What We’re Devouring: 07.28.16
Master Plan Part Deux
[Tesla Motors]
The Tesla Motors Master Plan was written by Elon Musk and released in 2006. It had two main points: Tesla sports cars are built so that we can have affordable Tesla cars, and Tesla will provide “electric power generation options.” The new Master Plan declares these original missions in their “final stages,” and then expands: affordable, self-sufficient solar panels for your home (see SolarCity), electric semi-trucks and buses, and, most dazzlingly, autonomy. The self-driving car will be 10x safer than manual cars and able to participate in the ride-sharing economy while you’re not using it. Some have criticized the plan for dreaming too big — we don’t have the Tesla version of the Model T yet, and that should come first. Others think Musk has perfectly repositioned Tesla Motors to significantly re-disrupt the auto and energy markets. Either way, it’s a bold step from a company that prides itself on imagining and reaching for the future.
90 Million Tweens, a Free App, One Goal: Fame
[Elle]
The most fascinating moment in this article is when 14-year-old Musical.ly star Loren Gray solemnly tells Elle, “Social media doesn’t last forever … There’s always going to be new 13-year-old girls who catch the attention of your fans.” Musical.ly is a lip-synching app dominated by queasily romantic, genetically perfect stars between the ages of 13 and 16, the most popular of whom has upwards of 8 million followers. And they’re very aware of the ephemeral fame of social media (see: Youtubers). The tension between maintaining relevance with their current fanbases through constant social contact, going “Hollywood” and abandoning their fans, and the interpersonal drama their cohort of superstars is drowning in, all balances in the mind of these tweenaged media savants seeking substantial fame.
Toronto’s Sports Teams are Hyperreal
[How We Get to Next]
“Hyperreality” is a word used in philosophy and sociology to mean the moment at which our consciousness can no longer distinguish between actual reality and simulated reality. This article looks at the way that sports may already in that moment, focusing particularly on the sports market of Toronto. Here, the Raptors, Blue Jays, and Maple Leafs games are accessible from multiple angles and devices, with accompanying stats, narratives, and replays. While the technology of streaming and arranging all this content removes the viewing experience from “reality,” viewers still believe their experiences to be “real,” in part because they are “live.” And it is this belief in the hyperreal moment that spurs Torontonians to spend money, time, and attention on otherwise “middling” teams.
Fashion’s Newest Frontier: The Disabled and the Displaced
[The New York Times]
Fashion is undergoing a democratic revolution, with styles made for more sizes, prices, and places than ever before. Which is exciting, but not, necessarily, revolutionary: in the end, those fashions are still recognizably fashion. A new class of designers have been pushing back against this, designing clothes with the proper dimensions and features for people who use wheelchairs, shirts with magnetized buttons for folks with Parkinson’s, and, at Parsons, an award winning graduate project on practical fashion for refugees. These designers are asking what the purpose of fashion is, and proving that there is a space for radically practical, helpful “fashion.” Fashion’s educational institutions are, in turn, embracing the “healthwear” and solution-based designs of their ambitious, socially-conscious students.
Offices Should Follow the Lead of the NBA and Create “Hustle Stats”
[Quartz]
In the workplace, women bring different and valuable leadership styles, skills, and perspectives than men. But women are underrepresented at the top of the corporate ladder and are generally seen as less competent and less deserving of praise than their male peers. In response, Quartz suggests workplaces adopt something like the NBA’s hustle stats — statistics that and reward quantify the contributions of non-scoring players. In the NBA this means tracking loose balls recovered, shots contested, and screen assists. In the workplace this could mean tracking who consistently gets asked for help or advice, who contributes workable ideas, and who works long hours. You can’t have a winning team of only offensive players.
How Noise Makes Music
[Nautilus]
Noise is not sound. Noise is the unpredictable, unpatterned generation of sound, which raises our stress levels and warns our bodies of threat. In order to overcome the stress of noise, both in rural and urban landscapes, across all time, our brains predict or imagine the patterns that noise lacks or masks. Music is maybe our mind’s most creative way of introducing order and meaning to the chaos of noise around us. Musicians learned to use the feelings of unease and anxiety buried in our natural responses to noise — the fear, the thrill, and the trepidation — to tell stories. Nautilus, in their usual, diligent way, tracks the history of noise-to-music, including those who railed against order and those who perfected it.
Can’t Quit Saying “Um” and “Ah”? Just Learn How to Use Them Better
[Quartz]
Sounding smart on the spot is hard, and also, um, important. Filler words — um, like, so, I mean — are usually thought to code the user as hesitant, ignorant, or weak. But some studies suggest that when specific filler words are used in moderation and in the right part of a sentence, they can increase comprehension and listener recall. To use your filler words like a pro, and avoid sounding like a valley girl in a comedy sketch, renounce the um and the uhs, stick to the likes and the I means. Don’t use them at the beginning of a sentence, use them in the middle. And, should all else fail and you really need a moment to collect yourself, and we all do on occasion, try a bit of dramatic silence.
Games for Grandparents
[Polygon]
If you imagine the gaming industry as a collection of speckle-faced teenagers in dark rooms, you’re not alone. But a recent report on gamer demographics identified 26% of gamers as over the age of 50 (35 million players) with the population of senior gamers expected to increase. It makes a lot of sense, when you think about it: Georgette says, “I see very few people each day and to be honest, I’m not the type of person who enjoys being alone … That’s why these games are so important to me.” Game developers, a community itself young and prone to ageism, should see this as an opportunity to tap into an underserved but enthusiastic market. Especially when it creates magic like 80-year-old “Gaming Grandma” Shirley’s Youtube account.
