Kickoff For February 24, 2025
Another mix of links this week. Why? Just because. Do you really need a reason to be different?
With that out of the way, let's get Monday started with these links:
Can a Comma Solve a Crime? — Wherein we delve into a little-known facet of sleuthing: using linguistic analysis on written and spoken material to uncover the identity of criminals.
From the article:
According to forensic linguists, we all use language in a uniquely identifiable way that can be as incriminating as a fingerprint. The word “forensic” may suggest a scientist in a protective suit inspecting a crime scene for drops of blood. But a forensic linguist has more in common with Sherlock Homes in “A Scandal in Bohemia.” “The man who wrote the note is a German. Do you note the peculiar construction of the sentence?” the detective asks in the 1891 short story. “A Frenchman or a Russian could not have written that. It is the German who is so uncourteous to his verbs.”
Private chefs for Silicon Valley’s elite spill the (precisely 70-degree) tea — Wherein we get a glimpse into the bizarre and extravagant world of professionals who prepare meals for Silicon Valley's elite, and the challenges and frustrations that those chefs face when dealing with demanding and finicky employers.
From the article:
In the technocratic world of Silicon Valley, many clients are obsessed with measurement and optimization. One chef has been accused of “gaslighting” clients, adding sugar to meals when there was none present.
The Promise of Duolingo — Wherein Imogen West-Knights looks at the wildly-popular language learning app, where it fails (often miserably), and what it offers besides learning some basics of another tongue.
From the article:
If you use the rowing machine in the gym twice a week for several years, does it matter that you never get very good at rowing on water? And whether or not Duolingo is a waste of your time, as many users I spoke to worried it might be, depends on what you go on to do with the limited knowledge it gives you. One person told me that learning Yiddish through the app gave her a feeling of connection to her long-dead grandparents.
The nightmare of unlocking digital assets left behind by loved ones — Wherein we learn just how difficult, often unreasonably so, it is to get access to the online accounts of those closest to us after they pass away.
From the article:
Those left behind often struggle to access a loved one’s social media profiles to retrieve digital mementoes, whether they be photos, correspondence or perhaps even a written family history. Gaining access to online bank accounts and insurance policies can also be a nightmare to figure out.
How to get better at remembering — Wherein we're introduced to the science of memory, learn four practical steps that can enable us to better and faster recall information, and get some tips about how to use those steps.
From the article:
Not everything needs to exist in your memory stores. It is important to make thoughtful decisions about when to offload information and when to store it in your memory.
Stupefied — Wherein we learn how the grind of daily work at large corporations is, in many ways, dumbing down employees, why that happens, about the forms it takes, and the ramifications of that.
From the article:
Another significant source of stupidity in firms we came across was a deep faith in leadership. In most organisations today, senior executives are not content with just being managers. They want to be leaders. They see their role as not just running their business but also transforming their followers. They talk about ‘vision’, ‘belief’ and ‘authenticity’ with great verve. All this sounds like our office buildings are brimming with would-be Nelson Mandelas. However, when you take a closer look at what these self-declared leaders spend their days doing, the story is quite different.