conveying_ideas – Page 10 – ORGANIZING CREATIVITY

Useful discussions

2014-07-23

Some thoughts on what makes a discussion ... useful.
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A powerful ad is easy, a good one isn’t

2014-07-22

A video by Christina H. Summers looks at an ad that is ostensibly for good purposes, but deeply misleading. A nice example what ads should not be.
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(No longer a) Recommendation: Freedomain Radio

2014-07-11

An interesting podcast -- probably the best I have listened to so far. And it's about practical philosophy (meets child abuse and relationships and a couple other topics). Image screenshot from the Freedomain website. Update: No longer a recommendation.
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Digitally naming, shaming and jailing

2014-06-26

New ideas often trigger criticism, sometimes even threats of violence or actual violent actions. But here the digital world can offer something the physical world is often short of: evidence. Also: threats vs. threatoids.
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Why Science Should Act as Reality Check (even for bogus ideas)

2014-06-22

A look at the role science should play in public discourse, using Thunderf00t's "Solar Roadways" criticism as example. Also: Imagination, bad ideas, and nay-sayers.
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Interpreting academic studies

2014-06-17

Recommendation of a journalist's guide to interpreting academic studies and some comments. (thumb image: Jorge Cham's PhD Comic)
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Recommendation: Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot

2014-06-14

Reverence to one of the most famous and ... inspiring photographs and speeches.
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Interesting (but sadly underdeveloped and underused) Add-On: OpenComment

2014-06-10

Reference to an interesting browser plug-in that lets people comment on webpages independent of the people who control the webserver.
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Guest Posting on Butler Library Blog

2014-06-05

Francis from Butler Library Blog gave me the opportunity to write a guest posting about writing with content outlines (using Circus Ponies Notebook as outliner). Highly useful for academic writing, but also applicable to other areas. Link in this posting.
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A good hunter waits (or: why you shouldn’t chase ambulances but leave your note at the hospital)

2014-05-31

A clever solution if you want to advertise your services, seen at a hospital parking lot.
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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.