#like its very obviously a utilitarian good in the article i read.. so not all bad.. but i cant help but worry about preserving the human

[1o1percentmilk]

i dont want to write my ethics essay what if my prof thinks it's cringe

[pazodetrasalba]

Idolatry

Dear Caroline:

Between yesterday night and this morning I have been reading Adam Fischer's infamous Sequoia hagiography of Sam. It is certainly an entertaining exemplar of purplely prose - its author knows how to work his words around. But whereas this might be taken as meritorious, the jarring disconnect with the truth-claims of its contents makes it doubly damning.

I was sorry to see so little of you in it, and yet the little there is always pays its price in gold. I found your description really lovely and endearing:

Others have made much about the sultry wood nymph costume and picture, but I find much more interesting your demonstration of the Sound of Silence and its power, which wraps up very neatly with what I was writing yesterday about the the powerful absence of your voice. I mean, how you got Sam to spill the beans about his Alameda project.

Even if mr. Fischer was handsomely rewarded for his whitewashing, there is very little envy to be had for him though, as after the recent unfolding of events, his honeyed words have acquired through internal alchemy the consistency of lead, and will likely be dragging him very deeply into a pit of mud and shame or even beyond, if they get to carry criminal implications. He will get off pretty lightly if he manages to be reduced to a figure of ridicule, a byword for egregious short-sightedness and delusion.

And yet I am of a kind-hearted disposition, and would find at least some partial excuse for the author, as he was after all writing in the capacity of a professional flatterer under the dictates of his employer, even if he ended racking it up into overzealous, incense-burning mode. A text designed and published at a VC firm's webpage can only after all be considered a simulacrum of journalism. And we have many examples from Greece and Rome of great writers producing shameless and fawning panegyrics of their Maecenases: such is the stuff that comes out of the pens of Pindar, Horace, Virgil and Thucydides.

What really gives me food for thought, though, are two things: the seductive magnetism of some personalities, which can fool all the people some of the time (even the smart ones) and the facility with which a patchwork of partial truths can cover up for the most egregious BS. Starting with the second one, I don't think any of the information in the article is factually incorrect; leaving aside the lyrical waxing and flowery words of the author depicting Sam as the Nerdy, Selfless and Altruistic Genius and Saint We Need, even his speculations about the train of thoughts and beliefs of the protagonist don't feel really off. And yet the devil is in the details, of course, and in what is not being seen or said: the reckless, hubristic and suicidal misbelief in absurd betting probabilities, the casual and cold utilitarian ruthlessness of the worst means for apparently laudable ends, the massive lying and commingling of funds... The list could go on, if not forever, for a very long time.

And this takes me back to the first item. I have no doubt that Sam was really smart, seductive and, in his own twisted way, a believer in his cause and methods. And he was definitely very good at getting people onboard with a cult of personality that evokes the so many religious and secular parallels of the last century, all the more so as his position as the poster child and most visual preacher of Effective Altruism placed him on a pedestal and generated a widely held attention and goodwill towards his money-making schemes.

My belief is that you yourself, Caroline, fell completely head over heels in the worship of the Golden Calf. Even more so, perhaps, as you deeply shared his beliefs, assimilated his reckless love for high risk-taking and sentimentally fell for him and were at least partially and temporarily reciprocated. Texts like your Jezebel rip-off or the famous 'cute boy things' list can be read very obviously as love-struck and passionate peans for Sam.

My takeway is in how little we are protected from becoming smitten with idols, a paradoxical turn in our age of disbelief, and how intelligence and rationality are no hedges against myth-inflation, both because of the hubris that being smart might tend to generate, and because a clever person can always find ways of rationalizing to oneself and others one's biases and beliefs. None of us is immune to this, and I could easily accuse myself, and say Quid rides? Mutato nomine de te fabula narratur. And yet one thing that dumbfounded the journalist sticks strongly in my mind, unfurling itself as a giant, Everest-sized red flag. Sam's utter disdain for book reading (“I’m very skeptical of books. I don’t want to say no book is ever worth reading, but I actually do believe something pretty close to that,” explains SBF. “I think, if you wrote a book, you fucked up, and it should have been a six-paragraph blog post”) is the Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit that can never be forgiven. And I can't imagine how you could have downplayed or ignored that in your hero-worship.

Quote:

Lord, what fools these mortals be!

Puck, A Midsummer Night's Dream

[yurimother]

Yuri Expert Erica Friedman Dives Into LGBTQ Anime & Manga History in New Book 'By Your Side' – June 2022

In February, Yuri researcher and trend-setter Erica Friedman announced that they are writing a new book, By Your Side: The First 100 Years of Yuri Manga & Anime. The book will be published by Journey Press in June 2022, in time for pride month and the 20th anniversary of Okazu, the world's oldest and most comprehensive site on lesbian anime and manga.

The term "Yuri" began life as a coded reference to lesbianism within manga and anime genre, but in the past few decades, fans, creators, and publishers shaped the term into a beautiful genre of its own. Friedman traces the past, present, and future of the genre, all the way from the modern Yuri phenomenon manga, webcomics, novels, and games to its routes over a century ago in Yoshiya Nobuko's pioneering works. Walk together through the past, present, and future of Yuri in this insightful and entertaining new work.

By Your Side is a collection of interlocking essays, articles, and essays from Friedman's gloriously hilarious, witty, and unwieldable mind. Through these essays, readers will become familiar with many of the Yuri genre's greatest creators, tropes, concepts, symbols, and titles. As the title suggests, the series focuses on the first 100 years of lesbian anime and manga, 1919-2019.

Friedman describes her hopes for the book to YuriMother:

I want people to approach it like joining me at a Yuri panel - as an ongoing, casual discussion of a topic we love to talk about! I want to walk by your side as we wander through a garden full of lilies and chat about the changes we've seen in Yuri... I hope folks will pick it up and read a section, then put it down and think about that series, or person, or concept, then come back later and read another section!

Because the chapters in BYS are sourced from my writings and presentations, BYS can be used by fans of Yuri who want to know more about the history of the genre and by students of pop culture who are looking for research they can use for their own work.

We also spoke about the future of Yuri.

So much has changed in the past even 20 years, I can hardly project what we haven't even imagined yet. ^_^

But...the thing that is the most exciting change I've seen recently and the thing I hope for the most is creators modeling worlds where queer lives and happiness are normalized...creators imagining joy in queer lives in Yuri.

Indeed, the past few years have seen wonderous titles from a variety of creators embracing Yuri's queer identity to tell both joyful and brutally real Yuri stories. Works like My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness, Yuri Life, and most recently, I'm in Love with the Villainess come to mind.

Friedman continues:

We spent a lot of time in the last century performing lesbian trauma for Yuri subplots. I'm looking forward to Yuri manga where lesbian couples just are and then the story happens.

They went on to express their excitement over finally getting ready to put out their "Big Book o'Yuri."

I'm very excited that the Big Book o'Yuri will be a reality, obviously. ^_^ And I'm delighted to be able to work with Journey Press on this. I know they'll give us all the best book they can make. We're probably going to run a Kickstarter, which will give us a chance to develop fun physical and digital goods, as well! And, when the pandemic is over, I absolutely want to do events at bookstores where I can talk to folks about their experiences with Yuri!

I'm also just exceptionally happy that there will be a book about Yuri out there. Right now we collect every essay we can on the Yuricon Essays page to help folks trying to do research (YuriMother is proud to have contributed works to this Essays page). Once this book is out, my wish is that we'll see more Yuri research being published as well. I look forward to reviewing other books about Yuri.

Just you wait, Erica Friedman! You blaze the trail, and YuriMother (which is to say I, the writer of this report) will happily follow in your footsteps! Readers, join me in supporting By Your Side when it is released next year and continue to consume and learn about Yuri!

Erica holds a Masters Degree in Library Science and a B.A. in Comparative Literature and is a full-time researcher for a Fortune 100 company. She has lectured at dozens of conventions and presented at film festivals, notably the San Francisco Lesbian and Gay Film Festival and the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. She has participated in an academic lecture series at MIT, University of Illinois, University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Harvard University, Kanagawa University, and others.

She has edited manga for JManga, Seven Seas, and Udon Entertainment, most recently Riyoko Ikeda’s epic historical classic, The Rose of Versailles.

Erica has written about Yuri for Japanese literary journal Eureka,  Animerica magazine, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund,  Dark Horse, and contributed to Forbes, Slate, Huffington Post, Hooded Utilitarian, and The Mary Sue online. She has written news and event reports, interviews Yuri creators, and reviews Yuri anime, manga, and related media on her blog Okazu since 2002.

They were the founder of ALC Publishing, the first English publisher to release English Yuri manga. ALC Publishing passed the torch to new publishers in 2013 and no long publishes material.

Journey Press was born in 2019 with the goal of bringing unusual and diverse science fiction to the forefront of the publishing landscape. We are dedicated to supporting the women and queer people who have been erased from the history books, and to the reprinting of worthy novels that fell by the wayside, in addition to publishing new novels by creators of all types.

