Elevation is one of a class of emotions that we feel when other people do good, skillful, or admirable things. These emotions are unusual in that they are not primarily about ourselves, our goals, and our normal petty concerns; rather, they make us feel like better people. Jonathan Haidt, who coined the term elevation, writes, “Powerful moments of elevation sometimes seem to push a mental ‘reset button,’ wiping out feelings of cynicism and replacing them with feelings of hope, love, and optimism, and a sense of moral inspiration.” Barack Obama is apparently an off-the-charts elevation inducer. Haidt’s research shows that elevation is good at provoking a desire to make a difference but not so good at motivating real action. But he says the elevation effect is powerful nonetheless. “It does appear to change people cognitively; it opens hearts and minds to new possibilities. This will be crucial for Obama.”
Procrastinating Again?
Procrastination is not a time-management problem. It’s a complex problem involving personality, situations and motivation. Everyone occasionally procrastinates, 15 to 20 percent of adults routinely put off activities that would be better accomplished right away, and a whopping 80 to 95 percent of college students have a penchant for postponement. Trisha Guru covers contemporary views on and advice for kicking the procrastination habit.
Technology Traps
I have a love/hate relationship with technology, much of my turmoil stems from the fact that I do not always have the luxury of saying no or even, let me think about it, before it becomes a technology I depend on. This is a symptom of what Peter Crabb calls technological traps, consequences of everyday decisions to use technological devices that make us feel good when in fact these devices are not good for us or the planet at all:
With the help of human enthusiasts and enablers, technology creates its own self-affirming ideology. It is widely believed that technology is infallible. Technology must not be questioned or criticized. Human needs are subordinate to the needs of devices and systems. If something goes wrong, it must be due to “human error.” The solution to technology-induced problems is always more and better technology. In fact, every arena of human activity is always improved when the latest, most complex technologies are applied. As a consequence of the ascendancy of technology, humans have become demeaned and powerless – second-class citizens in their own societies.
The Ambassadors
The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein the Younger, is a portrait of two Frenchmen, one an ambassador to the court of King Henry VIII, the other a cleric. They are leaning on a cupboard with displays — on the upper shelf objects referring to the heavens; on the lower shelf, objects indicating their earthly interests. There are many hidden messages and meanings in this work, notes Donald Clark, including the large anamorphic skull, which he has chosen to interpret in terms of learning. The painting reveals a 1533 curriculum of the emerging split between the vocational arts and academia, and the retreating role of religion, a curriculum whose influence is clearly still felt some 500 years later.
Group Think
The explosion of online materials has two, somewhat contradictory effects. The scope of available information expands, remarkably so; but as a consequence, the information needs to be filtered somehow, and the filter is either reverse chronological order or popularity:
Many Internet users customize their consumption of news sources and other information in a way that fosters polarization. This, it could be argued, has elements both of the narrowing effect and the long tail. Americans seek out sources that reflect their personal beliefs, consistent with Anderson’s vision. But, akin to the narrowing Evans observes, large groups — liberals and conservatives — converge on different reference points, resulting in mutually unrecognizable versions of reality. The common lesson of all of these phenomena is to be cognizant that the tools we use affect us in ways we may not fully appreciate. We should always be searching, the findings suggest, for new ways to search.
Becoming Screen Literate
We are people of the screen now,
says Kevin Kelly. When we were people of the written word, we developed a long list of innovations and techniques to permit ordinary readers and writers to manipulate text in ways that made it useful (think: quotation symbols, tables of contents, page numbers, indices, footnotes, bibliographic citations, and of course, hyperlinks). We will do the same to support screen fluency:
With our fingers we will drag objects out of films and cast them in our own movies. A click of our phone camera will capture a landscape, then display its history, which we can use to annotate the image. Text, sound, motion will continue to merge into a single intermedia as they flow through the always-on network. With the assistance of screen fluency tools we might even be able to summon up realistic fantasies spontaneously. Standing before a screen, we could create the visual image of a turquoise rose, glistening with dew, poised in a trim ruby vase, as fast as we could write these words. If we were truly screen literate, maybe even faster. And that is just the opening scene.
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.
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.
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.“
It seems to be the case, online as well as offline, that when you smile, the world smiles with you: