The Code of Gamification Ethics For the last two years, I’ve been quietly talking about a gamification code of ethics. The discussion tends to come up most often at dinner parties and during GSummit, but it’s also been a hot topic during debates about gamification’s role in the future. I firmly believe that part of the reason we get so much snark online for Gamification is not because it’s a passing fad, but rather because it’s a powerful force for change that threatens the existing order. While we could dodge the question of gamification’s potential to cause harm to society, I don’t think we should. That’s why I want to start a dialogue with the whole community about a code of ethics for our industry — and we need your involvement. Why Do This? How Do We Do This The newly created Engagement Alliance has three core objectives: Education, Advocacy and Research. Here’s the working statement: Join us at GSummit 2014 in San Francisco this June 10-13 to learn how your company can "Recapture User Engagement."
Heidegger: Thinking the Unthinkable | Watch Free Documentary Onl German philosopher Martin Heidegger addressed the central question of human existence full on, by examining how human self-awareness depends on concepts of time and death. His preoccupation with ontology - the form of metaphysical inquiry concerned with the study of existence itself - dominated his work. The central idea of his complex Sein und Zeit (Being and Time) (1927) could be summed up in the phrase 'being is'. Man had to ask himself 'what is it to be?' and only by doing this, and standing back from absorption into objects and other distractions, could he actually exist. Heidegger also felt that art, like language, was important evidence of existence, something which was a real existence rather than a mere recreation of reality. Despite this, his work has been widely influential, especially on the thought of twentieth century philosophical giants such as Sartre, Lacan and Derrida. Watch the full documentary now -
Home | Foldit The Century of the Self This series is about how those in power have used Freud's theories to try and control the dangerous crowd in an age of mass democracy. Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, changed the perception of the human mind and its workings profoundly. His influence on the 20th century is widely regarded as massive. The documentary describes the impact of Freud's theories on the perception of the human mind, and the ways public relations agencies and politicians have used this during the last 100 years for their engineering of consent. Among the main characters are Freud himself and his nephew Edward Bernays, who was the first to use psychological techniques in advertising. He is often seen as the father of the public relations industry. Freud's daughter Anna Freud, a pioneer of child psychology, is mentioned in the second part, as well as Wilhelm Reich, one of the main opponents of Freud's theories. Happiness Machines. The Engineering of Consent. Eight People Sipping Wine In Kettering.
Kill it With Fire: why Gamification sucks and Game Dynamics rule This is a transcript (sort of)of an Ignite session I just delivered at the Melcrum Digital Communications Summit in London. I don’t like Gamification. It’s been a buzzword for years and too many people seem to be missing the point. Corporate suited types see the engagement people show video games and think “Oh, I’ll have some of that!” (disclosure: I am currently a corporate suited type). This leads people to do silly things such as add badges and a points system to their boring web site. All the cherry flavour in the world isn’t enough to mask that medicine. People are smart. Instead, we need to focus on creating intrinsically rewarding experiences. So what makes games intrinsically rewarding? Want to make people run? These dynamics are all based on basic principles. Life is ambiguous. Which brings us to the second main principle. People love dogs for a lot of reasons, but one of them is emotional transparency. Are you doing well? Allows them to expand at their own pace. Like this:
Nietzsche: Beyond Good and Evil A brilliant young man, he was appointed professor at the University of Basel aged 24 having not even finished his degree. His evanescent philosophical life ended 20 years later when he went insane and died shortly afterwards. Nietzsche's argued that the Christian system of faith and worship was not only incorrect, but harmful to society because it allowed the weak to rule the strong - it suppressed the will to power which was the driving force of human character. Nietzsche wanted people to throw of the shackles of our misguided Christian morality and become supermen - free and titanic. However, without God he felt that the future of man might spiral into a society of nihilism, devoid of any meaning; his aim was for man to realise the lack of divine purpose and create his own values. The core of Nietzsche's work, including Thus Spake Zarathustra (1883-92), Beyond Good and Evil (1886), The Birth of Tragedy (1872) was to find a meaning and morality in the absence of God.
eLearning: How to Incorporate Gamification Elements by AJ George If you happened to catch my earlier article on the gamification of learning, then you know that I have been dubious about its effectiveness. To be clear, it's not the premise of having fun in learning that I feel we should be wary of. Stories, Yes. We've all heard that it is no longer cool to give a presentation of nothing but bullet points. At a minimum, create a work-like scenario. An even more compelling story will have actual characters and a string of events. It's the bottom of the 8th in the high-school baseball game. Elaborate as much or as little as you need to create interest and get the point across. Challenge Learners and Promote Creativity That same story-telling approach can be used to spiff up quizzes. You are in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. Provide Continual On-The-Spot Feedback One of the best things about games, particularly of the video variety, is that you don't have to wait to find out how you did.
