Making Pencils

Manufacturing pencils must be a dying industry.

New York Times memorializes it with a  beautiful photo essay of the processes involved. It's worth a look.

Acclamations for TED, TED.com and TEDx

There have been a couple of articles recently about TED and TEDx that people might find interesting reading.  The New York Times article talks about the incredible spread of TEDx conferences and how TED makes learning exciting.  It's to that thirst for learning that the Times attributes the incredible popularity of the TEDx concept.  The Fast Company article argues that if you were to set out to create the perfect Harvard University today, you might just do it by bringing together great ideas and making them openly available to everyone, which is what TED.com is all about. 

Interesting reading.

From Fish to Infinity

I just read something on New York Times that really tickled my long-dormant math bones. Entitled The Hilbert Hotel, it was a delightful riff on infinity (click here to read it). This was the last in a series of articles about math by Steve Strogatz called From Fish to Infinity. If anyone shares my taste in reading about Math, this whole series is definitely worth taking in. There's a link to all the past articles in a box in the Hilbert Hotel article. Enjoy!

Two Approaches to Journalism

Two films at Hot Docs contrasted brilliantly today's two approaches to journalism. Burma VJ typified the power of citizen journalism by chronicling a network of brave journalists in Burma who risked their lives or imprisonment (maybe not much difference there) by capturing on film the 2007 protests in Burma. Film was smuggled out, or transmitted via the Internet (before the generals shut off Burma from the Internet). When the protest ultimately failed, the network of about 30 photographers was shattered. However, the positive news was that 60 people came forward to take their places in forming a new network.

The other film, The Reporter, followed New York Times reporter Nicholas Kristof as he toured the Congo to document the suffering there from years of warfare. He was searching for that one human story that would bring home the tragedy to American readers and awaken their concern. His visit to one of the warlords was a fascinating exercise in exceedingly cautious questioning intermingled with a few challenges. Tough balance to manage.

Kristof attended the screening and much of the Q&A revolved around the role of that endangered species, the professional journalist and the publications they write in. How can we balance the immediacy of the 'instant journalist' with the time for analysis, and long follow-up of big stories, afforded by professional journalism. And how can newspapers, the main outlet for professional journalism, survive with a business model that has been fractured by the emergence of new online media? It's a question well worth pondering.

Both films are worth seeing if you get the chance.