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jbeltowska: The Scientific Memethod.

Mon, 04 Jun 2012 17:59:18 -0400

The Scientific Memethod.

The Zeigarnik Effect

Mon, 04 Jun 2012 13:53:58 -0400

Our brain appears to be wired to nag about unfinished to-do list items as uncompleted tasks and unmet goals continue to pop up into our minds. This is called the Zeigarnik effect and explains phenomena like earworms — when you hear only a portion of song, the song is likely to run through your mind at odd intervals as your brain struggles to finish it. Originally, the Zeigarnik effect was believed to be the brain’s way of ensuring goals are eventually accomplished, by prodding you into urgency until they are. But recent research has shed new light on the relationship between the conscious and the unconscious in our cognitive to-do lists.

[It] turns out that the Zeigarnik effect is not, as was assumed for decades, a reminder that continues unabated until the task gets done. The persistence of distracting thoughts is not an indication that the unconscious is working to finish the task. Nor is it the unconscious nagging the conscious mind to finish the task right away. Instead, the unconscious is asking the conscious mind to make a plan. The unconscious mind apparently can’t do this on its own, so it nags the conscious mind to make a plan with specifics like time, place, and opportunity. Once the plan is formed, the unconscious can stop nagging the conscious mind with reminders.”

The moral, then? Unless you are Woody Guthrie, keep your to-do list to a few very specific, actionable, non-conflicting items, then go fly your kite in peace.

Posteverythingism

Sun, 03 Jun 2012 17:58:00 -0400

Posteverythingism: /poʊst-ˈɛvriˌθɪŋ-ɪzəm/, n.; 1. literally: an after all that is (or all that is related) ism;
2. specifically: the belief that the western philosophical tradition has toppled and that no return to any part can re-establish a productive direction; that it is each generation's responsibility to look at the world around them and interpret it, e.g. do what the ancients did, don't read about it;
3. more generally: an anti-philosophical trend;
4. more specifically general: the posting of everything beautiful, insightful, incisive, timely or quirky.

Neutral Bling Hotel : a completely sick mashup album from...

Sun, 03 Jun 2012 17:36:38 -0400

Neutral Bling Hotel : a completely sick mashup album from Psycosis

right/left brain surgery (Taken with Instagram at Gin Lane...

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 19:12:45 -0400

right/left brain surgery (Taken with Instagram at Gin Lane Media)

nixistence: norweeg: dontyoueven: SHUT UP AND TAKE MY...

Thu, 31 May 2012 20:13:19 -0400

[Flash 10 is required to watch video.]

nixistence:

norweeg:

dontyoueven:

SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY

oh.my.god WHAT!?!? How do some of these things work??

because yes.

I’m officially over touchscreens now.

All playdough everything 2013.

A Final Plea For ‘The Pitch’

Thu, 31 May 2012 19:57:14 -0400

A Final Plea For ‘The Pitch’:

Advertising, as an industry, needs to reposition itself. We need to unapologetically evince the artform behind what we do. We need to emblazon the importance of innovation. We need to become ruthless defenders of creativity in a world marked by constant conformity. We need to be doing this. Not filling online forums with self-deprecating, inter-industry trash talk.

Let’s start by rooting for each other. Clearly, nobody else will.

I don’t feel that The Pitch’s horror is in accuracy (or lack thereof), just that it’s frightfully dull. Maybe I just haven’t met the proper amount of terrible people, but the characters presented in the half-episode that I could stomach felt like wild over-dramatizations of industry personality. Charicatures.

Still, this is a good natured post that I largely agree with.

A T-Shirt that I would like to own.

Wed, 30 May 2012 17:49:24 -0400

A T-Shirt that I would like to own.

Calming Manatee Just what the doctor ordered.

Wed, 30 May 2012 13:56:51 -0400

Calming Manatee

Just what the doctor ordered.

"If you aren’t in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?"

Tue, 29 May 2012 17:55:06 -0400

“If you aren’t in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?”

- T.S. Eliot (via ableparris)

Why Tech CEOs Seem So Dumb

Tue, 29 May 2012 13:58:45 -0400

Why Tech CEOs Seem So Dumb:

Being wildly successful in tech is about anticipating change, and altering the status quo; being the 14th chief executive of a stodgy old major tech company is about extracting as much value as you can from the success it’s already had.

Why are we just okay with this? If these chuds are serving their boards, who’s serving the company, the shareholders, the product or the customer?

If the wild successes and resultant adulations of the world’s Dorseys, Zuckerbergs, and Jobs’ have taught us anything, it’s to let the nerds run your company. Allow them their obsessions and blurry-eyed dreams, even if your massive ship feels occasionally rudderless. It’s a naive thought, and perhaps an artifact of my youth and impatience … but the idea of golden parachutes for company-tanking suits really cheeses me off. How many martini-swilling RIM execs are we going to allow to force plane landings and company implosions?

