Author: matthewstaebell

Testing for Something More

Dan Pink encouraged us to take a series of tests to calculate our empathy levels, ability to spot genuine smiles and judge eye expressions.

For the Empathy Quotient test:

http://tinyurl.com

My Empathy Quotient was 36 which is above average for males.  Meaning I am more of a left brained thinker and have an overall “male brain.”

For the Spot the Fake Smile test:

http://tinyurl.com/2u7sh

My score for the spot the fake smile was 18.  This test was by far the highest scoring for me.  This came to a surprise to me because while I was taking it I was lacking confidence in my answers.  I thought this test was going to be the hardest.

For the Mind in the Eyes test:

http://tinyurl.com/ckrj3

I fell at a nice average number of 26 for this test.  I found this test to be the most boring because the eyes were starting to look alike after the first few questions.

Overall I was happy with my results.  I think I underestimated my ability at spotting fake smiles, maybe this talent will come in handy later in life.  Reading facial expressions in the eyes is something I will have to practice.  If what Dan Pink says about empathy in this chapter is true, then I will have to work on becoming more “female brain.”

What about you?

What were your scores on these tests?

Post your scores and see how you compare!


My 20

The 20-10 test is a question used to identify what is important to you in your life.  The test proposes a question of what would you do with $20 million dollars or what would you do if you only had 10 years left to live.  The whole idea is to discover if you are currently living your life the way you want to live it.

When faced with the possibility of unlimited money we are relieved by our limitations in our life.  We could do whatever we wanted to do.  We would have no excuse not to be outgoing and adventurous. If we are asked with the question of what would we do with ten years left to live we are restricted by a time limit on our life.  We can no longer put off our dreams.   We are forced to take immediate action.

We then examine our answer and compare it to how we are living our life currently.  This will be an indicator to whether we are happy and have purpose.

If I had $20 million dollars I would first graduate from college because I highly value a good education and a good work ethic.  I would then travel the world and visit all the must see wonders of the world.  When I would return from my excessive traveling I would want to do something meaningful with my money.  I would make a donation to charity.  Maybe I would donate to help cure cancer.  I wouldn’t want to waste all my money on myself (assuming that I even could).  I would want to stay busy in my life.  I couldn’t just sit around in some big mansion enjoying all my excessive materialistic items.

I like to think that I am currently happy with my life because I am getting an education.  I am studying about things I want to learn about.  I am having fun with friends and meeting new people.  And later in my life I will try to make a difference.  I want to give back to society.

 

What about you?

Answer the 20-10 question for yourself.

 

What is your purpose in life?


Epic Mini-Saga

Little Jimmy had been anxiously waiting for his first allowance payment.  He had been helping out around the house so he could have enough money to buy some ice cream at the end of the week.  His determination for ice cream had fueled his work ethic throughout the week and eventually started to wear Jimmy out.  Jimmy was disappointed the coming weekend when he realized that he had overslept and missed the ice cream truck.
“There’s always tomorrow,” he said.

This mini-saga challenge was very difficult for me.  At first I thought that this would be easy because all I would have to do is think of a story.  Then I looked more closely at the examples given in the book and realized the stories consisted of endings with humorous twists.  I could not think of a story with a happy funny twist.  I have a new respect for people who think of clever short stories.


Scoping Out My Future

Being a computer science major, I am concerned about the job options I will have when I graduate.  So for my homework assignment, I looked up some arguments in favor of computer scientists just to get both sides of the story.  I also looked at skills that companies find attractive in potential employee.

The unsettling fear in every programmer is that computer science jobs are being outsourced to India and it will make getting a computer science job difficult.  As it turns out, there is a difference between India taking our jobs and jobs moving to India.  Just because computer science positions are growing in India doesn’t mean that the demand for computer scientists here has disappeared.  The demand for computer programmers is “growing at a much faster rate than average” according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Not to mention that the jobs that are being outsourced can’t meet the needs for the higher level programming U.S. requires.  As long as the reliance on technology in this country continues to grow at this rate there will always be a demand for programmers.

Computer companies are starting to look for computer scientists with creativity, problem solving and the ability to work in a group.  Companies apparently like employees that are talented in multiple areas besides their programming skills.  They want creative programmers because it is a unique and uncommon skill in a computer scientist.  Same goes for the ability to work in a group.  Most programmers are used to working by themselves and companies want employees that are able to communicate with others.  These are the skills that will make the difference between an average programmer and an exceptional programmer.

Image source:
http://www.fisk.edu/Libraries/Secondary_Large_Images/images-computerscience-main1.sflb.ashx

http://baymaterials.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/chip.jpg


My Role Models

I am a computer science major.  I am inspired by creativity, entrepreneurship and ingenuity. Therefore, it is only natural for me to be influenced by Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

Larry Page and Sergey Brin are both inspirations to me because of the company that they created, Google.  They met for the first time at their college orientation. After some collaboration on their individual projects at the time, they realized that they could work together and form a large scale search engine.  They are influences to me because they exemplify the importance of communicating with others to form ideas.  I believe that their company sets the standard for what other companies should be, creative.  Google is constantly changing to stay ahead of it’s competition.  They are a free and innovative company that captures the imagination of it’s users.  I admire Google because of their constant willingness to be creative.

