You could be forgiven for thinking this was a problem in a developing country. The IEEE spectrum magazine talks to Bruce Kushnick, a consumer advocate, about a peculiar problem in the lower Manhattan area in the US: In several communities, Verizon has not restored landline phone service since Hurricane Sandy hit last October, and may never do so.
A decade later, has history proved you right? [Article]
In 2003, Harvard Business Review published an post by Nick Carr, who wrote that companies had “overestimated the strategic value of IT, which is becoming ubiquitous, and therefore diminishing as a source of competitive differentiation”. Ten years later, he gazes back at his predictions. An interesting article, for those of us that believe that we will innovate our way out of mankind’s problems, and for those of us that don’t.
Humans of New York [Photo Blog]
Brandon moved to New York after losing his job as a bond-trader to take portraits of strangers on the street. So far, he’s taken over 5000 portraits and written 50 stories. Have a wander around his site for some inspiration. An example quote from one of the people he photo’d:
When my husband was dying, I said: ‘Moe, how am I supposed to live without you?’ He told me: ‘Take the love you have for me, and spread it around’
I’d like to have an argument please [Video]
A hilarious scene from Monty Python with John Clease & Michael Palin
Perception, Wealth & Reality [Article]
Mr. Money Moustache shines the light on two wealthy folks who wrote in to him, The Quitting Lawyer and the Despondent Millionaire. The perspective we have on wealth is only a reflection of our perception of our own self-worth, he concludes.
The exact same world can seem like an evil or beautiful place, based purely on how you choose to think about it. And paradoxically enough, changing the perspective (and thus the behavior) of enough people can even change the physical reality of the world for the better. That makes “just changing your perspective” into a pretty powerful tool.
Shannon Lee reading a poem from the Bruce Lee Archives [Video]
Bruce Lee, in case you were unfamiliar with his life, studied philosophy at the University of Washington, and was an avid fan of the spoken word. One of his favorite poems was “IF” by Rudyard Kipling. He had it put on a plaque, hanging it in his home as a constant reference and source of inspiration. His daughter Shannon Lee reads its from the Bruce Lee archives and reads it here.
Bruce Lee had also translated another of his favourite poem by Tzu Yeh called “The Frost”. Watch a feature video version featuring his handwritten translation here
The man who lied to his laptop [Audio Interview]
Clifford Nass, a psychology professor at Stanford University talks to Ira Flatow. Begins thus:
..we’ll be focusing on you and your true love – your smartphone. Think about it. Are you lost without it? Inconsolable if the two of you are separated? Willing to walk into a lamppost rather than look up while texting? Is it the object of your desire? Isn’t it?
..our technology-addicted lifestyle and our nonstop multitasking may be affecting our ability to concentrate, manage our emotions, even think creatively.
To the river [Video]
A beautiful song, & a wonderful video. To the River is shot and directed by Paul Greenhouse
Why humans took up farming?
Samuel Bowles offers a theory about why humans took up farming in a new study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences:
..early cultures that recognized private property gave people a reason to plant roots in one place and invent farming — and stick with it despite its initial failures.
Top Floor [Video]
Top Floor: A 12 minute video directed by David DeFazio, written & produced by Daniella Kahane, produced for partial completion of a MFA degree at Columbia University School of the Arts Films Division. Worth a watch.