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, Interesting Bits, HBS, chair of Strata, Startupfest, FWD50, and Scaletechconf; author of Lean Analytics and some other books), Hugh McGuire (Rebus Foundation, PressBooks, LibriVox) 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:
- Computational Thinking – Viewpoint. “In 2006, the head of the Carnegie Mellon Computer Science department, Jeannette M. Wing, wrote this short piece on what ‘computational thinking’ is. She reasons that it’s a different kind of problem solving, in many ways the purest of forms, in which search, synthesis, and conceptualizing. I read it years ago, and came across it recently. As we spend more of our lives on bits, ideas, and information, and less of it on atoms, matter, and the physical world, I find it useful to step back and think just how different thinking for a living has become.” (Alistair for Hugh).
- The Plan Was Simple: Infiltrate MAGA World and Tell Everyone What She Saw. Then She Was Found Out – Mother Jones. “I avoid posting links from partisan sites on either side of the political aisle, so this one comes with a caveat. But it’s a story of infiltration, and how we learn about fringe groups. When allies and enemies look identical, all we have to go on is reputation and the flimsy veneer of search results. Blending in at rallies was easy—’if she didn’t wear a mask, held her tongue, and acted friendly, demonstrators simply assumed she was on their side.’ The risks are real, but they also make me wonder about the amateur sleuthing of an increasingly divided politik, infiltrating one another, and what happens as extremism gets even more extreme.” (Alistair for Mitch).
- Your Fitbit has stolen your soul – UnHerd. “This one is for Alistair, one of the first people I heard talking about the ‘quantified self’ (or something like it) many many years ago. I’ve always resisted the notion – the idea of tracking my steps, sleep, calories, heart rate etc has never appealed to me. I don’t begrudge anyone who finds this kind of data-driven self examination helpful in leading a more contented/balanced life, but I’m not interested. On the other hand, Justin E. H. Smith, thinks your soul is at risk.” (Hugh for Alistair).
- Cat gap – Wikipedia. “‘The cat gap is a period in the fossil record of approximately 2.5 million to 18.5 million years ago in which there are few fossils of cats or cat-like species found in North America.'” (Hugh for Mitch).
- The rise of boring architecture – and the case for radically human buildings – Thomas Heatherwick – TED. “This was, without a doubt, one of the best talks that I saw at this year’s TED conference in Vancouver. I’m always a sucker for sessions about cities, architecture, and the places that we work and live. This one really shook me. It made me think very differently about construction, architecture and the buildings that surround us. Is it all this dull? Maybe we don’t need urban infrastructure to be so bland, gray, and unwelcoming. Thomas Heatherwick‘s work proves that we can build things differently… But he also believes that we have a long way to go. This is especially powerful, when we start thinking about buildings that we are working now, and going forward.” (Mitch for Alistair).
- Why Write? – The Paris Review. “I do consider myself a writer, but I do not think I have the proclivity of writers like Stephen King or people like Ann Handley. I do have a level of frequency and consistency, but I don’t – to quote Steven Pressfield – ‘put my ass where my heart is.’ As a writer, I think that’s just a part of the personality – this constant nag that you should be writing more. Still, reading this incredible and inspiring article makes me want to spend more time banging on the keyboard and tapping out the words. I think you will agree. No matter what type of writing you are doing (or want to do).” (Mitch for Hugh).
Feel free to share these links and add your picks on Twitter, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.
Are you interested in what’s next? How to decode the future? I publish between 2-3 times per week and then the Six Pixels of Separation Podcast comes out every Sunday. Feel free to subscribe (and tell your friends)