Philosophy Karl Popper: Discussion Popper's Problem of Induction. Quotes Karl Popper Discussion of Metaphysics / Philosophy of Karl Popper's Problem of Induction & the Evolution of Absolute Truth Karl Popper Pictures, Quotes 'Objective Knowledge' In my opinion, the greatest scandal of philosophy is that, while all around us the world of nature perishes - and not the world of nature alone - philosophers continue to talk, sometimes cleverly and sometimes not, about the question of whether this world exists. They get involved in scholasticism, in linguistic puzzles such as, for example, whether or not there are differences between 'being' and 'existing'. (Popper, 1975) Introduction to Karl Popper The philosophy of Karl Popper and Thomas Kuhn are very similar - they argue that truth is evolving and can never be absolutely known. I apologise if this is abrupt - but we can now deduce what reality is without opinion, so this is stated absolutely simply because it is true. Geoff Haselhurst Realism of Karl Popper My thesis is that realism is neither demonstrable nor refutable.
Behavioral economics There are three prevalent themes in behavioral finances:[3] Issues in behavioral economics[edit] Behavioral finance[edit] The central issue in behavioral finance is explaining why market participants make systematic errors contrary to assumption of rational market participants.[1] Such errors affect prices and returns, creating market inefficiencies. Behavioral finance highlights inefficiencies such as under- or over-reactions to information as causes of market trends (and in extreme cases of bubbles and crashes). Other key observations include the asymmetry between decisions to acquire or keep resources, known as the "bird in the bush" paradox, and loss aversion, the unwillingness to let go of a valued possession. Quantitative behavioral finance[edit] Quantitative behavioral finance uses mathematical and statistical methodology to understand behavioral biases. Financial models[edit] The stock image coefficient Criticisms[edit] Behavioral game theory[edit] The animal as a human analog[edit]
William Burroughs at 100: Thurston Moore on seeing him watch Patti Smith at CBGB, his response to Kurt Cobain’s suicide and ‘cut-up’ songwriting | The Collected Works of Kevin EG Perry “Panorama of the City of Interzone. Opening bars of East St. Louis Toodleoo … at times loud and clear then faint and intermittent like music down a windy street…. The room seems to shake and vibrate with motion…” That was how William S Burroughs introduced the world to the ‘Interzone’ in his heroin-and-hashish-soaked 1959 novel ‘Naked Lunch’. Kurt Cobain was such a big fan that he played discordant guitar on a spoken-word performance called ‘The “Priest” They Called Him’. While Burroughs lived all over the world, including in London and in Tangier, in north Morocco, the city that inspired ‘Interzone’, he is perhaps most associated with the New York scene that he inhabited with fellow poets and writers like Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac. Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore moved to New York as a teenager to become a part of this scene. What was your first impression of Burroughs? I used to live near him in New York City. Was he going to the shows? Did you meet him? I think he influenced me.
Charles Eames on Design: Rare and Wonderful Q&A from 1972 by Maria Popova A lucid reflection on the role and culture of design by one of the most iconic and influential designers of all time. Legendary design duo Charles and Ray Eames shaped the mid-century modern aesthetic and influenced the voice of design for decades to come. I’m particularly taken with this bit affirming remix culture and combinatorial creativity: [Is design] a creation of an individual? You can also listen to the full audio of the interview in this Japanese video of questionable legality: And for the ultimate Eames fan, see Ph.D. student Kevin Mackice replicate the interview with his young son Carter to an amusing, refreshing, and surprisingly philosophical effect: The entire collection The Films of Charles & Ray Eames is an absolute gem — I highly recommend it. HT Ace Hotel Blog / @gary_hustwit Donating = Loving Bringing you (ad-free) Brain Pickings takes hundreds of hours each month. You can also become a one-time patron with a single donation in any amount: Share on Tumblr
American Anthropological Association: English As She Is Spoke Written by Rosina Lippi Green In discussions about language, prescriptive types generally scorn academic linguists; they see us as language anarchists who reject the very idea of rules. In fact, any linguist will tell you that all human language is structured and rule governed. Prescriptivists can be purposefully obtuse and more than bellicose when arguing a position. Sociocultural linguists are actually interested in prescriptivism. Any challenge to the idea of one proper, unchanging, homogenous variety of English is understood as a challenge to all kinds of authority and the very fabric of society. 1. 2. 3. The implied promise is that if you are willing to be linguistically (and culturally) assimilated into their Borg-like view of the world, you will gain a protective shield; people will listen to you, take you seriously, and you will not be unfairly judged.
Falling Men: On Don DeLillo and Terror, Chris Cumming New York Police officers are seen under a news ticker in Times Square in New York, April 16, 2013. (REUTERS/Brendan McDermid) Some terrorist attacks become cultural obsessions, while others are forgotten completely. There were three bombings in New York City in 1975, none of which I’ve ever heard talked about, each of which would probably shut down the city if it happened now. In January, Puerto Rican separatists set off dynamite in Fraunces Tavern in downtown Manhattan, killing four businessmen—the same number of fatalities, incidentally, that led us to close the airspace over Boston last week. In April, four separate bombs went off in midtown Manhattan on one afternoon, damaging a diner and the offices of several finance firms. These were underground disturbances, moments of disorder that helped warp the culture, even if they weren’t absorbed or even remembered. DeLillo’s fictional treatments of terrorism and mass shootings are extensive. Texas again.