Monthly Archives: May 2011

Superhero social networks

By Sam Hedlund | Published: May 28, 2011
Samuel Arbesman describes research on what the science of social network analysis can tell us about comic book characters, and by extension, real life:    The Marvel Universe does exhibit the statistical features of a real social network in some simple ways. Furthermore, similar to our own world, they found distinct differences between the social [...]
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Why is it easier to understand a fellow non-native speaker?

By Sam Hedlund | Published: May 27, 2011
A British friend in Colombia once asked me about this. There are some fascinating answers in a discussion between James Fallows and his readers.  Apparently It’s called the the “mismatched interlanguage speech intelligibility benefit” by linguists  Tessa Bent and Ann Bradlow, here: Results showed that for native English listeners, the native English talker was most intelligible. However, [...]
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Are your processes messing with your relationships?

By Sam Hedlund | Published: May 26, 2011
Have you ever dropped the ball on connecting with someone you met because you didn’t have a good plan for how and when to follow up?  Or have you ever been frustrated when an overworked or disorganized HR department turns the hiring process into a stop-and-go, hurry-up-and-wait guessing game? Whether you’re on the giving or receiving end of the [...]
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Since the world didn’t end this weekend…

By Sam Hedlund | Published: May 24, 2011
Since the world didn’t end this weekend, I started thinking about escapism versus realism.  The people preaching the end of the world on Saturday were being escapist–they were hoping that the complexities of life and spirituality would be all wrapped up and resolved before we even made it to Memorial Day Weekend!  When they heard [...]
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Easy and certain

By Sam Hedlund | Published: May 21, 2011
Seth Godin makes a great point about ease and certainty: The lottery is great, because it’s easy. Not certain, but easy. If you win, the belief goes, you’re done. Medical school is great because it’s certain. Not easy, but certain. If you graduate, the belief goes, you’re done. Most people are searching for a path [...]
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The Posse Foundation:Building social capital for students

By Sam Hedlund | Published: May 1, 2011
Tonight on the metro I happened to have a good conversation with a man who mentioned that his sister is considering applying to my alma mater, Pepperdine University, through the Posse Foundation.  I was glad to find out that Pepperdine is participating in the Posse movement, and this reminded me of just how interesting and innovative the program is in placing underrepresented minority students in [...]
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