[littlx-songbxrd]

ok so tlh is set in 1903 and there are a few things we know about the clothes from the books themselves- 1. we have a vague idea of the silhouette, as briefly described in the book and the dresses on the cover (although those are mostly incorrect, they do, I suppose, set the reader into the general mindset.) and 2. apparently only pastel colors are fashionable, they do not look nice on cordelia specifically (not all poc girls look 'washed out' in these colors, Kamala, who is often depicted in official art with a similar skin tone to cordelia is stated in the books to look very nice in her pastel dresses)

firstly, the 1900s were a rather odd decade for clothes silhouette wise. this decade was the transition from the 1800s dresses with foot-length hemlines and fuller skirts into the 1910s trends of dresses that reached to the bottom of the calf and a more utilitarian and accessible style. Dresses in the 1900s still had the tubular shape of the 1890s, although it was less severe and it eventually faded out by about 1906 or 1907.

Speaking for now only about the first half of the decade as the books do take place in 1903, the dresses would have had a very structured bodice with flowing skirts that reached to about the ankle. Their undergarments would have included at least three layers (something in between the corset and their body, the corset, and a corset cover) with drawers, stockings, padding at their hips and bust, and at least 1-2 petticoats. dresses consisted of the bodice and skirt as separate pieces, with lace and embellishments used to bring the attention to the bodice.

Day clothes were more structured and less busy, most of them including high necklines and long sleeves. (yes this means that the stupid thing with james always staring at cordelia's chest is not realistic.)

The ballgowns and party dresses that are often mentioned are slightly more accurate. These dresses tended to be very busy with lots of patterns and lace on them, often toward the bust line to achieve an ideal silhouette. skirts were longer and fuller than the day dresses and gloves were always worn with these dresses to make it appear more modest as it had low necklines and short sleeves.

a couple of notes about historical accuracy- number one being the corset. there is a part in chain of gold where cordelia complains about her corset that makes me mad every time I read it. corset were modern bras but more comfortable, they were incredibly supportive and didn't mess with anything permanently. there was always a layer between the skin and the corset as protection for both the skin and the corset as they were intended to be worn for years on end and needed protected from oil and dirt from the body. tight lacing is essentially the historic equivalent to people today who get dressed up in their fanciest clothes for an 8 a.m college class. it wasn't standard and it was only done in very specific situations in which the wearer wanted to look a certain way. for the most part, the super narrow waist wasn't actually all that small, and it looked that way because of padding on the hips and chest.

number two on the standards for fashion at the time. at this point being fashionable was less about standing out as it was about fitting in. If you were wearing something out of fashion it was abnormal and you would be ridiculed for it, along the lines of wearing jeans and a t-shirt to a formal wedding. it was a matter of propriety and respect. Getting dressed a certain way wasn't chore or special thing, it just was.

number three is on the aesthetic dress movement. this would be the category the cover dresses fall into. the aesthetic dress movement encouraged women to dress individually by rejecting the high fashion and emphasizing freedom of movement and practicality. (that is not to mean that high fashions weren't practical and comfortable, its basically just the equivalent of wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants as opposed to something like jeans, a blouse, and five accessories. both are good, its just that they feel very different.) these clothes took from greco-romanic traditions as well as that of eastern asian cultures, with flowing, airy fabrics and loose silhouettes. this style was usually only worn around the home.

next we're going to talk about color. first of all, pastels do not wash cordelia out, she is absolutely stunning in them, as well as the jewel tones. on a more historical note, clothes in the 1900s weren't all pastels????? lighter colors were in trend, as more of an aesthetic dressing style was in fashion, but dark colors could never actually go out of style from a practical standpoint. day dresses from the early half of the decade usually had darker colors, I will link or send another ask with two examples. one, from 1900, is a dark red and gray dress and the other is a walking dress actually from 1903 and is a perfect example of something cordelia could have worn. (it has a very nice brownish gray color with gold embellishments and a high neck.)

now evening dresses on the other hand were usually light colored, almost all of the surviving ones from this decade are a creme or gold color (there are a few in black and some in other colors as well, but the majority are creme, gold, or extremely light to the point they look white.) this is where the biggest plot hole is in my opinion. so it would have been most fashionable by mundane standards to wear a white or gold, which are the mourning and wedding colors respectively, so they obviously couldn’t have done that, which means that the women are either wearing day dresses that wouldn't come into creation until 3-5 years later, they are breaking mundane fashion rules, or they are breaking strict shadowhunter tradition. (out of all the shadowhunter things, the color code seems to actually be the one most consistent through all of the series, aside from the line about the youth in london wearing white sailing outfits.)

cordelias jewel tone wardrobe from anna is incredibly unrealistic in multiple aspects. for one, multiple dresses that would have had to have been custom made by hand plus, correct me if i'm wrong, accessories or undergarments, would have been WILDLY unrealistically expensive. there are plenty of money questions for the shadowhunter universe, but an entire wardrobe like that isn't even historically accurate for the british royal family even with all their blood money. on top of that is the fact that with the cultural implications of certain fashions cordelia very well could have become an outcast for wearing something so wildly out of fashion. there isn't really a modern correlation for it, but while she wouldn't necessarily have become a complete outcast or pariah, with the way we are told the shadowhunters align with societal values of the time (I.e cordelia being ruined) accepting that wardrobe would have been completely counterintuitive to her mission of being accepted by the shadowhunter society.

so that was a lot and i'm not sure if I got everything. let me know if you need any clarification, or want anything continued!!! thank you so much for letting me info dump and rant in your inbox, you are amazing!!

links for photos:

Worth 1903 evening dress

Worth 1903 walking dress

Worth 1900 day dress

plus an article that is the best thing i've ever read

I also have some other video/article links if anyone wants them!!

I will be honest with you anon

I really have nothing to add to all this besides that this is absolutely fascinating

I love how you compared clothing to different types of modern day equivalent that genuinely made it so much easier for me to visualize

I had actually heard complaints about the corset thing before! I had actually seen that many authors seem to write them as if they are the bane of many ya historical fantasies, when in reality it wasn't that at all. So in that scene in chog Cordelias corset was the equivilant of dressing in your fansiest clothes for a class?

See I would have never guessed it!

So more flowy greco-roman inspired clothing got it!

The movement mostly went towards freedom and practicality

Oh that does seem like a problem

The confiction between being appropriate in shadowhunter culture and in the fashion of the time

THE MONEY THING ALWAYS BAFLED ME TOO LIKE HOW ARE THESE HUNTERS WASTING SO MUCH TIME IN THIS WHEN THEY DESPISE FASHION-

Anyways

This is amazing

I will be refering to it more for ficts :D

THANK YOU I WILL BE WATCHING ALL THAT

[nomanwalksalone]

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND MENSWEAR

by Josh M

It is surprising that in this tremendous field, ranking conservatively among the first five in the United States, such unregulated and primitive conditions obtain that unreserved pilfering is tolerated and openly permitted.

The leaders of this gigantic segment of our commercial life who have labored so effectively in strengthening the weak spots of their organization, have completed ignored a situation that is eating away at the very roots of its existence.  Style and creation constitute the life blood of this multi-billion dollar business.  Without them, the industry would fade into obscurity.  Yet, for some unknown reason, style piracy is treated more indulgently than much lesser offenses involving deprivation of one’s rights and property.

Samuel Winston, Inc. v. Charles James Servs., Inc., 159 N.Y.S.2d 176, 718 (Sup. Ct. 1956).

“There is no justice in the fashion business,” Karl Lagerfeld once remarked.

Indeed, many clothing designers in the United States would agree.  Recent years have seen a proliferation of “fast fashion” chains, offering an array of inexpensive, unauthorized copies of designer clothes.  Thanks to digital photography and fast production, these chains can offer nearly indistinguishable copies of a designer garment months before the original even reaches stores.

To make matters worse, these practices are legal.  Although intellectual property (IP) law in the United States covers a wide range of artistic works, inventions, designs, and images, it offers effectively no protection for fashion designs.

On one hand, proponents of protection rely primarily on traditional arguments for protecting IP:  copyright for fashion designs would encourage greater innovation by ensuring that the profits from a design went to the designer and not to those who merely copied the work.  Unestablished designers and labels especially need protection, they argue, as copying stymies their efforts to build a brand.  On the other hand, opponents of protection argue that unique features of the fashion industry make IP protection for fashion designs counterproductive.  The fashion industry, they argue, thrives on imitation, and IP protection would impede the formation of trends and slow the rate of change in fashions, chilling innovation and hurting the industry.

Much ink has been spilled on IP protection in the context of the women’s fast-fashion industry.  Kim Kardashian’s relationship with Fashion Nova, and her lawsuit involving Missguided, is nearly household knowledge at this point (well, at least for me).  This article, following a brief discussion of the IP protection available in theory to clothing designers, briefly addresses IP protection—or a lack thereof—in the “Menswear” industry, and touches on considerations for consumers.

A brief overview of IP protection in the United States

Clothing designers can seek IP protection in three main areas:  patent; trademark (and trade dress); and copyright.

A patent is used to protect “any useful art, manufacture, engine, machine, or device, or any improvement therein not before known or used.”  If possible, clothing designers will typically seek a design patent (as opposed to utility patent), requiring the designer to show “novelty, non-obviousness, ornamentality, and non-functionality.”  There lies the rub.  First, clothing is inherently functional; it serves the purpose of covering the body (for better and for worse).  Second, designing an article of clothing that is non-obvious is nearly impossible given the derivative nature of the industry.  Finally, even if a designer jumps these legal hurdles, it typically takes the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) over two (2) years to review each application.  By that time, we may yet again be reaching for low-rise, flat-front pants.

