The Role of Inconvenience in Designing Social Systems (slyt via robowhiz)
posted on Sep 19, 2008 - View this thread

Goth. You just can't kill it.
posted on Sep 18, 2008 - View this thread

"Political content aside, the discussion provided a lovely example of how a term from literary theory has established itself in American political discourse." via Language Log

"We may expect the following. Language will be carefully crafted. Advertisements will focus on personal narratives. The campaign will employ “attack” advertisements that emotionally sway voters. Policy will be sketchy with vague descriptions that emotionally satisfy Americans while offering scant details. The emphasis will be on creating narratives that resonate with the values, beliefs, and identities of prospective voters."
– Literary Gulag, on Lakoff, Nunberg, Westen, and the narrative of the 2008 presidential election.
posted on Sep 9, 2008 - View this thread

Why do New Yorkers seem rude? A quirky and interesting article about the culture of New Yorkers.
posted on May 20, 2008 - View this thread

The Most Civilized Country. Fascinating article challenging conventional notions of how best to have a society.
posted on May 17, 2008 - View this thread

Lazy-Ass Nation. "Somewhere along the way, we fell in love with the dream of the effort-free existence."
posted on Sep 19, 2007 - View this thread

Wendy Shalit keeps it genteel. The author of A Return to Modesty recently put out a new book, entitled Girls Gone Mild, "Shalit reveals how the media, one’s peers, and even parents can undermine girls’ quests for their authentic selves, details the problems of sex without intimacy, and explains what it means to break from the herd mentality and choose integrity over popularity." Audio: Shalit on the Diane Rehm Show
posted on Jul 3, 2007 - View this thread

Jurgen Habermas and the Public Sphere. Habermas' conception of the public sphere has become increasingly interesting to scholars of internet theory. Any thoughts on what role MeFi plays in creating a public? What about issues of accessibility, autonomy, and quality? Could Mefi be the realization of Habermas' public sphere?
posted on Dec 20, 2005 - View this thread

New York City rage.
posted on Nov 29, 2005 - View this thread

National Geographic has a special issue on Africa out this month. There's also their Africa resource site.
posted on Sep 21, 2005 - View this thread

The web is California, writ large. This is about to change.
posted on Jun 8, 2005 - View this thread

From cells to bells, 10 things the Chinese do far better than we do Ah, those clever Chinese. First they invent gunpowder and a few other essentials of modern civilization. Now they're gunning their economic engines. Yet who would have thought that, after a millennium of poverty, they'd already do so many things better than we? In fact, compiling a Top 10 list of what China does better than Canada isn't easy. There are so many items. To whittle it down, let's assume it's unfair to count anything related to cheap labour. So we won't include the wonderfully thorough mop-ups of supermarket spills: The staff don't plunk down those yellow you-can't-sue-us caution signs. They actually fan the floor with a broken sheet of Styrofoam until it is dry. Nor will we mention the exquisite, free head-and-shoulder massages that come with every shampoo and haircut....
posted on Nov 23, 2004 - View this thread

Fused space. Exploring the impact mediascapes - the mobile phone and wireless networks - will have on the ways we inhabit localities.
posted on Sep 15, 2004 - View this thread

Anatomy of a Refugee Camp. A Flash presentation of how refugee camps are set up, and very educational for those of us in the world lucky enough to have never seen one. [via airgid.com, the designer's website]
posted on May 23, 2004 - View this thread

A Visual Sourcebook of Chinese Civilization.
posted on Jan 31, 2004 - View this thread

Just How Influential Is America? Mark Rice-Oxley, writing in the Christian Science Monitor, argues that, 2000 years from now, Disney will probably be more remembered than Plato. Really? [More inside. Via Arts & Letters Daily.]
posted on Jan 16, 2004 - View this thread

Looking over this list of corruption levels by country, it is evident that there is some correlation between corruption and quality of life. But which is cause and which is effect? And since these numbers are only relative, are things getting better overall, or worse? How corrupt is your country?
posted on Oct 8, 2003 - View this thread

Beginnings at the Library of Congress. The origins of the Universe, humanity and society as viewed by different cultural and religious traditions; and their attempts to explain it all.
The Talk.Origins Archive presents a more scientific view of physical and biological beginnings.
posted on May 3, 2003 - View this thread

The faboo world of New York high society revealed! Bizbash.com reviews the "cheapie centerpieces" at the Lord of the Rings DVD party, the hot-pink truffles at Ivana's disco bash and the stilletto-shaped Manolo Blahnik cookies at the 'Sex and the City' premiere. NFL ice sculptures, Scrabble serving trays and bone-shaped doggie breath mints in silver bowls are among the delights. Those hand-tied veggie crepe bundles at the VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards sure do look de-lish. Be sure to check the cocktail menu at the venture capitalists' "Back to Reality" bash - held at McDonalds - and the "funky registration area" at last January's World Economic Forum. [more tackiness inside]
posted on Oct 31, 2002 - View this thread

Polygyny vs. polyandry. Are we mildly polygynous? Rebecca considers the evidence. Although some feel polygyny is a divine right, wouldn't polyandry be the solution to overpopulation?
posted on May 29, 2002 - View this thread

Rejection reduces IQ "To live in society, people have to have an inner mechanism that regulates their behaviour. Rejection defeats the purpose of this, and people become impulsive and self-destructive. You have to use self-control to analyse a problem in an IQ test, for example - and instead, you behave impulsively"
posted on Mar 17, 2002 - View this thread

The Rise and Fall of the Geeks - Three years ago, they had the power to change the world, make a more than decent living and bask on highbrow success - perhaps a justified retribution after many years of world disdain and incomprehension to the geek community. It didn't last... and the article sheds some lights on the probable reasons.
posted on Jun 25, 2001 - View this thread