Making Sense: Of Pixels and Systems
- The Million Dollar Homepage still exists, but 22% of it has rotted away. Quartz: The atrophy of links has been shown to stabilize over time, meaning we should expect fewer than 22% of links to break over the next eight years. The longer a link continues to work on a webpage, the longer it can been expected to work into the future. Nonetheless, it remains a problem for thought experiments and seminal works alike.
- Entrepreneurial Archetypes. Gunther Sonnenfeld: Adaptive systems, in general, are designed to bring out the very best faculties in individuals and groups. They also bridge the gaps between business and society.
Making Do: for Success
- Nomi-nation: What made the #nomakeupselfie so successful? Future Foundation: In the realm of the social media and Performative Perfection it’s not good enough to just be a caring/hilarious/creative/[insert other appealing trait] person. You have to be seen to be this person. In this instance, the cost of donation added to the rational cost of going ‘bare faced’ in a single self-selected photo is significantly outweighed by the kudos of involvement: telling your social circle that you are popular enough to be nominated, that you are confident, caring and above the layer of fakery commonly associated with selfie photographs.
- Parentology: The first parenting book I actually liked. Danah Boyd: the first parenting book that I’ve read that I actually enjoyed and am actively recommending to others. Conley’s willingness to detail his own failings, neuroses, and foolish logic (and to smack himself upside the head with research data in the process) showcases the trials and tribulations of parenting.
Making It: with People
"Ed Catmull says the purpose of an organization isn’t stability, it’s balance," says Rowghani. "Stability is when you sort of pour concrete around something and just bolt it down. Balance is a state where if you think about yoga, you’re standing on one leg and you’re swaying left and right in these tiny little movements, but you’re able to stay balanced.”
- Building the Next Pixar. Fast Company: The Winston Show is developed with ToyTalk's PullString technology, which allows writers to create branching dialogue based on children's potential responses. The system also collects kids' replies in the cloud for the writers to study and use in story development.
Jacob is eager to clarify that perfecting the technology is not ToyTalk's mission. Writers spend endless hours reading transcripts from children's interactions with Winston and other characters, assessing the audience's thoughts, imaginations, and emotional needs to create a more entertaining and engaging world. "Our vision is less about honing the technology than the craft of conversation," says Jacob. - More Storytelling Lessons from Cosmos. Presentation Zen: "You realize that science is not just this subject from a textbook," Tyson said. "It's a human story. Discovery is human… It's a celebration of human curiosity and why that matters to who and what we are."