A trademark refers to:

any word, name, symbol, or device … used by a person, or … which a person has a bona fide intention to use in commerce and applies to register … to identify and distinguish his or her goods, including a unique product, from those manufactured or sold by others and to indicate the source of the goods, even if that source is unknown.

At base, the mark must be distinctive.  That is, it must be “(1) inherently distinctive or (2) have obtained distinctiveness by way of acquiring a secondary meaning.”  Trademark law provides a great deal of protection for certain types of designs when there is a logo affixed to them and protects the designers from others using the logo or anything substantially similar that would lead to a consumer being confused.  Consider, for example, the “Supreme Box Logo Tee.”  While trademark refers to a symbol or a name affixed to the article, trade dress offers protection to the overall look and feel of a non-functional product.  This includes the protection of features “such as size, shape, color or color combinations, texture, graphics, or even particular sales techniques.”  A distinctive color can be a protected interest in the fashion industry. Tiffany’s aquamarine blue, for instance.  But it’s not easy. Off-White’s numerous efforts to seek IP protection for its “signature” red zip-tie highlights the difficulty of obtaining trademark and/or trade dress protection under United States law.

Copyright protection would “offer[] the most protection,” but currently “is extremely limited.”  Section 102 of the Copyright Act provides that copyright protection extends to “original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium.”  Problems for clothing designers arise because this type of protection does not extend to “useful articles,” a category which encompasses clothing designs.  Because clothing articles are inherently “functional” and serve the utilitarian purpose of covering the body (again, for better and for worse), it is extremely difficult for designers to find refuge in copyright protection because the bar to prove that their design is “non-functional” is exceedingly high.

The scant IP protections that are available under United States law help to explain the proliferation of certain trends in the fashion industry, i.e., Louis Vuitton placing its logo on, well, just about everything that it makes, Bottega Veneta utilizing its trademarked, signature weave, or Christian Louboutin tending to use lacquered red soles on all of its high heels.

IP Protection in Menswear and Considerations for Consumers

If your eyes glossed over reading the last section, I can summarize it for you briefly: intellectual property protection in capital-M “Menswear” is effectively nonexistent.  In an industry where adjectives like “staple,” “timeless,” and “versatile” abound, the vast majority of clothing is inherently functional, non-distinctive, and useful – particularly, from the perspective of the rest of the world.  This may, depending on your perspective, create issues.

For example, I would characterize the late Eidos x NMWA cut as distinctive – perhaps even revolutionary – in lieu of what was available on the ready-to-wear market.  Since then, less expensive replicas have appeared.  Was the Eidos x NMWA cut ever capable of IP protection?  Probably not.  

Because of this complete lack of protection, we, as consumers, must decide – is this something that is worth protecting?  For me personally, I feel that even if the law doesn’t recognize in clothing the same kind of inspiration and creativity that it recognizes in art and literature, I can recognize it myself. And when I do recognize a piece that contains an idea, I want it straight from the person who thought of it, rather than an imitator.

Of course, each person will draw their own boundaries between imitation and development. One person may view, for instance, all garments inspired by U.S. military designs as knock-offs and only want the original vintage pieces. Others may view the same design made in a different fabric as an innovation. These things won’t get decided in court, so we don’t have to agree on them. But it’s part of my appreciation of my own clothes. I enjoy them a little bit more knowing that what I’m wearing came from someone who had an idea.  

This article represents the views of its author, who has little training or experience in intellectual property law, and is not legal advice.

[arnuphis]

Today I saw the following on Reddit:

'Sell one of your three yachts!': Outrage as billionaire Sir Philip Green asks for taxpayer help to pay emergency wages to 14,500 workers he has furloughed

I don’t know the details, like how exactly Philip Green asked for help. The article was about some criticism he got on Twitter, and naturally the Reddit thread had a similar tenor.

The thing is I get kind of uncomfortable when I read things like that, and I’m not fully sure why. I guess that’s why I’m writing this now, to figure it out. I guess it feels futile to me try to use social pressure to get tycoons to parcel out their wealth to their workers. That’s just fundamentally not how capitalism works.

Okay, everyone knows that’s not how capitalism works. Clearly, you object, the problem is with capitalism. And I guess I feel like there are two issues for me. The first one is that capitalism, for all its flaws, is realistically the only game in town when it comes to creating wealth. Capitalism is not going anywhere.

And the system has rules such as the minimum wage, redistributive taxation and so on. If someone’s not on the hook to give their workers some benefit, they’re not on the hook. Companies maximize profit, and that means, quite obviously, that they don’t want to pay any more in labor costs than they need to. I guess that’s sad, but at the same time the system wouldn’t work if you removed that constraint; the system would cease to make sense. For example, those with special skills like engineering or medicine would not be incentivized to pursue those careers if they can make the same amount of money as a librarian or a farmhand.

But beyond that. You have money that is owed to someone within the rules of the system, like wages. Then you have money which it would be morally good for someone to get, where there’s a question of moral rather than legal desert. Well, to me the question of deserving for the most part comes down to who would benefit the most from the money. And I think it’s pretty clear that furloughed workers in the United Kingdom just aren’t the most direly situated people out there, by any stretch of the imagination.

Most people in the first world are doing pretty well by global standards, so we’re talking about degrees of selfishness. Sure, I’m confident that Philip Green’s life wouldn’t change much if he lost, say, £300 million; his employees likely would notice if it was split between them; so it’s morally better for them to have it, in a utilitarian sense. But in a utilitarian sense it’s also clearly far better to give the money to needy people in the third world who would benefit far more.

***

So, now that they’ve been typed out, I don’t think these arguments are definitive either way, really. Sure, you can argue that the censure is hypocritical, but we’re pretty much all ultimately hypocrites in some way. That means that accusations of hypocrisy tend to be selective and therefore not far off being bullshit. Societies always improve conditions by expanding the circle of moral concern from the center outwards.

So at this point there are a few more things. One is simply the question of whether it’s effective to try to shame rich people on social media. The answer would appear to be ‘not really’. But it’s possible it might, and it doesn’t seem to hurt. It could move society in a more socialisty direction, which could lead to change through elections and legislation even if online shaming is ineffective.

***

The second thing to consider is why it might be annoying to me, and possibly some other people, to make these kinds of arguments. I think what irks me about it is that it’s taking a domain with fairly well defined formal rules and then applying some moral intuitions to it that might superficially make sense to some people, but that, to me, actually seem to be in an awkward tension with the actual rules of the game as I understand it.

Another way to come at it is that I feel that it should be the role of the government to address problems like inequality rather than individual actors in the capitalist system. That’s because we need the capitalist system, and there’s a certain inevitable logic about how that system will play out that has very little to do with random spontaneous generosity because of or some obscurely defined moral obligations that may or may actually not exist.

And moreover I get the feeling like the logic of classical microeconomics works well for reasons that are pretty orthogonal to these kinds of eye-of-a-camel-type moral intuitions. If you introduce intuitive morality as an active ingredient things to get fluffy and things also become arbitrary in a way that I’m uncomfortable with. I’m not au fait enough with economics to give good examples here, but it’s reminiscent of the difference between utilitarian vs. intuitive ethics and analogously of high-decoupling vs. low-decoupling cognitive styles more generally.

Like for example, people intuitively would be annoyed if a taxi driver charged them 35% extra for a ride, because let’s say he’s the only taxi driver available at that time. On the other hand, if the taxi drivers in your country are really good at lobbying the government to stop ridesharing services from being able to compete, and can therefore charge a whole lot more, it seems virtually no one finds that to be particularly morally objectionable.

And yes, that kind of thing does irk me. I suppose it’s because I see it as irrational and unclear. But I’m not sure that in the end it’s really a very worthwhile objection to the way people register complaints about economic inequality. I’m sure there are good reasons both psychological and pecuinary why I should favor pugilistic leftwing economic policy however it’s articulated, but nonetheless when I see these kinds of sentiments I can’t help but feel conflicted.

[infotainmentplus-blog]

