The 35-Second Aha! Moment
Every Monday, we're rounding up things—small and big—that made us stop and think. Today, we were captivated by a witty acceptance speech, a persuasive op-ed, a rockstar author/behavioral economist and more...
* David Kobia, director of technology development at the crowd-sourcing nonprofit Ushahidi, which connected people at crucial moments during crises in Kenya, Haiti, India, Gaza, India, Chile and Japan, accepting (in just five words) the (RED) Webby Award for Special Achievement in social innovation:
"Our voices revolutionize the world."
* Tim Kreider, cartoonist and essayist, in his New York Times op-ed, "In Praise of Not Knowing":
"I hope kids are still finding some way, despite Google and Wikipedia, of not knowing things. Learning how to transform mere ignorance into mystery, simple not knowing into wonder, is a useful skill. Because it turns out that the most important things in this life—why the universe is here instead of not, what happens to us when we die, how the people we love really feel about us—are things we're never going to know."
*Joy Bryant, actress, writing in the July issue of Elle about the grandmother who helped her (eventually) develop an ecological conscience:
"She scrimped and saved to give me experiences that I'll never forget ... That mindfulness—call it frugality or environmental consciousness, whichever you choose, whether you're affluent or of humble means—is what's important."
* Luke Russert, an NBC News correspondent, on what he learned from his dad:
"I learned that night it's okay for a man to show fear and vulnerability. My dad could have said, "Suck it up. It's only an hour-and-a-half flight." Instead he went out of his way to support my weakness. To this day, I don't believe in a "no fear" attitude. All of us have fears, and they're real. But if you can acknowledge them and understand them—you might need help, like I did—you can overcome them."
* Dan Ariely, author of The Upside of Irrationality and a behavioral economist at Duke University, writes in the July issue of Wired about becoming enslaved by calendar apps: "Think how differently we'd interact with our calendars if the default was for time slots not to be empty—if, instead, they were prepopulated with tasks like thinking, writing and planning. We'd be far less likely to neglect the opportunity costs: Every time we accept an obligation, it would be clear that we are giving something up."
* David Kobia, director of technology development at the crowd-sourcing nonprofit Ushahidi, which connected people at crucial moments during crises in Kenya, Haiti, India, Gaza, India, Chile and Japan, accepting (in just five words) the (RED) Webby Award for Special Achievement in social innovation:
"Our voices revolutionize the world."
* Tim Kreider, cartoonist and essayist, in his New York Times op-ed, "In Praise of Not Knowing":
"I hope kids are still finding some way, despite Google and Wikipedia, of not knowing things. Learning how to transform mere ignorance into mystery, simple not knowing into wonder, is a useful skill. Because it turns out that the most important things in this life—why the universe is here instead of not, what happens to us when we die, how the people we love really feel about us—are things we're never going to know."
*Joy Bryant, actress, writing in the July issue of Elle about the grandmother who helped her (eventually) develop an ecological conscience:
"She scrimped and saved to give me experiences that I'll never forget ... That mindfulness—call it frugality or environmental consciousness, whichever you choose, whether you're affluent or of humble means—is what's important."
* Luke Russert, an NBC News correspondent, on what he learned from his dad:
"I learned that night it's okay for a man to show fear and vulnerability. My dad could have said, "Suck it up. It's only an hour-and-a-half flight." Instead he went out of his way to support my weakness. To this day, I don't believe in a "no fear" attitude. All of us have fears, and they're real. But if you can acknowledge them and understand them—you might need help, like I did—you can overcome them."
* Dan Ariely, author of The Upside of Irrationality and a behavioral economist at Duke University, writes in the July issue of Wired about becoming enslaved by calendar apps: "Think how differently we'd interact with our calendars if the default was for time slots not to be empty—if, instead, they were prepopulated with tasks like thinking, writing and planning. We'd be far less likely to neglect the opportunity costs: Every time we accept an obligation, it would be clear that we are giving something up."
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