Dec 14 2012: John brings up a good point. Any randomly selected person is still capable of having the wool pulled over their eyes. I would rather elect someone I know that at least has an a college education.
Dec 12 2012: I believe here would be little difference between tribunes and currently elected members of congress congress. Bribes do not have to be in cash. Democracy works best when more people become engaged in the process, not less.
Jun 9 2012: I think what he did, for those who missed it, was to step through the purpose of design, or maybe, the progress or progression of design. The Theme building is purely visual. The function of the building is detached from the design. The Juicer thing, as cool looking as it is has a function that is not detached from the design, however, the function is not obvious. If you know it's function, you can use it as a tool, like any other manual juicer. Now, the iPhone is a nice visual object of minimalist design. And it's function is not detached from the design. And it's design was new, and it was copied. And, as he said, created a new human experience. I don't own one, but I recognize what it did. Nice job John.
Feb 20 2012: I have two thing to say. First, I think art is doing well in the broadest sense, at least the visual arts. I think the internet has created or presented an opportunity for people to create artful things. A webpage may not be what one considers to be a canvas for artist expression, but I would hate to see what the web would have looked like if it had stayed in it's wood grained background state of the early mid 90's. Second, I would say that for the exceptional art, it has moved to other mediums. Certainly there are gifted painters, but the things we say wow over now are different. And, in a way, we have become jaded and spoiled, and we have to have something really different to capture our interest.
Dec 11 2011: Thanks for the great explanation, for lack of a better word, of improvisational Jazz. That may sound uneducated, but I've found that listening to improvisational Jazz requires me to have a different mindset or purpose in listening. I have found it similar to being outside and just listening to nature.
Sep 17 2010: "That being said, I still download the occasional MP3. Why? It's very simple: the artists who produce these media are the ones that are continuously pushing for our government(s) to steal more and more of my hard-earned money every year, and use it for their pet projects."
I find it interesting that you can justify your theft of property by equating the minuscule portion of the taxes you pay that goes to the NEA as theft. I'm sure your mp3 collection, even if it were bought at the same price one would pay in 1965 for a 45 rpm single not counting the B side, is by far greater then the tax money you paid that went to the NEA.
So, it's OK for you to cheat out the artists, not to mention the companies, that created something you like and want because some little bit of your money, which really isn't your money, goes to something you don't understand and don't like. Do you generally make your moral decisions based on if you like the outcome? Doesn't sound like much of a moral code.
Sep 8 2010: I think the difference hear is purpose. Surely one cannot be completely quiet about achieving a goal. You might seek out or just happen to meet someone who has achieved a similar goal as yours, such as a book author, you ask and think about that they said. That is work, working towards a goal.
Walking into a room of co-workers and saying that you are going to write the next great American novel isn't work.
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A reply on Conversation: Present democracy is like a verdict by a mob that does not attend a trial. Tribunocracy is a better way.
A reply on Conversation: Present democracy is like a verdict by a mob that does not attend a trial. Tribunocracy is a better way.
A comment on Conversation: Present democracy is like a verdict by a mob that does not attend a trial. Tribunocracy is a better way.
A comment on Conversation: Present democracy is like a verdict by a mob that does not attend a trial. Tribunocracy is a better way.
A comment on Talk: John Hodgman: Design, explained.
A comment on Conversation: Our Artists and Musicians of the future at risk of extinction?
A comment on Talk: Stefon Harris: There are no mistakes on the bandstand
A reply on Talk: Dan Ariely: Our buggy moral code
I find it interesting that you can justify your theft of property by equating the minuscule portion of the taxes you pay that goes to the NEA as theft. I'm sure your mp3 collection, even if it were bought at the same price one would pay in 1965 for a 45 rpm single not counting the B side, is by far greater then the tax money you paid that went to the NEA.
So, it's OK for you to cheat out the artists, not to mention the companies, that created something you like and want because some little bit of your money, which really isn't your money, goes to something you don't understand and don't like. Do you generally make your moral decisions based on if you like the outcome? Doesn't sound like much of a moral code.
A reply on Talk: Derek Sivers: Keep your goals to yourself
A reply on Talk: Derek Sivers: Keep your goals to yourself
Walking into a room of co-workers and saying that you are going to write the next great American novel isn't work.