Rodger Morrison (Troy): Empathy from Avatars: Propositions for Improving Trust Development in Pseudo-Social Relationships with Avatars. From Fast Capitalism, a special issue on the narrative, visual and auditory power of biography. Two new studies — one sociological, another using brain scans — document and help explain our lack of empathy for perceived outsiders. Mind Hacks on an aesthetics of urban legends. An interview with Judge Andrew P. Napolitano, author of Lies the Government Told You: Myth, Power, and Deception in American History. Unintended acceleration: Toyota's real problem is that it has become an American car company, learning from our home-grown automakers how to work the system in Washington (and a look at GM’s exploding pickup problem). Don't Cry for CNN: Thirty years ago, CNN, now in decline, was as revolutionary as Google; it had a pretty good run (and more). The worst movies ever made: Birdemic, The Room, and what makes a horrible film great. How Barbie Got Her Geek On: Computer engineers hijack vote on career for doll; little girls wanted anchorwoman. More and more and more and more on Contested Will Who Wrote Shakespeare? by James Shapiro. A team has developed a computer algorithm to recognize beauty. The Other Moon Landings: The Soviets lost the moon race but won a dram of glory with the first robotic craft to roam another world. Will the Supreme Court overturn health care reform? Fair play: It is not so much that cheats don’t prosper, but that prosperity does not cheat. An interview with George Prochnik, author of In Pursuit of Silence: Listening for Meaning in a World of Noise. Paper Cuts: Why phone books are on the chopping block for greens, pols and pissed-off citizens.
