As I read books and articles, I have a habit of saving unique words (or phrases) that I like. I’ll be sharing them here on occasion, so you too can sound smart at dinner parties.
Pettifogger
- Someone who quibbles over minor details.
I think I like this word so much because I can be a pettifogger at times. Unfortunately this is a trait my sons have inherited; if I say the time is 7:30 and its only 7:29, I will be corrected 🤦
I spotted this warning sign in a small Alaskan town and appreciated how the designer made it angry electricity attacking a young child. Not exactly comforting, nor technically accurate, but hopefully keeps people from trying to open it!
Although I believe the computer to be a vastly overrated technology, I mention it here because, clearly, American have accorded it their customary mindless inattention; which means they will use it as they are told, without a whimper. Thus, a central thesis of computer technology – that the principal difficulty we have in solving problems stems from insufficient data – will go unexamined. Until, years from now, when it will be noticed that the massive collection of data have been of great value to large-scale organizations but have solved very little of importance to most people and have created at least as many problems for them as they may have solved.
Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death
This quote is from Neil Postman’s book Amusing Ourselves to Death, a prescient look at technology (mostly TV at that point) – and how the form or medium of a technology significantly impacts how it is used. As a whole, our culture sees technology as a good thing and we adopt it without enough critical thought as to the dangers or downsides.
Reading this today in light of the massive data collection by tech platforms, and the use of this data to monetize and manipulate, should cause us to seriously consider when a technology has greater downsides than upsides, and how to prevent misuse at the hands of bad actors or powerful entities.
Saxbounce is a super upbeat album with amazing sax riffs and fun beats featuring the talented Israeli musician Eyal Talmudi. It’s so cool hearing “classical” instruments in different styles of music.
We went to a Kangaroo farm recently as a family, and they love to recline in an oddly human-like manner that is a mix of seductive/chill. It’s hilarious to see them lying around like “Hey there, what’s going on. Come over and say hi” 🤣
Measure success not by what a man achieves, but by how he achieves it.
Lawrence O Richards
In the world of business (and probably most spheres of life) it seems that the end trumps the process. Sure, we talk about celebrating failure and doing the right thing – but you are ultimately judged on the result. And those with the best results are the winners.
Now, that doesn’t mean how you got there won’t be discovered and evaluated; just look at all the downfall stories in books and on TV. Yet, despite the joy we take in seeing justice, the truth is that how you work may never be recognized. But it matters, as our true character is shown in those difficult times, when we choose the right way even when it might cost our success.
On this Easter weekend, despite all the uncertainty in the world, we are reminded of the hope we have in Jesus that cannot be shaken.
My son (8) made the drawing above during the Good Friday service at church – his willingness to embrace new styles and mediums encourages me to be more creative.
I spotted this cellular tower in Los Angeles, and while I applaud the effort to blend in, I’m not sold on the execution, especially with the warning sign on the bottom.
Searching through Spotify for new music is a guilty pleasure of mine, and I love to share new songs with others.
In sharing here, I also realize just how hard it is to accurately describe music and how bad I am at explaining why I like a particular song or artist. But that won’t stop me from trying!
Here are two very different songs. The first, Honeysuckle is a fun, upbeat and encouraging tune from Northwest Stories. I love their vibes and lyrics – and resonate as a fellow PNW hipster (if that’s still a thing).
The second song, Zone 1 to 6000 is from London based artist Nabihah Iqbal who I discovered recently. Her dreamy synth-y sound and spoken word vocals are captivating. Enjoy 🎧
A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.
Herbert Simon
We are living out the fulfillment of this quote today. We have more information than ever before, but we’re losing our ability to actually focus, and think critically.
This can be seen in the adoption of AI to do work that normally requires deep attention – writing, coding, designing. Yes we can have it done for us, but at what cost?
Additionally, as attention decreases, commanding that attention requires ever greater provocation; no longer can we read and evaluate long form content, but we are swayed by the most shocking soundbites, leading to … even more shocking soundbites. How do we regain our ability to focus and think when every platform is designed to consume us?
Although I try avoid using Windows whenever possible, it seems I cannot escape the blue screen of death!
Science finds, industry applies, man conforms.
Chicago World Fair motto (1933)
The motto for the Chicago World Fair sums up how backwards our approach to technological development is.
We leverage science to make new discoveries, which is great, but then let the application of these technologies be led by industry (aka business), which means profit first and people be damned.
Vehicles lead to unwalkable neighbourhoods – man conforms.
New machines replace thousands of skilled artisans – man conforms.
Pesticides poison water sources – man conforms.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. We can use technology to make life better for people, and if it causes serious harm or unintended damages, we can even choose not to pursue that technology, or place limits on its use.
As technologies like AI get rammed into every aspect of life by businesses seeking to grow revenue, thinking critically about how we apply and adopt new innovations is more important than ever; individually, as business leaders, and at a macro level (politically) too.
However formidably automatic the machine may look, there is always a man lurking in the background, adjusting it, correcting it, nursing it; and the machine itself is half slave, half god.
Lewis Mumford, Art and technics
