Watch Neil DeGrasse Tyson educate Richard Dawkins on the importance of understanding context when “teaching” others. Tyson makes a wonderful point about the difference between information and persuasion.

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When I moved to the great state of North Carolina, I learned an important lesson: Never talk about religion, politics, or college basketball in polite company. College hoops is taken seriously in these parts.

This is rivalry week in the Triangle, with Duke and UNC meet for the first of two (or three) times this season on Wednesday night. One the eve of what will certainly be an epic matchup, one of the nation’s leading political polling firms, Public Policy Polling, have released their annual UNC/Duke Poll.

Here are a few of the highlights:

• UNC is North Carolina’s most popular school, with 32% of respondents saying it’s their favorite college. Duke (19%) and NC State (18%) are in a tight battle for second place, with ECU claiming 8%, Wake Forest 6% and 17% saying “none of these” schools are their favorite.
• UNC also leads when voters are asked who they’ll be rooting for in Wednesday’s Duke-UNC men’s basketball matchup, 41-31.
• There’s a healthy amount of respect between the fanbases. 49% of UNC fans say they “respect” Duke while just 16% “hate Duke.” And 53% of Duke fans “respect” UNC with only 16% “hating” the Tar Heels.

A great new book out entitled “Pantone, The 20th Century in Color” incorporates beautiful color plates with accompanying narrative by authors Leatrice Eiseman and Keith Recker that describe the last 100 years in the evolution of the color spectrum through the lens of the groundbreaking 1963 Pantone color system developed by Lawrence Hebert of Pantone.

The system codified the color spectrum, so that a certain shade of a color can be uniformly agreed upon and unknowingly revolutionized the world of graphic design. One can think back to any decade of the past century and certain colors and hues are easily associated with each time period. Serving as more than a mere color index, the book succeeds in describing the evolution of colors’ social imprint on culture, illustrated through advertisments, product design, fashion and general day-to-day life across generations.

Just close your eyes and visualize the 50s, 60s, 70s or 80s–it’s easy. That’s what’s so great about this book. From a historical perspective, filtered through the nuance of aesthetics, we have each period literally ‘colored in’ for us. Beautiful and simple.

The words“geek” and “nerd” are often used interchangeably, despite the clear differences between them. Finally, a comprehensive infographic that explains the distinctions, both broad and subtle, between the two. Click the above image for the entire infographic, as this is just an excerpted portion. Enjoy.

It’s 2012 and the Iraq war is officially over. The cost? High in human toll, money spent and energy expended. Worth the effort? Arguably, yet to be determined. The net effect, other than a new government, well…

Iraqi youth have gone “punky” it seems, the direct effect of their socialization with American troops. A quarter of Iraquis have been born since the U.S. first invaded Iraq in March 2003, with almost half the total population under the age of twenty. A near majority of the population have spent their highly impressionable years in the presence of an occupying force. Though I haven’t personally walked the streets of Baghdad, I’m sure the troops cut a wide and colorful path in the day-to-day life of humble neighborhoods.

“Punky” youth are those that take on the persona of American hip-hop kids from a few years back, replete with baggy hoodies, closely croppped hair fading under back-turned baseball caps, and large fake gold chains. Kind of the fashion cue many an American GI took during their civilian youth in the years leading up to their military life, before being dropped into the ancient lands of the Fertile Crescent. 

Punky Iraqis see rapping as a ticket to New York, while they woof down greasy ersatz cheeseburgers and breakdance in city squares. These “hustlers,” another term they claim as their own, realize that to speak like a “gangsta” they need to learn English before they can develop their own rap banter. So, the children of Sadr City wait for months for a place in English classes, in hopes to one day board a plane to the U.S. to visit the home of Lil’ Wayne or at least eat a slice of real New York pizza.

And so, after nearly a decade, young people’s minds in Iraq open to a world beyond, even though the price of admission may be a poorly inked Ghostface Killah tattoo.

So much has been said, read, and posted about Steve Jobs in the months since his passing. While so much was known about Steve Jobs as an innovator, marketer, and world-class jerk, It’s been interesting to hear more about who he was, personally and philosophically – to really get a sense of what made him tick. Maybe he was too guarded in life, and all of this insight about him was only able to emerge after his death.

The above video is a great example. He’s not talking about a specific product…even technology in general. He’s talking about a philosophical approach that guided the way he sees the world. This becomes even clearer in this article. What’s becoming clear is that he had big ideas about the way the world worked. These ideas made it possible for him to see something most of his peers missed. He was able to take something confusing and make it simple – to take something ugly and find a way to make it elegant.

A recent USA Today article brings to light the growing trend of referring to food products as “artisan, ” with the number of “artisan” products in store shelves having doubled in the last four years. The word “artisan” implies that a product has been created with care by a craftsperson, yet these seem to be mass-marketed and -produced products. (Nevermind the fact that the  ”artisan” refers to to craftsperson, while “artisanal” refers to the product itself.)

Now, when a company sub-brands its product as “artisan,” as is the case with Tostitos chips or Domino’s Pizza, what does that say about the rest of their products? Seems to me that the flip-side to going up-market with a sub-brand is that you’re admitting some sort of deficiency in the rest of your products. At the very least, it raises questions…

- Are “regular” Tostitos not as tasty as their “artisan” counterparts?  
- If my “artisinal” Domino’s pizza is hand-crafted, what about the rest of their pizzas? 

Like “organic” and “natural” before it, “artisan”seems to be the next ill-defined food buzzword.

• Two sides of an argument/book review about the value of unpaid internships in the modern workforce
• Compelling infographics on voice recognition applications, inspired by the launch of the iPhone 4S
• Scott Adams (Dilbert) on creativity, and the stifling thereof
• A press release for an academic article on learning while sleeping
• We’ve posted several entries about publishers moving content online, but here are some folks who are moving in the opposite direction
• On confidence
• The End of the Future
• “Creative Class” around the globe
• There is no evidence supporting auditory and visual learning…(some psychologists say…)
• The back story on Lorem Ipsum
• Tumblr on the up and up

Forget the aesthetic of 180-gram vinyl. So yesterday on yesteryear. And nevermind the Internet when it comes to co-creation and consumer ownership of the creative process. The ultimate music aficionado and audio cultural curator is (still) the master of the mix tape. Yup, the cassette. Never has there been a sign of personal affection and affinity for one’s friends and loved ones than taking the time to blend them a mix tape. It take a lot of thought and even more time. It’s a creative pursuit that aurally profiles one’s persona.

And never has there been more of a resurgence of casette-focused labels than today. Just check out: GoldTimers, Hyperdelic, and Retrograde Tapes to start. And of course the granddaddy of them all, ROIR, who’s been issuing cassettes for over thirty years.

Where unfettered creativity still percolates two standard deviations out, and out of view from most. Personal creativity, created alone, shared with another, small group of friends, or like-minded aficionados.

Yesteryear’s castoffs become our cheap tools to craft new and evocative expression. The personal. The building blocks of aural culture. Like today’s fashion designers surreptitiously trolling vintage stores, picking over yesterday for tomorrow’s haute couture, later reconstituted for the H&M and Target racks.

They never left us, we just think we keep leaving them.

Check out this beautiful little video from Chipotle, illustrating their position in support of sustainable farming. With Willie Nelson covering Coldplay’s “Scientist,” this animated short by Johnny Kelly shows us one farmer’s rapid expansion, crisis of conscience, and return to simpler times. Though it’s already spreading like wildfire on the web, Chipotle plans on showing it in movie theaters this fall. Enjoy.