Storia di un designer e della sua ricerca della vera passione interiore: disegnare con il codice.

Money quote: "Compared to the infinite freedom I had with Photoshop, this was an extremely restrictive environment. Ironically, this is why I found it more addictive than typical digital drawing. Having limits encouraged me to think about problems from many different angles."

https://medium.com/@arle13/crayons-apple-pencil-and-algorithms-29b95884c589

Il pendolare estremo, tre o più ore due volte al giorno, è una nuova razza che sta nascendo grazie anche alle nuove tecnologie e che permette di abitare in ambienti più salubri delle grandi città godendo però dei vantaggi di un lavoro "centrale". Il contro? La vita ti passa accanto e tu ne vedi solo i fine settimana.

Money quote: “Technological changes have made it more possible to redefine the workplace,” said Mitchell L. Moss, director of the Rudin Center for Transportation at N.Y.U. “Even in New York City, which has been famous for not allowing people to work at home, there is now more tolerance of flexible time.”

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/07/21/realestate/extreme-commuting.html

Matt Canavan, ministro e politico di prima grandezza in Australia, si dimette perché a sua insaputa ha preso la cittadinanza italiana. La legge australiana vieta incarichi governativi a chi ha doppia cittadinanza.

Money quote: "Canavan told reporters on Tuesday night his mother had applied for Italian citizenship on his behalf without his knowledge or consent when he was 25 years old, in January 2007.

He said he had “no suspicion” he was in possession of a dual citizenship until last week, when his mother “raised the possibility” he was a dual citizen. The Italian embassy subsequently confirmed he was a citizen of the country."

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jul/25/matt-canavan-quits-cabinet-over-dual-citizenship-uncertainty

Curarsi con un videogioco. Io sono decenni che pratico questa via per il benessere della mente e del corpo. Boh, forse ho sbagliato giochi.

Money quote: "In order to validate the game in a way that other brain-training companies haven’t, Akili has to go through all of the trials and processes that are required by the FDA for any kind of drug or medical device. The game is currently in phase III clinical trials, which means this isn’t a done deal yet. But if Akili is successful, it will have created the first prescription-based video game in the US, and in doing so, would essentially create a new category of “digital medicine.”"

https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/25/16019760/prescription-video-games-brain-next-level-video

Quando si parla di Smart work il confine con la collaboration è labile e comunque la chiave sono gli strumenti software di comunicazione. In una parola: Slack.

Sono strumenti che fanno tantissimo, ma c'è il rovescio della medaglia. Creano dipendenza e trasformano le attitudini delle persone. Per questo c'è chi dice no.

Money quote: "So we tried Slack.

To say the app was a game-changer would be putting it mildly. Communication between team members across continents exploded. We shared ideas and gifs. (Lots of gifs.) We reported bugs and developed inside jokes. We celebrated successes and discussed ways to improve our work. Almost overnight, we went from a group of thirty individuals to a true team.

And then, two years in, we quit Slack cold turkey."

https://blog.doist.com/why-were-betting-against-real-time-team-messaging-521804a3da09

Un interessante effetto del neoliberismo è che trasforma non solo le aziende e i governi, ma anche la filosofia dei dipendenti. Che diventa o dei "quitter", sempre pronti a mollare in cerca di un impiego migliore. Alla faccia dell'engagement dei dipendenti.

Money quote: "If you are a white-collar worker, it is simply rational to view yourself first and foremost as a job quitter – someone who takes a job for a certain amount of time when the best outcome is that you quit for another job (and the worst is that you get laid off). So how does work change when everyone is trying to become a quitter? First of all, in the society of perpetual job searches, different criteria make a job good or not. Good jobs used to be ones with a good salary, benefits, location, hours, boss, co-workers, and a clear path towards promotion. Now, a good job is one that prepares you for your next job, almost always with another company."

https://aeon.co/essays/how-work-changed-to-make-us-all-passionate-quitters

Cambiamo argomento. L'iPhone può dare dipendenza. Questa è la singolare (ma realistica) preoccupazione di uno dei suoi creatori.

Money quote: "Yet for all the benefits that the iPhone helped deliver, our current level of unprecedented digital connection has left quite a few critics dismayed and concerned over our screen addiction and our inability to go even a few minutes without unlocking our devices. The most surprising among this group happens to be the iPhone’s original creators"

https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/29/15893960/apple-iphone-creators-smartphone-addiction-ideo-interview

Cosa succede se dai un medico ai poveri? Sanità Usa. Il paradosso di fornire accesso ai poveri al welfare.

