http://jackson.jounce.net Less Web Chatter, More Liberal Arts posterous.com Tue, 26 Apr 2011 11:57:00 -0700 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~3/tHBF5APWEV0/advice-from-ira-glass-to-those-getting-into-c http://jackson.jounce.net/advice-from-ira-glass-to-those-getting-into-c <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote class="posterous_medium_quote">All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you.</blockquote> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://nprfreshair.tumblr.com/post/4931415362/nobody-tells-this-to-people-who-are-beginners-i">nprfreshair.tumblr.com</a></div> <p>My career has taken me from a place that used to be highly technical and is now swinging more toward the creative end of the continuum. That isn't because my interests have changed, though. Indeed, I've always loved doing creative work, but I couldn't pull it off on my own. </p><p>Side projects were my typical outlet for experimenting with my creative abilities, and they kept getting stronger and closer to what I wished I could do. My interactions got more elegant, my typography stronger, and my layouts followed suit. I got to the point a few years ago where I could be happy with my interaction design work, and moved into that role. </p><p>These days, there's still a gap, mainly on the visual side, but it improves with every project I undertake. As the only full-time designer here at Posterous, I'm doing a lot of visual design work, and I'm becoming a more capable visual designer in turn. The work I was cautiously proud of in 2010 is embarrassing now in 2011, and I hope I feel similarly next year. It's still not quite to where my taste demands, but I know my taste is more discerning than others', and for the vast majority, my work cuts it. </p><p>It's a long path, but Ira's right, the path to doing great creative work is a simple challenge: strive to satisfy your own sophisticated taste.</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/advice-from-ira-glass-to-those-getting-into-c">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/advice-from-ira-glass-to-those-getting-into-c#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~4/tHBF5APWEV0" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1062448/headshot.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5ALCzhsnfhQd M. Jackson Wilkinson whafro M. Jackson Wilkinson http://jackson.jounce.net/advice-from-ira-glass-to-those-getting-into-c Mon, 18 Apr 2011 14:56:00 -0700 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~3/AwnYBhyB1xU/tools-in-a-great-speechwriters-repertoire http://jackson.jounce.net/tools-in-a-great-speechwriters-repertoire <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <p>Speechwriters know that cadence is the lifeblood of a great speech. When the speaker is gifted, they'll understand how to bring out the speech's best through pauses and timing. For other speakers, it can require practice and a few tricks.</p> <p>This article takes a look at a few of these tricks, and shows how they can be the difference between inspiration and a flop. For instance, audiences understand that lists of items in speeches usually come in threes, so they know when to start applauding if they agree.</p> <blockquote class="posterous_long_quote"><div>Better still is to get the audience to start applauding early, because it gives the impression that they're so enthusiastic and eager to show their agreement that they can't wait - and the speaker ends up having to compete to make himself heard above the rising tide of popular acclaim. </div><p></p><div>One way to do that is to use a three part list, in which the third item is longer than the first two.</div><p></p></blockquote><div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://maxatkinson.blogspot.com/2010/09/delayed-applause-at-key-point-in-nick.html">maxatkinson.blogspot.com</a></div> <p>Love it. I've used the three-part list tool a lot, and liked the last one being the longest, but had never thought about it this way.</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/tools-in-a-great-speechwriters-repertoire">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/tools-in-a-great-speechwriters-repertoire#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~4/AwnYBhyB1xU" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1062448/headshot.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5ALCzhsnfhQd M. Jackson Wilkinson whafro M. Jackson Wilkinson http://jackson.jounce.net/tools-in-a-great-speechwriters-repertoire Mon, 04 Apr 2011 17:06:00 -0700 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~3/TihvulOgZq4/in-praise-of-substantive-long-form-content http://jackson.jounce.net/in-praise-of-substantive-long-form-content <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote class="posterous_long_quote">Meanwhile, I’ve grown more particular about the kind of news I want. I want a reading experience that defends the news from the circus that online advertising creates. I want good storytelling and analysis, not naked facts. I want news that admits and defends its point of view (and acknowledges that there is a truth to be uncovered), not news that parrots the party line while making claims to objectivity. I want long essays on the events at Fukushima and the consequences for nuclear power going forward, not shrieking dispatches of each new fire or setback. I want a history of American engagement in Libya, putting the events of the past few weeks in context. I want twenty thousand words on the recession and its effects on the middle class, not another lone statistic about the unemployment rate. I want thoughtful, investigative journalism that exposes the ways in which our government is failing us, so that we can make it better.