many similar words. Subtly different meanings. All definitions via onelook.com

Log
noun:  a written record of events on a voyage (of a ship or plane)
noun:  a written record of messages sent or received
verb:  enter into a log, as on ships and planes

Chronicle
noun:  a record or narrative description of past events
verb:  record in chronological order; make a historical record

Annals
noun:  a chronological account of events in successive years
noun:  reports of the work of a society or learned body etc

Record
noun: a compilation of the known facts regarding something or someone
noun:  anything (such as a document or a phonograph record or a photograph) providing permanent evidence of or information about past events

Diary
noun:  a personal journal (as a physical object)
noun:  a daily written record of (usually personal) experiences and observations

Journal
noun:  a daily written record of (usually personal) experiences and observations
noun:  a ledger in which transactions have been recorded as they occurred

Calendar
Noun: a list or register of events (appointments or social events or court cases etc

Timetable
noun:  a schedule of times of arrivals and departures
noun:  a schedule listing events and the times at which they will take place

History:
noun:  a record or narrative description of past events

Cory Doctorow of Boing Boing fame has written a good article on Writing in the Age of Distraction.

The best advice in the article (for me) was this:

Don’t research

Researching isn’t writing and vice-versa. When you come to a factual matter that you could google in a matter of seconds, don’t. Don’t give in and look up the length of the Brooklyn Bridge, the population of Rhode Island, or the distance to the Sun. That way lies distraction — an endless click-trance that will turn your 20 minutes of composing into a half-day’s idyll through the web. Instead, do what journalists do: type “TK” where your fact should go, as in “The Brooklyn bridge, all TK feet of it, sailed into the air like a kite.” “TK” appears in very few English words (the one I get tripped up on is “Atkins”) so a quick search through your document for “TK” will tell you whether you have any fact-checking to do afterwards. And your editor and copyeditor will recognize it if you miss it and bring it to your attention.

Excellent advice.

“Where do I get my ideas from? You might as well have asked that of Beethoven. He was goofing around in Germany like everybody else, and all of a sudden this stuff came gushing out of him. It was music.

I was goofing around like everybody else in Indiana, and all of a sudden stuff came gushing out. It was disgust with civilization.”

Via Kurt Vonnegut on Creativity

This was my reading that I gave at my friend Jason’s wedding last year. I recently found it again and thought it would make a lovely post

“Humans have never understood the power of Love, for if they had they would surely have built noble temples and altars and offered solemn sacrifices; but this is not done, and most certainly ought to be done, since Love is our best friend, our helper, and the healer of the ills which prevent us from being happy.

To understand the power of Love, we must understand that our original nature was not like it is now, but different. Human beings each had two sets of arms, two sets of legs, and two faces looking in opposite directions.

Now these creatures were so powerful and lofty in their notions that they even conspired against the gods. Thereat Zeus and the other gods were perplexed; for they felt they could not slay them, nor could they endure such sinful rioting. So Finally Zeus in all of his wisdom said “Methinks I can contrive that men shall give over their iniquity through a lessening of their strength.” and so saying, he sliced each human being in two.

Now when our first form had been cut in two, each half longed for its fellow to come to it again; to fling their arms about each other and in mutual embrace yearn to be grafted together as once they were. Thus anciently is mutual love ingrained in mankind.

Well, when one happens on their own particular half, the two of them are wondrously thrilled with affection, intimacy, and love, and are hardly to be induced to leave each other’s side for a single moment. These are they who continue together throughout life. No one could imagine this to be the mere amorous connection: obviously the soul of each is wishing for something else that it cannot express. Suppose that Hephaestus should ask “Do you desire to be joined in the closest possible union, that so long as you live, the pair of you, being as one, may share a single life?” Each would unreservedly deem that he had been offered just what he was yearning for all the time.

The craving and pursuit of that entirety is called Love. If we make friends with the gods and are reconciled, we shall have the fortune that falls to few in our day of discovering our proper favorites. Love brings this about; it restores us to our ancient life, and heals and helps us into the happiness of the blessed.”

