Iserotope Extras - Issue #17

Yes, I’m a fan of Snoopy. (He has a movie coming out this weekend.) This article points out that Snoopy is a bit like Elmo. Either you love him or you think he has too much power.

Note to Self is another great podcast. In this 27-minute episode, host Manoush Zomorodi investigates whether our phones are listening to our conversations even when we think they aren’t. Answer? Probably.

In Issue #13, psychologist Carol Dweck clarified “growth mindset,” claiming that educators had taken her theory too far. This primer offers details (and a nice diagram) that will be helpful to teachers and students. (By the way, growth mindset is an important concept for everyone, not just educators.)

Imagine my joy when I learned that the New York Times has a laboratory that focuses on research and development. It turns out the Old Gray Lady is as savvy about the digital revolution’s transformation of journalism as any technology company. This piece argues that one of the largest limitations of news is that we still think in terms of articles. Better to think of “particles” (a great term!), or parts of articles, that can be tagged, indexed, and used again in future articles—in order to build a better organized representation of what’s happening in our world. If you’re a news junkie like me, you’ll like this piece.