</blockquote> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://aworkinglibrary.com/library/archives/on_the_news/">aworkinglibrary.com</a></div> <p>Read the whole thing, but I'll keep it short: amen.</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/in-praise-of-substantive-long-form-content">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/in-praise-of-substantive-long-form-content#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~4/TihvulOgZq4" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1062448/headshot.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5ALCzhsnfhQd M. Jackson Wilkinson whafro M. Jackson Wilkinson http://jackson.jounce.net/in-praise-of-substantive-long-form-content Mon, 04 Apr 2011 16:59:00 -0700 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~3/W10SOT2m-nY/suffering-from-cement-poisoning http://jackson.jounce.net/suffering-from-cement-poisoning <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <p>Folks have been wondering why the new F-22 fighters aren't off in Libya shooting things up. An ex-Harrier pilot explains the difference between the combat capabilities of different aircraft.</p> <blockquote class="posterous_long_quote">What most non-tactical jet pilots don't know is that air-to-air and air-to-ground cannon are mounted differently. An aircraft with an air-to-mud cannon is at a gunsight depression disadvantage in a dogfight, and the opposite is true for fighter pilots who wish they were heroic attack pilots. Consider for a moment. If your primary mission is to make earthmen miserable, the axis of your cannon will be depressed from the longitudinal axis (fuselage) of your aircraft. This allows pilots to enjoy a more shallow dive and therefore leisurely opportunities to perforate the rabble and break their toys. Fighter pilots, conversely, have cannon that are biased above the longitudinal axis, because most of our enemies don't like to get shot and are pulling as many G's as they can to keep from getting their jump wings. If your gun is pointing up a few degrees, you don't have to pull your nose all the way to the bogey's jet before your glowing "death dot" is resting on the back of his helmet. This also means that F-16 and F-22 pilots have to strafe in a steeper dive and shoot quicker to keep from suffering cement poisoning.</blockquote><div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://ricks.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/03/29/an_ex_harrier_pilot_explains_the_difference_between_firing_at_other_airplanes_and_s">ricks.foreignpolicy.com</a></div> <p>It's a crash course in aviation combat euphemisms.</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/suffering-from-cement-poisoning">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/suffering-from-cement-poisoning#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~4/W10SOT2m-nY" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1062448/headshot.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5ALCzhsnfhQd M. Jackson Wilkinson whafro M. Jackson Wilkinson http://jackson.jounce.net/suffering-from-cement-poisoning Fri, 18 Mar 2011 15:36:36 -0700 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~3/7K8FqMdWHtg/a-bright-side-to-rainsoaked-days-in-the-missi http://jackson.jounce.net/a-bright-side-to-rainsoaked-days-in-the-missi <p> <p>Every morning, I walk from Cole Valley in central San Francisco to the Posterous office at the center of the Mission District, about two miles away. The first part of the walk is gorgeous, climbing down from the heights of Mount Olympus into the Castro, the sunrise and the San Francisco Bay in view.</p> <p>The last part of the walk is every bit as exciting, but often in ways I&rsquo;d rather avoid. I&rsquo;ve had knives pulled on me, inadvertently walked between drawn guns, had folks walk up to me and start screaming, and lately have come across stray bullet casings from the Mission&rsquo;s recent shootings.</p> <p>I know people who claim to love the Mission – smart, nice, respectful people who wouldn&rsquo;t want to live anywhere else. But the Mission was already <a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/if-san-francisco-crime-were-elevation-3">one of the twin peaks of San Francisco crime</a>, and with gang violence between the Norteños and Suereños <a href="http://www.ktvu.com/news/27200361/detail.html">surging in the neighborhood</a>, the Mission has come to represent the worst of San Francisco for me.</p> <p>This morning, I walked out the door of my apartment to a spitting rain, waterproof jacket in action. By the time I was atop the hill on 17th Street, it had become real rain, and up went the hood. By the time I&rsquo;d made it to Dolores Street at the edge of the Mission, the storm had calmed to a light sprinkle again, but I didn&rsquo;t buy the tease.</p> <p>Ahead of me, as I approached 16th and Guerrero Streets, I saw a group of what I guessed to be Norteños – the half-dozen of them were all wearing some element of red: a belt, shoes, or sadly a Phillies hat – pushing around a guy who was clearly less than thrilled with his situation. I wasn&rsquo;t going to get directly involved, but I was willing to call the police about it if it kept up.