Mark Zuckerberg, founder of FaceBook, was a programmer beyond his time.  His dream was for people to be connected to others and share what is important in their lives.  Zuckerberg had established himself as a brilliant programmer before he went to Harvard.  As a child, he would be making video games while his friends would be playing video games.  His passion for programming could be seen by many for he was considered a prodigy.  He at one point made a sort of instant messaging system for his father’s company before AOL released theirs. Mark developed a media player that supposedly learned the user’s listening habits.  Even at an early age he is imagining ways to connect people through technology and was already doing something about it. At Harvard, students complained to the school about not having a campus directory with pictures and contact information.  Zuckerberg saw the potential for a universal social network and created Facebok.  When he saw opportunity, he took advantage of it.  Zuckerberg’s combination of brilliance and ingenuity are what inspires me to be like him.

Steve Jobs is possibly the greatest entrepreneur of our time. His creative and innovative Apple products changed the way we used technology.  Jobs’s passion has always been creativity with computers.  When Apple first started, he saw a great opportunity in creating a computer that focuses on user-friendly graphical user interface.  This focus on making computers more user-friendly eventually lead to the creation of the original Macintosh.  Steve then turned his attention to using computers to animate three-dimensional movies resulting in the creation of Toy Story.  He believed that computer animation in movies would change the movie industry, and it did.  Steve then returned to Apple to revolutionize the music industry with the iPod and soon the phone industry.  Steve never stuck with one market.  He pursued markets wherever he saw the possibility of improvement.  It is these traits that make him one of the greatest entrepreneurs of our time.  His brilliant ingenuity and cooperation with the public’s demands are qualities that I will strive to achieve all of my life.

Image sources:

http://cache.thisorth.at/00000/00298/007.460×325.jpg

http://www.currentnewsarticle.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Mark-Zuckerberg.jpg

http://www.maggiesnotebook.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Steve_Jobs_44.jpg


My Goal

When I leave Tech I want to be a unique individual that can compete with the rest of the world not only by being a good programmer but also by being someone who can be innovative.  I plan to graduate as a computer science major and I want to be someone that can be creative and improve the world in some way.  I don’t want to be just another programmer that is willingly to work long hours doing basic programs.  I want to create something or do something that is different from what the rest of the world is doing.  I want to be able to express myself in the work that I do.  I want to be different from the other computer science graduates.

No matter what my major turns out to be, I want to be someone that is independent and well rounded.  I wasn’t the most outgoing person in High School and I want to make up for that by trying as many different clubs as I can.  I plan to squeeze the most of my college experience by being outgoing and spontaneous.  This will not only ensure a diverse resume for after college but also ensure a fun and fulfilling experience at Tech.

I want to graduate knowing I did the best I could and with no regrets.  I want to be able to go out into the work force with something unique to offer the world.  I want my past experiences to reflect who I am and why I do what I do.  I want to leave Tech and find a job that challenges me and inspires me to work harder.

Image source:
http://www.onecoast.com/shared/images/products/mid/118285.jpg


Eat Mor Chikin


Simon Sinek claims that great leaders inspire action not by what they do buy why they do it.  If a leader can get people to believe in their purpose then they won’t have to have the best product on the market.  People will passionately follow them because they want to be a part of that purpose.  Sinek used Apple and the Wright brothers as examples but I am here to point out another example that we all know and love, Chick-fil-a.

If you haven’t seen Simon Sinek’s speech…
http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action.html

Chick-fil-a is one of the largest fast-food restaurants in the southeast.  Even though their product is amazing, I believe that there is a hidden meaning to why so many eat at Chick-fil-a every day.

Everyone is familiar with Chick-fil-a’s slogan “Eat Mor Chikin”.  The purpose behind the slogan is to change the public’s preference from meat burgers to chicken sandwiches in order to decrease the amount of beef that is consumed in America. Anyone who has seen a Chick-fil-a advertisement has felt pity for the poor partially illiterate cows and suddenly has a taste for a chicken sandwich.  Truett Cathy (founder of Chick-fil-a) created a slogan that makes his customers believe that by eating Chick-fil-a, they are saving cows.

Chick-fil-a gains the support of their customers not only by their slogan but by their actions as well.  Chick-fil-a is a company that focuses on giving back to the community either by scholarships to high school students or charities.  It is because of this care for the local community that customers feel a mutual care for the company.  By eating at Chick-fil-a, people feel as if they are doing a community service because they know that the money is going to be put to a good cause that they support.


Chick-fil-a focuses on kids and families.

The final aspect of Chick-fil-a that I believe is really the “hook, line and sinker” is the religious values that Chick-fil-a upholds.  Anyone who has ever heard of Chick-fil-a is familiar with their Sunday closing policy.  Truett Cathy believes that Sunday should be a day of rest and to honor God.  It is this type of commitment to his religion that really makes Chick-fil-a stand out from among the rest.  It is why this company has flourished here in the south.  People see a company that shares the same values as they have and they want to support it.  They want to help the company in any way possible so that it can prosper and expand.  It is a prime example of what Simon Sinek was trying to explain, people follow leaders not because of what they do but why they do it.

