Slightly Off-Topic Postings

The most important information first aid courses usually neglect to convey

2014-03-14

A video on YouTube showing a person fall down ... and what happens. Not much, unfortunately. Here are some reasons that are based on studies and not on ideology. And what you can do in an emergency ... as a victim and bystander.
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Off-Topic: Some tips for taking part in an extreme run

2014-03-13

Looking back on the extreme run I did participate, I wrote down a couple of tips for taking part in this type of run. After all, it was the first time I did such a run.
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New Year’s Resolution Fulfilled: A “Braveheart Battle” “Zombies, Run!” Crossover

2014-03-09

Yeah, I made it. Made a resolution and succeeded. A 26 km run ... including through water and over obstacles. And best, while doing it with an app with GPS tracking.
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A (more or less) creative solution to the trolley problem

2014-03-06

The trolley problem is an ethical dilemma that trips people up, because in one situation they would kill, in the other they would not. I think I have found a solution for it. Or a rationalization anyway.
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If you cut off the spine of a book to digitize it, keep your legs out of the way

2014-02-28

Mishaps are like knives, that either serve us or cut us, as we grasp them by the blade or the handle. James Russell Lowell Personally, […]

Being an Adult, or: Life is Not a Song

2014-02-17

Ah, princesses. Nice that Disney and other companies try to celebrate self-determined people, but shouldn't they be competent as well? Shouldn't they, I don't know, start learning or something after they have finished singing?
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Two Tales of Hacking Online Dating

2014-02-07

There are some ridiculous and deeply unfair double standards in our society and this posting looks into one of them. Also: Using math to hack love. If love is stronger than hate, then math surely wipes the floor with both of them.
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Deeply Misguiding — Problems with Surveys on Inequality

2013-12-23

A long (= in depth) look at a few of the major problems with a survey on gender equality. Seriously, never seen so many mistakes in one survey. The data they gathered and their analyses are not only wrong, they are highly misleading. Bad, bad science.
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Is Homosexuality still an issue in Academia?

2013-12-09

A comment by a colleague about homosexuality being a black mark -- akin to having a PhD student die on a field trip -- left me a bit ... speechless. Never noticed it, but apparently some people in Academia are extremely homophobic. Also a suiting scene from "The West Wing" (image left).
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Safety must never be paramount

2013-12-05

A comment on the assertion that "safety must be paramount" for a group (here: female journalists). Safety must never be paramount. Here's why.
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This is a private blog showing my opinions. If you have an issue with what I write here, either don’t read it or talk to me directly. Don’t waste your time — or mine — dragging my employer into matters where they hold no authority.

The institution I work for, or rather the people officially representing it, have already distanced themselves from this blog. I find this unnecessary, as I’ve clearly stated in the «About this Blog» section that this is a personal blog.

Frankly, I have nothing but contempt for those who lack the backbone to address their concerns directly and instead resort to passive-aggressive tattling to others. Such behavior strikes me as not only cowardly, but also spineless, gutless, and wholly unprincipled. Moreover, these efforts are as pathetic as they are futile.

That said, I might listen if you present compelling arguments and evidence, as constructive feedback is always welcome. Who knows? We might even both gain something valuable from the interaction.

A comment for those seeking to use this site for personal gain: Given the increase in requests, let me be clear. I write on this blog because I want to. It’s my hobby, my playground. Sometimes people point me to interesting products/services and I write about them. But any request regarding ads or sponsored placements ends up the trash without a reply. And if you think something would be of interest, differentiate yourself from the spammers by referring to a posting — in an intelligent way. (I get enough auto-generated mails to identify them immediately.)

BTW, posts can get updated after I published them if I spot spelling errors (not a native speaker) or think a different wording might improve precision and clarity.

This blog is not focused on a single topic, or method. As long as it is relevant to improving creativity (or allowing it in the first place), it's fair game.
Some postings on this blog deal with freedom, as I think that we need freedom of thought, of speech, of association, etc. pp. to solve mankind's problems. Thus, some postings may seem a bit remote when it comes to organizing creativity. Freedom is, however, the bedrock of creativity.
The heterogeneity of the postings can make reading this blog a bit cumbersome, at least if you are only interested in one topic. You can either use the search function (above), or use the categories or the tags to narrow down the postings you see.

ORGANIZING CREATIVITY

How to generate, capture, and collect ideas to realize creative projects.