Daniel H. Pink's Blog, page 33

Is there a hidden message in this painting?

Art historian Henry Adams thinks so. In a Smithsonian article, as well as in an upcoming book, he claims that Jackson Pollock hid his name in giant letters within the swirls of his famous 1943 Mural. If that seems loony, check out the interactive slide show on Smithsonian.com (you'll need to scroll down to find it) — and you might change your mind.

Factoid of the day: Irrational twitxuberance?

Today's papers are reporting that Twitter is about raise $100 million from venture firms, an infusion of cash that would value the company -- which not only has never turned a profit, but doesn't even seem to have any revenue — at a whopping $1 billion.

As the New York Times's Brad Stone explains:

For context, that is almost double the market capitalization of Domino's Pizza, which has 10,500 employees and had $1.4 billion in sales last year.

I love Twitter. But I fear that we've seen this...

4 Quotations That *Didn't* Make It Into The Book

In late December, I'll be rolling out a new book. This one argues that much of what we think we know about human motivation just ain't so — and then shows how you can use the surprising new science of motivation to transform your life. (For a a tantalizing sneak preview, check out this video.)

I'll be talking plenty later in the year about what's in the book. But as I dig out from piles of research and notes, let me share what's not in the book. Here, for instance, are four quotations that I...

Factoid of the day: Silicon's new valley

"In 2008, more silicon was consumed globally making solar panels than microchips."
— Tom Friedman, NYT (9/16/09)

(HT: Charles Fishman)

(I > E) + (Graphics > Prose)

Duc Huynh, a designer in Denver, says the recent Ted talk on candles and creativity, reminded him of this graphic depiction of a similar idea, which he created a few years ago. (You'll need to click on the image to see it in its entirety.)

When it rains, it bleeds

Tom Isaacson of New Zealand sends this 90-video of the Papkura District police's efforts to get drivers to slow down in inclement weather. The technique is a bit disturbing — and, to me at least, evokes religious associations — but maybe it's effective.

Factoid of the day: Children chilled

"In 1969, 41 percent of children either walked or biked to school; by 2001, only 13 percent still did, according to data from the National Household Travel Survey."
(Source: NYT, 9/13/09)

Carl Sagan meets Everett Dirksen

The late great Carl Sagan made famous the phrase "billions and billions." The former Illinois Senator Everett Dirksen once said of U.S. federal spending, "A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking about real money." Now these two perspectives combine in the form of a captivating infographic called The Billion Dollar Gram.

Information Is Beautiful has collected a several dozen buckets of data — from the size of the yoga industry to spending on the Iraq War to the Chinese...

The positive impact of negative space

All of your negative space fans out there — and you know who you are — might like this collection of 25 logos with hidden messages from the graphicdesignblog.org. Two of my favorites are below, but the other 23 are also worth your time.

Get ready to be (Nurture)shocked

If you're in DC on Tuesday night, please come out to the Avalon Theater in Chevy Chase for what promises to be a fascinating conversation with Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman about their fantastic new book, Nurtureshock.

You'll hear why you shouldn't praise your kids but should should let them lie, why it's OK for siblings to fight, whether your baby is a racist, and much more. More info and tickets here.

Tuesday September 8, 8pm
Avalon Theatre
5612 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Tickets and info