To understand the universe where Portal exists, you have to play it, and then you’ll discover two things: it is a wildly entertaining place, and, while it is a game, it’s a game full of well designed lessons that teach you how to learn.
To help achieve “the good life” companies can learn from the techniques used by Greek philosophers. Jules Evans explores seven that could help employees live their lives better
Fiction is often treated like a mere frill in human life, if not something worse. But the emerging science of story suggests that fiction is good for more than kicks. By enhancing empathy, fiction reduces social friction. At the same time, story exerts a kind of magnetic force, drawing us together around common values. In other words, most fiction, even the trashy stuff, appears to be in the public interest after all.
A treasure trove of unearthed interviews, conducted by the writer who knew him best, reveals how Jobs’s ultimate success at Apple can be traced directly to his so-called wilderness years.
Alternatively, available on iTunes.
The iOS game is great, too: Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP (App Store).
The headline is a bit dramatic, but the article makes some interesting points about the contrasting approaches by Apple and Google. Hiring only the top graduates from Ivy League colleges seems to give Google a very narrow skill base and mindset compared with Apple’s more diverse and well-rounded employees.
