Jun 27th, 2011
Life update
Being: Mindful.
Remembering: Mister Rogers. Seriously, he was a truly awesome individual—definitely on my list of fantasy dinner-party guests. Lots of interesting stories about him (and a link to a great article-length profile of him), such as this one:
Once while rushing to a New York meeting, there were no cabs available, so Rogers and one of his colleagues hopped on the subway. Esquire reported that the car was filled with people, and they assumed they wouldn’t be noticed. But when the crowd spotted Rogers, they all simultaneously burst into song, chanting “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood.” The result made Rogers smile wide.
Chuckling: Over another way to remember Mister Rogers.
Wondering: Just how evil the Girl Scouts really are.
Contemplating: The paradox of satisfaction, and how it may be harder to be satisfied in a world that is producing an increasing amount of “good stuff.” The forecast is for a world in which we have access to all information but services (Amazon, Google, whoever) provide recommendations for us. What do you think?
Also contemplating: The Filter Bubble, in which Eli Pariser notes that the world we see is increasingly (and alarmingly) shaped by filters (again, Amazon, Google, whoever) that determine what we see (or don’t) based on assumptions and predictions (in turn based on Internet habits) about us. Want to pop your bubble? Here’s how to start.
5 Responses to “Life update”
Have you ever read Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delaney? It’s basically about how the language you know shapes how you perceive the world, even shapes the concepts you can think about. Filters start way down deep, before you even turn on a computer. :)
I haven’t read that, Chris, but it sounds interesting. I’ve encountered a similar theory in anthropology—how language shapes the way we see the world and vice versa, particularly where time and direction are involved.
Mr. Rogers may seem goofy and plodding (I’m OK with that) to the older set but to a child it turns out it is just the right speed. Q saw Mr. R for the first time a couple of months ago. She was 4 or 5. She loved it. LOVED it. I was surprised, but he holds up to the test of time.
[…] Eclectic linkity from Marsha. […]
@Evelin: I agree with you. I am really sorry to see him (and his slow-paced show) replaced on most PBS stations with marketing-driven, choppily edited pabulum. Blech.