My Recent Bookmarks (Del.icio.us)

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I’ve used del.icio.us here and there since January, mostly for stuff that wasn’t important enough to blog but that I wanted to remember. I never publicly shared my inbox (which had 30 links). I just set up a new Del.icio.us account with a username that’s recognizable: http://del.icio.us/bencasnocha

Since I love stealing other people’s ideas (with credit, of course), and since I’m a nerd, I set up an XML feed for my del.icio.us links like my mentor Brad Feld just did and added my Recent Bookmarks and tags to the right side of my blog. So, if you’re interested in seeing what I’m *considering* blogging – or "the first derivative of what I’m thinking" – follow my del.icio.us feed. Think of it as public bookmarks/favorites.

I’m doing this mostly for my own benefit – to keep track of all the shit I read online – and to experiment with an emerging technology. But hey, if you want to follow along, feel free!

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College Essays (A Spoof in the New Yorker)

Posted inCollege Process2 Comments on College Essays (A Spoof in the New Yorker)

Christopher Buckley’s spoof college essay in the New Yorker put a smile on my face.

I’m applying to colleges this fall. For essays where I must create the prompt, I am using Joan Didion:

“I’m not telling you to make the world better, because I don’t think that progress is necessarily part of the package, I’m just telling you to live in it. Not just to endure it, not just to suffer it, not just to pass through it, but to live in it. To look at it. To try to get the picture. To live recklessly. To take chances. To make your own work and take pride in it. To seize the moment. And if you ask me why you should bother to do that, I could tell you that the grave’s a fine and private place, but none I think do there embrace. Nor do they sing there, or write, or argue, or see the tidal bore on the Amazon, or touch their children. And that’s what there is to do and get it while you can and good luck at it.” – Joan Didion, Commencement Address at U.C. Riverside

The essays are where I get to pontificate…but it’s very hard to set yourself apart here. After all, everyone is coached on every aspect of the app. Hell, you can even be coached for the SAT. There’s no doubt in my mind that many essays are written or re-written for kids by parents or tutors.

I was exchanging emails with an admissions officer a month or two ago, and mentioned this frustration. I put forth this challenge: if an admissions office read my blog for the 20 minutes or however much time they spend reading a file, they would find out who I am (and whether I’d be a fit) much better than a typical admissions package. In fact, for any high school senior who has a blog, I bet their blog (or a Google search of their name) would be much more helpful than overly polished perfection.

Alas, obtaining additional "color" is a low priority. Most colleges want to move up in the rankings, which means accepting the highest GPA/board scores students as possible.

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Good Writing Doesn't Just Communicate Ideas; It Generates Them

Posted inRandomLeave a comment on Good Writing Doesn't Just Communicate Ideas; It Generates Them

Amen. This is something I continue to work on – I want the written and spoken word to be my "secret" weapon when going up against people smarter and more talented than me.

Link: Bruno Unna – What do Paul Graham and Jason Fried have in common?.

Paul Graham writes:

I think it’s far more important to write well than most people realize. Writing doesn’t just communicate ideas; it generates them. If you’re bad at writing and don’t like to do it, you’ll miss out on most of the ideas writing would have generated.

Jason Fried writes this:

If you are trying to decide between a few people to fill your position, always hire the better writer. I don’t care if that person is a designer, programmer, marketer, salesperson, whatever. Assuming your candidates are fairly equally skilled and qualified overall, always hire the better writer. This is especially true with designers since copywriting is interface design.

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Has LinkedIn Been Good to You?

Posted inEntrepreneurship4 Comments on Has LinkedIn Been Good to You?

The past three days I’ve gotten three LinkedIn requests…I’ve had a profile for a couple years, but have never invited anyone to join my "network," nor have I used it to meet anyone. I’m debating whether to add all the people in my address book as official connections, as a way to stay in touch and keep track of people. But, it would take time on my end, and if people on the other end view it as a hassle, it’s not worth it. Has anyone out there reaped real value from it?

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Is God an Accident?

Posted inReligion / Spirituality3 Comments on Is God an Accident?

The most provocative piece in the December Atlantic is one titled Is God an Accident? (subscribers only, I can email it to you if you want):

Despite the vast number of religions, nearly everyone in the world believes in the same things: the existence of a soul, an afterlife, miracles, and the divine creation of the universe. Recently psychologists doing research on the minds of infants have discovered two related facts that may account for this phenomenon. One: human beings come into the world with a predisposition to believe in supernatural phenomena. And two: this predisposition is an incidental by-product of cognitive functioning gone awry.

Also some interesting discussion of our propensity to believe in dualism – our body and soul are separate entities. It’s fascinating to read about studies of young children and how they think about this stuff. Shows that before any socialization some have certain inclinations toward supernatural beliefs.

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