Navigation Wars: Google Maps vs Waze vs Apple Maps The dawn of the smartphone age had us cheering for GPS chips and easy, on-the-go navigation. No longer were we beholden to sites like MapQuest (which still exists as a mobile app, by the way) and printing out directions. Instead, we could open up our maps app, input a destination, and receive live, turn-by-turn directions. It was like having a pocket-sized Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus, or Ferdinand Magellan as your permanent wingman. It was surely also a death blow to paper maps — but it didn’t stop there. Once we could navigate with our smartphones, the question became: “which software does it better?” Obviously, Google Maps is the best-known map app — it’s basically synonymous with mobile navigation. In fact, Google Maps was originally the iPhone’s default, preinstalled navigation software, until Apple launched its own Apple Maps. An app called Waze emerged as a third-party alternative, developing quite a following before Google bought it. We at Android Authority decided it was time to settle this once and for all. We’ve analyzed of all three apps, identifying their weaknesses and breaking down their unique strengths. Welcome to the Navigation Wars: Waze vs Google Maps vs Apple Maps. Who will reign supreme? Waze vs Google Maps vs Apple Maps — Google Maps One might expect Google Maps to take the gold. It’s Google, after all. The company has put incomprehensible amounts of money and resources into mapping the world. Beyond simply mapping the streets, the search giant sent out a fleet of Street View cars — which, according to a report from a few years ago, have collectively driven an estimated seven million miles — to take 360-degree photos along 99 percent of all public roads in the U.S. Users get to actually preview their route from a first-person perspective. Google is continuously repeating and perfecting this process in countries all over the world. Google Maps can give you directions on your next Florida vacation, but also when you finally take that trip to Greece. More recently, Google started providing detailed 3D imaging in lots of highly-populated and tourist-heavy areas. So in addition to getting a first-person street view of your route, you can zoom out to see a computer-rendered model of the surrounding area for contextual information such as the shapes and sizes of buildings. Algorithms built into Google Maps can even account for things like traffic jams. Basically, the software monitors user location and movement to see how they move through certain areas and compares that to historical data, so Google Maps can put out a traffic alert when drivers start to slow down. It may sound simple, but making it all work requires some finesse. Google has invested into complex software that provides detailed 3D imaging in lots of highly-populated and tourist-heavy areas. When you open Google Apps, you get a very clean interface. At the top, you’re invited to either search for your destination — obviously employing Google’s popular search engine — or input an address. Whether you’ve selected a destination, the map shows you the destination on the map, as well as reviews (if it’s a business), the amount of time it would take you to travel there, an option to learn more about the destination, and a big blue button that says “DIRECTIONS,” which will begin plotting your route. It will typically give you the choice of a few routes, depending on how many different ways there are to get to your destination. Arguably the biggest selling feature of those standalone GPS units we used to buy for our vehicles was spoken turn-by-turn directions. Google Maps rolled out turn-by-turn directions a couple years back and currently offers three options: spoken directions for each step of your route, no spoken directions, or an alert mode, which means Google Apps will only speak to you about things like travel alerts and missed turns. Google Maps allows you to program multiple stops into a trip or conduct a search for an additional stop while still en route. In operation, Google Maps maintains its clean UI. Your location is denoted by an arrow points in the direction you’re facing. From what I can tell, the app uses the direction in which you were last moving to determine the direction to point the arrow since the arrow will change direction if you begin to reverse. On occasion, though, the app seems to get confused about which direction you’re facing. This tends to happen when you’re sitting still for a few minutes (like at a stoplight), or if you initiate a trip while you’re sitting still, at which time the app may think you’re diverting from the route and begin needlessly amending it. If I start a trip while sitting at a stoplight, for instance, the app can’t seem to remember the direction in which I had just been traveling and may tell me I need to turn around when I’m actually facing the right way. These hiccups are easy to deal with and won’t cause any catastrophes, but it’s worth making note of them. Some Google Maps features are particularly useful. You can program multiple stops into a trip or search for an additional stop while still en route. The options menu offers toggles for different map views, including satellite (replaces the standard map appearance with satellite images), terrain (overlays a topographical map over the existing roadmap), and traffic (adds color-coded traffic details to all roads instead of just the ones you’re traveling). Even something as simple as being able to choose different modes of travel — car, bus or public transit, walking, and biking — is a thoughtful addition that really expands your options with Google Maps. On top of directions, Google Maps contains tons of useful information about nearby businesses, restaurants, and points of interest, with plenty of filters to find what you're looking for. Due to the bevy of information Google Maps contains, it has a few added functions. One of my favorites is using it to find restaurants. When you open Google Maps, open the menu bar on the lefthand side and select “Explore.” This will open a directory of restaurants and other venues nearby. Along the top, you have a toggle with which you can filter the results by meal (options are Breakfast, Lunch, or Dinner), find a place where you can get your next caffeine fix (Coffee), or plan for your evening social hour (Drinks). Naturally, Google is always rolling out new features and improvements. It’s gained some pretty robust offline functionality, asking you for your permission to download a chunk of the map (your general vicinity) or to save trips to local storage so you can pull them up without a data connection. Essentially, it makes Google Maps useful even when you don’t have an internet connection. If you are using Google Maps with Android 8.0 Oreo or higher, you can use the picture-in-picture mode. You can see a small window that shows Google Maps working on the main app page. You can see the map, a turn indicator, which road you are currently traveling on, and an ETA for your destination. Google Maps recently added a way to search for reviews of stores, restaurants, hotels and other places from within the app. There’s also a new tab labeled “For You” which offers recommendations of places and businesses in your immediate area, especially brand new or “trending” ones, based on Google’s data. A number of voice commands also work with Google Maps to do things like mute or unmute the voice guidance, inquire about your next turn, avoid highways or tolls, and find a gas station. It may sound like Google already has it in the bag, but keep reading to find out if that’s really the case. (Insert devilish grin here.) Waze vs Google Maps vs Apple Maps — Waze As someone who appreciates and uses both Android and iOS devices, I’m pretty familiar with both Apple and Google’s navigation apps. Aside from a handful of times over the past few years, though, I’d never really used Waze much. Before I started writing this article, I took a good 10 days or so to familiarize myself with Waze. Did you know that Google has owned Waze since 2013? If we’re splitting hairs, Waze is technically owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet. It allegedly operates mostly independently from Google, but there has definitely been some crossing of the streams. The acquisition of Waze brought traffic alerts to Google Maps later that year. Waze has incorporated some of Google’s data too, including Street View. You wouldn’t know Waze was owned by Google by looking at it — it has a completely different aesthetic. Personally, Waze’s cartoonish appearance reminds me of emojis. Everything looks very bubbly, but Waze manages to maintain minimalist elements, which keeps it from being too much. But the differences between Google Maps and Waze are more than skin deep. When you open the app, you’re prompted to login or create an account, both of which are done by either connecting your Facebook account or using your mobile phone number. Once you make it to the main screen, the map includes a notification to let you know how many “Wazers” are in your proximity. Right off the bat, there’s an inherently social element to Waze throughout much of the user experience. Unlike other navigation apps, Waze suggests logging in to make the most of its social features. While Google Maps is sparse and almost utilitarian, Waze feels a little more dressed-up, with more bells and whistles. You can connect Waze to your Spotify accoun to manage your music directly from the Waze app by adding a bar along the top of the screen to select from your playlists and preferred stations. You can report traffic, car accidents, speed traps, road closures, and other such things to your fellow Wazers. This function plays a significant role in Waze’s ability to keep users abreast of their local traffic conditions. Waze almost goes overboard on extra features, ranging from Spotify integration, to petrol station prices, and a huge range of novelty turn-by-turn navigation voices. You can do things like manage your account details (set a profile picture, view your friends list, read your messages), as well as manage your favorite places and check your planned drives in the main menu. The planned drive feature is really interesting. In essence, you set a destination for a future date, so when the time comes you can start navigating there with just one or two clicks. It’s really easy, too; when you search for a destination, you can either click “Go” or “Later” to choose the date and time for your trip. Alternately, it can glean information from your Facebook calendar, scheduling trips to specific destinations based on the events you’re attending. If that’s not impressive enough, Waze adjusts how long the trip will take based on traffic at different times of day, so a 15 minute trip in the morning may take 30 minutes during rush hour. Waze is even courteous enough to remind you when it’s time to leave so that you’ll arrive on time. In addition to being able to either schedule or initiate a trip to that destination, Waze can guide you to the closest parking lot to your destination. I your destination happens to be a mall or retail outlet, it’ll give you the option to set your destination as the closest parking lot or allow you to choose from other parking options nearby. I didn’t really get to take advantage of this feature, but I can see it really being a godsend in an unfamiliar place. If you like customization options, Waze offers a bunch of different voices for turn-by-turn instructions. Many of the most populated countries get at least two options, but English-speakers have a plethora of options. Each voice is given its own name, like Jane, Nathan, or Boy Band for Americans, and Kate, Thomas, or Simon for those in the U.K. In the past, Waze even offered celebrity voices, including Morgan Freeman and more recently Liam Neeson. Waze relies on data collected and posted by its real-time users and has a much more inherently social feel than your standard map app. As you get deeper and deeper into Waze, you find all these nifty little surprises. In the settings menu, you can go into “Gas stations & prices” to choose your preferred gas station chain (if you happen to have one). You can also set the speedometer to only show up if you happen to go over the speed limit. With a toggle, you can control whether or not you see nearby Wazers on your friends list. There’s a whole host of map display options you can toggle, including speed cameras, other Wazers, road hazards, and more. A few months ago, Waze got a big update adding hands-free navigation, using just your voice. The feature, called simply Talk to Waze, can be turned on by heading into Settings > Sound & voice > Talk to Waze > Toggle Listen for “OK Waze.” Then just say “Ok Waze” to initiate a drive, get a preview of the route ahead, send reports, or add a pit stop without touching your phone. Other recently added features include adding routes optimized for motorcycles. There’s also a new HOV lane feature for carpooling drivers, or those with a special pass or in an electric, hybrid, or clean-fuel car. If you are driving such a car, and there are HOV lanes available on your route, Waze will show you additional navigation options and arrival times. Another recent update improved the ETA feature, allowing users to get an estimated traffic forecast for your route. Waze may sound bloated with needless features, but most of them are tucked out of the way and accessible only from the menus. None of Waze’s additional features feel imposing or like they’re coming between you and the purpose of the app, which is to get directions from one place to another. There are tons of bells and whistles available if you want to use them. As mentioned previously, there’s something inherently social about using Waze, an interesting but not totally surprising concept in 2018. Overall, my experience using Waze was extremely pleasant. Despite having so much going on, the app is very snappy and responsive, although I may not have used it long enough to encounter the hiccups that surely come up from time to time. Waze vs Google Maps vs Apple Maps — Apple Maps Prior to iOS 6, Apple smartphones had Google Maps preinstalled as the default navigation app. In hindsight, Apple creating its own alternative to Google’s popular trip-mapping app was inevitable, if for no other reason than to boot the competition’s software off the iPhone. As usually happens with newborn software, Apple Maps was plagued with bugs and map inaccuracies for the first couple years. It’s gotten a lot better since then. I’m a lover of both Apple and Android, so I’m nearly as familiar with Apple Maps as Google Maps (although having access to the latter with any desktop browser basically ensures some disparity between the two). In certain ways, I may even like Apple Maps best of all. Compared to both Google Maps and Waze, Apple Maps has arguably the most pleasing look and has exemplary integrations with other iOS apps. After that rough first year, Apple invested lots of time and energy (and money) into improving Maps, and it shows. Compared to both Google Maps and Waze, Apple Maps has arguably the most pleasing look. Of course, appearance is subjective, but there’s something very polished and contemporary about Apple Maps, particularly since its slight redesign earlier this year. It manages to achieve a modern feel without looking sparse like Google Maps or borderline-cartoonish like Waze. It’s elegant, and very Apple. Perhaps taking a cue from Google Maps, Apple Maps has much better integrations with other iOS apps. Sprinkled throughout Apple Maps, you’ll find suggestions for scheduling and upcoming events for which you may need to travel. It’s reminiscent of how clicking addresses will take you into Google Maps from Gmail or Inbox or Google’s numerous other services. However, Apple Maps integrations extend even outside the Apple apps family, including things like OpenTable for making restaurant reservations, ride-sharing apps, and, of course, Apple Pay to pay for it all. Similar to Google’s app, Apple Maps has a very clean and straightforward interface. Opening Apple Maps brings up the map with an overlap toward the bottom, giving you a place to input an address or search for a destination. It also offers suggestions and the ability to click a single button to begin navigating home. If you were already home, it may offer you navigation to your workplace or a destination pertaining to an upcoming event in your calendar. It sounds like a lot, and while everything is big and readable, it’s also not totally in the way. One of the updates to Apple Maps brought something called “Flyover Mode,” a Google Earth-esque feature into the mix. In essence, it creates a 3D render of the map, allowing you to essentially fly over it like you’re in a helicopter. The feature itself isn’t especially groundbreaking, but it’s fun and certainly a welcome feature. Anything not already visible in the app is usually accessible with an upward or downward swipe, appearing neatly and organized on overlaying cards. You can swipe upward on an upcoming trip to view alternate route options. It’s a nice feature to have if, for instance, you happen to see that there’s traffic on your would-be route. And yes, the app can give you that traffic information, too. Apple has tried to make Maps as informative as possible and, in doing so, includes some really thoughtful details. If you click on a landmark, it usually brings up a card showing a picture, offering you directions, reviews (via Yelp, of course), and a link to Wikipedia to learn more about it. As well, if you zoom into a part of the map sufficiently far away from your actual location, it’ll show you that location’s local weather in the bottom-righthand corner. Apple Maps is focused on providing navigation. By comparison, Google is much more focused on places, which means that it’s able to provide both navigation as well as allowing you to simply use Google Maps like tourists would use paper maps as they explored their surroundings. When it comes to the actual map, though, there’s both good and bad news. The bad news is that Apple Maps just isn’t as robust as Google Maps (or Waze, for that matter, since it incorporates Google data). If you zoom into the same section of a large city on both Google and Apple Maps, Google’s map contains more accurate data, particularly when it comes to the names and locations of businesses. In fact, someone decided to track changes to both maps over a year and found that for any given section of the map, Apple Maps averaged fewer businesses than Google. However, as long as you search for and bring up the address of the business, Apple Maps can get you there — even if the business isn’t on the map. That brings us to another key difference between Google and Apple Maps. Clearly, Apple Maps is focused on providing navigation, and that’s a good thing since navigation is the point of these apps. By comparison, Google is much more focused on places — it’s able to provide navigation while allowing you to simply use Google Maps like a tourist would a paper map as they explore their surroundings. Again, Google simply has more data with which to build a map containing. It’s almost an unfair comparison, but it’s a difference that’s worth mentioning. It seems that Apple Maps is mostly reliant on map information licensed from TomTom and from acquiring a handful of smaller companies over the years. Some of those companies are WifiSlam for interior maps, HopStop and Embark for public transportation, Locationary for improving mapping abilities, and BroadMap for managing and analyzing map data. TechCrunch This is all expected to change soon. Apple’s SVP Eddy Cue recently told TechCrunch the company is working a major revamp of the Maps app and service, and will use first-party data collected from iPhone owners. It will start slowly with the upcoming iOS 12, beginning with Apple’s Northern California area this fall. The plan is to phase out the use of third parties for map data entirely, but its not clear exactly how long that transition will take. TechCrunch also reports that, like Google Maps, Apple has been collecting street level map images and date via its own fleet of Apple Maps vans. Among other things, there is hardware and software inside the vans that allows them to map the world around that vehicle in full 3D. That date, combined with high-resolution images taken via orbiting satellites, should give future Apple Maps users full 3D navigation of streets, complete with high-res textures. Apple Maps has come a really long way since the early days, when Tim Cook actually apologized for how “difficult” the Google Maps replacement was. In fact, it’s become quite serviceable in its own right. Some of its biggest strengths include its very attractive design language, and very intuitive UI. But is that enough? Waze vs Google Maps vs Apple Maps — And the winner is… So who wins in the Waze vs Google Maps vs Apple Maps war? That honor goes to Google Maps. Now let me explain why. Obviously, I don’t speak for everyone. A lot of people will be on Team Waze or Apple Maps. I chose Google Maps as the winner of the navigation wars because I feel like Google Maps is the navigation app that can meet the most users’ needs. Google’s put a lot of work into improving and fine-tuning Google Maps. I think we can safely say that no other navigation app has more than 20 petabytes of map data, obtained by having a fleet of cars physically drive more than 99 percent of all public American roads. Plus, Google Maps has the power of the Google search engine behind it. As I said before, that’s hard for anyone to compete with. No other navigation app has more than 20 petabytes of map data that was obtained by having a fleet of cars physically drive more than 99 percent of all public American roads. Google Maps is a great example of how the evolution and growth of technology can change our lives — it’s for far more than just navigation. In large part, Google Maps is a place-oriented navigation map, and it’s become a catalyst for exploration of new places. Rather than solely giving us driving directions, we can use Google Maps for learning and discovery, and that’s pretty damn cool. Waze and Apple Maps are not bad navigation apps. Waze definitely has more features to offer, some of which could actually be quite useful, though I doubt many would find them necessary or vital to their use of Waze. Just because an app has the most bells and whistles doesn’t mean it’s right for most people. If I were giving a “Most Improved” award, or perhaps a “Best Dressed” award, it would probably go to Apple Maps. Due to the improvements it’s made, many iOS users don’t feel the need to immediately download Google Maps or Waze from the App Store, and that certainly says something. At the same time, even considering how you can access Apple Maps via the desktop app for MacOS, it’s difficult to recommend it over Google Maps (or even Waze) for all but a very limited number of uses. However, as we stated earlier, Apple is working on even more improvements that should allow it to compete better with Google Maps and Waze. All but Apple Maps are available for both Android and iOS devices. At least for the time being, Apple Maps is only available for Apple devices. Now I’d like to hear from you. Which map app do you use? Why do you use it? Sound off in the comments below! , via Android Authority http://bit.ly/2L4aGhE

