Experience' Is The Reboot The Band Needed NPR
***THE BUSINESS OF MEDIA
BuzzFeed hit with layoffs, as digital ad dollars fall short Talking New Media
How new media firms such as Vice and BuzzFeed are losing their gloss New Statesman
The nation’s second largest radio company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Toledo Blade
***SEXUAL HARASSMENT & ASSAULT
MPR drops Keillor over inappropriate conduct Minnesota Public Radio
Judge allows Title IX lawsuit to proceed: The suit seeks monetary damages for alleged "indifference" to a student's report that she was raped Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette
#MeToo: reporting on sexual assaults on campus (video)
How common is sexual harassment? Economis
The Legal Recourse For Victims Of Sexual Harassment NPR
How to Start Healing After Sexual Trauma Life Hacker
In Politics, Decisions On Sexual Harassment Allegations A Slow Process NPR
***HEALTH
More than half of U.S. kids will be obese by the time they’re 35, study predicts LA Times
Heart transplants likely to be obsolete within 10 years, says heart surgeon Telegraph
Is the FDA Withholding Data about a Controversial Drug to Protect Its Manufacturer? Scientific American
Smoking cannabis regularly triples severe depression risk, study of Bristol teenagers finds Bristol Post
***RELATIONSHIPS
Parents now spend twice as much time with their children as 50 years ago Economist
People Like People Who Ask Questions NPR
Should I Confess My Internet Stalking to My Date? Wired
Marriage linked to lower dementia risk Fox News
***BUSINESS
This is an American Workday, By Occupation (data visualization) Flowing Data
How Birth Order Relates To Job Success NPR
Here’s all the money in the world, in one chart MarketWatch
How the tax overhaul could affect your bottom line (interactive calculator) Washington Post
***SCIENCE
Technology behind bitcoin could aid science, report says Physics Today
Fallibility in science: Responsible ways to handle mistakes Slide Shares
Why are scientists filing lawsuits against their critics? The Verge
Can science ever be free of our very human biases? (opinion) Laboratory News
***PSYCHOLOGY
Software that finds statistical errors in psychology papers is Surprisingly Accurate Science Mag
Problems in a psychologist’s splashy work on gender ArsTechnica
The “Humans of New York” Photo Project Becomes a 13-Part Video Documentary Series: Watch It Free Online Open Culture
Teenage brains 'not wired for high stakes' BBC
***PRODUCTIVITY
These Gmail searches will dig up stuff you never knew you missed Popular Science
***ETHICS
What's the best way to edit genes with CRISPR? Scientists propose 'rules' to optimize this cutting-edge technology Johns Hopkins University
Do We Have Moral Obligations to Robots? Daily Jstor
Is it ethical for journalists to ask Trump pointedly provocative questions? Harvard’s Nieman Report
***RESEARCH
One Way to Fix Reproducibility Problems: Train Scientists Better The Scientist
Why a Lot of Important Research Is Not Being Done New York Times
The francophone researcher’s dilemma: publish in English or perish? French-speaking researchers are increasingly choosing to publish their scientific articles in English University Affairs
Questionable research practices “are moderately to highly prevalent what they attributed primarily to academic incentive structures” Social Psychology
When a trial fails The New York Times Magazine
Understanding Bias in Peer Review Google Research
Does spin in news stories about medical studies make a difference? BMJ Open
Papers authored by academic and corporate partners are more widely discussed online Nature Index
Authorship wars: academics outline the rules for recognition Times Higher Ed
Federal Trade Commission and National Institutes of Health Take Action Against Predatory Publishing Practices Scholarly Kitchen
***HIGHER ED
What Really Happened At The School Where 'Every Senior Got Into College' NPR
What to Consider When Closing an Academic Program Chronicle of Higher Ed
College Football's Avalanche of Lawsuits Inside Higher Ed
1500+ MOOCs Getting Started in December Open Culture
California sues for-profit school over 'false promises' Associated Press
Christian college’s ‘biblically consistent’ curriculum under fire Times Higher Ed
***TEACHING
Should Laptops Be Banned in Class? An Op-Ed Fires Up the Debate Chronicle of Higher Ed
Don’t Insult Your Class by Banning Laptops (opinion) Chronicle of Higher Ed
What I Know About My Students Chronicle of Higher Ed
Everyone Hates Course Evaluations Chronicle of Higher Ed
***STUDENT MEDIA
Breitbart, Fox News misidentify Tech's newspaper in 'racist' column The Daily Toreador
After Threatening to Sue a Student Newspaper Writer and Canceled Speech, Scaramucci Resigns From Tufts Advisory Board Chronicle of Higher Ed
Texas State newspaper cuts ties with writer after 'racist' opinion column WFAA
***STUDENT LIFE
Navigating Life On Campus When You're On The Autism Spectrum NPR
Tips to copy edit your résumé The Daily Californian (student newspaper) Daily Cal
We prefer the Apps
/The family that is eating together while simultaneously on their phones is not actually together. They are, in writer Sherry Turkle’s formulation, “alone together.” You are where your attention is. If you’re watching a football game with your son while also texting a friend, you’re not fully with your child — and he knows it. Truly being with another person means being experientially with them, picking up countless tiny signals from the eyes and voice and body language and context, and reacting, often unconsciously, to every nuance. These are our deepest social skills, which have been honed through the aeons. They are what make us distinctively human.