</p> <p>Then the skies opened up and started teeming rain. The raindrops came down big and fat, and tiny pellets of hail bounced off the pavement and your skin without remorse. It was fit for neither man nor beast. Nor gang members, apparently.</p> <p>The boys wearing red immediately ducked under the cover of a nearby awning, crowding in its shelter. The victim stood in the rain, a bit shaken and confused about his change of fortune. Then, one of the guys under the awning called out something in Spanish that seemed like, &ldquo;c'mon, don&rsquo;t be stupid, get out of the rain,&rdquo; and reached out his arm. The victim hustled under the awning and almost cuddled up against his former assaulters as they peered out on the street with widened eyes.</p> <p>As I walked across Guerrero, heading right past the awning, everyone underneath noticed me walking in the rain, against the wind. I got closer and accidentally caught the eye of the one wearing the Phillies hat. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m a Phillies fan. Glad you&rsquo;re keeping that hat dry,&rdquo; I said.</p> <p>&ldquo;Yeah. By the way, you&rsquo;re crazy, man,&rdquo; he said back.</p> <p>For the first time since I&rsquo;d moved to San Francisco, I was apparently the crazy one in the Mission. Trust me, I&rsquo;m okay with that.</p> </p> <p><a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/a-bright-side-to-rainsoaked-days-in-the-missi">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/a-bright-side-to-rainsoaked-days-in-the-missi#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~4/7K8FqMdWHtg" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1062448/headshot.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5ALCzhsnfhQd M. Jackson Wilkinson whafro M. Jackson Wilkinson http://jackson.jounce.net/a-bright-side-to-rainsoaked-days-in-the-missi Mon, 28 Feb 2011 09:06:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~3/BCFCs3Up_bI/the-best-commercial-flight-ever http://jackson.jounce.net/the-best-commercial-flight-ever <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <object height="300" width="500"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GE_USPTmYXM&hl=en&fs=1&hd=1" /><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed allowfullscreen="true" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GE_USPTmYXM&hl=en&fs=1&hd=1" wmode="opaque" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="300" width="500"></embed></object> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE_USPTmYXM">youtube.com</a></div> <p>Seeing a space shuttle launch from the air is certainly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and amazing to even watch on YouTube. </p><p>But what really locks in the victory is the flight crew announcing, "oh, and drinks are on the house too."</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/the-best-commercial-flight-ever">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/the-best-commercial-flight-ever#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~4/BCFCs3Up_bI" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1062448/headshot.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5ALCzhsnfhQd M. Jackson Wilkinson whafro M. Jackson Wilkinson http://jackson.jounce.net/the-best-commercial-flight-ever Tue, 22 Feb 2011 10:21:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~3/kW1jlVypYCY/former-nfl-players-suicide-points-to-head-inj http://jackson.jounce.net/former-nfl-players-suicide-points-to-head-inj <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <p>Former Chicago Bear Dave Duerson killed himself last Thursday. Unlike the stereotypical suicide, though, Duerson shot himself in the chest, ensuring that his brain could be studied for evidence of effects from his football career:</p> <blockquote class="posterous_medium_quote">Duerson sent text messages to his family before he shot himself specifically requesting that his brain be examined for damage, two people aware of the messages said. Another person close to Duerson, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that Duerson had commented to him in recent months that he might have C.T.E., an incurable disease linked to depression, impaired impulse control and cognitive decline.</blockquote><div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/21/sports/football/21duerson.html">nytimes.com</a></div> <p>Once a successful businessman and NFL alumnus, Duerson had been privy to claims of dementia by other former players, and had been on a downward slope in his personal and business life in recent years. </p><p>If you know me personally, you know that I've had a lot of trouble watching or supporting football for the last two years. While I think it's a fun game to watch, I now believe that it's reprehensible that we encourage children to take part in an activity that can so seriously impact their future. Just as we look back on Roman citizens as barbaric for cheering on the death of gladiators, I predict that future generations will see today's football culture in a similar light. </p><p>Again, better helmets won't solve this problem. At its root, this seems to be about a game that inherently encourages the head to be used both as protection and as a weapon dozens of times every game. </p><p>It's just terrible that people who signed onto play this game thinking the largest risks were to their knees and ankles are now finding out the much more dire consequences.