Money quote: "If a poor lives a longer life, then that poor will put more of a financial strain on the wealthy, who will be forced to subsidize the poor’s lavish lifestyle of food stamps and public transportation"

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/if-you-give-a-poor-a-doctor

Monento nerd. Imparare a leggere il codice (è una cosa zen, ma interessante)

Money quote: "I would not have noticed this myself, but when I read a novel I skip over any words that I don't understand. I don't get much from this style of reading, just a vague impression of what the word means. I had never seen anything wrong with this until I borrowed a book from my grandpa. Every once and a while I would come upon a word in the book that was highlighted or underlined. I thought this was strange so I asked him about it. He told me that every time he ran into a word that he didn't understand, he would highlight it to look it up later. I couldn't believe the simple brilliance. I have so many words in my vocabulary that I only know in one context or another, but I could never use myself. I realized there that I was effectively faking it when it came to my vocab"

https://kylesletten.com/2017/06/26/learn-to-read-code.html

È mattino. Una citazione da Schopenhauer ripresa grazie ad Alain de Botton: "We mostly can't make pain go away, but it's always open to us to turn tears into knowledge."

Addio iPod e grazie per tutto il pesce - il mio articolo per Macitynet.it

https://www.macitynet.it/addio-ipod-grazie-pesce/

Se siete artisti con una buona conoscenza della matematica e il pallino della programmazione, questo sistema per generare un Little Planet può essere la vostra nuova passione. Buon divertimento.

Money quote: "This is a handbook meant to explain the concepts and execution behind the "Little Planet Procedural" project, my directed study midterm project.

As some background, the project is meant as a case study of how code can create diverse and infinite art through basic techniques of procedural generation. It is inspired by the likes of No Man's Sky."

http://alanluo.com/procgen/midterm.html

Pensiamo in prospettiva, ma basandoci su dei numeri reali. Negli Usa si stanno ponendo una domanda: se il mondo sta cambiando così velocemente grazie alla quarta rivoluzione industriale - quella digitale - al punto che non sappiamo quali saranno i temi forti tra dieci-venti anni, come possiamo formare i giovani a scuola? La risposta è meno scontata del problema stesso, anche se risente in modo eccessivo secondo me dell'approccio quantitativo e neopragmatico tipico degli Usa.

Money quote: "In fact, forty percent of American undergraduates now major in business and management-related subjects, reading mainly textbooks and short articles, and rarely writing a paper longer than three pages. Further, the social bonds and skills formed in college today often center on extracurriculars that have little connection to cognitive development and collaborative problem-solving"

Domanda retorica per il pubblico: secondo voi chi se ne occupa dalle nostre parti di questo tipo di problemi in modo così esplicito? Il nostro sistema scolastico e la costruzione culturale che lo regge lo consentono?

https://qz.com/994810/the-most-forward-thinking-future-proof-college-in-america-teaches-every-student-the-exact-same-things/

Cerchiamo di avere un rapporto più sensato con le scienze. Impariamo ad esempio come si legge (e come si capisce) un paper di ricerca.

Money quote: "Reading a scientific paper is a completely different process than reading an article about science in a blog or newspaper. Not only do you read the sections in a different order than they’re presented, but you also have to take notes, read it multiple times, and probably go look up other papers for some of the details. Reading a single paper may take you a very long time at first. Be patient with yourself. The process will go much faster as you gain experience."

http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2016/05/09/how-to-read-and-understand-a-scientific-paper-a-guide-for-non-scientists/

Leggiamo ancora Emilio Salgari - Il mio articolo per IlPost

http://www.ilpost.it/antoniodini/2017/07/28/leggiamo-salgari/

Breve storia orale di Crash Bandicoot. Ho detto breve? No, volevo dire interessante, ma breve direi proprio di no. Però quelli di Polygon sono parecchi bravi

Money quote: "To learn more about what happened along the way, we recently spoke to the entire development team, contractors, musicians, marketers and others, hearing a story of long nights, groundbreaking technology, unbearable crunches and expensive parties. However, not every story lines up the same way, with some feeling that Naughty Dog discredited their contributions by burying who actually created the flagship character."

https://www.polygon.com/2017/6/22/15820540/crash-bandicoot-an-oral-history

Tesla accelera con la Model 3. Ce la farà?

Money quote: "Despite all of these achievements in range, technology, and safety, Musk sounded grave about the road ahead. “The biggest challenge that we face here is ‘S Curve’ manufacturing,” he said, describing a ramp up of production that starts slow, then increases dramatically before tapering off. “That ‘S’ portion is us going through hell, basically.”"

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-29/tesla-s-model-3-arrives-with-a-surprise-310-mile-range

Recensione Logitech Slim Folio Bluetooth, tastiera di lusso per l’iPad più economico https://www.macitynet.it/recensione-logitech-slim-folio/

Scrivener 3: Il mio articolo per Macity

Scrivener 3 a 64 bit per macOS in dirittura d’arrivo https://www.macitynet.it/scrivener-3-64-bit-macos-dirittura-darrivo/