Matthew Dicks's Blog, page 676

Disturbing my sleep on purpose

Researchers on a recent episode of the Harvard Business Review IdeaCast recently discussed a Berkeley study which showed that people actually enjoy television more with commercials than without. 

This is attributed to the phenomenon known as adaptation.  As people continue to experience pleasing stimuli, their degree of pleasure decreases as their body becomes accustomed to, or adapts, to the stimuli.  This is why a massage chair will vary the areas of the body that it is massaging and...

Really bad band names

I've always been fascinated with band names and they way in which they are created. 

For example, here are three bands that I'm currently listening to and the derivation of each name:

Vampire Weekend derived it's name from the lead singer's film of the same name.  Admittedly a strange name for a band, but a memorable one. 

Arcade Fire, according the great and powerful Wikipedia, reportedly got its name from an actual fire in an arcade.  Sort of.  When asked about this story, lead singer...

Vocabulary awareness

As the recent guest member of a book club, I listened as readers complained that the author of the book had used large and obscure words in order to demonstrate his verbal acumen and impress the reader.

While this may be true, it got me wondering:

I have occasionally been accused of doing the same, and when this happens, my defense has always been that it's difficult, if not impossible, for a person to gauge the extent of his or her vocabulary and limit it depending upon the audience.  

...

Unexpected links

A couple links you may be interested in related to UNEXPECTEDLY, MILO:

The first two parts (Part 1) (Part 2) in a three-part series on the realities of a book tour.  I'm writing these pieces for the Water Street Books blog in preparation for my upcoming appearance in a couples weeks. 

A terrific review of UNEXPECTEDLY, MILO on Book Page. 

Probably my favorite review of all-time.  I expect to be re-reading it in times of doubt. 

Easy peezy lemon squeezy

I was just asked by someone who reads my blog and follows me on Twitter why everything seems so easy for me.

My response:

1. Everything is not easy for me.  Just watch me play golf.  

2. I enjoy challenges.  This is why I play golf.  And it's why I may give the impression that things are easy for me.  I like it when things are hard.     

3. Circumstances in my life have provided me with great perspective, so things never seem as bad or difficult to me as they seem to for others.  As...

Delete before you die

I often joke that I have deleted all of my fitful, first attempts at novels in fear that my wife might someday attempt to posthumously publish the drivel in order to make a buck.

It happens more often than you might expect.

And honestly, you would not want to read those first attempts.  They read like bad Dean Koontz novels, and I don't even like Dean Koontz.

It appears that I am not the only one wary  of posthumous publication.  Franz Kafka seemed well aware of it as well.  His last...

Unhappy parents

Last month, an article in New York Magazine cited research across a variety of fields, reproduced again and again, that indicates that people with children are less happy than people without children.  

"The broad message is not that children make you less happy; it's just that children don't make you more happy." That is, he tells me, unless you have more than one. "Then the studies show a more negative impact." As a rule, most studies show that mothers are less happy than fathers, that...

Slow on the uptake

I understand that certain inventions take time to develop.

Electricity
Indoor plumbing (the single greatest invention of all time)
Nuclear power
Electric pants

But I can't help but wonder why others took so long to come about?

For example, wheels weren't added to luggage until 1989. Why did it take so long for someone to think of this?

And what about the collapsible and removable seats in mini-vans? In today's vehicles, these seats can be removed with relative ease, but less...

Justin Bieber and Albert Einstein in one place

Digg,com, the social news networking site that allows users to determine which stories are the most popular, is an interesting and diverse site indeed, and it's one of my favorites.

This morning's top ranked story is a YouTube video of Justin Bieber (I heard this kid was young but MY GOD!) being struck in the head by a water bottle while onstage at a concert.

And the word water is spelled wrong in the title of the video. 

The second ranked story is a copy of Einstein's 1939 letter to...

Killer

A former student turned adult (Yikes!) reminded me of this story from years past. 

I don't know how I ever forgot it.

We were reading an article about ants. Included in this story was a description of the insect, including the color of their blood.

"Green?" I asked, wondering if the author of the piece was correct.

"It's true," one of my students replied. "When I was little, I was a professional ant squisher. I saw a lot of green blood in my time."