Six Links Worthy of Your Attention #536

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Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?

My friends: Alistair Croll (Solve for Interesting, Tilt the Windmill, Interesting Bits, HBS, chair of Strata, Startupfest, FWD50, and Scaletechconf; author of Lean Analytics and some other books), Hugh McGuire (Rebus Foundation, PressBooks, LibriVox) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person “must see.”

Check out these six links that we’re recommending to one another: 

  • Ten common statistical mistakes to watch out for when writing or reviewing a manuscript – NCBI. “Hoo, boy, I sure can pick fun titles, can’t I? But this is actually a great checklist for thinking about statistics, relevant at a time when people seem to argue by yelling numbers at one another: Is there a control group? Are the correlations spurious? Is the sample size too small? Time to get smart on information.” (Alistair for Hugh).
  • Goldman Sachs releases new font you’re not allowed to criticize Goldman Sachs with – The Verge. “Digital licensing is absurd. There’s a broader story here—that the platforms, tools, and even fonts we use to communicate now come with opinions about how they’re used. Cryptocurrency can have constraints (for example, you could give your child money they could only spend at the school cafeteria). If you don’t abide by a code of conduct, you can be terminated. But fonts? Come on, Goldman, now you’re just trolling people.” (Alistair for Mitch).
  • Kids Write Jokes – Twitter. “A Twitter feed of jokes written by kids, that make about as much sense as the world right now.” (Hugh for Alistair).
  • Goodnight Nobody – Episode #415 – 99% Invisible. “Why Goodnight Moon, written in 1947, wasn’t added to the New York Library collection until 1972, and the story of the librarian behind both that decision, and the creation of the idea of a children’s reading room in libraries (in 1911).” (Hugh for Mitch).
  • Landmark court decision says robots can’t be inventors. But the fight isn’t over – DigitalTrends. “At first blush, it seems obvious that the answer to this question should be a hard “no.” But fast forward. Think AI. Think quantum computing. Think about thinking. If computers can generate ideas on their own (truly on their own, without human influence), who should benefit? The owner of said computer? Why not the robot? Here’s a breakdown of why making ethic calls like this a little early in the game might (and probably will) create major problems down the road.” (Mitch for Alistair).
  • How Work Became an Inescapable Hellhole – Wired. “We’re still in the middle of this pandemic. And, as always, I remain fascinated with the idea that many think productivity is up at work these days, while many think that productivity is in the toilet these days. Many companies say that they no longer need an office. Many companies say that they can’t wait to get back to the office. One thing is for sure: when your home becomes your office, you’re constantly thinking about work (more than you think that you might be). That may not be a problem for some, but for many it is. To simply ignore it – or provide a use case of someone you know who loves to work at home – is like assuming that everyone is extroverted. It’s silly. It’s wrong. Regardless of where you sit on this debate, work is harder… much harder than ever before. If you don’t think that it is… read on…” (Mitch for Hugh).

Feel free to share these links and add your picks on TwitterFacebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.

Are you interested in what’s next? How to decode the future? I publish between 2-3 times per week and then the Six Pixels of Separation Podcast comes out every Sunday. Feel free to subscribe (and tell your friends ;):