When to take photographs

Tyler Cowen gives some pointers in a short post which packs lots of punch:

If you take photos you will remember the event more vividly, if only because you have to stop and notice it. The fact that your memories will in part be “false” or constructed is besides the point; they’ll probably be false anyway. In other words, there’s no such thing as the “one-time in-person viewing,” it is all mediated viewing, one way or the other. Daniel Gilbert’s book on memory is the key source here.

Furthermore you don’t need the later viewing for the photo or video to be worthwhile. It’s all about organizing your memories in the form of narratives and that is what cameras help us do, if only by differentiating the flow of events into chunkier blocks of greater discreteness.

A photo that requires retakes might be more effective than a photo you get right the first time.

Cowen goes on to tell about his own photo taking habits and links to a post with pointers to take better photographs. Take a look!

Fundamental equation of gambling!

S = log M

Yes; it is as simple as that; for more information on the equation, and the explanation of symbols, take a look at This Week’s find in Mathematical Physics — Ed. 243.

Outsourcing everything: self-discipline edition

That is what they would probably call this piece at MR; link via A&L Daily.

On the motivating powers of happiness

Happiness may be one of the least motivating of all the factors that determine where we work or live. Many people choose to work at places that do not maximize their happiness in order to receive other rewards (economic, status or prestige, etc.). Moreover, subjective measures like job satisfaction do not seem to have much of a correlation with productivity measures. We don’t work hard because it will make us happier. The link between enjoyment and economic payoff just doesn’t seem to be very strong.

So why should we be concerned about happiness anyway? In my mind, happiness is something that most people would like to have in their lives but it’s often seen as an end state (e.g. I’ll be happy when I get this *#%*^ paper finished!) or a subjective state you hope to experience but over which you have little control.

From this post at orgtheory.

Literary will: how to

Neil Gaiman tells how to write a literary will; link via B-squared.

Going beyond and falling short: RSI!

Here is an article with lots of links about RSI (Repetitive Stress Injuries) from the official google blog.