A slide from Sandy Pentland's presentation on "Honesty Signals"

A new book from MIT Press is a major contribution to “Signalling Theory“. It is called Honest Signals by Alex (Sandy) Pentland.

From the press release for the book:

“How can you know when someone is bluffing? Paying attention? Genuinely interested? The answer, writes Sandy Pentland in Honest Signals, is that subtle patterns in how we interact with other people reveal our attitudes toward them. These unconscious social signals are not just a back channel or a complement to our conscious language; they form a separate communication network. Biologically based “honest signaling,” evolved from ancient primate signaling mechanisms, offers an unmatched window into our intentions, goals, and values. If we understand this ancient channel of communication, Pentland claims, we can accurately predict the outcomes of situations ranging from job interviews to first dates.

Pentland, an MIT professor, has used a specially designed digital sensor worn like an ID badge–a “sociometer”–to monitor and analyze the back-and-forth patterns of signalling among groups of people. He and his researchers found that this second channel of communication, revolving not around words but around social relations, profoundly influences major decisions in our lives–even though we are largely unaware of it. Pentland presents the scientific background necessary for understanding this form of communication, applies it to examples of group behavior in real organizations, and shows how by “reading” our social networks we can become more successful at pitching an idea, getting a job, or closing a deal. Using this “network intelligence” theory of social signaling, Pentland describes how we can harness the intelligence of our social network to become better managers, workers, and communicators.”

“Tuning in to unconscious communication” (MIT)

The power of unconscious signalling continues to amaze me. For years hypnotists and Influence experts have claimed (or warned) that very subtle factors influence decision making and judgements.

For a superb overview of the subject of decision making and choice, I strongly recommend an episode of the new series of Radio Lab devoted to the subject called “Choice“.

Look out for part 3 “Is Free Will Really Free?” where professor John Bargh describes a stunning experiment where the temperature of a drink has a powerful effect on judgement:

“Judgment of character can be influenced by something as simple as the temperature of a drink held in our hands, according to a US study published today.

Researchers from Yale University conducted experiments that showed that people perceive others as more generous and more attentive if they have just been holding a hot cup of coffee, and that the inverse is true for cold drinks.

A second study found that people are more likely to give something to others if they held something warm, and more likely take something for themselves if they held something cold.”

Judgement of character affected by hot cup of coffee: study – Sydney Morning Herald

Here author Alex (Sandy) Pentland explains the book:

Also see:

Honest Signals – How They Shape Our World

It was only a matter of time before there was a big name defection – and this is it.

The Group Selection Squad led by Howard Bloom now welcome into their fold the great O.E. Wilson.

In his new book  – “The Superorganism” – he accepts that widely accepted theory of kin selection doesn’t explain the origin of altruism.  For the Boston Globe:

It is a puzzle of evolution: If natural selection dictates that the fittest survive, why do we see altruism in nature? Why do worker bees or ants, for instance, refrain from competing with those around them, but instead search for food or build nests on behalf of their companions? Why do they sacrifice their own reproductive success for the good of the group?

In the 1960s, British biologist William Hamilton offered an explanation in a theory now called kin selection. When animals, often insects, help siblings or other relatives survive, they are enhancing the odds that their shared family genes will be passed on. In other words, the genes, not the individual or social group, are what counts in evolution.

Hamilton’s idea was eventually accepted by most biologists, and found an enthusiastic backer, at the time, in Edward O. Wilson, the renowned Harvard evolutionist.

That was then. Now, Wilson has changed his mind, startling colleagues by arguing that kin selection does not lead to altruism.

Kin selection is a scientific crutch, a “very seductive” idea that “doesn’t tell us anything decisive about how altruism originated,” Wilson says. He adds: “We need a whole new way of explaining things.”

He has one. Wilson posits that altruism evolved due more to ecological circumstances than the influence of genes.

In his new book “The Superorganism,” out today, Wilson and his co-author, Bert Holldobler, argue that natural selection operates on the group, not just the gene. The lavishly-illustrated volume examines the complex systems that help insect societies survive, from an intricate array of communication signals to the elaborate architecture of nests. But Wilson – though not Holldobler – goes further, saying altruism occurs not because animals share family ties, but because certain altruistic acts have become useful for the overall survival of insect groups.

