Misc.

Feel Good Stories about Everyday Extraordinary

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Sometimes, it is the quirky, the overlooked, or the downright difficult that brings us a smile or a thought. Sometimes, we need moments like these, an array of stories, not neatly correlated but a jump from one thought to another, to wander and wonder. Born in 1875 in Arles, France, Jeanne Calment witnessed the turning of two centuries and the transformations they brought with them. At the age of 90, Jeanne entered into a contract with 47-year-old lawyer André-François Raffray, who agreed to pay …

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Resources of August 2024 – Sketches, History, and Creative Constraints

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Continuing with the second edition of Resources of the Month: Sketchplanations Sketchplanations is an ever-growing collection of illustrations that explain complex topics through easy, one-panel sketches. When I first discovered it, I spent hours devouring bite-sized explanations on various subjects, from science and behavioral economics to psychology frameworks and business models with detours to domestic life hacks. Some that stood out for me are VUCA, the Hotel Drying Technique, Hara Hachi Bu, Collective Effervescence, The Automation Paradox, Tsundoku, Kaffikok, Detecting Prostate Cancer or Problem-solving. Especially good …

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Resources of July 2024 – Procrastination, Generalization vs. Specialization, Ingenious Living and More

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Note: Sometimes, it can take me up to a year to turn a concept into a published article. I noticed this recently with my latest piece, Insights from Bjarne Stroustrup, Creator of C++, published this July. The idea for that article originated when I watched Stroustroup’s video interview for Honeypot last August. This made me consider creating a series where I gather insights from my findings. I would call it something else than a newsletter, as it might not necessarily be news-oriented but ideas-focused. …

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The Cultural Phenomenon of Jólabókaflóð, Iceland’s Book Flood

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‘Twas the night before Christmas, in each Icelandic home,   When families gathered, not a soul felt alone; Kleinur and laufabrauð were arranged with great care, As the magic of Christmas filled the crisp evening air. The children were nestled all snug with a book in their hands,   Sailing through sagas and tales from faraway lands; And mamma with her mystery, and I with my book,   Had just settled our brains in our cozy nook. During the Christmas festive season, the Icelandic word Jólabókaflóð makes the rounds …

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Writing Insights (2023)

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Writing is more than stringing sentences together; it is boiling down thoughts on the relentless whiteness of the page, even though there is a tension between the limitation of language and the freedom of our thoughts.  And in much of your talking, thinking is half murdered.   For thought is a bird of space, that in a cage of words may indeed unfold its wings but cannot fly. Khalil Gibran – The Prophet  Acknowledging this constraint, repetition in writing is a response to language’s limitations, an …

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How Did English Achieve Its Worldwide Reach? (part 2)

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The English language’s global dominance is no accident. It can be traced back through a three-stage process: the initial spread of English by the British Empire, its proliferation through the two World Wars, and its reach through the soft power of the Internet age. The British Empire, often referred to as “the empire on which the sun never sets”, reached North America, India, Australia, Africa, and Asia. English became the colonies’ official language of administration, justice, business, and education. Proficiency in English was a …

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How Did English Achieve Its Worldwide Reach? (part 1)

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I first became interested in the topic of my thesis [the spread of the English language] while on holidays in Crete; there a guide jokingly told us that if the capital of the island would be destroyed and unearthed a thousand years later, future archaeologists would probably conclude that the inhabitants spoke English because all the shop-signs are in that language. Daniel Spichtinger – The Spread of English and its Appropriation Learning English presents a considerable challenge due to its linguistic irregularities. From spelling and …

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Unwrapping The German Tradition of Schultüte

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Image Credit: Pixabay Schultüte is a cherished tradition in Germany designed to ease the anxieties of the little ones starting first grade. Parents or godparents would make a Schultüte (“school cone”) or a Zuckertüte (“sugar cone”) at home, mark it with the children’s names, and take it to school to hang it in the “Schultütenbaum” (school cone tree). Then, on their first school day, children would pick their cones from the magic Schultütenbaum on the school grounds, careful not to break them. After the …

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