Wednesday, June 26, 2013

The $2.7 Trillion Medical Bill

More Than Just a Social Butterfly

Read more in the NYT. (What are your thoughts, would the article have the same title if she were a man?)

Theodore R. Johnson: A Missed Opportunity on Racial Preferences

"I'm tired of the suspicion that because I'm black, whatever I achieve is somehow suspect."

Here's an excerpt:
'You probably got it because you're black." 
I heard those words two years ago when I had the honor of being selected as a White House Fellow. It wasn't the first time that at a moment of proud accomplishment I had heard skeptical comments. It happened when I was promoted a year ahead of my military peers. Earning a graduate degree from Harvard University prompted a dismissive remark about admission quotas. Most troubling of all was that, each time, I wondered: "What if it's true?" 
This is the ugly side of racial preferences that gets little attention. No matter what one may think of the policy, the truth is that with it comes an undercurrent of implied inferiority. Even in instances when a black or Hispanic is the best qualified and well-matched for a particular career or academic opportunity, the perception of unfair favoritism follows the person, hovering in the ether. The same suspicion often follows women who succeed.
Read the full post in the WSJ. (Thanks, Tom)

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Boy hears for the first time


Dr. Sanjay Gupta weighs in on a 3-year-old boy hearing for the first time. See more at CNN. (Thanks, Claire)

Clash of the Titus - Shaquille O'Neal


This is the CUTEST video I have seen all month. (Thanks, Jules)

Mean tweets - NBA edition

When a baby elephant sees the sea for the first time!


You can see him laughing! (Thanks, Kate)

How to talk to little girls

This blew up my Newsfeed. (Thanks, Claire and many others)

TED Talk - Violence & Silence: Jackson Katz, Ph.D

Maybe The Coolest Car Commercial You'll Ever See



Could you build a car from parts? What about reconfiguring its drivetrain to be powered by social media? How about driving it to Washington, D.C. to build support for your organization? See more at UpWorthy. (Thanks, Cassie)

Make Ponies and Dinosaurs Dance Across Your Google Hangouts Chats

Read more at ABC News. (Thanks, Lucy)

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

The Most Gangsta Yearbook Quote to Ever Exist

Have you figured out why? (Amazing find, Claire)

Sophia Grace "Girls Just Gotta Have Fun" Official Music Video



Obsessed.

An acquisition is always a failure

Jake Lodwick, one of the original founders of College Humor and Vimeo, looks back on his past years as an entrepreneur. Here's my favorite line:
An acquisition, or an aqui-hire, is always a failure. Either the founders failed to achieve their goal, or – far likelier – they failed to dream big enough
Read more at PandoDaily. (Thanks, Joyce)

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

A Rising Star Emerges at Berkshire

Tracy Britt, 28, has become one of the most influential women within Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway.

Read more in the WSJ. (Thanks, Lucy)

PediPower device brings kinetic energy to heel

Rice University engineering students Tyler Wiest, Carlos Armada, Julian Castro and David Morilla with their PediPower prototypes (Photo: Jeff Fitlow)

Read more in Gizmag. (Thanks, Cass)

A Password So Secret, You Don’t Consciously Know It

Researchers work to develop passwords so secret that only your unconscious mind knows them.

Read more in Technology Review. (Thanks, Tom)

The Risk Not Taken

Read Andy Dunn's article in the Medium (~14 minutes). (Thanks, Brandon)

ThePianoGuys - Code Name Vivaldi



(Thanks, Chrissy)

MONROK wins California's Funniest Female



(Thanks, Tom)

Getting Things Done > Grade Point Average

Read Alexis Ohanian's LinkedIn today post. Getting things done. (Thanks, Cassie)

The New Science of Giving

A young Houston couple is planning to give away $4 billion—but only to projects that prove they are worth it. Can they redefine the world of philanthropy?

Read more in the WSJ. (Thanks, Claire and Will)

This Is Your Brain on Coffee

Read more in the NYT. (Thanks, Claire)

Study: Sleep-Deprived Men More Likely to Assume That Women Want Them

Read more in the Atlantic. (Thanks, Claire)

The Secret to Success

So true and relevant:
If you ask people what they liked most about Harvard, the answer is always, "The people!" You love the people. They are smart, they are interesting, and they are headed great places.

It's when they get there that's the problem.

Oscar Wilde used to tell his dinner companions a story about two devils who were torturing a holy hermit. They beat him and applied thorns to his tender regions and did all kinds of terrible things, but the holy man persisted in defying them. Then the Devil came along. He leaned close to the hermit's ear and whispered, "Your brother has just been made Bishop of Alexandria." At this point the hermit turned bright red and started to scowl. "That," the Devil said, "is the sort of thing I should recommend."

The further you get out of college, the more of a resemblance your life bears to this story...
Read Alexandra Petri's post in the Crimson. (Thanks, Claire)

Why Women Aren’t C.E.O.s, According to Women Who Almost Were

"It’s not a pipeline problem. It’s about loneliness, competition and deeply rooted barriers." Read more in the NYT .