Friday, October 05, 2018

The Problems with Solutions: Is There Another Life?'

Life is difficult enough without Meryl Streep movies
— Truman Capote, born In 1924

'Is There Another Life?'



Such an opening for a letter to a friend: “The time has not yet come for a pleasant Letter from me.” By the time he writes to his friend Charles Brown on Sept. 30, 1820, Keats had been infected for nearly half his life with the bacillus that would kill him. He is twenty-four and his best poetry has already been written. He has started his final journey, to Rome: “I have many more Letters to write and I bless my stars that I have begun, for time seems to press,--this may be my best opportunity.” In this letter Keats mingles self-pity, frustration at leaving Fanny Brawne, defiance and resolution. I’ve always thought there was something mad, though understandable, about the journey to Rome with Joseph Severn. He asks, rhetorically, sadly:

“Is there another life? Shall I awake and find all this a dream?”

Such questions are no longer academic. The former medical student, the young man who observed post mortems performed on cadavers, asks in vain for hope. Life has never been so precious. Less than five months later he was dead.
Meaning perjury. What’s all the more remarkable is that Kavanaugh stonewalled, when narratives like “I was young and stupid, but I’ve changed” come so easily.


'Self-fulfilling prophecy': how students' confidence affects results


How Penguin Has Strengthened Its Publishing Empire



Ten Reasons Why We (And Literature) Love Lists



Facebook Is Giving Advertisers Access to Your Shadow Contact Information Gizmodo (original). “They found that when a user gives Facebook a phone number for two-factor authentication or in order to receive alerts about new log-ins to a user’s account, that phone number became targetable by an advertiser within a couple of weeks.” Thank heavens I never fell for all those security mavenspushing me to give up my phone number for two-factor identification!




To be a good teacher, you need to convince your students that they are good at maths, a leading researcher says

Companies That Mistreat Their Customers Are Mistreating Their Employees Current Affairs 
Can Money Buy Happiness? The Evidence Base 



If the soul is ignored long enough, the body rebels openDemocracy. A doctor on racism.

‘Diplomatic Immunity’ Used to Traffick Human Blood and Pathogens for Secret Military Program 21WIRE


"Our secret weapon for building the best culture is open and honest feedback.”
– Gina Lau, Team Operations, HelloSign


Early human survival tactics inspired the title of Tank’s method. “If the hunter made a successful hunt for that day, his family would eat. If not, they wouldn’t. It was that simple,” he writes. “He didn’t have time to check email, attend time-sucking meetings or send follow-up emails. And, he certainly didn’t have time to make to-do lists.”
This productivity hack can bring clarity to your day
"How to avoid getting stuck on the to-do list hamster wheel."

 Pissing People Off - Top Management Secrets 



The man who created the World Wide Web has some regrets
"Tim Berners-Lee has seen his creation debased by everything from fake news to mass surveillance. But he’s got a plan to fix it." (The Hive)
US Air Force used consumer VR to train pilots at fraction of the cost
"Bid to find a new, cutting-edge way to teach airmen, using advanced biometrics, artificial intelligence and virtual reality systems." (Air Force Times)
Australia's surveillance laws 'could damage internet security globally'
"The Assistance and Access Bill is drawing increasing scrutiny from international privacy groups and technology companies." (ABC)
Can you make money selling your data?
"Tech giants make billions from our data – why can't we do the same? Sam Harrison tries out companies which pay for personal information." (BBC)
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