The Consequences of Bad Academic Writing Steven Pinker’s perfectly pitched “Why Academics Stink at Writing” opens by asking an essential question: Why should a profession that trades in words and dedicates itself to the transmission of knowledge so often turn out prose that is turgid, soggy, wooden, bloated, clumsy, obscure, unpleasant to read, and impossible […] Read More »
1. Why American Institutions Are Failing Francis Fukuyama’s huge new essay in Foreign Affairs details why American institutions are failing. It covers familiar ground – the rise of interest groups, the increase in political polarization. But the writing and analysis are very good. Expect it to be cited repeatedly by editorial pages and politicians of both parties throughout the […] Read More »
1. Singularity as a Religious Cult It is impossible to spend time in Silicon Valley without running into someone who sings the praises of Singularity University, the tech-focused, virtual institute led by futurist Ray Kurzweil. Now, a British reporter comes to town and discovers that its adherents, with their focus on “machine intelligence,” are essentially […] Read More »
1. Data Nerds 1, FIFA 0 It appears that no sporting event can avoid the data analytics/social media grinder. Google, as one might have predicted, has assembled a team of analysts and infographic specialists to interpret every minute of the World Cup. Their analysis puts the U.S. on top: The U.S. may struggle to keep […] Read More »
1. Better Left Unread Did you miss the World Bank’s report on global purchasing parities? Didn’t link to the study on Latin American land reform? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Thanks to an astonishingly candid report by the Bank itself, we can now be sure that hardly anyone downloads the hundreds of reports they publish […] Read More »
High Lantern Group Managing Partner Michael Hodin and American Enterprise Institute’s Nick Eberstadt co-authored an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal. In “America Needs to Rethink ‘Retirement’: Unleashing the Economic Power of Older Workers Is Essential for U.S. Prosperity,” Hodin and Eberstadt discuss why 21st-century demographics should profoundly shape how we think and act […] Read More »
Positioning Ideas In the Public Arena – Through Words, Image and Strategic Development LOS ANGELES, CA – Today High Lantern Group announced the addition of Nazanin “Naz” Arandi as Creative Director, based in the Los Angeles office. Arandi will lead the firm’s creative design practice, bringing client issues and priorities to life through visual mediums. […] Read More »
1. Killing Me QWERTY Who killed QWERTY? With Blackberry barely hanging on, the physical QWERTY keyboard may never again appear on a cell phone. Tech writer Sean Hollister, a QWERTY bitter-ender, discovers that the decline of the keyboard may be the result of the decline of writing itself: The real reason is not design, […] Read More »
1. Wikipedia’s Getting Worse An unflinching takedown of Wikipedia by the MIT Technology Review . According to the article, Wikipedia not only suffers from unwieldy growth and a lack of capable editors, but also a “crushing bureaucracy” of a management system that creates “an abrasive atmosphere that deters newcomers” from participating and helping the […] Read More »
1. 3D Printers: Don’t Try This At Home Ars Technica‘s Lee Hutchinson has written a must-read, first-hand account on what it’s like to use 3D printers. Ostensibly a product review, this blow-by-blow account details the frustrations, disappointments, and failures of this highly touted technology. And it quickly lets the air out of the ” second […] Read More »