No wonder we prefer the apps. An entire universe of intimate responses is flattened to a single, distant swipe. We hide our vulnerabilities, airbrushing our flaws and quirks; we project our fantasies onto the images before us. Rejection still stings — but less when a new virtual match beckons on the horizon.
Andrew Sullivan writing in New York Magazine
what he has refused me
/I have had prayers answered-most strangely so sometimes-but I think our heavenly Father's loving kindness has been even more evident in what He has refused me.
Lewis Carroll
the way it is
/I never did give anybody hell. I just told the truth and they thought it was hell. - Harry S Truman
Our private online worlds
/When we enter a coffee shop in which everyone is engrossed in their private online worlds, we respond by creating one of our own. When someone next to you answers the phone and starts talking loudly as if you didn’t exist, you realize that, in her private zone, you don’t. And slowly, the whole concept of a public space — where we meet and engage and learn from our fellow citizens — evaporates.
Has our enslavement to dopamine — to the instant hits of validation that come with a well-crafted tweet or Snapchat streak — made us happier? I suspect it has simply made us less unhappy, or rather less aware of our unhappiness, and that our phones are merely new and powerful antidepressants of a non-pharmaceutical variety.
Andrew Sullivan writing in New York Magazine
keep dancing
/I get up. I walk. I fall down. Meanwhile, I keep dancing.
Articles of Interest - Nov 27
/***TECHNOLOGY
Will Computers Ever Hear Like People Do? YouTube Video
Americans’ obsession with smartphones shows no sign of abating Talking New Media
NASA Uses Students To Develop Virtual Reality Programs NPR
How much did your town spend on its shot at being Amazon’s second headquarters? MuckRock
Judge: 84-year-old doctor who doesn’t use computer can’t regain license Associated Press
From Linux to Windows 10: Why did Munich switch and why does it matter? Tech Republic
***BIG DATA & STATISTICS
How labs are being impacted by microfluidics and lab-on-a-chip technologies, cloud computing, machine learning, and AI Technology Networks
Machine learning is still something businesses are talking about, rather than using in any great numbers IDG connect
Using neural networks to help devises be able to hear like humans (video) Nat and Friends
***SOCIAL MEDIA
How to Join Someone's Instagram Live and Broadcast as a Guest Life Hacker
How LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman would fix social media Recode
Watch Out: If Someone Blocks You on Twitter, You Lose Your DM History With Them Life Hacker
How to Use Instagram's Filters Without Posting Your Photo Life Hacker
***JOURNALISM
Access to city records can take weeks with new online portal Union Tribune
AI Could Help Reporters Dig Into Grassroots Issues Once More MIT Technology Review
The Mexican city where journalism is a life and death matter Irish Times
The best automatic transcription tools for journalists Poynter
Thank you to all the public records officers who make transparency possible MuckRock
Photojournalists in Mexico Show Solidarity Amid the Ruins Harvard’s Nieman Center Reports
***JOURNALISM: THE NYT NAZI PROFILE PIECE
The media today: How not to write about a Nazi Columbia Journalism Review
Where the New York Times article on an American Nazi went wrong Vox
The problem with the New York Times’ chummy profile of a Nazi sympathizer Quartz
The Banality of White Nationalism The Atlantic
The New York Times responded to the outpouring of criticism of its profile of a white supremacist Recode
***TEACHING JOURNALISM
Journalism Schools are on Life Support Michael Koretzky
How Students Covered a Conference Better with Multi-Platform, Multimedia Reporting Media Shift
***FAKE NEWS
In some countries, fake news on Facebook is a matter of life and death Columbia Journalism Review
Journalists, let’s invest in trust, not just expect it Medium
Investigation of fake net neutrality foes has been stymied by the FCC, New York attorney general says Washington Post
‘Fake news’ seized an Idaho city. A local paper ‘jumped right into the coverage’ Columbia Journalism Review
Tim O’Reilly on ways to put the brakes on “fake news” and rebuild trust on the internet Harvard’s Nieman Center Reports
The Fake News Fueling the Uproar Over Self-Driving Vehicles Tech News Review
***PERSONAL GROWTH
err in the direction of kindness: Do those things that incline you toward the big questions, and avoid the things that would reduce you and make you trivial Becoming (my blog)
