“The first rule of improv, is that you agree with improv.”
Have you ever been in a situation where you’re trying to make a joke, or poke fun at something but someone takes it literally and states exactly why you cannot do it for scientific or logical reasons? This is a classic sign of someone who doesn’t get improv.
Now, I’m definitely not an expert, or even a novice, or even qualified to write this blog post but if I know only one thing it’s this basic rule of improv: always accept everything. It just makes things go smoother. Someone said a joke? Don’t refute it, build on it, that’s what makes it funny. Think about it. When you think back to really funny moments with your friends, what is a common reason? A running joke. Not one that lays still like an obese dog. One that has legs and knows how to use them.
This makes sense not only from a theoretical point of view but it is also confirmed by the fact that they teach this in improv class (I know this thanks to my brother). Apparently, a common game they play is “Yes, and…”. Where you have to keep the story going by always agreeing (“Yes”) and then adding to it (“And”).
So next time you hear a joke and get the urge to use logic and reason, just remember the first rule of improv.
Posted in Posts.
Tagged with humour, improvisation, life.
By Brian
– March 15, 2010
The best part of college is that you could become whatever you wanted to become, but most people just do what they think they must.
Is this a metaphor? Sure. But it’s a worthwhile one. You have more freedom at work than you think (hey, you’re reading this on company time!) but most people do nothing with that freedom but try to get an A.
Seth Godin
I spent most of my life trying to get “A”s. And I was pretty good at it too. I think I only recently figured out that it doesn’t matter how many “A”s you get. Real life is measured in something totally different. In fact, the really successful people frequently aren’t the straight “A” students. Ironically, that’s why I decided to go to graduate school.
There’s more to life than just doing a good job for your direct superior. How to find out what it is and how to do it? Well, that’s the tough part. But it begins with asking yourself a few simple questions.
Posted in Posts.
Tagged with Larry Smith, life, school, Seth Godin.
By brian
– March 6, 2010
Sandra Kelly of 3M says that whether “Google makes you stupid” or not is up to you. “I don’t think having access to information can ever make anyone stupider. I don’t think an adult IQ can be influenced much either way by reading anything and I would guess that smart people use the Internet for smart things and stupid people use it for stupid things in the same way that smart people read literature and stupid people read crap fiction.”
ars technica
I don’t think I could have said it better myself.
Posted in Posts.
Tagged with google, information, technology.
By brian
– March 1, 2010
Keep It Simple Stupid!
I remember when I first heard this acronym. I was in my grade 11 programming class listening to my teacher at the time, Mr. Kang. Now if there was one distinct characteristic about him, it was that he was old school. He carried a metre stick around and you always had this lingering fear that if you spoke out of turn or made a callous remark, that stick would come at you faster than a flash of lightening. How he wound up as a high school teacher after being in the Korean military is still a mystery to me.
Even I got kicked out of his class once for being roudy! And mind you I was a straight “A” student who always paid attention in class (I blame my friend sitting beside me). This was a man who did not play favorites.
Another time, for my final project, I made a Chinese chess game. For a grade 11 project in Turing, this was a pretty impressive project (as far as Turing projects go). Without much show or fanfare, he simply came over, gave me a nod and said “Nice project.” And that was very characteristic of him. He kept things simple. In his discipline, in his praise and in his lessons.
(Although I even once heard a story about how someone swore he saw in the corner of his eye, Mr. Kang, standing 5 ft tall, do a jump kick and hit the ceiling light 10 ft above the ground.)
You know, life isn’t simple (as much as I’d like it to be), but you know it’s not as complicated as most people make it out to be. The KISS principle is a great reminder for us to: Keep It Simple Stupid!
Posted in Posts.
Tagged with KISS Principle, life, programming, school.
By Brian
– February 21, 2010
If you haven’t already, take a look at the Lenovo IdeaPad U1 Hybrid. It looks like a regular notebook on the surface but with the added bonus of being able to detach the monitor to become a slate tablet (a la iPad). I think this is a great idea and here’s why: it solves both the problems with laptops and slates.
On the laptop side, my biggest problem is the weight. Even lightest Netbooks are around 3 lbs, which is far too heavy for me. Now some probably think this is a bit silly but I don’t. There’s no reason for me to carry around a device when probably the only thing I’m going to use it for is to quickly use the internet. It’s overkill.
On the tablet side, my biggest problem is the lack of functionality. How am I expected to do any real work without a keyboard (don’t get me started on touch screen keyboards)? I would only use it for light tasks (quick internet browsing, light email or light reading). And while it would be nice to have, it’s definitely not justified by the price (at least for me).
The U1 Hybrid gets rid of both my gripes with mobile devices. It’s slate table is light weight, good for small tasks. And the notebook part has a full keyboard that you can do actual work on.
I’m excited. It feels like companies are finally paying attention to usability now (like Apple has for a while now) and not getting stuck in the same old boring mold. Computers are great but I’ve been stuck with the same old functional devices for long enough. Bring on the usability.
Posted in Posts.
Tagged with technology, usability.
By Brian
– February 16, 2010