</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/former-nfl-players-suicide-points-to-head-inj">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/former-nfl-players-suicide-points-to-head-inj#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~4/kW1jlVypYCY" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1062448/headshot.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5ALCzhsnfhQd M. Jackson Wilkinson whafro M. Jackson Wilkinson http://jackson.jounce.net/former-nfl-players-suicide-points-to-head-inj Mon, 21 Feb 2011 12:54:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~3/NYNE3iitGf4/two-libyan-fighter-pilots-defect-fly-to-malta http://jackson.jounce.net/two-libyan-fighter-pilots-defect-fly-to-malta <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Media_httpwwwreutersc_exifp" height="262" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/whafro/weuHfqCkhDruAwskdCyDpqnkoHkfqaAbrypdlbgJCDAgsylbfmitDFIGssGc/media_httpwwwreutersc_ExIfp.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="450" /> </div> <blockquote class="posterous_short_quote"><p>The two said they decided to fly to Malta after being ordered to bomb anti-government protesters in Libya's second largest city of Benghazi, the sources said.</p></blockquote><div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/21/us-libya-protests-malta-idUSTRE71K52R20110221">reuters.com</a></div> <p>These guys should not only be given political asylum wherever they want, but they deserve a medal. Despite having their eyes covered by their military duty and decades of living in a dictatorship, they recognized an illegal order and took the weapons out of the hands of war criminals. I can't imagine how tough it must have been to make that decision, but these guys were obviously brave enough to do it.</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/two-libyan-fighter-pilots-defect-fly-to-malta">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/two-libyan-fighter-pilots-defect-fly-to-malta#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~4/NYNE3iitGf4" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1062448/headshot.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5ALCzhsnfhQd M. Jackson Wilkinson whafro M. Jackson Wilkinson http://jackson.jounce.net/two-libyan-fighter-pilots-defect-fly-to-malta Fri, 11 Feb 2011 23:56:17 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~3/KAp6y6h6Qdw/the-midnight-birthday-drink-the-little-guinne http://jackson.jounce.net/the-midnight-birthday-drink-the-little-guinne <p> <a href="http://instagr.am/p/Bixhp/"><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/whafro/hcDnCllHplEAGgcvFcFICCcevECmGFjgqHDrzcaGrsdawzFdfcnjsGewFvbb/media_httpdistillerys_AJqsp.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Media_httpdistillerys_ajqsp" height="500" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/whafro/hcDnCllHplEAGgcvFcFICCcevECmGFjgqHDrzcaGrsdawzFdfcnjsGewFvbb/media_httpdistillerys_AJqsp.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> </a> </p> <p><a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/the-midnight-birthday-drink-the-little-guinne">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/the-midnight-birthday-drink-the-little-guinne#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~4/KAp6y6h6Qdw" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1062448/headshot.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5ALCzhsnfhQd M. Jackson Wilkinson whafro M. Jackson Wilkinson http://jackson.jounce.net/the-midnight-birthday-drink-the-little-guinne Tue, 01 Feb 2011 14:55:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~3/uxUmHSC-vP4/why-evidence-based-medicine-is-still-a-dream http://jackson.jounce.net/why-evidence-based-medicine-is-still-a-dream <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <p>On the steps required to adequately execute evidence-based medical practices:</p> <blockquote class="posterous_medium_quote">If we assume, fairly generously, that you'll be 80% successful at each step in this chain - which really is pretty generous - then with 7 steps, you'll only manage to follow the evidence in practice 21% of the time (0.8^7=0.21).</blockquote><div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://bengoldacre.posterous.com/why-is-medicine-often-not-evidence-based">bengoldacre.posterous.com</a></div> <p>I feel more and more like there's a lot of opportunity in the medical space for information services that treat medical professionals more like consumers. </p><p>Instead, it seems like the 1990s: territorial publications keep their research behind paywalls, researchers publish immature findings rather than collaborate or "perish," and searching what is available is closer to using a card catalog than a modern search. Consequently, doctors either ignore the resources that could be at their disposal, or they spend countless hours learning the tools rather than practicing better medicine.</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/why-evidence-based-medicine-is-still-a-dream">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/why-evidence-based-medicine-is-still-a-dream#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~4/uxUmHSC-vP4" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1062448/headshot.