“The close kinship of the members of these groups is a consequence, not a cause, of their evolution,” says the ever-genial Wilson in an interview at his home in Lexington. He believes altruistic (or eusocial) societies developed in ecological conditions where food was plentiful enough to allow insects to practice “progressive provisioning,” in which a mother leaves its offspring with food, as some wasps or bees do. This creates a need for others in the insect society to stand guard over the young.

Given these conditions, Wilson postulates, an insect group experiencing a single beneficial genetic mutation – such as the ability to distinguish nest mates from outsiders, a trait many insects possess – might adopt altruism as a useful social behavior.

This is a huge boon for the brilliant Howard Bloom (The Global Brain) and his allies like David Sloan Wilsion (Darwin’s Cathedral) and Kevin Kelly (Our of Control).  Even Steve Pinker came out and supported the possibility of group selection in his “Dangerous Idea” for Edge question 2006.

Look out for a follow-up post with comprehensive links to Howard Bloom resources and podcasts.

E.O. Wilson Returns to the Hive With Superorganism Tome – Wired Magazine

‘Superorganism’ book launch features authors, adventures – Arizona State University

A Brief History of the SuperOrganism – Part 1

A Brief History of the SuperOrganism – Part 2

Typical Brian type car, a heavily modified Renault 5. Perfect for burning rubber, drag racing, games of chicken and bouncing your car. Dice hanging from rear-view mirror and optional fluorescent under car lighting are badges of true distinction.

In Denmark they call boy racers (young men in souped up cars) “Brians”, as in “There goes a another f*cking Brian with fluorescent lights under his car”. Their female equivalents are “Bettinas”.

Tommy and Kenneth are also naughty names, associated with troublesomeness. Tommy is also bad in Norway.

Lila, Mona, Michelle are dodgy girls names, although this really depends on which generation.

I also love the fact  Danes call dealers “Narcomen”, which although it sounds like “narco man”, actually comes from “narco mania”.

Really enjoying the new blog – Later Action – from the guy behind CopyBlogger (Brian Clarke)

Here are some starter posts to give you an idea of the themes and style:

Tyler Durden’s 8 Rules of Innovation | Lateral Action

Foolish Productivity: The Hobgoblin of Creative Minds

Beyond Getting Things Done: Lateral Action

Freddy Hagen is an extraordinarily talented Danish photographer.

Recently he returned from a trip to the Middle East and has uploaded some slide shows.

One in particular is a must see, Cairo Megacity. It is a slide show with music and both the music and photographs are utterly beautiful.

His other slide shows are also superb. Don’t miss Aid al-Adha, a photo essay about the Islamic festival where feat animals are slaughtered on the streets of Cairo (nor for the squeamish).

He also offers a radically alternative view of Denmark’s capital Copenhagen in another superb musical sideshow called Copenhagen 2007. Don’t miss the dramatic riot footage at the end.

As many of you know, after three years in Serbia,  I finally decided to start learning the Serbian language. I was extremely lucky to find a truly brilliant teacher to help me*.  Additionally, it turns out that the old myth that adults find it very hard to learn languages may be bunk.

I am now interested in the topic of Hacking Foreign Language Learning. I am looking for any tips, tricks and shortcuts one can adopt to speed up language learning.

So far I have found the following resources:

How to Learn (But Not Master) Any Language in 1 Hour (Plus: A Favor)

A Simple Trick to Turbo Charge Learning a Foreign Language.

I was contacted about Edufire, which looks pretty interesting. It offers live video tutoring in 18 languages (with more being added all the time).

I hear that the Rosetta Stone system is superb (pity there is no Serbian) but a bit expensive for most.

xLingo is a nice idea, you “Find Language Exchange partners from around the world to practice and improve your language skills.”

If anyone has any recommendations, please contact me with your ideas.

* My Serbian teacher’s name is Mira and she is highly experienced and uses the latest teaching techniques (this was confirmed by my girlfriend, who is a linguistics expert and university lecturer). She can be contacted by email: mira22 AT eunet DOT yu .