Reverting to Type exhibition

Reverting to Type

The Standpoint Gallery in London is having a letterpress exhibition during the next month or so. The exhibit, curated by Graham Bignell of New North Press and Richard Ardagh, will showcase how the printing technique is being reinvented for modern times.

Reverting to Type aims to highlight the pioneers at the helm of the current resurgence of interest in letterpress; from computer-based designers with a desire to ply a craft with a tactile immediacy that has been lost with moderntechnology, to traditional presses finding a new way to revitalise their design output.

This is definitely on the list of things to do during my last couple of weeks in England. See this pdf release for more details about the show, including the final list of contributors.

On not overreacting to terrorism

Terrorism existed before 9/11, an interesting read from a pilot about the current state of security theatre at airports. Read the first few paragraphs and try to imagine that happening today and what the reaction would be.

In the 1980s we did not overreact. We did not stage ill-fated invasions of distant countries. People did not cease traveling and the airline industry did not fall into chaos. We were lazy in enacting better security, perhaps, but as a country our psychological reaction, much to our credit, was calm, measured and not yet self-defeating.

You might also consider the illustrious words of Philosoraptor regarding terrorism and security.

Godin on laziness

Laziness has changed, it doesn’t just reflect your physical tiredness.

But the new laziness has nothing to do with physical labor and everything to do with fear. If you’re not going to make those sales calls or invent that innovation or push that insight, you’re not avoiding it because you need physical rest. You’re hiding out because you’re afraid of expending emotional labor.

Holographic messaging

Infographic with Leia describing holographic messaging

Continuing with the life imitating science fiction trend, hologram messaging is close to becoming reality. If you happen to have a Nature subscription, you can probably read more about it.

A University of Arizona team says it has devised a system that can make a holographic display appear in another place and update it in near real-time.

In other news, Princess Leia illustration used as infographic for serious article about scientific research.

Antimatter produced

Scientists at CERN have managed to produce and trap antimatter atoms.

Because matter and antimatter annihilate when they meet, the antihydrogen atoms have a very short life expectancy. This can be extended, however, by using strong and complex magnetic fields to trap them and thus prevent them from coming into contact with matter.

As life continues to emulate Star Trek, we are one step closer to solving all future problems by ejecting the warp core.

Shadow Scholar

The story of someone who makes his living writing papers for students. He has worked on everything from admissions essays and undergraduate assignments to large graduate theses. In his words, “I’m a hired gun, a doctor of everything, an academic mercenary.”

You would be amazed by the incompetence of your students’ writing. I have seen the word “desperate” misspelled every way you can imagine. And these students truly are desperate. They couldn’t write a convincing grocery list, yet they are in graduate school. They really need help. They need help learning and, separately, they need help passing their courses. But they aren’t getting it.

For those of you who have ever mentored a student through the writing of a dissertation, served on a thesis-review committee, or guided a graduate student through a formal research process, I have a question: Do you ever wonder how a student who struggles to formulate complete sentences in conversation manages to produce marginally competent research? How does that student get by you?

Can’t say that I’m surprised by the article, but it is disheartening — I don’t see how any self-respecting graduate student could have someone else write their papers. It’s frustrating when you know people that work their asses off to produce solid work, while some idiot that they’re up against just dips into the bank. That said, I have to admit being amused by the thought of people paying to have ethics papers written for them.

One letter Wheel of Fortune

Caitlin Burke solved a puzzle on Wheel of Fortune with just one letter on the board. Pat Sajak and the contestant beside her seemed stunned, thinking it was a miracle, but it wasn’t — she used logic.

Part of the art of designing a game show is making the basic and routine seem chaotic and unpredictable. The trick is, most people watch a show like Wheel of Fortune, and their heads begin swimming with the nearly endless possibilities: twenty-six letters and those hundreds of thousands of words. Burke’s strategy, her puzzles-within-puzzles way of thinking, is designed to narrow the range. That’s why she started with the smallest words first.

Very impressive. There’s a clip of her solving the puzzle in the Esquire article.