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5ALCzhsnfhQd M. Jackson Wilkinson whafro M. Jackson Wilkinson http://jackson.jounce.net/why-evidence-based-medicine-is-still-a-dream Fri, 21 Jan 2011 18:12:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~3/IiUEwdpJkzY/the-neuroscience-behind-the-musicgasm http://jackson.jounce.net/the-neuroscience-behind-the-musicgasm <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <p>Jonah Lehrer at Wired dissects how the brain reacts to the music we love, and why we sometimes get chills (and an accompanying massive dopamine release) from it:</p> <blockquote class="posterous_long_quote"><p>One way to answer these questions is to zoom out, to look at the music and not the neuron. While music can often seem (at least to the outsider) like a labyrinth of intricate patterns – it’s art at its most mathematical – it turns out that the most important part of every song or symphony is when the patterns break down, when the sound becomes unpredictable. If the music is too obvious, it is annoyingly boring, like an alarm clock. (Numerous studies, after all, have demonstrated that dopamine neurons quickly adapt to predictable rewards. If we know what’s going to happen next, then we don’t get excited.)&nbsp;This is why composers introduce the tonic note in the beginning of the song and then studiously avoid it until the end. The longer we are denied the pattern we expect, the greater the emotional release when the pattern returns, safe and sound. That is when we get the chills.</p></blockquote><div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/01/the-neuroscience-of-music/">wired.com</a></div> <p>This jives perfectly with how and when music gives me the chills. </p><p>When I'm listening to music, it's the feeling of being surrounded by the unfamiliar, wondering where the composer is going and how he's going to tie everything back together. Then, suddenly, the answer is revealed when I least expected it. I'm surprised, but I shouldn't have been -- I knew the main theme would come back. The chills usually come with a bit of a chuckle, almost like I'm saying to the composer, "good one, you got me there." </p><p>When performing, especially fairly modern choral music, the feeling is completely related, but manifests itself somewhat differently for me. </p><p>In 20th- and 21st-century choral music, the wandering away from the tonic note often means that you, the performer, are off on your own. You're out on a limb, perhaps the only one singing your part, in a tone cluster that somehow makes the noise you get when a child hits every note on the piano sound and feel like art. You know, hopefully, what you should be singing, and how far out that limb to stray, but you're constantly hoping you don't stray too far to come back when the time has come. </p><p>Those notes, often dissonant and "ugly" in a pop music context, are your responsibility, and you feel the burden of their weight on your shoulders as you sing them. </p><p>Then the moment comes. It's time for you to move from that random pitch back to the tonic, a rather unforgiving leap from chaos back into order. You land firmly, squarely, where you think you should be, toes crossed but outwardly displaying complete self-confidence. Then you listen. You hear the sound from the other voices in your group make their way to your ears and beyond, out into the hall. </p><p>As your ears confirm that you, and everyone else, made it to your proper tonal positions, you realize that the responsibility you were feeling pales in comparison to the responsibility shared equally by everyone in making it back to that moment together. You realize that taking a leap alone is boring, but taking a leap alongside others is what really gives you chills.</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/the-neuroscience-behind-the-musicgasm">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/the-neuroscience-behind-the-musicgasm#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~4/IiUEwdpJkzY" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1062448/headshot.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5ALCzhsnfhQd M. Jackson Wilkinson whafro M. Jackson Wilkinson http://jackson.jounce.net/the-neuroscience-behind-the-musicgasm Tue, 04 Jan 2011 14:10:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~3/HKXHavlyMn4/the-groupon-editorial-manual-how-groupon-keep http://jackson.jounce.net/the-groupon-editorial-manual-how-groupon-keep <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote class="posterous_long_quote"> <p>Write as the omniscient narrator (3rd person). While using the 2nd person is sometimes unavoidable, the preferred voice you should aim for is the 3rd person, omniscient narrator. Selling points, information, and humor are all usually stronger in this voice. When introducing something nonsensical (fake history, mixed metaphors), don't wink at the reader to let them in on the joke. Don't call it out with quotes, parenthesis, or any other narrative device. Speak your ignorance with total authority. Assert it as fact. This is how you can surprise the reader. If you call out your joke, even in a subtle way, it spoils the surprise. Think of yourself as an objective, confident, albeit totally unqualified and frequently blatantly ignorant voice speaking at a panel you shouldn't have been invited to.</p> </blockquote> <p>It's really a treat to be able to peek in at the codification of such a casual and distinctive voice. Even as they grow ridiculously fast and large, they seem to be able to maintain that voice pretty well, and it seems manuals like this are a major reason why.