Quote of the day
Even if, in our slow thinking, we work to avoid discrimination, it can easily creep into our fast thinking. Our snap judgments rely on all the associations we have—from fictional television shows to news reports. They use stereotypes, both the accurate and the inaccurate, both those we would want to use and ones we find repulsive.
~Sendhil Mullainathan, author of Scarcity
GENDER
How big is the sexism problem in economics? Quartz | Tweet
The Economist’s recent list of the 25 most influential economists did not include a single woman. Many male former central bankers and regional Federal Reserve Bank governors were included on the list, but the Economist gave itself a special rule to exclude active central bankers, which meant that Janet Yellen—arguably the world’s most influential economist—didn’t make the list.
SOCIAL MEDIA
10 Brilliant Strategies for Writing Viral Content [The Art of Social Media]
, Forbes | Tweet
These days, unpacking the secrets to viral success has been the mission of researchers, media organizations and businesses alike. After all, infectious content leads to major rewards in the form of readers, subscribers, advertisers, raising awareness for an important issue, brand recognition and financial success.
NUTRITION
Doctors and nutritionists ranked the most–and least–effective diets of 2015 [The DASH Diet Younger You]
, Quartz | Tweet
If your New Year’s resolution is to eat healthier, don’t turn to raw food or a Paleo menu in 2015. Those were two of the least effective regimes in US News & World Report’s ranking of 2015 diets.
TECHNOLOGY
StarupBlink maps startups, accelarators, and coworking spaces around the globe, TNW | Tweet
Ever wonder where the next startup boom might happen around the world?
SCIENCE
Rats can be smarter than people, HBR | Tweet
A more complex brain isn’t always a better one. In information integration tasks, rats applied what they learned more quickly.
WINE
White wine doesn’t exist, Daily Mail | Tweet
Scientists have discovered that white grapes contain the same pigments that give red wine its colour, suggesting that ‘white’ wine may not really exist.
COFFEE
What is a flat white? A guide for Americans on Starbucks’ next hit, The Guardian | Tweet
In the words of Hugh Jackman, the flat white is ‘like a latte with a little less milk and more espresso’ – but it’s actually a bit more complicated (and pretentious) than that.
ENTERTAINMENT
A supercut shows what makes Alfred Hitchcock
‘s movies look so hitchcockian, Slate | Tweet
There are few filmmakers who have inspired as many supercuts, montages, andvideo essays as Alfred Hitchcock, but “The Hitchcock Gallery,” created by filmmaker Steven Benedict, may be the most impressive yet.
WRITING
The Forest for the Trees: How to cure overwriting, Live Write Thrive | Tweet
Overwriting is the most pervasive of all the fatal flaws of fiction writing. Overwriting includes clunky wording, wordiness in general, use of unneccesary words, purple prose, vagueness, repetition, excessive punctuation, and muddled meaning. Writers need to take a “seek and destroy” approach to eliminating extra words and rewriting for clarity and succinctness.
Using extended metaphors in your writing: Part One [Committed]
, The Artist’s Road | Tweet
Writing is about revision. Successful use of metaphor emerges from the revision process.