We don't simply read books. We become them.
- Problem definition: Public problem solvers know how to define a problem that is urgent, that matters to real people, and that can be resolved.
- Data-analytical thinking: They know how to use data and the analysis of data in order to understand the breadth and nature of the problem.
- Human-centered design: They shun the closed-door practices of the past and design interventions in partnership with those whom they are trying to help, deepening their understanding of the problem by consulting people directly affected by it.
- Collective intelligence: They adopt more participatory and democratic ways of working that build on the collective intelligence of communities.
- Rapid evidence review: They take advantage of new technology to scan for the best available ideas and the best people who know what has worked.
- Powerful partnerships: They know how to build teams and partnerships that cross many disciplines to become more effective at implementing change that others will adopt and accept.
- Measuring what works: Finally, they use experimental techniques and collaboration to evaluate what has worked and what has not and either pivot or stay on course as a result. They know how to expand work that has a beneficial and measurable impact on people’s lives…”
VODKAPUNDIT PRESENTS YOUR DAILY INSANITY WRAP: China Lied About COVID Again: Outbreak Might Have Begun Months Earlier.
We all have different gifts, so we all have different ways of saying to the world who we are.
As the host and creator of the beloved children’s show “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” Fred Rogers tackled important topics such as friendship, expressing difficult emotions, and being part of a community. One of his most persistent messages was that being different is a gift, not something to be afraid of. He made waves at the height of the civil rights movement when, during one 1969 episode, he and Officer Clemmons (a character played by Francois Clemmons, a Black and gay actor) soaked their feet in the same kiddie pool, underlining their friendship despite differing backgrounds. Rogers’ legacy offers a reminder to the child in all of us that our individuality is something to be celebrated, not tamped down.
The trick Sydney property sellers are using to make even more cash
Neighbours and friends are banding together to cash in on Sydney’s booming property market, teaming up to sell their blocks as a combined development site – sometimes repeatedly.
A shortage of land for sale has prompted sellers to come together across the city to increase the value of their homes by marketing them for their development potential, and buyers are paying a premium to be able to build their dream home or a medium-density development.
1-3 Blacket Street, Heathcote, NSW 2233.
In the Sutherland Shire, a 1941-square-metre block has hit the market after two neighbours combined their properties at 1-3 Blacket Streetin Heathcote.
It was triggered when one of the owners needed to downsize to move into care and went knocking on their next-door neighbour’s house with a proposal to sell together in the hopes of making more money.
“It seemed logical to combine the next door property to sell together, but they are two separate owners,” said Tony Gardner of Gardner Property hi Agents. “It was something they have always considered.”
Christian Science Monitor: “When United States law enforcement officials need to cast a wide net for information, they’re increasingly turning to the vast digital ponds of personal data created by Big Tech companies via the devices and online services that have hooked billions of people around the world. Data compiled by four of the biggest tech companies shows that law enforcement requests for user information – phone calls, emails, texts, photos, shopping histories, driving routes, and more – have more than tripled in the U.S. since 2015. Police are also increasingly savvy about covering their tracks so as not to alert suspects of their interest. That’s the backdrop for recent revelations that the Trump-era U.S. Justice Department sought data from Apple, Microsoft, and Google about members of Congress, their aides, and news reporters in leak investigations – then pursued court orders that blocked those companies from informing their targets. In just the first half of 2020 – the most recent data available – Apple, Google, Facebook, and Microsoft together fielded more than 112,000 data requests from local, state, and federal officials. The companies agreed to hand over some data in 85% of those cases. Facebook, including its Instagram service, accounted for the largest number of disclosures…”
- “What does story telling do to people? It is making them dream, it is making them suffer as well. But can we stop storytelling? I don’t think so.” — Julie Delpy, actress in and co-writer of the films “Before Sunrise,” “Before Sunset,” and “Before Midnight”, is interviewed by philosophers at AfB
- “The fact that there are unhealthy forms of pity should not prevent us from recognising its humanising element” — Gordon Marino (St. Olaf) on pity
- Do people view pain as mind-centric or body-centric? — new results suggest people conceive of pain as a “hybrid combining both mental and bodily aspects”
- Underphilosophized: “the fraught relationship between the private insurance industry and the state, and the growing power of insurance companies in gathering and wielding data about individuals and groups” — Caley Horan (MIT) looks at the issues
- The allies of Viktor Orban, the right-wing prime minister of Hungary, “have poured £1.5 million into a chain of coffee shops in Scruton’s memory” — the first cafe to open features “memorabilia including books, records and a teapot donated by the widow of Sir Roger Scruton”
- “By contemplating what is possible in the universe, in addition to what happens, we have a much more complete picture of the physical world” — Chiara Marletto (Oxford) on the importance of counterfactuals in science
- “8-bit” style watercolor rendition of Raphael’s “School of Athens” — by artist Adam Lister
