Imagine you are a passenger in a plane that is starting its takeoff approach. You are accelerating down the runway when the left engine catches on fire. The pilot heroically brings the plane to a rapid halt and commences the emergency evacuation procedures. There is heat, and fire, and smoke. People are panicking. You are in the plane, perhaps in a middle row, with an exit 10 rows ahead, and 10...
I was waiting in line to talk to the concierge in the hotel yesterday (I’m currently in New York as I write this). I was third in line, and the line was starting to grow behind me. Up ahead in first place, hijacking the concierge was a father and his daughter. I’d guess she was 11 or 12, but I was behind them so couldn’t really tell. I couldn’t hear the conversation with...
For the sake of this discussion, let us assume a few things. First, let us assume that when judgements in capital cases are handed down, they are judicially pure. We know this is often not the case, that judgements can be the result of political machinations, bribery mismatches, racial inclinations and numerous other motivations. But let us assume for these few minutes that they are indeed...
An interesting social experiment where a women decided she’d agree with compliments men gave her. The results are pretty interesting – summary:  she mostly got criticised, called vain, and even abused. The issue is probably not a gender one (eg if the roles had been reversed and men had agreed when getting complimented, they’d likely have gotten similar pushback) but it does...
I’m pretty sure the words ‘exciting’ and ‘banking’ don’t belong together.
From Mark Zuckerberg’s status update: My challenge for 2015 is to read a new book every other week — with an emphasis on learning about different cultures, beliefs, histories and technologies. It’s a good challenge, and he has started a page for it here. I’ve joined but I’ve set myself a much more appropriate target – I’m aiming to read one book from his...
Reply from Malcolm Gladwell when asked about a child’s birth month being an advantage (emphasis mine): Question: In Outliers, you discuss why a hugely disproportionate number of professional hockey and soccer players are born in January, February and March. I can’t begin to imagine how many to-be parents you influenced to try and have their offspring be born in those months! MG:...
I’m thinking of starting a new tech blog called Startup Reviews*, where I review every single new startup that I hear about. Without exception I’ll predict they will fail, and I’ll further predict they will fail within 2 years. Regardless of how good their product idea, what their business model is, or previous success. I’ll just blanket predict they will fail. After a...
Why is that stories like the following really get to me: This Story Of A Dog’s Last Day On Earth Is Beautiful And Utterly Heartbreaking Photoshop Request: My daughter recently passed away after a long battle in the children’s hospital. Since she was in the hospital her whole life we never were able to get a photo without all her tubes. Can someone remove the tubes from this photo? The...
Back in the early 80s when I was just finding my way as a struggling teenager The Machinations were a fave. Imagine my disbelief and surprise, when I found out just last night that the song is not actually called Precious Way and is in fact Pressure Sway. And to further destroy any self-belief I had about knowing 80s music I also learned that they are just Machinations – there’s no...