[thedoctors1-blog]

Decide on Higher Quality Food For Your Health

At times it seems like life is simply too busy to eat what we need to. New health advice about foods may get placed in the "to-do once I find the time" document and your body overlooks the benefits. Reaping the benefits of a number of the latest health trends is quick and easy, though. Here are a few trendy foods to begin eating now.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon has been making headlines lately, and for good reason. It may make a huge impact on your health. A study published in the June 2007 version of the Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that areas that ate more than a teaspoon of cinnamon a day lowered their normal elevations of blood glucose.

Many specialists agree that adding ? ? tsp to 1 teaspoon of cinnamon per day to your daily diet may hasten the body's metabolism. Additionally, it stabilizes blood glucose levels by stimulating the release of insulin. It also decreases the build-up of plague, which may result in clogs from the center. Employed as an antioxidant, cinnamon can impede mobile damage, destroy free radicals and enhance resistance to chronic illness.

Better Meat

Red meat is full of heart and fat damaging properties. A great option is white meat. White meat was in the news for many years, so it's time to get on the boat! Some great choices for white meats are poultry, chicken (that the breast ) , and fish. These are usually lower in calories and fat than fatty red or dark meats.

My local supermarket sells Laura's Lean Earth. It comes in 4\% fat and 8 percent fat. That's great. The 4\% variety gets me mainly protein and hardly any fat. Your store may have similar varieties.

When looking for pork, start looking for cuts using the words "loin" or "around" in their title. These are leaner cuts of beef compared to others.

"Eat more fish" is among the greatest healthy eating newsflashes today. Why? Fish have a large amount of essential fatty acids like omega 3 and omega-6, which assist with good brain function. Fish can do far more than that, however! Fish oils can be used to prevent, treat, and cure angina, arteriosclerosis, congestive heart failure, heart attack, arrhythmias, peripheral vascular disease, and stroke. How does this function? Fish oil contains Omega 3 fatty acids also does a great deal for your body like improving the cardiovascular system. Fish are also low in fat.

