skandalon

The purpose of science is to get paid for doing fun stuff if you’re not a good enough programmer to write computer games for a living (Schulman et al. 1991). Nominally, science involves discovering something new about the universe, but this is not really necessary. What is really necessary is a grant. In order to obtain a grant, your application must state that the research will discover something incredibly fundamental. The grant agency must also believe that you are the best person to do this particular research, so you should cite yourself both early (Schulman 1994) and often (Schulman et al. 1993c).

✖ Via Annals of Improbable Research: “How To Write A Scientific Paper” by E. Robert Schulman, Vol. 2, Issue 5, Sep/Oct 1996

About Improbable Research:

>Improbable research is research that makes people laugh and then think. Improbable Research is the name of our organization. We collect (and sometimes conduct) improbable research. We publish a magazine called the Annals of Improbable Research, and we administer the Ig Nobel Prizes.

First spotted via Neatorama.

• Aug 26, 2010 link notes tagged: science communication research academia paper publication humor how-to knowledge grant

book technology communication metaphor paper ipad design interface

✖ Via Craig Mod: “Books in the Age of the iPad” March 2010

“Take something as fundamental as pages, for example. The metaphor of flipping pages already feels boring and forced on the iPhone. I suspect it will feel even more so on the iPad. The flow of content no longer has to be chunked into ‘page’ sized bites. One simplistic reimagining of book layout would be to place chapters on the horizontal plane with content on a fluid vertical plane.” (much more)

Craig Mod says he’s a “developer; writer; book designer; publisher; professional world-wide digital hobo”. He has a special interest in books and computers :

“I’ve always loved books. I’ve always loved computers. We are currently experiencing a very unique convergence point for things digital and analog. Because of this, I think that right now is a very exciting time to be involved with storytelling. The world is smaller than ever and the stories hidden in data and hitherto inaccessible cultures are just a few keystrokes or a plane ride away. I’m interested in engaging these stories, developing sustainable businesses that evoke thoughtful communities and finding ways to bridge cultures.” (more)

Read his newest ideas on this specific subject : “Embracing The Digital Book” (April 2010).

• Jul 29, 2010 link notes tagged: book technology communication metaphor paper iPad design interface

Lifestreams uses a simple organizational metaphor, a time-ordered stream of documents, to replace conventional files and directories. Stream filters and software agents are used to organize, locate, summarize and monitor incoming information. Lifestreams subsumes many separate desktop applications to accomplish the most common communication, scheduling, and search and retrieval tasks; yet its machine-independent, client-server architecture is open so that users can continue to use the document types, and viewers & editors they are accustomed to.
A lifestream is a time-ordered stream of documents that functions as a diary of your electronic life; every document you create is stored in your lifestream, as are the documents other people send you. The tail of your stream contains documents from the past, perhaps starting with your electronic birth certificate. Moving away from the tail and toward the present, your stream contains more recent documents such as papers in progress or the latest electronic mail you’ve received—-other documents, such as pictures, correspondence, bills, movies, voice mail and software are stored in between. Moving beyond the present and into the future, the stream contains documents you will need: reminders, your calendar items, and to-do lists.

✖ Via Lifestreams: An Alternative to the Desktop Metaphor by Scott Fertig, Eric Freeman and David Gelernter, 1996 [Full PDF].

More information at the Lifestream Project Home Page.

• Jun 29, 2009 link notes [via] tagged: technology communication social network lifestream paper science computer metaphor desktop