1. Workplace Ethics: The High Cost of Compromise

Kirk O. Hansen recently made some interesting observations about the ethical challenges that will face new college graduates. Facing the current, difficult economy, Hansen claims, will "make ethical decisions even tougher."

Because it has been difficult this year to land any job, new graduates will be less likely to resist, less likely to put their new position at risk in order to do the right thing. And that threatens to undermine the ethical character of this year's graduates at the outset of their careers.

John Constable, Detail from Seascape Study with Rain Cloud (c.1824)

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Beware of corporate consulting firms offering awards for corporate ethics - Slate

Sometime in the next week or so, something called the Ethisphere Institute is scheduled to announce this year's list of the "World's Most Ethical Companies." If past years are any indication, the winners will have their press releases ready to go, and news outlets across the country will eat it up. There's just one hitch: These ethics awards—let's call them the Ethies—may have ethics issues of their own.

Read all about it here.

Vermeer, A Girl Asleep

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Matt Webb's presentation at this year's Reboot conference is one of the better things I've read on a design website in a long while. It's about the power of your time and the importance of choosing what to spend it on. It's about design. I'm going to just quote it at length below and recommend again that you go read it.

Members of House Committee on Science and Astronautics Visited MSFC

This is Congressman Fulton, in 1959, and so this is two years before even Kennedy makes his speech -- his speech in 1961 -- that sets the goal of putting a man on the moon eight years later. Okay, 1959, and there's a committee in congress investigating food in space and they're interviewing a witness from the Department of Agriculture.

And Fulton is getting frustrated with their lack of vision and imagination. And he's a politician remember, not a designer, but he comes out with this just incredible statement, this incredible macroscope actually, and, well, let me read it to you.

"Possibly in space the approach to vegetables might be different." This is Fulton speaking by the way, asking a question. "Did that ever strike you--because we are thinking of three-dimensional vegetables, maybe in space, where you have a lot of sunlight, you might get a two-dimensional tomato."

Get this, listen to what he says...

"It might be one million miles long and as thin as a sheet of paper, aimed towards the sun -- a tomato."

And apparently there's just total silence. Everyone is totally stunned. And the witness just says, "It is an interesting thought," and they all move on.

1. Menus that Make You Spend More

Recently, I found a couple of interesting articles on the science of influencing customers' choices through graphic design. Experts in this area claim that a menu redesign can increase a restaurant's profits substantially.

The way prices are listed is very important. "This is the No. 1 thing that most restaurants get wrong"... "If all the prices are aligned on the right, then I can look down the list and order the cheapest thing." It's better to have the digits and dollar signs discreetly tagged on at the end of each food description. That way, the customer's appetite for honey-glazed pork will be whetted before he sees its cost.

--Time Magazine: The Menu Magician

2. 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive

Alex Moskalyuk reprises all 50 chapters of the book Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive, many of which have marketing implications.

For instance:

Asking for little goes a long way. Researchers went door-to-door asking for American Cancer Society donations. Group A just asked for a donation, group B ended their spiel with “even a penny would help”. Results? 28.6% response rate for Group A vs. 50% response for Group B.

3. Why You've Gotta Catch'em All

Why are people so addicted to games like Pokemon, Mafia Wars, and World of Warcraft? Gamasutra considers the appeal of item collecting and achievement hoarding.

4. The Psychology of Being Scammed

What makes people fall for scams? Mind Hacks blog discussed a recent report which lists some obvious factors: perception of scarcity, appeals to trust and authority, inducing behavioral committment, etc.-- tactics one often sees in marketing.

Even more interesting are the findings that are counter-intuitive:

1. many people who are scammed know a great deal about the subject of the scam (say, financial investing)
2. they tend to put more cognitive effort into investigating the scam than non-victims.

So, it's not just the ignorant or the careless who can be manipulated!

Each year, a collection of some of the worlds greatest scientists and thinkers attempt to answer an open-ended question posed by the foundation. For example: "What is your most dangerous idea?", "What are you optimistic about", and "What do you believe is true even though you cannot prove it?". The answers are collected and edited into books, but you can read through them all on the website.

This year's question is "What will change everything?". (Hint: If you were thinking "economic collapse", you'll be disappointed)

The responses are almost always thought-provoking and/or challenging. Reading through the answers, I find myself constantly learning about something new or relearning something I thought I knew due to the latest advances in our understanding. It's an ultra-concentrated intellectual experience. Highly recommended.

Happy New Year!

Vista has problems. Paul doesn’t like it; Apple grabs market share while making fun of it. So what does Microsoft do? Fight back with science!

Microsoft recently conducted its own study where they showed users a new Windows operating system called “Mojave”. Subjects reported that they liked the new OS better than their current one (presumably XP). The catch is that it wasn’t a new operating system, it was Vista.

It reminds me of when the tobacco industry published its own research back in the 50’s. Suspicious? You bet.

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