via Teehan+Lax blog

Tierney and Baumeister recount a revealing experiment: When a psychologist was invited to give a talk at the Pentagon on managing time and resources, he decided to warm up the elite group of generals with a short writing exercise. He asked them all to write a summary of their strategic approach limited to 25 words.

The exercise stumped most of them. None of the distinguished men in uniform could come up with anything.

The only general who managed a response was the lone woman in the room. She had already had a distinguished career, having worked her way up through the ranks and been wounded in combat in Iraq. Her summary of her approach was as follows: ‘First I make a list of priorities: one, two, three, and so on. Then I cross out everything from three down.’”

via Brain Pickings

via What the Cool via Schreer Design

From wikipedia

The sorites paradox (from Ancient Greek: σωρείτης sōreitēs, meaning “heaped up”) is a paradox that arises from vague predicates. The paradox of the heap is an example of this paradox which arises when one considers a heap of sand, from which grains are individually removed. Is it still a heap when only one grain remains? If not, when did it change from a heap to a non-heap?

Similar to digital data, how many “bits” must be accurately represented to still constitute a copyrighted movie / song? 

via Little Big Details via Finer Things in iOS

via @rands via douglaswray

via Bjango

via Make

via @secretGeek

But wait, you say, look at eBay, Amazon, and Craiglist – they look like crap. Implement an MVP with product/market fit, and it doesn’t matter what it looks like. That’s true sometimes, but it also depends on where you are on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The lower on the pyramid your product is, the crappier it can look. If your product is core to helping people make money, pirate movies, or sell your useless couch, you don’t need a designer. But if you’re high on the pyramid, ugly/clunky UI makes it impossible to for people to see your vision.

via Miso Engineering