</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/the-groupon-editorial-manual-how-groupon-keep">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/the-groupon-editorial-manual-how-groupon-keep#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~4/HKXHavlyMn4" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1062448/headshot.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5ALCzhsnfhQd M. Jackson Wilkinson whafro M. Jackson Wilkinson http://jackson.jounce.net/the-groupon-editorial-manual-how-groupon-keep Thu, 23 Dec 2010 11:54:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~3/hBVczEx-_uM/getting-a-handle-on-the-size-of-the-largest-s http://jackson.jounce.net/getting-a-handle-on-the-size-of-the-largest-s <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <object height="302" width="500"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HEheh1BH34Q?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HEheh1BH34Q?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0" allowfullscreen="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" height="302" width="500" /></object> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://flowingdata.com/2010/12/23/comparison-of-the-largest-stars/">flowingdata.com</a></div> <p>A very cool, if somewhat over-dramatic, way of visualizing the relative size of objects in space. It starts with the moon and makes its way to VY Canis Majoris, the largest star we've found thus far.</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/getting-a-handle-on-the-size-of-the-largest-s">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/getting-a-handle-on-the-size-of-the-largest-s#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~4/hBVczEx-_uM" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1062448/headshot.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5ALCzhsnfhQd M. Jackson Wilkinson whafro M. Jackson Wilkinson http://jackson.jounce.net/getting-a-handle-on-the-size-of-the-largest-s Thu, 23 Dec 2010 11:06:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~3/E-cUQSC3ZVU/minimalist-effect-in-the-maximalist-market http://jackson.jounce.net/minimalist-effect-in-the-maximalist-market <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Media_http4bpblogspot_kiekg" height="267" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/whafro/ffbJkDGguovuoihlkydBFDlsxjFtBIrDGsaEzBhhqkDBHcxzJtarGwncGyIh/media_http4bpblogspot_kiEkg.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="400" /> </div> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://www.a2591.com/2010/12/minimalist-effect-in-maximalist-market.html">a2591.com</a></div> <p>The normal argument companies make against the "less is more" packaging is that it's tough to stand out on a store shelf full of similar products. </p><p>At the same time, if everyone is doing everything they can to stand out, it might be the understated product that actually catches the eye.</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/minimalist-effect-in-the-maximalist-market">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/minimalist-effect-in-the-maximalist-market#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~4/E-cUQSC3ZVU" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1062448/headshot.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5ALCzhsnfhQd M. Jackson Wilkinson whafro M. Jackson Wilkinson http://jackson.jounce.net/minimalist-effect-in-the-maximalist-market Wed, 22 Dec 2010 11:29:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~3/Mv8pP-k74RI/you-dont-speak-welsh-thats-okay-neither-do-mo http://jackson.jounce.net/you-dont-speak-welsh-thats-okay-neither-do-mo <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote><div> <img src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2008/11/01/sign.jpg" height="276" alt="Welsh-language road sign reading: " width="460" /> <p>A council put up a Welsh language road sign reading "I am out of the office at the moment" when it should have said "No entry for heavy goods vehicles".</p><p>Swansea council contacted its in-house translation service when designing the bilingual sign. The seeds of confusion were sown when officials received an automated email response in Welsh from an absent translator, saying: "I am not in the office at the moment. Please send any work to be translated."</p><p>Unaware of its real meaning, officials had it printed on the sign. The council took down the sign after Welsh speakers spotted the mistake.</p> </div></blockquote><div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2008/nov/01/5">guardian.co.uk</a></div> <p>Before spotting the mistake, I bet they considered giving that translator a raise: "He works so darn fast! I send a request, and he comes back with a translation in what seems like seconds! Hell if I know what it means, but I'm sure it's excellent work."</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/you-dont-speak-welsh-thats-okay-neither-do-mo">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/you-dont-speak-welsh-thats-okay-neither-do-mo#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~4/Mv8pP-k74RI" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1062448/headshot.