[H/T MOHIB EBRAHIM] -- MEDIUM.COM -- We're filling our heads with soundbites, the mental equivalent of junk. Over months and years, we may find ourselves looking down at the pot-belly of ignorance.... Clickbait media is not a nutritious diet. Most people brush this off and say that it doesn't matter ... that it's just harmless entertainment. But it's not harmless at all. Worse, it's like cocaine. It causes our brains to light up and feel good. The more of it we consume, the more of it we want.... Try the two-pronged approach of: A) Time. B) Detail. Time meaning how relevant is this historically? If it's going to change soon, you can probably filter it out right here. ...

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QUILLETTE.COM -- I was a self-righteous social justice crusader. My callouts were met with approval and admiration: "Thank you so much for speaking out!" "You're so brave!" I mobbed and shamed people. Then one day, suddenly, I was accused of some of the very transgressions I'd called out in others. I was guilty, of course: there's no such thing as due process in this world.... The constant vigilance on the part of my colleagues and friends did me in. That's why I'm delivering sushi and pizza. I was publicly shamed, mobbed, and ... cast out of my career and my professional community. ...

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QUILLETTE.COM -- On April 12 1994, Justine and Yves Sergent were found dead in their garage sitting beside each other in the drivers and passenger seats of their car. This is the devastating power that an academic mobbing can have on its targets.... The deaths of Justine and Yves Sergent were not isolated extremes; punishment imposed on an individual by a group is almost always unethical because the group as a whole will never fully understand the punishment they have collectively administered. ...

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FS.BLOG -- Just about anyone can measure the absence of candor in communications: start reading with a red pencil and underline clichés such as "employees are our greatest assets," "our future is bright," "advancing momentum," and "we aim to create shareholder value." This kind of meaningless jargon and platitudes diminishes our understanding of the business and our trust in the leadership. When you're done, look back. If there's a lot of red on the page, consider yourself warned. Rittenhouse coined an acronym for the absence of candor: "FOG." It stands for "fact-deficient, obfuscating generalities." ...

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QUILLETTE.COM -- [ISMAILI DIGEST ED: Hazrat Ali: "The best speaking is that which does not offend the ear, and the understanding of which does not fatigue the intelligence."] ARTICLE: Most undergraduates admit to intentionally using complex vocabulary to give the impression of intelligence. Does this actually increase the perception of higher author intelligence among readers? According to research by Carnegie Mellon University professor Daniel M. Oppenheimer: No.... Someone who makes good points, but relies on complex words and jargon to do so, likely pays a price in terms of the perceived quality of their work and mind. ...

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