What provokes change? Back in the mid-1400s, Gutenberg changed communication (as did his lesser known predecessor). Communication was again changed with the Internet. And, of course, no one can deny that one invention substantially changed our lives and cliches. Then, the music industry was changed by Apple. I know you can think of more.
Every time change occurs, the world adapts and evolves. Eventually we stop noticing the difference and go on with our everyday. Even so, the idea of change is seen as a threat. A threat to the current way of life. A threat to what we know and are comfortable with.
Change is inevitable. Take mobile phones, wi-fi will change their industry. [Login required.] Or Detroit’s major industry, will gasoline prices force them to switch strategies? [Login required.] In our industry of books and ideas, new technologies are unveiled and the fine lines of copyrights threaten tradition.
In the end, we can fight against the inevitable. Or embrace it as an opportunity to be better.
June 26, 2007
Inevitable change.
Today's Quote
To stay young requires unceasing cultivation of the ability to unlearn falsehoods
links for 2007-06-26
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“In our increasingly mechanized world, we repeatedly hear promises that every new digital product, computerized service, or other form of technology, will make our lives easier — bestowing greater leisure, health, and happiness. Yet are any of those pro
The Right Use of Books
“The Right Use of Books”
from The Art of Living, circa 55 CE, by Epictetus.
Don’t just say you have read books. Show that through them you have learned to think better, to be a more discriminating and reflective person. Books are the training weights of the mind. They are very helpful, but it would be a bad mistake to suppose that one has made progress simply by having internalized their contents.
June 25, 2007
Meet the author (online)
Most authors have a web site and/or blog where they discuss their experiences writing and publishing the book, touring the country with it, and upcoming events. The author of How: Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything in Business (and in Life), Dov Seidman, invites you to visit his web site here:
http://www.howsmatter.com/
Interesting economics
If all economics classes had a professor like Robert Frank, economics might be a bit more hip. Professor Frank commences his classes by asking students to apply economics to real-world issues.
These questions and their answers now make up his recently published book, The Economic Naturalist. Over at another famous economics site you’ll find a few excerpts including this one:
Why do fast food places promise a free meal if you aren’t given a receipt at the time of purchase?
To deter theft, owners of restaurants and other retail establishments require cashiers to reconcile the total amount of cash collected during their shift with the total volume of sales rung up at their register…One way cashiers can circumvent this control is by neglecting to ring up a proportion of their transactions…Thus if a cashier failed to ring up a customer’s $20 meal, he or she could pocket the $20 without creating an accounting discrepancy…By offering a complimentary meal to anyone who fails to receive a receipt, owners provide an economic incentive for customers to monitor cashiers for free.
Today's Quote
Seeing much, suffering much and studying much, are the three pillars of learning
June 24, 2007
June 23, 2007
links for 2007-06-23
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[A] fascinating account of the transformation of raw fish and vinegared rice from a Japanese street snack to an economic indicator of an emerging Western-style business culture [book link].