Well, I hope you agree with the idea that Chick-fil-a is a great example of a company that Simon Sinek was describing. If you think otherwise, leave a comment and explain.  Post other companies or leaders that Simon Sinek could have used as examples.

All this typing has made me realize that it is time for my daily fix of Chick-fil-a.

Thanks for reading,

Matthew

Image sources:

http://www.budgetsavvydiva.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/chickfila.png

http://s4.hubimg.com/u/861147_f520.jpg

http://www.thecross-photo.com/images/11820-Memorial-Pkwy.jpg


That’s weird…

I received some strange looks asking people if they would draw on a piece of paper for a few minutes.  I guess being viewed as weird is the price to pay for creativity.  Anyways, lets look at what each individual was asked to do…

If you are unfamiliar with our project, it is basically a music video that is a compilation of people drawing a single lyric from the song.  When the video is played and the lyric is sung, the drawing will be shown.

Every conversation started out with the awkward greeting and explanation about our music video.  Some people tried to back out by using the excuse that they had no artistic ability.  That was unimportant to us because we were looking for our drawings to have a personal unique aspect to each of them, not to have the best drawings.

Once the volunteer agreed, they were given a chance to listen to the song as well as a random line from the song. They would then be asked to express how they feel about either the song or the line onto that piece of paper in some creative manner.

We would then return to film them for five seconds each with them holding the piece of paper up.  That way they could technically be in the video but still be anonymous.

For the music section of the video we went around with a piece of paper with only a question mark on it.  Strangers would then be asked to listen to the song and draw whatever they wanted on the paper.  A picture of the question mark was taken before and after each person drew on it. Then in the video we showed the question mark paper gradually progressing.

As weird as these requests were, every time people finished their drawings there was a slight smirk going across their face.  Maybe we need to act weird every once in a while in order to be happy? Or maybe acting weird is like a single lyric on a piece of paper in a way that it is used to inspire works of art?


Range of Participation

 For those of you who didn’t pay attention last Friday, we plan to give random people a lyric to our song and allow them to draw however they feel about the song or the lyric on the paper.  Then we will compile the pictures into a video that shows the drawings when the lyrics are sung. 

Personally, I thought we were going to have trouble finding people who would want to participate in this.  I thought it was going to be like finding a needle in a haystack looking for someone who was willing to draw here on campus.

It turns out that everyone that I asked to participate was willing to take five minutes to doodle something on the paper.  They were very confused though when I was explaining what I wanted them to do.  It was very awkward walking up to random people with colored markers and asking them to draw.

The thing that differed between participants was the amount of effort put in to their work.  I received minimum effort from some and others actually got into it.  There were people that surprisingly took the time and put effort into their drawings.  A couple people told me that they had no artistic ability but when they finished their drawings, I was shocked to see pictures that were very well drawn. The pictures still had basic stick figure drawings but it showed creativity and uniqueness. 

 

An example of a bad drawing.  This will not be in the final project.

One of the better drawings we recieved. 

 

One of the drawings done by someone who claimed that he possessed no artistic talent.

It is comforting to know that there are some students here that have artistic ability, even though they might not know it.


The Best Joke Ever? …Dam

“What did the fish say when he hit the wall?”

—–”DAM!”

This joke is funny to me for a variety of reasons.

First, the punchline is completely unexpected because it has no relation to the fish at all.  When I first heard this joke I tried to put myself in the position of the fish and tried to think of witty fish related things I would yell if I was a fish.  When in fact, the only relation this joke has with the fish is the fact that it takes place in water.  This unexpected turn in the joke is one of the reasons why I think most people find it funny.

The next aspect of the joke I would like to point out is the punchline, dam.  The reason why this punchline is funny is because the word can be taken to either explain what the fish hit or what he felt like saying when he hit the wall.  It is this perfect harmony of dual meanings in the word that plays an important aspect in the funniness of the joke.    Not to mention the fact that because of this punchline a greater audience can find it humorous.  Adults find it funny because of the cleverness in the wording while kids can find it funny because it says “dam”, a word they might consider bad.  The more people that find this joke funny, the faster it spreads and the longer it is retained in the minds of the listeners.

The final aspect that makes this joke funny is the simplicity of it.  It is a quick and easy joke to tell.  It is clean enough to be told everywhere and it is easy to remember.  After it is told to someone, they think about it and slap their foreheads because they realize that the only wall that a fish could ever hit would be a dam.  They are embarrassed because they could not answer your question of what the fish said when he hit the wall.   When the realization comes to them about how simple it was the only way they “accept defeat” is by laughing about it.

These are the reasons why I think this joke can get a smile out of almost anyone and could be the best joke ever.  What do you think? Do you think there is a better joke? Post it! Explain why you think that joke is better!