From Re-Public, a special issue on the social web, including an essay on the spatial production of friendship, and "YourSpace is mytime, or, what is the lurking dog going to do – leave a comment?" From TED, Howard Rheingold talks about the coming world of collaboration, participatory media and collective action. How do we form preferences when we do not fully understand complex issues? We fall back on heuristics, and the most powerful of these is to find leaders with whom we feel cultural kinship — and then follow whatever they recommend. Forty years ago, Marylin Bender's The Beautiful People exposed the lives of the emerging Jet Set in all their profligate, trivial — yet gripping — glory. The Nation magazine’s Alaska cruise is The Love Boat for Policy Wonks. From The Weekly Standard, a review of books on the German way of war. From New York, a cover story on why kids lie. Taking Play Seriously: What can science tell us about why kids run and jump? The Smart Set is in praise of makeup (with a nod to Baudelaire). More on Counterknowledge. American? Maybe, but not "United States-ian": Some scholars believe North America is forging a unique culture; they call it "l'americanite". In oil-rich Mideast, shades of the Ivy League (and more). Global U: Andrew Ross questions the motives and assumptions behind the push by American universities to open campuses abroad.
