OS X Mountain Lion Sneak Peak -
OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG. This is exactly what I’ve been wanting OS X to become, and more: the integration of the iOS apps directly into the Mac. I’m literally salivating over this right now. Aaaannddd… You can download the Beta version of Messages. RIGHT. NOW. Which I am currently doing.
Rationally Speaking: The Mismeasure of Neuroscience -
This article does a good job at (quickly and briefly) revealing the inadequacies of grand judgments based on neuroscience (also called neurobabble, or neurotrash by some). Neuroscience is fascinating stuff, but its claims are often so far-reaching as to give pause to anyone taking them seriously.
“The fact is, of course, that anything at all which we experience, whether it does or does not have causal determinants in the outside world, has to be experienced through our brains. Which means that you will find neural correlates for literally everything that human beings do or think. Because that’s what the brain is for: to do stuff and think about stuff.”
McDonald's Will Phase Out Gestation Crates - NYTimes.com -
Regardless of how you feel about animal rights, this article shows just how much power companies like McDonald’s and WalMart have in setting industry standards. And not just for animal welfare: companies like this can effectively change de facto health and wage standards with the push of a button. Pretty fascinating. And a little scary.
Printable Valentine’s Cards from awesome shows.
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Spinoza and The First Amendment -
“In this work, Spinoza approaches the issue of individual liberty from several perspectives. To begin with, there is the question of belief, and especially the state’s tolerance of the beliefs of its citizens. Spinoza argues that all individuals are to be absolutely free and unimpeded in their beliefs, by right and in fact. ‘It is impossible for the mind to be completely under another’s control; for no one is able to transfer to another his natural right or faculty to reason freely and to form his own judgment on any matters whatsoever, nor can he be compelled to do so.’”
The Philosophy of Video Games - Reader's Feature | Metro.co.uk -
A short article on a couple of video games with more than entertainment value. (Yes. Zelda is one of them.)
Thinking, Fast and Slow — By Daniel Kahneman — Book Review - NYTimes.com -
I certainly don’t agree with all of this, but I’m recommending you read it anyway. If the book is accurate, this is really because the end of the review was more positive than negative, and my immediate remembrance of it colors my remembered experience strongly enough to suggest that you read it too. In fact, if the reviewer is right, you may not experience it much at all. You’ll just read it and reflect on your past experience. It’s all we may really do anyway, says the reviewer. And with that, I respectfully disagree.
'Moby Dick in Pictures' - Every single page of the book. Hand-drawn. -
Click the link above for a huge sampling from the book. And then go buy it on Amazon.
20 Common Grammar Mistakes That (Almost) Everyone Makes | LitReactor
Tumbling on success: How Tumblr's David Karp built a £500 million empire (Wired UK) -
A really interesting article on the history of Tumblr, social blogging, and where it’s going.
The Gang From Community As The Cast Of Street Fighter
Who Was Charles Dickens? by Robert Gottlieb | The New York Review of Books -
Happy 200th Birthday, Charles Dickens!