Presentation Theory: Against Highly Interesting Details

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Robin Hanson cites a recent study relevant to anyone who gives presentations. The study examined how well students retained information about the cold virus. In one experimental group the students read a packet with various peripheral details that were not very interesting; the other group read a packet with various interesting details. Conclusion:

In both experiments, as the interestingness of details was increased, student understanding decreased (as measured by transfer). Results are consistent with a cognitive theory of multimedia learning, in which highly interesting details sap processing capacity away from deeper cognitive processing of the core material during learning.

In other words: Interesting but not-quite-essential details distract from understanding the core point.

One of the classic books in the field of multimedia cognitive theory is Richard Mayer's Multimedia Learning.

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Speaking of presentations, I'm giving a free talk on January 14th at 12 noon at Foothill College (Appreciation Hall) in Los Altos Hills in the Bay Area. If you're local, come! No RSVP necessary. Email me if you have questions.

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Would You Trust Less a Biz Partner Who Cheats on His/Her Spouse?

Posted inRelationships13 Comments on Would You Trust Less a Biz Partner Who Cheats on His/Her Spouse?

Someone asked me the other day: Would you trust less a business partner who was cheating on his/her spouse?

Related question: Do you draw a hard line between someone's personal / bedroom conduct and their professional trustworthiness?

My answer to the first question: Yes, I would trust the person less, but I would not dismiss working with him/her out-of-hand. Second question: No, I draw a "soft line" between personal/professional.

I recognize that some people simply lack self-control when it comes to sex but not when it comes to anything else, or so they claim. Still, to me character is character, and if someone can be dishonest in a romantic setting, what else might she be dishonest about in a professional setting?

Culture matters. I was raised in America and Americans seem to care more about fidelity than most people.

In the end trust exists on a spectrum and one must weigh various factors. In a business relationship fidelity is not a deal breaker either way, just a factor among many. In a personal relationship I care more.

[Definitional note on cheating: There's the technical cheat (sleeping with someone other than your monogamous partner) and then there's what Chris Yeh eloquently described to me as "something that's technically allowed but really is just fucked up" — like sleeping with your best friend's ex or sleeping around days after the end of a positive long-term relationship. In the end the semantics doesn't matter. It's about what a person's actions say about their underlying ethics, honesty, and self-discipline and whether bedroom actions speak to these attributes in non-bedroom environments.]

Bottom Line: I think less of a person who cheats on their partner, but in a professional context I do not distrust him/her altogether. I just trust them less.

Related Post: Trust and the Failed State

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Assorted Wisdom from John Stuart Mill

Posted inRandom5 Comments on Assorted Wisdom from John Stuart Mill

John Stuart Mill's 1869 essay On Liberty deserves its fame. Last month I blogged about the essay in the context of Sarah Palin and elitism. Today I post the best excerpts from the essay. I've put them below the fold because I know many of you will not read them; they're long and dense. But those who slowly take in the sentences will be richly rewarded, I promise.

If you want an introduction to Mill you might find Adam Gopnik's review of a new biography helpful. (This sentence is a gem by the way: "The tribal nationalist is stupid because he fails to recognize that, given a slight change of location and accident of birth, he would have embraced the position of his adversary.)

Enjoy the excerpts below!

Continue reading “Assorted Wisdom from John Stuart Mill”

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What I’ve Been Reading

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1. Autobiography of Malcolm X. A very well written autobiography from a man I didn’t know much about. The story of his life as conveyed in this book is variously inspiring, deeply saddening, and infuriating. Recommended.

2. Achieving Our Country by Richard Rorty. The first I’ve read of this late, great American philosopher. The title comes from Rorty’s view that liberals (like himself) see America as yet un-achieved and therefore it’s necessary to struggle and change to achieve those ideals. He distinguishes between reform liberalism and cultural liberalism. Recommend for those interested in political theory and/or two strands of liberalism but for anyone else I’d pass.

3. Back in the World: Stories by Tobias Wolff. I love Wolff’s writing but this set of short fiction stories didn’t do much for me.

4. Rigged: The True Story of an Ivy League Kid Who Changed the World of Oil, from Wall Street to Dubai by Ben Mezrich. The author of “Bringing Down the House.” He employs cheesy techniques to keep you turning the pages but in the end the book’s subtitle fails to deliver. All the main character did was set up an oil exchange in the Middle East? You expect something truly groundbreaking, and so it’s a let down.

I spent 20 minutes with Ted Turner’s new memoir Call Me Ted which has been on the bestseller list. A publicist sent it to me. The writing is terrible. Really, it appears he had zero editing. Not recommended. However I did learn in flipping through it that Turner was sent off to boarding school at age four. Yes, four years old. He says ever since he’s had problems being alone. It figures.

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Beware of Comparatives (“Than”) Part Two

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Few weeks ago I blogged the rule of thumb that compliments should never contain a comparative (e.g. “than”). Instead of saying, “You look much prettier than you did yesterday!” just say “You look pretty!”.

Recently someone told me: “Traveling to that country is harder than you think.”

My immediate reaction was: “No, it’s not harder than I think. I know it’s hard.” I got hung up on the other person assessing my own assessment of hardness.

The more effective line from him would have been: “Traveling to that country is hard.”

Bottom Line: Beware of “…than you think” when saying something. Beware of comparatives in general. Just say it!

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