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| There are great benefits to connectedness, but we haven't wrapped our minds around the costs. |
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| Topic: Documentary |
11:16 pm EST, Jan 2, 2005 |
GUNNER PALACE reveals the complex realities of the situation in Iraq not seen on the nightly news. Told first-hand by our troops, 'Gunner Palace' presents a thought provoking portrait of a dangerous and chaotic war that is personal, highly emotional, sometimes disturbing, surprisingly amusing ... and thoroughly fascinating. Filmmaker Michael Tucker, who lived with 2/3 Field Artillery, a.k.a. "The Gunners" for two months, captures the lives and humanity of these soldiers whose barracks are the bombed-out pleasure palace of Uday Hussein (nicknamed Gunner Palace), situated in the heart of the most volatile section of Baghdad. With total access to all operations and activities, Tucker's insider footage provides a rare look at the day-to-day lives of these soldiers on the ground -- whether swimming in Uday's pool and playing golf on his putting green or executing raids on suspected terrorists, enduring roadside bombs, mortar attacks, RPGs and snipers. Gunner Palace |
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The War Inside the Arab Newsroom |
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| Topic: Media |
4:33 pm EST, Jan 2, 2005 |
The challenge Al-Rashed faces is much bigger than simply revamping a television channel. His goal is to foster a new kind of dialogue among Arabs, to carve out space for moderate and liberal ideas to enter the conversation, and in the process to do nothing less than save the Arab world from itself. Dubai, with its Disneyesque Arab souks in which you can purchase Arab handicrafts or a Cinnabon ... The news director refused to give Essam the assignment, saying it was too dangerous. So Essam used his vacation time to travel to Iraq from Dubai and "embed" himself in a house of insurgents in Falluja. Khatib has a sense about him that there is weight to the task he has been charged with: there is something irrevocable about making a mistake, about getting information wrong. He is clearly sickened by the media landscape of the Arab world. The War Inside the Arab Newsroom |
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Even Einstein Had His Off Days |
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| Topic: Physics |
11:32 am EST, Jan 2, 2005 |
As we celebrate the Einstein Year, let's also bear in mind the fact that he was prepared to admit that he was wrong. Perhaps humility, more than anything, is the mark of true genius. This op-ed by Simon Singh appears in the Sunday New York Times. Even Einstein Had His Off Days |
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| Topic: Current Events |
2:08 pm EST, Jan 1, 2005 |
The meaning of this event is that there is no meaning. Humans are not the universe's main concern. The world's generosity has been amazing, but sometimes we use our compassion as a self-enveloping fog to obscure our view of the abyss. It's wrong to turn this event into a good-news story so we can all feel warm this holiday season. It's wrong to turn it into a story about us, who gave, rather than about them, whose lives were ruined. This is a moment to feel deeply bad, for the dead and for those of us who have no explanation. It's Not About You |
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Malcom Gladwell's 'Blink' Book Tour |
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| Topic: Local Information |
10:41 am EST, Dec 30, 2004 |
Malcom Gladwell is going to be in Atlanta for the Ides of March, giving a talk and signing copies of his new book. Malcom Gladwell's 'Blink' Book Tour |
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Reputation in Artificial Societies: Social Beliefs for Social Order |
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| Topic: Technology |
10:39 am EST, Dec 30, 2004 |
This book deals with reputation as a socio-cognitive mechanism able to strengthen collective action and promote social order, both in social systems and in artificial systems, such as online communities. In the book, the reader can find a thorough survey on reputation in many disciplines, a sound socio-cognitive theory of reputation, and some agent-based simulations that allow one to appreciate the theory put forward by the authors. Reputation in Artificial Societies: Social Beliefs for Social Order |
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| Topic: Science |
10:34 am EST, Dec 30, 2004 |
Why do we eat sardines, but never goldfish; ducks, but never parrots? Why does adding cheese make a hamburger a "cheeseburger" whereas adding ketchup does not make it a "ketchupburger"? With witty anecdote and revealing analogy, Zerubavel explores the fascinating ways in which thought communities carve up and classify reality, assign meanings, and perceive things, "defamiliarizing" in the process many taken-for-granted assumptions. Social Mindscapes |
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How to Move Minds & Influence People |
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| Topic: Society |
10:27 am EST, Dec 30, 2004 |
Think about the people you need to influence. What if you could get behind their scepticism or defenses? What if they could see the world from your vantage, and enjoy the view? What if they could see just what was possible? Dont argue with them. Dont proposition them. Let a well chosen story or stories smuggle in what you need them to know. Whether you are trying to influence a single person or a room full of expectant or cynical faces, discover how to make your point, change others minds, and carry people with you. How to Move Minds & Influence People |
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Got Game: How the Gamer Generation Is Reshaping Business Forever |
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| Topic: Business |
10:24 am EST, Dec 30, 2004 |
Think video games are kids' stuff? Think again. Got Game shows how growing up immersed in video games has profoundly shaped the attitudes and abilities of this new generation. While many parents fret about their childrens minds turning to goo as they squander hour after hour absorbed in electronic diversion, gamers glean valuable knowledge from their pastime, and theyre poised to use that knowledge to transform the workplace. This is a Harvard Business School Press book. Got Game: How the Gamer Generation Is Reshaping Business Forever |
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They Made America: Two Centuries of Innovators |
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| Topic: Technology |
10:21 am EST, Dec 30, 2004 |
An illustrated history of American innovators -- some well known, some unknown, and all fascinating. This profusely illustrated and elegantly written book profiles 70 of America's leading inventors, entrepreneurs and innovators. Along with such obvious choices as Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and the Wright brothers, Evans profiles Lewis Tappan (an abolitionist who dreamed up the idea of credit ratings), Gen. Georges Doriot (pioneer of venture capital) and Joan Ganz Cooney, of the Children's Television Workshop. From A.P. Giannini (father of consumer banking) to Ida Rosenthal (the Maidenform Bra tycoon), Evans shows innovation as both a product of and a contributor to the grand apparatus of American society. And his spotlight is on the true American elite: the aristocracy of strategic visionaries, creative risk takers and entrepreneurial adventurers thriving in their natural environment, the free-market democracy of the United States. Evans doesn't neglect the latest generation of innovators, among them Google's Larry Page and Sergey Brin. He concludes with a note of caution, pointing out the nation's recent loss of dominance in the hard sciences. But just as Edison was inspired by popular biographies of innovators before him, so might the next generation of scientific and commercial explorers find guidance in Evans's exciting survey. They Made America: Two Centuries of Innovators |
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