According to @Sciencebase, I am more well-endowed than a Gorilla

More well-endowed than a Gorilla

There are many books debunking everyday wisdom and old wive’s tales, but very few are written with such wit, charm and affection for the size of the male appendage as ‘Deceived Wisdom’ by David Bradley (@Sciencebase) and as someone who was lucky enough to secure a review copy from David I got to work devouring its pages immediately.

As a rather reluctant reader, I found the book’s short, easy to digest chapters a welcome relief. This is not to say that they aren’t jam-packed with amusing and informative paragraphs, far from it. Each bite-size chunk of science was as tasty as the last and I felt myself always looking forward to the next meal.

But enough with the food metaphors, what makes up the ingredients of such a delicious book?

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If everyone had the luxury to pursue a life of exactly what they love…

“If everyone had the luxury to pursue a life of exactly what they love, we would all be ranked as visionary and brilliant. If you got to spend every day of your life doing what you love, you can’t help but be the best in the world at that. And you get to smile every day for doing so. And you’ll be working at it almost to the exclusion of personal hygiene, and your friends are knocking on your door, saying, “Don’t you need a vacation?!,” and you don’t even know what the word “vacation” means because what you’re doing is what you want to do and a vacation from that is anything but a vacation – that’s the state of mind of somebody who’s doing what others might call visionary and brilliant.”

Neil deGrasse Tyson

(via SwissMiss)

“Play Well” – Five Social Media Lessons We Can Learn From LEGO

LEGO. One of our most beloved brands, and also one of the most socially successful. But what is it that differentiates them? Why do they succeed when others struggle to find their way?

The answer can be found within the very heart of the toy company itself and the carpenter who was inspired to make a wooden duck for his children.

LEGO 'Likes' Social Media

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14.02.2013 – The day Twitter died

It’s been coming for a long time.

All the signs have been there.

An almost fanatical focus on emotionless numbers. The raw data. The money.

Gradually human beings were replaced with a new idol. This rabble, who did most of the working and paying and living and dying in the community, simply weren’t ‘high value’ enough. Everything was now about ‘influence’, and money talks where influence is concerned.

Today saw the final battle in what has been a protracted war between those who seek to make the world a better place and them… Those who see the world as a series of datum, as a means to sell. And it seems they have won.
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“We were the first human beings who would never see anything for the first time.”

Taken from Gillian Flynn‘s book ‘Gone Girl’, the passage below describes a terrifying reality where true humanity has forever been replaced with a collection of robots that sleepwalk through life re-enacting scenes from the various soap operas vomited forth by our favourite pusher, television. It also suggests that our addiction to the various media we consume has made the physical world we inhabit second-best, a dull facsimile of the hyper-reality provided by the movies and TV.

What do YOU think?

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Caring is King! Third Sector leads the charge in the field of social.

Caring is King

There is often a feeling that the Third Sector is inexorably doomed to chase the tail of the Private Sector when it comes to online innovation and best practice, but my recent conference experience and industry gut feeling tell me that when it comes to social media the worm has turned.

One of the key factors in this observation was the latest who’s who in social, the Social Brands 100. This year’s list contained an unprecedented number of charities (almost 25% of the Top 100) and the research undertaken led the custodians of this report to state that; “It was long thought that content was king. This was replaced by the mantra that curation is king. But our findings suggest a new idiom… Caring is King”

Charities are built upon caring and it is this foundation that is leading to the successes being seen within social media. Traditional business techniques are failing in the social world and after years of trying it seems that the Private Sector is finally waking up to this new way of working.

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Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat… Week Three #lovemyhat

As the great F. Scott Fitzgerald so succinctly said, this weeks defeat was not final.

I’m sure you are all aware of the severe drought conditions we experienced this week that has led to some of us in the country having to perform the ultimate sacrifice. I refer of course to the howling wind and driving rain that led me to begin this week hatless.

I know, I know. There are those of you out there doubting my commitment and even whispering “coward” behind my back. But the thought of trying to hang on to my hat, my umbrella and all the other paraphernalia that comes with the daily commute just seemed too much. How Dr. Jones ever managed to ride, jump and fight his way throughout the quadrilogy without ever losing is hat is a secret only the movie magicians know. Us mere mortals sadly have to resort to leaving it at home.

Luckily by Wednesday the weather abated and I was once again reunited with my fur felted friend. It was good to be together again. I had missed it dearly. This, what can only be described as, epiphany finally cemented the bond between myself and my hat.

Meeting of minds (hats?)
Meeting of minds (hats?)

This week also saw a truly wonderful meeting of minds (hats?) at the local eatery, when I was fortunate enough to catch up with my friend @lesanto and finally catch sight of his light grey Poet in the flesh (felt?). Yet another fine Bate’s creation confidently striding its way through the streets of London.

Amongst our many conversation topics was the inevitable looking forward to warmer weather and the need for alternatives to our current headgear. I see Panamas in our future 😉

You can follow my day to day adventures with ‘Indi’ at twitter.com/stuartwitts or via the hashtag #lovemyhat, and if you feel inspired to purchase your very own quality headpiece, visit bates-hats.com and don’t forget to tell them Indiana sent you 😉