Recent “moves by Facebook and Twitter could change the very nature of how we interact with the web. Software writers will be able to build applications that search for bars and restaurants your Facebook friends have enjoyed, or movies and books your Twitter contacts say were over-hyped.”
Category: ideas
Say Goodbye To The Incandescent Lightbulb. Will it Endure As Art?
“For a panicky few this seems incomprehensible: They have begun hoarding packages of filament bulbs in their linen closets and basements. The romanticizing and fetishizing of the filament bulb has also come into its own.”
How Our Relationship With Machines Has Changed
“Today, we no longer approach our many machines with awe; in fact, the more personalized and individualized our machines have become, the less humility we feel in using them. Rather than awe-inspiring symbols of man’s power, they are merely extensions of ourselves. They are servants of our whims rather than objects of reverence.”
The End Of Phone Calls?
“We’re moving toward a fascinating cultural transition: the death of the telephone call. This shift is particularly stark among the young. This generation doesn’t make phone calls, because everyone is in constant, lightweight contact in so many other ways: texting, chatting, and social-network messaging.”
Are Emotions, Fundamentally, Just a Form of Manipulation?
“The next time you feel angry at a friend who has let you down, or grateful toward one whose generosity has surprised you, consider this: you may really be bargaining for better treatment from that person in the future. According to a controversial new theory, our emotions have evolved as tools to manipulate others into cooperating with us.”
Feigning Mental Illness Can Make You Crazy
“People who fake symptoms of mental illness can convince themselves that they genuinely have those symptoms, a new study suggests. People will also adopt and justify signs of illness that they never reported themselves when presented with manipulated answers.”
The Acceleration of Addiction (It’s All Around Us)
“Most if not all the things we describe as addictive are.” (Opium. Tobacco. The Internet.) “And the scary thing is, the process that created them is accelerating … which means increasing numbers of things we like will be transformed into things we like too much.”
The Worst Way to Quit Smoking? Trying Hard Not to Smoke
It’s the Rhinoceros effect: “New research finds suppressing thoughts of smoking just increases the likelihood you’ll light up later on.”
How To Communicate With Baby? ASL
“Teaching a short vocabulary of American Sign Language — milk, more, please and a handful of other words — is becoming a trend. Parents are networking, classes are spreading and how-to sites are booming.”
‘State-of-the-Art’ at 100 Years Old
“All across the country, many different ‘arts’ are being pushed to their current limits as state-of-the-art hospital wings and college laboratories and concert halls and coroner’s offices take shape.” It’s a century since an engineer created the phrase that signals “that something is new and should therefore be considered the best, without really explaining why.”