"In other words, JPMorgan Chase, entirely without any help from the government has lost, in this one..."

Mon, 28 May 2012 17:55:53 -0400

“In other words, JPMorgan Chase, entirely without any help from the government has lost, in this one set of transactions, five times the amount they claim financial regulation is costing them.”

- Barney Frank, national treasure. (via dbreunig)

How Successful People Stay Human

Mon, 28 May 2012 14:01:01 -0400

How Successful People Stay Human:

Magnetic people share three somewhat counterintuitive traits.

PASSION

These people know what they care about. They have a calling. They are deeply involved in their area and they celebrate it. You don’t have to wonder if they’re in it for the Benjamins. Without passion, successful people come across as empty, even though they have it all.

EARNESTNESS

These people wear their heart on their sleeve. They don’t have a filter. They genuinely care, in an era where caring is uncool. And that makes them extremely rare. You don’t have to wonder if they’re playing you, or putting on a show. Without earnestness, successful people come across as callous, even if they donate millions to charity.

LEVITY

These people don’t take themselves too seriously. For all their passion and earnestness, they seem to know that they aren’t irreplaceable or untouchable. They know that laughter is the ultimate affirmation of life. You don’t have to wonder if you’ll offend them with a casual remark or awkward conversation. Without levity, successful people come across as pretentious, even if they’re polite.

Reminds me of a few people that I know. Good things to aspire to.

Barry Schwartz argues that the Freedom of Choice in modern...

Sun, 27 May 2012 17:51:02 -0400

Barry Schwartz argues that the Freedom of Choice in modern western society is actually making us paralyzed, trapped, and miserable. I can attest to experiencing this whenever I mill around with Foursquare’s Explore feature open and I’m trying to find a place to eat or drink.

Leaders Need to Learn to Think So They Can Speak the Truth Clearly

Sun, 27 May 2012 13:58:08 -0400

Leaders Need to Learn to Think So They Can Speak the Truth Clearly:

After all of that thinking, the leaders need to develop clear ways to communicate those thoughts to their teams. It means the leaders will have thought, specifically, about what they want and need to say so it’s truly helpful to their team members.

They’re no longer just spewing ideas and words and expecting the team members to form some meaning from them. They no longer practice the behavior of: You need to figure out what I’m trying to say because I haven’t taken the time to get my thoughts and words straight before I open my mouth.

(via Work Talk: Shooting from the Hip is not Strategic Thinking)

Virgin’s Glitzy New Bar Only Makes Sense At 30,000 Feet The...

Sat, 26 May 2012 17:57:12 -0400

Virgin’s Glitzy New Bar Only Makes Sense At 30,000 Feet

The atmosphere is meant to focus on the “immaterial” in which every surface reflects light like a JJ Abrams film, from the polished aluminum stools to the space’s champagne lacquered finish. It’s a mix of plastic, stone, and metal—all punctuated by color-changing LEDs to set the mood—combining to create an ethereal bar experience that might only make sense at 30,000 feet.

A video camera installed in the corridor allowed occupants to...

Sat, 26 May 2012 13:51:50 -0400

A video camera installed in the corridor allowed occupants to monitor who might be approaching. Lasseter and Jobs brought important visitors there and had them sign the wall. The signatures include Michael Eisner, Roy Disney, Tim Allen, and Randy Newman. Jobs loved it, but since he wasn’t a drinker he sometimes referred to it as the Meditation Room. It reminded him, he said, of the one that he and Daniel Kottke had at Reed, but without the acid.

The Next Web scoops “The Love Lounge,” Pixar’s secret room.

James Nord on College & Life

Fri, 25 May 2012 17:57:53 -0400

James Nord on College & Life:

The best thing you can do over the next 4 years is try and become as interesting as possible. Keep riding your bike, read a lot of books (a lot), try and speak another language and live outside the country, drink beer, sleep with people, chase experiences and collect stories.

College is not about learning a craft, it is about learning how to think. You will be disappointed when you get older. You will find this world is full of people too afraid or ill-equipped to think for themselves; they huddle in corners holding signs they don’t understand and jobs they don’t want. Don’t do that. Promise me you won’t. There are brave and brillant people changing this world and it has nothing to do with where they went to college.

James Nord explains How to College. I couldn’t agree more. I had a complete blast in college and accidentally learned some critical thinking skills along the way.

I’ve probably already read more books and research reports in the last six months than any single semester (or even year) of college, but the experience that a university offers is not strictly academic. It’s no less crucial.

I really hope that we figure out how to stop permanently debt-shackling & bankrupting the intrepid young people that decide to go.

Thought provoking slideshare from John V. Willshire.

Fri, 25 May 2012 13:51:25 -0400

Thought provoking slideshare from John V. Willshire.

I was under the impression that girls never fart. Ask a Grown...

Thu, 24 May 2012 18:00:59 -0400

I was under the impression that girls never fart.

Ask a Grown Man with Jon Hamm, everybody.