Monthly Archives: November 2008
How To Run a Con
The key to a con is not that you trust the conman, but that he shows he trusts you. Conmen ply their trade by appearing fragile or needing help, by seeming vulnerable. Because of THOMAS, the human brain makes us feel good when we help others--this is the basis for attachment to family and friends and cooperation with strangers. "I need your help" is a potent stimulus for action.
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Amoebae Family Values
Single-celled organisms stick with relatives to avoid being duped when food becomes scarce. Scientists say the amoeboid cooperation contributes to our understanding of how some of the earliest organisms may have balanced cooperation with self-interest, essential traits for social behaviour.
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The End of Journalism
There have always been reporters, but will there always be professionals? George Brock in his review of Robert Fox's Eyewitness to History:
The idea and ideal of journalism has been smudged and blurred by worries about economics and the means of delivery. The vehicles for reporting have to adapt. The rivalry between print and the screen may evaporate as screens become thinner, more flexible and more portable. The traditional bundle that is the newspaper, magazine or news bulletin may morph into many different versions. But digital communications have not damaged language or its power. On the contrary, screens and keyboards have allowed words to be produced and consumed more widely and in greater quantities than ever before. Amateurs and professional witnesses to events may compete, but together they enrich the written record. Perhaps Eyewitness to History stops at the dawn of a golden age of writing."
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