Evan Williams | evhead: They're not talking to you

Evan Williams | evhead: They're not talking to you: "Most user-generated content is created as communication in small groups, but since we're so unused to communications media and broadcast media being mixed together, we think that everyone is now broadcasting. This is a mistake. If we listened in on other people's phone calls, we'd know to expect small talk, inside jokes, and the like, but people's phone calls aren't out in the open. One of the driving forces behind much user-generated content is that conversation is no longer limited to social cul-de-sacs like the phone.'"

Homosexual behavior due to genetics and environmental factors | Eureka! Science News

Homosexual behavior due to genetics and environmental factors | Eureka! Science News: "Homosexual behaviour is largely shaped by genetics and random environmental factors, according to findings from the world's largest study of twins. Writing in the scientific journal Archives of Sexual Behavior, researchers from Queen Mary's School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, and Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm report that genetics and environmental factors (which are specific to an individual, and may include biological processes such as different hormone exposure in the womb), are important determinants of homosexual behaviour."

Febraury 2010: William Langewiesche on American Snipers | vanityfair.com

Febraury 2010: William Langewiesche on American Snipers | vanityfair.com: "he does not look like a warrior, and warriors often do not. He made that point to me not about himself but about a fat and clownish soldier who had fought resolutely beside him in a number of battles. The first was a ferocious ambush in Afghanistan on a road that offered no cover. In the midst of it Crane saw this soldier put down his weapon and coolly help himself to a pinch of chewing tobacco before calmly resuming the fight. Crane said, “You never know it about someone. You can’t tell it in advance. The guys with the badges and the strut, a lot of times they’re gonna be hiding.” He seemed to have a certain Special Forces team in mind."

Killing with a personal touch | Quiet Babylon

Killing with a personal touch | Quiet Babylon: "If you didn’t watch the drone criticism video I linked to above, watch it now. The deep dread and hatred of handcrafted kills raises it head here. Carefully selecting targets and aiming to remove them with a minimum of other casualties? Not OK. Combat operations with all the collateral damage to infrastructure, economy, people, and environment? Part of the cost of war."

You should make one, too.

You should make one, too.: "Do-It-Yourself Novel Writing"

The New York Times > Books > Sunday Book Review > Essay: Tool for Thought

The New York Times > Books > Sunday Book Review > Essay: Tool for Thought: "Having all this information available at my fingerprints does more than help me find my notes faster. Yes, when I'm trying to track down an article I wrote many years ago, it's now much easier to retrieve. But the qualitative change lies elsewhere: in finding documents I've forgotten about altogether, documents that I didn't know I was looking for."

The Food Chain - A Series From The New York Times

The Food Chain - A Series From The New York Times