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5ALCzhsnfhQd M. Jackson Wilkinson whafro M. Jackson Wilkinson http://jackson.jounce.net/you-dont-speak-welsh-thats-okay-neither-do-mo Fri, 17 Dec 2010 15:01:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~3/FrXEITw8mYo/as-if-you-needed-another-reason-to-dislike-ca http://jackson.jounce.net/as-if-you-needed-another-reason-to-dislike-ca <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote class="posterous_long_quote">Toxoplasmosis is a serious disease when transmitted from a pregnant mother to the unborn fetus, potentially resulting in stillbirth, brain damage, or long-term eye damage that can lead to blindness. Even worse, it’s extremely common in a most common animal, the house cat—and it’s easily transmissible from cats to humans. The parasite that causes it, <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i>, is found in one-third to one-half of all humans—over two billion individuals! This potential killer likes to take up residence inside your brain.</blockquote> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/toxic_house_cats/">seedmagazine.com</a></div> <p>The vast majority of the time, it's apparently fairly benign, like a weak flu, but you can vaccinate to prevent infection in the first place. The question is, when the significant impact is much less common, does it really make sense to vaccinate? </p><p>Cats...</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/as-if-you-needed-another-reason-to-dislike-ca">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/as-if-you-needed-another-reason-to-dislike-ca#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~4/FrXEITw8mYo" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1062448/headshot.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5ALCzhsnfhQd M. Jackson Wilkinson whafro M. Jackson Wilkinson http://jackson.jounce.net/as-if-you-needed-another-reason-to-dislike-ca Fri, 17 Dec 2010 14:11:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~3/1nnZ5UmukOs/the-mechanics-behind-the-magic-of-improvisati http://jackson.jounce.net/the-mechanics-behind-the-magic-of-improvisati <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote class="posterous_long_quote"><p>Aaron Berkowitz, a cognitive ethnomusicologist, who took on the task of demystifying improvisation as the focus of his dissertation work at Harvard, has a theory. He likens the process of learning to improvise to that of learning a second language. Initially, he says, it’s all about memorizing vocabulary words, useful phrases and verb conjugation tables. Your first day, you might learn to say: How are you? I’m fine. “These are like the baby steps beginning improvisers take. They learn the structure of the blues. They learn basic chords and get the form down,” said Berkowitz. But they’re still very limited in what they can do.</p> <p>A dedicated musician will immerse himself in the recordings of his chosen genre or composer, just as a language student might absorb foreign films or tapes of people speaking. Over time, both musician and student accumulate more phrases and ways to combine them. “But you still can’t really invent anything. [The language learner] can’t talk about politics or the environment,” Berkowitz said. “You’re still thinking: ‘Uh oh, here’s comes a verb. I have to put it in the past tense. I have to put it at the end of the sentence before I can say this whole phrase.”</p> <p>But eventually, through constant practice, you get to the point where, scientists believe, these processes get pushed down into the subconscious. They don’t need to be consciously worked out anymore. They become a subroutine. Suddenly you realize you’re saying things you haven’t heard or memorized. You’re able to free-associate. Your brain begins exerting control at a higher level, directing bigger chunks of information that can be expressed as whole ideas.</p></blockquote> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/the_improvisational_brain/">seedmagazine.com</a></div> <p>To the uninitiated, improvisation on an instrument seems like magic. Behind the curtain, though, it really does stand up to this analogy. </p><p>Improvising within simple vocabularies, like pentatonic scales (sounds asian) or blues scales (sounds like Sim City), gives you that "ah hah" moment. Learning other, more sophisticated vocabularies just makes it seem all the more magical. </p><p>In the end, nothing is being invented. As usual, seemingly new things are really old things expressed in seemingly-unique ways. </p><p>NB: I think I want to be a cognitive ethnomusicologist when I grow up.</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/the-mechanics-behind-the-magic-of-improvisati">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/the-mechanics-behind-the-magic-of-improvisati#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~4/1nnZ5UmukOs" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1062448/headshot.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5ALCzhsnfhQd M. Jackson Wilkinson whafro M. Jackson Wilkinson http://jackson.jounce.net/the-mechanics-behind-the-magic-of-improvisati Tue, 07 Dec 2010 12:17:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~3/Zb1zd9B_gC8/it-took-only-seconds-to-write-but-years-to-le http://jackson.jounce.net/it-took-only-seconds-to-write-but-years-to-le <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Media_httpmindhacksbl_kvfcr" height="590" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/whafro/qAsEIvAgIesrquDBwfzJoFbgeflGwhBviDDghADhsDAtDCEwqmEwiyGflDlb/media_httpmindhacksbl_kvFCr.png.scaled500.png" width="412" /> </div> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://mindhacks.com/2010/12/01/im-not-waiting-for-inspiration-its-waiting-for-me/">mindhacks.com</a></div> <p>Fantastic.