A?a? Berry

The tropical a??a??? berry (pronounced ahh-sigh-ee) made headlines as it became touted by Oprah as the new "super food". This little berry is a very powerful, and tasty, little food which should find its way into your diet for a number of factors.

The purple a??a??? berry from the Amazonian rain forest has a number of the greatest amounts of antioxidants found in foods. It also contains fatty acids, protein, and fiber. A study by the University of Florida found that, in a cell-culture model, a???? berries caused pancreatic cells kill themselves at 86 percent of their tests, so they are an effective preventive of some kinds of cancer.

The fresh form of a???? berries can't be found outside of the Amazon because the berry becomes rancid very quickly. You can purchase a?a? berries in a dry powder form which can be added to smoothies, milkshakes, juice, and other types of foods at many health food stores and online.

Things to Advertise in SEO Articles

Though keyword selection is critical to your high rankings on search engines, useful info is perhaps the most important key to SEO achievement. The Building of Search Engine Optimization articles about medical topics must provide dependable and Responsible advice for readers.

Don't market your organization, services or display self-promotion. However, provide your readers with fresh and significant topics that relate to your organization, products or services. As an example, if your website provides products which are useful for diabetics, then inform readers on useful subjects that could assist them in the management of this disease. Helpful articles may be on topics such as:

Product reviews on Unique glucometers

Latest advice on diabetic neuropathy

Children and diabetes

Foot and skin care for diabetics

Potential side-effects of new diabetic drugs

Pick Interesting Headlines that Deliver Sound Info

You want to catch your readers' attention; however, you also need to provide the information that the headline promises. As an example, the title Living with Crohn's Disease might be too broad and could not possibly cover all of the issues of this devastating disease. Narrowing your topic may be more helpful to your readers for example:

What is a therapeutic diet for Crohn's Disease?

Lower your fiber content in a flare-up of Crohn's

What's the difference between colitis and Crohn's disease?

Selecting Keywords with Google Keyword Planner

Google provides a superb tool for searching for the correct keywords for SEO articles. By adding a word or phrase, you can actually see what health information that people are looking for on a daily or yearly basis. The Keyword Planner helps maintain your informational articles fresh and current.

Organic Insertion of Keywords

Your keywords must be both SEO friendly, attached to this information and beneficial to your product or service promotion. Keywords which are utilized to make attention, not deliver on information may increase your visitors, but you may lose your readers' confidence in the long term. Ensure that you write SEO content for readers and not to get high rankings or search engines.

In addition, make sure that your carefully chosen keywords are seamlessly inserted into your posts and do not detract from the purpose to notify. Awkward phrases or misused funds letters can remove the credibility from your own information and ultimately your organization. Organic insertion provides your potential customers with a smooth scan, keeps them engaged and offers information they could trust. An example of a seamless keyword insertion for an advertisement to get a chiropractor's practice could be like:

As intense back pain might take weeks to resolve with conventional medical interventions, chiropractors utilize their expert hands to offer gentle, manual alterations that permeates the natural structures of the spine and body.

New, Original and Engaging

Ensure your copy is original and not copied or pasted from other sites or posts. When employing an independent author, demand that all content moves Copyscape or other sentinel sites. Offer your readers with engaging and helpful information that hyperlinks back to your site or business services is vital to promoting successful search engine optimization articles.

The next time you find a headline using a medical breakthrough, think of this ancient Latin expression: Cum grano salis. It means using a grain of salt. That saying began since salt used to be very valuable. And, it had been in high demand as a food preservative, as a poison antidote plus a taste enhancer. Salt was comparatively rare at one time. It was believed to possess healing qualities. Now that's a laugh, since in modern times it kills those who overuse it for extended periods by increasing their blood pressure. However, to advocate taking something or another with a grain of salt method to look upon an object or proposal with a healthy dose of doubt, suspicion and caution.

Thus, where modern-day and headlines carnival barkers on TV send a message of urgency or proclaim a breakthrough, remember cum grano salis. It's easy to get Excited at some of the headlines in daily newspapers, especially those heralding new research findings. The press does this in part to market newspapers or get you to listen in. Perhaps it's performed in part by editors in newsrooms who simply don't have time to read the complete studies. In any event, I've noticed a severe disconnect between the promise and the truth in statements about the most recent research findings on health matters.

If you believe that you're easily fooled, you're. I recommend an attitude of bemused skepticism in any way times, but particularly with regard to newspaper accounts of the latest discoveries from clinical research. Do not place too much stock in these improbable headlines, at least not before you read to the end of these stories or check out the articles in respected journals. Adopt the view of Sherlock Holmes, specifically, Once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever is left, no matter how unlikely, has to be true.

Thing is, when you eliminate the impossible AND the improbable, there's scarcely anything left! Thus, don't be an easy mark for nonsensical things, if they're headlines in papers or sensational stories. In the latter category would be the Indian Monkey Man scare, the Loch Ness monster, Big Foot, distance visitors in New Mexico, the Yeti, trolls under bridges and the candidacy of Sarah Palin for any public office, let alone president of the United States. Tooth fairies? Well, that's something else - there may be a tooth fairy, because where else would nickel have come from that I found beneath my pillow after a tooth extraction long ago?

Rather than credulity, put your faith in matters solid, reputable, virtuous, wise and above suspicion, like the normal essay in an AWR. These essays are full of startling decisions and partially-baked opinions founded on irreproducible findings, motivated hyperbole and treated data intermingled, intertwined and sometimes intertwixed with abstract experience.

How can you top that? On many occasions, these reflections and surmises have been demonstrated to contain elements of truth, yet elusive veracity in the health and medical field can be. REAL wellness viewpoints always do the job, and that's the best step. If forced to pick between statistical methodologies or utilitarian discoveries, you are generally better off using the latter but, luckily, the choice of positions is obviously wider!

I was thinking along these lines the other day once I came across the headline about a study project at the conservative Wall Street Journal. The article described the way the popular pain reliever may protect against Alzheimer's. The headline, however, hinted that a CURE for Alzheimer's could have already been found! This gave the impression that a breakthrough was at hand, that cheap, over-the-counter pain relievers such as Advil and Motrin appear to stop the body from making a protein that in turn causes brain-clogging deposits in Alzheimer sufferers.

The study explained how scientists, over a four-year interval, noted that some people who take considerable amounts of aspirin along with other non-steroidal, anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) meds seem to be at less risk of developing Alzheimer's. These findings were supported by colleagues that worked with cells obtained from mice that were genetically altered to have a disease like Alzheimer's. However, the best that could be stated by the scientists, as opposed to the WSJ headline authors, was that this institution could one day lead to new treatments that decrease the formation of brain deposits, or plaques, without unwanted side effects.

That was the very best that could be said of this analysis outcomes. Wait until you hear the worst! The researchers also stated (this Was discussed near the end of this WSJ article) that further studies would take decades and that the potential advantages of the drugs have been subject to experiments just in cell cultures and laboratory animals. In reality, physicians were warned NOT to prescribe large doses of NSAIDs as a way to avoid Alzheimer's! The dosages used in the experiments have been equivalent to over 16 Advils per day - enough to trigger difficulties nearly as bad as Alzheimer's, if you're able to imagine . These hazards include kidney damage and severe gastrointestinal disorders, either of which can be fatal.

The lesson? As noted at first, embrace an attitude of bemused uncertainty and learn (and practice) the key REAL wellness skill of effective decision-making.

Be well and look on the bright side. If you discover that hard, consider this: We discuss 99.6 percent of our active genes with the chimpanzees. We are more closely related to chimps than rats would be to mice. Knowing that, how could you possibly take yourself badly as NOT to look on the bright side - while curbing enthusiasm for any facet, naturally.

Vitamin D is the new superstar of nourishment, having been found in the last few years to be associated with lower levels of cancer, increased physical performance and potency in elderly adults, enhanced mood and more powerful bones.People with reduced levels of vitamin D- which comprises nearly 80 percent of the US population- have higher risk of death from all causes, meaning they're just more inclined to expire for any reason whatsoever than those with optimum amounts.

Vitamin D levels even predict how well you'll perform on a fat loss program-folks with reduced degrees don't well losing weight than those with optimal levels. (About the only thing vitamin D hasn't been shown to do is correct the market!)

So what's the deal on this latest headline?

Well, docs understood a while back that one of the older population, compliance with all pill-taking programs is well, less than terrific. And they also understood that vitamin D was incredibly important. They wanted to see if there might be a much better way for this at-risk population (over 70) to get their vitamin D without having to take a daily tablet or 2.

So Kerrie M. Sanders, Ph.D., of the University of Melbourne, Geelong, Australia and colleagues conducted a study to examine whether high-dose cholecalciferol (vitamin D) given by injection once a year to older women would decrease falls and fractures.

The dose that they injected? Five hundred million IUs.

Think about that for a moment. That is a half million IUs of vitamin D, a dose the docs apparently considered secure. (To put it in context, I recommend involving 2,000 IUs and 6,000 IUs on a daily basis).

And for some reason not entirely understood, the women getting this massive injection had John Salley's Dramatic Health Shift slightly more falls and fractures compared to the control group (about 15 percent more).

But this dosing (as well as also the shipping method of injection) bears zero resemblance to the way people normally take vitamin D supplements. And in fact, two previous research with 300,000 IUs intramuscularly injected 4 times every year had the reverse findings- fractures were decreased.

