Commonplace Reading - Issue #7
Some compelling ideas this week - and it's interesting (to me at least) that none of this is really timely. In our obsessions with news sometimes we miss the value of the more interesting.
Games & Geekery
The man who made 'the worst video game in history'
From preferred game developer of Steven Spielberg to notorious failure - and into another career entirely. A real lesson in perspective.
The Complete Conceptual History of the Millennium Falcon
Fascinating look into the development of the most iconic scifi vehicles that doesn't look like a police box. And further confirmation that much of the success of Star Wars was due to luck.
Sail (Far) Away: At Sea with America's Largest Floating Gathering of Conspiracy Theorists
You don't ever want to be on this boat. But you'll enjoy reading about it.
Complaining Is Terrible for You, According to Science
Steeping yourself in negativity has seriously terrible consequences for your mental and physical health. We've all witnessed this - but nice to see science confirming it.
Tech Tidbits
VR: cheap and mobile or expensive and immersive?
One of mine - but it makes a serious point that I think people under-estimate: never bet against the phone.
Google Trains an AI to Geotag a Photo Just by Looking at the Pixels
This is awesome - and is only going to get better. I look forwards to the day when you can show this tech an old photos, and it identifies the location for you.
Will we compile?
Should we stop trying to make computers understand our speech - and start adapting our speech to suit computers?
Journo Stuff
Alan Rusbridger: "These notions of scale have got to be reevaluated"
In which Rusbridger basically denies responsibility for any of The Guardian's recent woes.
The Washington Post is embracing vertical video
However hard this is for us old-timers - resistance is futile.
How Snapchat Built a Business By Confusing Olds
Snapchat is gaining traction at a fair old rate - this is another really good set of perspectives about it. Useful if you're too old to truly understand the damn thing.
Thanks for reading - and it you found it useful or entertaining, please pass on to a friend.
