Good Morning!
Week 2, still very new to this, but getting the hang of it.
Eventually I’ll get into a stride and a format I am really happy with, but for now I am just going to continue to experiment and have fun publishing a little something.
Here is what caught my attention this week…
👀🗺️
You don’t need a good reason you just need any reason…
I read this great little piece about an even more fascinating study regarding human behavior, persuasion and using the word ‘because’.
Jerry Shen was writing having himself read a Harvard research paper by Prof. Ellen Langer. He then put it to the test with his own little social experiments.
Read this short excerpt:
“
Question A: “Excuse me, I have some copies to make. May I use the Xerox machine?” (no reason)
Question B: “Excuse me, I have some copies to make. May I use the Xerox machine because I’m in a rush?” (good reason)
Question C: “Excuse me, I have some copies to make. May I use the Xerox machine because I need to make copies?” (bad reason)
Question A had a 60 percent compliance rate, which meant 60 percent of people let her cut in line for no reason. When she provided a legitimate reason, in question B, the percentage of people who let her skip the line shot up to 94 percent. What’s even more surprising, when framing the request in the language of question C, which offers a pretty insane reason, she got a 93 percent compliance rate!”
In essence…
“People simply like to have reasons for what they do. Pretty obvious when you think about it. But the strange thing, as Ellen and I empirically discovered, is that it hardly matters if the reason makes sense.”
(read the full piece - HERE)
Topical 💬
These are just from the US just because I'm here at the moment, still of global interest though.
Anne Frank; is history repeating itself?
This quote has been dug up and shared by several people online this week, all in response to the growing backlash against Trump and the ICE raids being carried out.
Words that could very well be copied and pasted straight from any current news story…
..but to think about it in the context of a victim of the holocaust, written in 1943, it is pretty surreal.
In a targeted raid, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) stormed seven poultry plants on Wednesday, August 7th.
“Workers reported hearing the roar of helicopters and seeing agents round up mostly Latino workers for questioning. Many wept as they waved goodbye to their family and friends being carted away on buses for processing.
It was the largest immigration sting of its kind in more than a decade. A total of 680 people were arrested. Of those, about 300 were released the same day, officials said. Those who remain in detention are being held in a ICE facility in Louisiana.”
(read more - USA Today)
Many people are suggesting, and I would agree, the way to deal with the immigration problem is to put the onus on US employers to check the E-verify system and impose stiffer punishment on employers who choose to employ people without permissions to work.
“Research from TRAC at Syracuse University, found that from April 28 to March 29 of 2019 only 11 individuals (not companies), were prosecuted for hiring undocumented workers. At the same time during that period more than 120,000 undocumented immigrants were charged for illegal entry or illegal reentry. So that's pretty stark when you look at those numbers.
- Adolfo Flores (Buzzfeed News) ,
Immigrants who are already in the US, and in employment, particularly those with kids, what good is it going to do by detaining them?
Do you put these people on state welfare benefits whilst they are now out of work?
They are not criminals and they are here doing the jobs the majority of Americans won’t perform. Many of these people pay taxes through wages and they are invested in & supporting local communities.
AND it’s not like these people just ran across the border yesterday..
“Beginning in the 1990s, Latin American immigrants were recruited to the state by the poultry industry, where they arrived to work in some of the lowest-paid and most dangerous jobs in the country. This week’s raids target deeply rooted workers and families”
(read more - The Washington Post)
Jeffrey Epstein - His experience in jail was luxury…
The prolific child molester Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his cell on Saturday morning, reported to have been a suicide.
You can read into the case and his conviction in more detail, what he has been accused of is disgusting and it makes me sick to my stomach.
I want to highlight another side to the story that caught my attention..
..his experience in jail.
It acts as a metaphor for the blatant corruption in the US justice system, demonstrating what power and money can do for you…
“According to records from the jail and sheriff’s department, Epstein enjoyed perks that no other convicted sex criminal would ever have the gall to request.
He took the concept of “work-release” to a whole new level. He was allowed to leave the stockade 12 hours a day, six days a week and, upon his return, stayed in a mostly empty wing of the facility.
For Epstein, jail wasn’t an incarceration so much as an inconvenience. Deputies were given permission to leave his cell unlocked while he was there. He was more of an out-mate than an inmate.
Sometimes he got to watch TV in a room normally reserved for attorneys visiting jailed clients.
During his daily road trips, he was followed by off-duty deputies who were paid $126,000 for their respectful supervision. The officers often wore business suits and addressed him as ‘Mr. Epstein.’ ”
(read more -> Miami Herald)
There is a very good and brief documentary excerpt here (on the same site), that paints a clear picture of this awful man. However, viewer discretion is advised, it includes interviews with victims and detailed descriptions of his behavior.
Science ⚛️🔬
Something Hit Jupiter… Something Huge
Remember Jupiter is the biggest planet in our solar system, you could fit 1,300 Earths comfortably inside it, so in order for us to see this so clearly from Earth it must have hit it hard!
Jupiter is actually known for protecting Earth, nicknamed the ‘vacuum cleaner’ of our Solar System, it’s mass both attracts and deflects celestial bodies as they pass through our solar system.
Long-period comets, in particular, enter the solar system from its outer reaches. Jupiter’s huge mass and gravity is thought to sling most of these fast-moving ice balls out of the solar system before they can get too close to us.
Amateur astronomer Ethan Chappel captured this one from Texas, last Wednesday.
This a GIF (look to the lower left side for the flash)
Sick ⛰️🤙🏽
This is a pretty sweet perspective of professional whitewater kayaker Aniol Serrasolses.
Smile 😊
Photography 📷
Watch 📹
Wait till the beat drops… (watch the crowd)
A Thought 🤔
I wish it was possible to see your life stats. Like how many bugs you’ve killed, how many crisps you’ve eaten, how many miles you’ve driven etc
Deeper 🤯🌊
A telephone makes sound travel faster than the speed of sound.
That’s all for now 🤙🏽
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I want to hear what you think.
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Thank you,
Guy