</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/it-took-only-seconds-to-write-but-years-to-le">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/it-took-only-seconds-to-write-but-years-to-le#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~4/Zb1zd9B_gC8" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1062448/headshot.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5ALCzhsnfhQd M. Jackson Wilkinson whafro M. Jackson Wilkinson http://jackson.jounce.net/it-took-only-seconds-to-write-but-years-to-le Mon, 06 Dec 2010 15:19:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~3/wfozH939Fh0/clay-shirky-wikileaks-and-the-long-haul http://jackson.jounce.net/clay-shirky-wikileaks-and-the-long-haul <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote class="posterous_long_quote"><p>I think the current laws, which criminalize the leaking of secrets but not the publishing of leaks, strike the right balance. However, as a citizen of a democracy, I’m willing to be voted down, and I’m willing to see other democratically proposed restrictions on Wikileaks put in place. It may even be that whatever checks and balances do get put in place by the democratic process make anything like Wikileaks impossible to sustain in the future. </p> <p>The key, though, is that democracies <em>have</em> a process for creating such restrictions, and as a citizen it sickens me to see the US trying to take shortcuts. The leaders of Myanmar and Belarus, or Thailand and Russia, can now rightly say to us “You went after Wikileaks’ domain name, their hosting provider, and even denied your citizens the ability to register protest through donations, all without a warrant and all targeting overseas entities, simply because you decided you don’t like the site. If that’s the way governments get to behave, we can live with that.”</p></blockquote> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2010/12/wikileaks-and-the-long-haul/">shirky.com</a></div> <p>An excellent post on a complicated issue. No matter what results from this whole WikiLeaks fiasco in the future, today we do need to ensure that we hold our government to the laws that do exist. Executive privilege is not a valid excuse for ignoring established law and precedent at will.</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/clay-shirky-wikileaks-and-the-long-haul">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/clay-shirky-wikileaks-and-the-long-haul#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~4/wfozH939Fh0" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1062448/headshot.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5ALCzhsnfhQd M. Jackson Wilkinson whafro M. Jackson Wilkinson http://jackson.jounce.net/clay-shirky-wikileaks-and-the-long-haul Thu, 02 Dec 2010 14:56:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~3/Rg0FAVs68pU/in-a-world-where-phosphorous-doesnt-exist-lif http://jackson.jounce.net/in-a-world-where-phosphorous-doesnt-exist-lif <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote class="posterous_long_quote"><p>The discovery, made by NASA scientist Felisa Wolfe Simon and her team, is straightforward enough. We often think of carbon as the crucial element for life, but actually there are six elements that work together as the basis of every last organism we've ever found. These are carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus. Phosphorus is part of the structural framework of DNA and RNA, essentially acting as the molecular girders that hold everything else in place.That makes phosphorus essential to the stability of DNA and, in turn, the existence of life.</p> <p>Wolfe Simon investigated whether a different element could be substituted in the place of phosphorus. The obvious place to start is with arsenic, which is directly below phosphorus on the periodic table and thus shares many of the same properties. Her team headed to California's Mono Lake near Yosemite National Park. Mono Lake is an incredibly unusual ecosystem, with three times the amount of salt as seawater and, crucially, it's poor in phosphorus and rich in arsenic. Despite this, life thrives in Mono Lake, and so the team collected some microbe-rich mud and took it back to the lab.</p> <p>There, they placed mud in a setting where the microbes would have everything they needed to live, such as sugar and vitamins. Crucially, however, they created a phosphorus-free environment and pumped the test area full of arsenic. Nothing should have survived in those conditions - indeed, arsenic is notoriously toxic. But the microbes didn't just survive, they actually <em>thrived</em> in the seemingly impossible conditions.</p></blockquote> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://io9.com/5704600/">io9.com</a></div> <p>Incredible discovery from NASA, and a great overview of the findings on io9. </p><p>This just expands the potential for eventually finding life elsewhere.</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/in-a-world-where-phosphorous-doesnt-exist-lif">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://jackson.jounce.net/in-a-world-where-phosphorous-doesnt-exist-lif#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/jacksonjounce/~4/Rg0FAVs68pU" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1062448/headshot.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5ALCzhsnfhQd M. Jackson Wilkinson whafro M. Jackson Wilkinson http://jackson.jounce.net/in-a-world-where-phosphorous-doesnt-exist-lif