dangerous words

On the last Friday of each month I curate some of the observations and insights that were shared on social media. I call these Friday’s Finds.

I was in Long Beach in 2012 when Nick Hanauer gave his, “It’s absolute bullshit that the rich are job creators” TED talk. I was so eager to share it with co-workers and friends, I checked the TED site every day waiting for them to post it. I gave up after six months

It eventually showed up on YouTube but I don’t think TED ever put it on their site or even linked to it. I’m surprised they welcomed him back to the main stage just a couple years later. —@kims

Video: Rich people don’t create jobs

How exercise in old age prevents the immune system from declining (2018)

Doing lots of exercise in older age can prevent the immune system from declining and protect people against infections, scientists say.

They followed 125 long-distance cyclists, some now in their 80s, and found they had the immune systems of 20-year-olds.

Prof Norman Lazarus, 82, of King’s College London, who took part in and co-authored the research, said: “If exercise was a pill, everyone would be taking it.

Howard Rheingold mentioned this video about the web’s impact on the use of text — The Machine is Us/ing Us — by Michael Wesch from 17 years ago, which I have referred to several times since 2009 — Work 2.0

Medical Doctor: “Can you remove your mask? I’m concerned you’re anxious about Covid.”

Me: Shall I also remove my helmet while on a [motor]bike, my seatbelt while in a moving car, and my hat+sunscreen at noon on a cloudless, summer day, you duplicitous hypocrite? Please, for everyone’s safety, quit your day job.
—@trendless

How 12,000 Tonnes of Dumped Orange Peel Grew Into a Landscape Nobody Expected to Find

“This is one of the only instances I’ve ever heard of where you can have cost-negative carbon sequestration,” says ecologist Timothy Treuer from Princeton University.
Via @VMBrasseur

Slow productivity worked for Marie Curie — here’s why you should adopt it, too

Slow Productivity is a call to arms to reject the performative busyness of the modern workplace, where frequent virtual meetings and long e-mail chains sap so much of workers’ attention. One exhausted postdoctoral researcher interviewed by [Cal] Newport defined productivity, as it is currently measured in academia, as “working all the time”.

Image via @DavidNewman