Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?
My friends: Alistair Croll (Solve for Interesting, Tilt the Windmill, HBS, chair of Strata, Startupfest, Pandemonio, and ResolveTO, Author of Lean Analytics and some other books), Hugh McGuire (PressBooks, LibriVox, iambik and co-author of Book: A Futurist’s Manifesto) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person “must see”.
Check out these six links that we’re recommending to one another:
- The Steward of Middle-earth – The Weekly Standard. “The enduring legacy of Tolkien—who, let’s face it, gave us everything from D&D to World of Warcraft—is his son’s life work. It’s devotional.” (Alistair for Hugh).
- Are Pop Lyrics Getting More Repetitive? – The Pudding. “This is how to use data. Turns out we that have a way to measure repetition: Compression. The same algorithm that makes files smaller can show how much repetition there is in something. But that’s not why I’m sharing this; it is, simply put, one of the best data visualizations I’ve ever seen. Scroll down, and the embedded graphs build themselves before your eyes, with annotation. Also? Yes, they are.” (Alistair for Mitch).
- The deep roots of writing – Aeon. “How writing developed, maybe, as a tool of oppression.” (Hugh for Alistair).
- Two Alexas Giving Each Other Psychotherapy – Sidney Gish – YouTube. “There is a strong case to be made that humans are now redundant.” (Hugh for Mitch).
- A Business With No End – The New York Times. “This is an astonishing piece about commerce, gamification and the complexities of what happens when physical businesses (like retail) go digital. I’m often eager to talk about the opportunities of the ‘endless aisle,’ when it comes to commerce, but this is the other side of it. Can you blame Amazon? The Internet really magnifies the hustles that people endure to make a living. Read on, because it’s bizarre, dizzying and endlessly fascinating.” (Mitch for Alistair).
- David Mamet on Ricky Jay, a Great Astonisher and ‘Truest Friend’ – The New York Times. “We sadly lost the very talented magician, author, entertainer, actor (and much more), Ricky Jay. Here’s his story (and a beautiful written tribute) from his close friend (and my favourite playwright and screenwriter), David Mamet. There is no time like the present to go back and watch movies like The Spanish Prisoner and House of Games.” (Mitch for Hugh)
Feel free to share these links and add your picks on Twitter, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.