Alike: a Poignant Short Animated Film About the Enduring Conflict Between Creativity and Conformity Open Culture
***GRAMMAR
***WRITING & READING
At what point do we give up on books? Big data has the answer The Guardian
22 Famous Writers Told Us About The Book They're Most Thankful For BuzzFeed News
Drop the jargon and write like a human with the help of this tool Poynter
***LANGUAGE
Answering a Question With a Question Chronicle of Higher Ed
Moderate alcohol consumption improves foreign language skills Research Digest
Dictionary.com chooses ‘complicit’ as its word of the year Associated Press
***LITERATURE
A Digital Archive of 1,800+ Children’s Books from UCLA Open Culture
University Library to remove 170,000 unused books from its libraries WTAE
Top 10 Misquoted Lines from C. S. Lewis Christianity Today
George Orwell's Life In 'The Last Man In Europe' NPR
Author: Racism revealed in Dr. Seuss' work, children's literature Chicago Tribune
***GENDER
How American Women “Kickstarted” a Campaign to Give Marie Curie a Gram of Radium, Raising $120,000 in 1921 Open Culture
***RACE & ETHNICITY ISSUES
The legal profession is diversifying Washington Post
***LEGAL ISSUES
Rosie O'Donnell Beats Slander Lawsuit After Blaming 'View' Producer for Media Leaks Hollywood Reporter
An upcoming Supreme Court case that will determine whether law enforcement should be able to access cell phone data without a warrant Washington Post
Zazzle Loses Copyright Jury Verdict, and That’s Bad News for Print-on-Demand Publishers–Greg Young Publishing v. Zazzle Technology and Marketing Law Blog
***RELIGION
Is There an Evangelical Crisis? (opinion) New York Times
Where young evangelicals are headed (opinion) Alan Jacob’s blog
A TEDx Talk About Growing Up In A New Zealand Christian Cult You Tube
No, the Swedish Church has not banned the male pronoun for God The Local
How the “Christian Netflix” is making hit movies you’ve never heard of VICE
Views of transgender issues divide along religious lines Pew Research
Kentucky Baptists threaten to kick out churches that think it's OK to hire 'practicing homosexuals' Louisville Courier Journal
***RELIGION AND POLITICS
The confused identity of today’s “evangelical” voter (opinion) Vox
***ART & DESIGN
Seeing a Song: Painting What She Hears Open Culture
60-Second Introductions to 12 Groundbreaking Artists: Matisse, Dalí, Duchamp, Hopper, Pollock, Rothko & More Open Culture
***MUSIC
Christian Rock Artist Josh Lovelace Branches Out To Children's Music In Solo Debut NPR
Record Labels Are Rebounding, But This Startup Could Shake Their Dominance Fast Company
What the hell’s happening to music’s trade press? (And what does it mean for the rest of us?) Music Business
***FILM
‘Lady Bird’ sets Rotten Tomatoes record as best-reviewed movie ever Daily Dot
***THE BUSINESS OF MEDIA
FCC Chairman Defends Repeal Of Net Neutrality NPR
The Internet Broke the Media, and There's No Turning Back Bloomberg
Media’s complicated relationship with VC funding Columbia Journalism Review
Smaller Newspapers Are Doing Just Fine, Thank You, New Report Finds Street Fight Mag
***STUDENT MEDIA
Tufts postpones Scaramucci talk after he threatens to sue student who wrote an unflattering opinion piece about him in the student newspaper Washington Post
Millennials are set to be the most unequal generation yet Quartz
***STUDENT LIFE
Where Millennials Come From And why we insist on blaming them for it The New Yorker
After Protest of Working Conditions, Grad Students at American U. of Beirut Lose Jobs Chronicle of Higher Ed
Dutch university says student cannot defend PhD dressed as a pirate Times Higher Ed
15 Items Every Twenty-Something Should Have on Their Bucket List Study Breaks
How Tech Companies Are Catering To Generation Z Teens NPR
***SEXUAL HARASSMENT & ASSAULT
How To Apologize For Sexual Harassment (Hint: It Takes More Than 'Sorry') NPR
The industries with the worst sexual harassment problem Washington Post
The Celebrity Perv Apology Generator
***SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE NEWSROOM
One in two women journalists suffer gender-based violence at work International Federation of Journalists
The News Industry Has a Sexual Harassment Problem. #NowWhat? Harvard’s Nieman Center Reports
***SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN HIGHER ED
Professors urge boycott of University of Rochester over allegations of misconduct CBS News
Michigan State hasn’t faced consequences for enabling the biggest sex abuse scandal in U.S. sports Think Progress