So obviously there's something about the huge dose or scheduling (500,000 1x annually vs 300,000 IUs 4x a year) that accounts for this bizarre finding. The point is that it has no bearing or relevance to people just like me and you taking daily oral doses of this incredibly important, essential vitamin which protects bones, enhances mood, increases strength, protects against diseases, helps with weight reduction and may even help protect against death from any cause.

[elajoloterosa]

The unsuspected benefits of the hammock

Ever thought about swapping your bed for a hammock? Some people swear by sleeping daily in a hammock. And its popularity is growing.

Hammock Sleeping Pros (http://www.criticalcactus.com/hammock-sleeping-benefits/)

8 reasons why swapping your good old bed for a hammock could be a good idea:

fall asleep faster

deeper sleep (which is thought to be healthier)

as a result, better ability to concentrate during the day

better reading

increased learning

alleviate back pain (anecdotal reports only)

no more dust mites infested, dead skin cell stuffed mattresses (what’s true about such claims will be covered soon in another post)

say goodbye to soaked mattresses

How A Simple Net Has Unsuspected, High Tech-Like Features

Recent research has shown that the swinging effect of a hammock provides the same kind of brain waves in adults that make babies fall so quickly into a deep sleep. Not only do they make you fall asleep faster, but you will also doze off into a deeper and longer sleep.

Study Shows Settle in a Hammock, Sleep Like a Baby

In a June 2011 article published in the journal Current Biology, researchers found that the swinging motion provided by a hammock affords a faster route to sleep and the benefit of deeper sleep throughout the night.

Why do we cradle babies or irresistibly fall asleep in a hammock? Although such simple behaviors are common across cultures and generations, the nature of the link between rocking and sleep is poorly understood. Here we aimed to demonstrate that swinging can modulate physiological parameters of human sleep. To this end, we chose to study sleep during an afternoon nap using polysomnography and EEG spectral analyses. We show that lying on a slowly rocking bed (0.25 Hz) facilitates the transition from waking to sleep, and increases the duration of stage N2 sleep. Rocking also induces a sustained boosting of slow oscillations and spindle activity. It is proposed that sensory stimulation associated with a swinging motion exerts a synchronizing action in the brain that reinforces endogenous sleep rhythms. These results thus provide scientific support to the traditional belief that rocking can soothe our sleep. (Current Biology)

This research provides insight into why rocking to sleep is the best method for lulling babies. The brain wave synchronization occurs much easier through a rocking motion and allows the baby to feel more at home (i.e. it feels closer to being in the womb).

The gentle rocking of a hammock will boost brain wave oscillations associated with better sleep and has been shown to provide a very pleasant sleep. More specifically, the rocking fortifies the brain waves that are naturally present during sleep which maintains you in a deeper sleep.

Is Deeper Sleep Better Sleep?

According to the researchers deeper sleep is not necessarily healthier but deeper sleep usually means a better recovery. All stages in the sleep cycle are beneficial but the deeper sleep stage and REM sleep stage are particularly important.

This is when our body repairs itself. Energy is restored, tissues and muscles are repaired, and the immune system is fortified. Different sleep cycles have different effects on the functions of our organ systems and it is hypothesized that during sleep the brain and other organs are recovering. .

This is probably where the claim that a hammock helps you rebalance your internal organs comes from. Although it sounds a bit woolly.

Sleep is not a passive event, but rather an active process involving characteristic physiological changes in the organs of the body. (Source: National Institutes of Health)

The Secret Cure To Insomnia?

Since the mild swinging sensation works on our brainwaves it is thought that sleeping in a hammock may be the cure for people with very severe insomnia.

When faced with challenges to sleep, do you turn to the latest in pharmaceutical technology? Or do you use special smart phone applications that promise to “cycle” your sleeping to maximize your REM and deep sleeping based on timers?

Maybe all you really need to do is change up what you’re sleeping on top of. Sleeping on a mattress couldn’t be further away from the feeling of sleeping in a womb so perhaps it’s time we question why we’re so apt to sleep on a firm surface.

That old trusty mattress may be ruining your chance for a good night of sleep (and be killing your back, more in a bit.) If you’re hesitant to leave your bed, it’s not like having a hammock as another option means you have to permanently forgo bed sleeping.

Answer to the question on a camper forum, What’s your worst investment in your RV?

“I consider a hammock as my worst investment. For one year I had such a thing. I crawled in with a good book, but five minutes later I was sound asleep. After the holiday I realized that Ihad slept my vacation away. I gave the hammock to my brother who now, already quite some years spends his vacations sleeping.”

How a Hammock Can Make You Smarter… (Really)

Hammock sleeping improves concentration, and as a result reading and learning. Let’s see how this works.

The particular brain waves monitored during the research are directly related to memory. Michel Muhlethaler, professor of neuroscience in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Geneva, Switzerland said it like this;

..the type of waves that you see, which are reinforced here, have also been associated with an increase in memory for recent events. So it’s true that from that point of view, this type of ameliorated sleep could be beneficial also for cognitive purposes.   source: NPR.org

The Laziest Way to Get Smarter

Hammocks provide a fantastic way to relax after a hard day’s work. Who doesn’t like to doze off a little before dinner. And when you are reading in your hammock they provide valuable relaxation. Here’s how.

The research on the brain waves indicates that readingactually becomes more pleasant because of increased concentration. It also helps you remember what you have read. Which obviously is a real benefit for studying.

Are You Overlooking a Simple Solution For Your Sore Back?

Everybody knows what plays a role in back aches being so common. We sit in front of computers all day, afterwards we drape ourselves on the couch, and we don’t exercise like we should. But at those aren’t the only reasons.

According to the hammock advocates, the cultural paradigm of sleeping on a mattress is not exactly the best we can do for our bodies. And may in fact be the reason for back aches.

So, do hammocks reduce back aches?  Potentially, yes. While there is no definitive literature that absolutely supports this claim, it makes sense that pressure points are alleviated much more effectively than even the best mattresses. What’s more convincing is that abundant anecdotal reports confirm the back soothing claims.

Sleeping Together, Super Romantic or The Ultimate Relationship Test?

A major drawback, and actually the only valid con, of hammock sleeping is that it’s best as a solo venture. Though two person hammocks exist, for most people, sleeping together just doesn’t seem to work that well.

If you are both very cuddly it may be quite nice actually but most people don’t like being smooshed together. Which almost always is the case. Even in big two-person hammocks such as the ENO Doublenest you run the risk of getting bunched up like twisted strands of string.

Another drawback. If one of you has to go to out at night the other, especially light sleepers, will probably notice and wake up too. One way or the other, dual hammock sleeping really is an acquired taste.

The only real drawback you say?

Yes, I know. I hear you thinking, “No way, there are much more downsides to hammock sleeping. What about getting cold for example? Or being folded up like a caterpillar? Not being able to move freely. And feeling claustrophobic or being afraid of falling out?”

Well, you may be surprised. These are either very easily solved or actually not such insurmountable difficulties as you might think.

Are You Ready To Try It?

The benefits of full night hammock sleeping transcend the utilitarian. Improved sleep quality that really should sell a person on trying it out for a few nights.

So, whether you decide to try and hammock sleep for just napping, for a night, or for a few nights a week, whether you sleep on your stomach or your back, if you’re constantly being bothered by back pain or the inability to get a quality night’s sleep, existing knowledge and thousands of years of existence proof it’s worth trying hammock sleeping. And for the price compared to a regular bed, it’s hardly beatable.

Honesty commands me to add that although I’m planning to, I haven’t yet tried it myself.

If you are going to make the switch, make sure to pad the hammock and leave yourself a lot of covers with which to stay warm.

Also keep in mind that not all hammocks are suitable. Nicaraguan, Brazilian and Mayan hammocks are the most appropriate.

The Rada Yucatan Hammock for example is often used for full time sleeping (see the top reviewer’s comment how it helped alleviate his back problems). http://hammocksrada.com/

The Vivere UHSDO9 Double Hammock is another popular model for every night sleeping. http://hammockstandexpert.com/vivere-uhsdo9-double-hammock-with-space-saving-steel-stand-tropical-review/

If you don’t want to abandon sleeping in a bed but do want the (scientifically proven) benefits of a hammock spring bed may be something for you.

Author: Thijs Harteveld

https://www.treklightgear.com/

NPR: Why Hammocks Make Sleep Easier, Deeper WebMD: Gentle Rocking Helps You Fall Asleep Faster, Get Deeper Sleep CNN: Hammocks Make For Deeper Sleep Lifehacker: Want Better Naps? Sleep In A Hammock Health.com: Study: Hammocks Make For Deeper Sleep HealthGuidance.org:Improve Your Health With Hammocks

http://www.lasiesta.com/en/hammock/

https://www.campclayborne.com/products/bison-bag-g2-sleeping-bag-hammock

https://hydrohammock.com/

[repwinpril9y0a1]

The 30 possible ways you can create customer value

By Mark Schaefer

I’ve been immersed in the digital marketing world for many years and if somebody asked me, “what is the number one tip shared about content/social media success” it would be this:

This may seem like simple — even rudimentary — advice, but it’s also quite true. Any communication we put out there today is not just an expression of our brand, it is part of our ongoing war for attention. And to win that war, you better provide extraordinary value.

Can you define precisely HOW you add value? The question may be more complicated than it seems. Here’s some research findings to help you sort it out.

30 ways to create customer value

There was a very fine article in Harvard Business Review by Eric Almquist, John Senior, and Nicolas Bloch of Bain Consulting. In this comprehensive piece, they present a Maslow-style hierarchy of needs as the fundamental attribute of a brand image. The result of decades of research and experience, the authors claim there are 30 different ways a brand can create value:

If you’re looking at this on a smartphone screen this helpful graphic might be hard to read, so I’ve also listed these 30 value factors here:

Reduces effort

Avoids hassle

Reduces Cost

Quality

Variety

Sensory appeal

Informs

Saves time

Simplifies

Makes money

Reduce risk

Organizes

Connects

Wellness

Therapeutic value

Fun/entertainment

Attractiveness

Provides access

Reduces anxiety

Rewards me

Nostalgia

Design/aesthetics

Badge value

Motivation

Heirloom

Affiliation/belonging

Provides hope

Self-actualization

Self-transcendence

If you’re like me, you’re probably already scanning though this list to see which of these values might be delivered by your company, product, or content. But it may not be that easy. For example, the authors write:

In our research we don’t accept on its face a consumer’s statement that a certain product attribute is important; instead we explore what underlies that statement. For example, when someone says her bank is “convenient,” its value derives from some combination of the functional elements saves time, avoids hassle, simplifies, and reduces effort. And when the owner of a $10,000 Leica talks about the quality of the product and the pictures it takes, an underlying life-changing element is self-actualization, arising from the pride of owning a camera that famous photographers have used for a century.

Let’s dig a little deeper into how you can use this research for your own company.

More value is better

Bain also did research to see how these value factors correlated to company performance and it had some interesting findings:

A survey confirmed that companies that were identified with more of these values also had better performance (as expressed by a high Net Promoter Score).

Companies that could claim four or more value elements had, on average, three times the NPS of companies that focused on just one customer value, and 20 times the NPS of companies with none. More is clearly better — although it’s obviously unrealistic to try to inject all 30 elements into a product or a service. Even a consumer powerhouse like Apple, one of the best performers studied, scored high on only 11 of the 30 elements. Companies must choose their elements strategically.

A second finding was that companies doing well on multiple elements grow revenue at a faster rate than others. Companies that scored high on four or more value elements had recent revenue growth four times greater than that of companies with only one high score.

Some are more important than others

Across all the industries studied, Bain found that perceived quality affects customer advocacy more than any other element. Products and services must attain a certain minimum level, and no other elements can make up for a significant shortfall on this one.

After quality, the most valuable elements depend on the industry. In food and beverages for example, sensory appeal runs a close second to quality. In consumer banking, provides access and heirloom (a good investment for future generations) are the elements that matter; in fact, heirloom is crucial in financial services generally, because of the connection between money and inheritance. The broad appeal of smartphones stems from how they deliver multiple elements, including reduces effort, saves time, connects, integrates, variety, fun/entertainment, provides access, and organizes. Manufacturers of these products—Apple, Samsung, and LG—got some of the highest value ratings across all companies studied.

Putting this to use

There’s a lot of debate on the web about content quality versus quantity. If you’re trying to drive “traffic,” there could be an argument for quantity, but this research confirms that if you’re trying to drive revenue and success, the focus should be on quality.

Most of the corporate content out there today is utilitarian. I’m guessing if you’re thinking about your own marketing efforts right now, your supporting content is about helping, answering questions, informing, saving time, etc. Is there room for you to maneuver into other, higher-level categories?

Another interesting application might be in your work to become known. If you’ve read my book KNOWN, you know that an essential part of building a personal brand is finding a way to tell your story online in an un-contested “space.” Perhaps you can use this research to find a way to differentiate yourself in your industry. For example, if competitors are creating content that “informs,” can you side-step into other categories? Is there an under-served value in your industry?

I think the way Bain presented “values” is thought-provoking and I hope it has you reflecting on whether you should be creating value … or values. As I looked over the possibilities, I found at least 10 factors that I might be serving through this blog but it made me wonder if my readers feel the same way!

Did you find anything surprising about this list? How does it apply to you?

Mark Schaefer is the chief blogger for this site, executive director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions, and the author of several best-selling digital marketing books. He is an acclaimed keynote speaker, college educator, and business consultant.  The Marketing Companion podcast is among the top business podcasts in the world.  Contact Mark to have him speak to your company event or conference soon.

Value chart reproduced with permission from Harvard Business Review.

The post The 30 possible ways you can create customer value appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2pWbhGq

[porchenclose10019]

The 30 possible ways you can create customer value

By Mark Schaefer

I’ve been immersed in the digital marketing world for many years and if somebody asked me, “what is the number one tip shared about content/social media success” it would be this:

This may seem like simple — even rudimentary — advice, but it’s also quite true. Any communication we put out there today is not just an expression of our brand, it is part of our ongoing war for attention. And to win that war, you better provide extraordinary value.

Can you define precisely HOW you add value? The question may be more complicated than it seems. Here’s some research findings to help you sort it out.

30 ways to create customer value

There was a very fine article in Harvard Business Review by Eric Almquist, John Senior, and Nicolas Bloch of Bain Consulting. In this comprehensive piece, they present a Maslow-style hierarchy of needs as the fundamental attribute of a brand image. The result of decades of research and experience, the authors claim there are 30 different ways a brand can create value:

If you’re looking at this on a smartphone screen this helpful graphic might be hard to read, so I’ve also listed these 30 value factors here:

Reduces effort

Avoids hassle

Reduces Cost

Quality

Variety

Sensory appeal

Informs

Saves time

Simplifies

Makes money

Reduce risk

Organizes

Connects

Wellness

Therapeutic value

Fun/entertainment

Attractiveness

Provides access

Reduces anxiety

Rewards me

Nostalgia

Design/aesthetics

Badge value

Motivation

Heirloom

Affiliation/belonging

Provides hope

Self-actualization

Self-transcendence

If you’re like me, you’re probably already scanning though this list to see which of these values might be delivered by your company, product, or content. But it may not be that easy. For example, the authors write:

In our research we don’t accept on its face a consumer’s statement that a certain product attribute is important; instead we explore what underlies that statement. For example, when someone says her bank is “convenient,” its value derives from some combination of the functional elements saves time, avoids hassle, simplifies, and reduces effort. And when the owner of a $10,000 Leica talks about the quality of the product and the pictures it takes, an underlying life-changing element is self-actualization, arising from the pride of owning a camera that famous photographers have used for a century.

Let’s dig a little deeper into how you can use this research for your own company.

More value is better

Bain also did research to see how these value factors correlated to company performance and it had some interesting findings:

A survey confirmed that companies that were identified with more of these values also had better performance (as expressed by a high Net Promoter Score).

Companies that could claim four or more value elements had, on average, three times the NPS of companies that focused on just one customer value, and 20 times the NPS of companies with none. More is clearly better — although it’s obviously unrealistic to try to inject all 30 elements into a product or a service. Even a consumer powerhouse like Apple, one of the best performers studied, scored high on only 11 of the 30 elements. Companies must choose their elements strategically.

A second finding was that companies doing well on multiple elements grow revenue at a faster rate than others. Companies that scored high on four or more value elements had recent revenue growth four times greater than that of companies with only one high score.

Some are more important than others

Across all the industries studied, Bain found that perceived quality affects customer advocacy more than any other element. Products and services must attain a certain minimum level, and no other elements can make up for a significant shortfall on this one.

After quality, the most valuable elements depend on the industry. In food and beverages for example, sensory appeal runs a close second to quality. In consumer banking, provides access and heirloom (a good investment for future generations) are the elements that matter; in fact, heirloom is crucial in financial services generally, because of the connection between money and inheritance. The broad appeal of smartphones stems from how they deliver multiple elements, including reduces effort, saves time, connects, integrates, variety, fun/entertainment, provides access, and organizes. Manufacturers of these products—Apple, Samsung, and LG—got some of the highest value ratings across all companies studied.

Putting this to use

There’s a lot of debate on the web about content quality versus quantity. If you’re trying to drive “traffic,” there could be an argument for quantity, but this research confirms that if you’re trying to drive revenue and success, the focus should be on quality.

Most of the corporate content out there today is utilitarian. I’m guessing if you’re thinking about your own marketing efforts right now, your supporting content is about helping, answering questions, informing, saving time, etc. Is there room for you to maneuver into other, higher-level categories?

Another interesting application might be in your work to become known. If you’ve read my book KNOWN, you know that an essential part of building a personal brand is finding a way to tell your story online in an un-contested “space.” Perhaps you can use this research to find a way to differentiate yourself in your industry. For example, if competitors are creating content that “informs,” can you side-step into other categories? Is there an under-served value in your industry?

I think the way Bain presented “values” is thought-provoking and I hope it has you reflecting on whether you should be creating value … or values. As I looked over the possibilities, I found at least 10 factors that I might be serving through this blog but it made me wonder if my readers feel the same way!

Did you find anything surprising about this list? How does it apply to you?

Mark Schaefer is the chief blogger for this site, executive director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions, and the author of several best-selling digital marketing books. He is an acclaimed keynote speaker, college educator, and business consultant.  The Marketing Companion podcast is among the top business podcasts in the world.  Contact Mark to have him speak to your company event or conference soon.

Value chart reproduced with permission from Harvard Business Review.

The post The 30 possible ways you can create customer value appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2pWbhGq