***SEXUAL HARASSMENT REPORTERS
When Sexual Assault Victims Are Charged With Lying (opinion) New York Times
For Some Victims, Reporting a Rape Can Bring Doubt, Abuse — and Even Prosecution Pro Publica
***HEALTH
News headlines claiming two therapies were proven ‘equally effective’ for treating opioid use disorder Health News Review
Loyola U makes data-free claim that a ‘simple’ heart test can distinguish between major depression and bipolar disorder Health News Review
Is Alzheimer’s ‘coming for you’? NY Times uses anecdote and an old blood test to warn it might be Health News Review
***SCIENCE
Why are scientists filing lawsuits against their critics? The Verge
Still No Science Advisor at the White House MIT Technology Review
***PSYCHOLOGY
Angry people die sooner Daily Mail
How to Detect When People Are Using the Truth to Lie to You Life Hacker
***PHILOSOPHY
Billionaire LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman says his masters in philosophy has helped him more than an MBA Business Insider
How a Skeptic Became a Stoic Chronicle of Higher Ed
Why Does Materialism Get Such A Bad Rap? Digg
***PRODUCTIVITY
An ex-Google data scientist studied thousands of successful people on Wikipedia — here's what they have in common The Independent
***BUSINESS & FINANCE
Why business school can be dangerous, according to two of Silicon Valley's biggest names Business Insider
How Much You Should Pay Your Babysitter, According to Where You Live Offspring
***RESEARCH
A US Research Integrity Advisory Board is long overdue Nature
This Ivy League Scientist Did A Bunch Of Food Surveys And Somehow Got The Same Number Of Responses Each Time BuzzFeed News
Rewarding negative results keeps science on track (opinion) Nature
Poisoning the well with a within-person design? What’s the risk? Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social Science
PLOS Reports $1.7M Loss In 2016 Scholarly Kitchen
***HIGHER ED
'Elitists, crybabies and junky degrees': Education advocates see growing disdain for U.S. universities (opinion) Washington Post
Interactive graph on the rising cost of college Market Watch
‘Ring by Spring’: How Christian Colleges Fuel Students’ Rush to Get Engaged Chronicle of Higher Ed
***TEACHING
How to Measure Success Without Academic Achievement Ed Surge
How to Escape Grading Jail Chronicle of Higher Ed
***ACADEMIC LIFE
Withering Humanities Jobs: Full-time jobs in English and languages continue to decline, reaching a new low Inside Higher Ed
Big Legal Win for Trans Academic: Federal jury awards $1.165 million, finding discrimination in tenure denial by Southeastern Oklahoma State University Inside Higher Ed
Academic fraud: A question of morals, integrity Straits Times
err in the direction of kindness
/Accomplishment is unreliable. “Succeeding,” whatever that might mean to you, is hard, and the need to do so constantly renews itself (success is like a mountain that keeps growing ahead of you as you hike it), and there’s the very real danger that “succeeding” will take up your whole life, while the big questions go untended.
Since, according to me, your life is going to be a gradual process of becoming kinder and more loving: Hurry up. Speed it along. Start right now. There’s a confusion in each of us, a sickness, really: selfishness. But there’s also a cure. So be a good and proactive and even somewhat desperate patient on your own behalf — seek out the most efficacious anti-selfishness medicines, energetically, for the rest of your life.
Do all the other things, the ambitious things — travel, get rich, get famous, innovate, lead, fall in love, make and lose fortunes, swim naked in wild jungle rivers (after first having it tested for monkey poop) – but as you do, to the extent that you can, err in the direction of kindness.
Do those things that incline you toward the big questions, and avoid the things that would reduce you and make you trivial. That luminous part of you that exists beyond personality — your soul, if you will — is as bright and shining as any that has ever been. Bright as Shakespeare’s, bright as Gandhi’s, bright as Mother Teresa’s. Clear away everything that keeps you separate from this secret luminous place. Believe it exists, come to know it better, nurture it, share its fruits tirelessly.
And someday, in 80 years, when you’re 100, and I’m 134, and we’re both so kind and loving we’re nearly unbearable, drop me a line, let me know how your life has been. I hope you will say: It has been so wonderful.
George Saunders Commencement Speech 2013
for a purpose
/I believe God made me for a purpose.. and when I run I feel His pleasure. – Eric Liddell