Essays

Metaphorical Thinking – the Web Metaphors

by

Reading Time: 5 minutes Metaphorical Thinking – Introduction Metaphorical Thinking – the Guest Metaphor Metaphorical Thinking – the Cloud Metaphors Metaphorical Thinking – the Web Metaphors If you asked people in 1989 what they needed to make their life better, it was unlikely that they would have said a decentralized network of information nodes that are linked using hypertext. Farmer & Farmer   The Internet is derived from the words “interconnection of networks”, thus a global network of networks. The Web or the World Wide Web is information accessed …

Read more

Metaphorical Thinking – Introduction

by

Reading Time: 7 minutes Metaphorical Thinking – Introduction Metaphorical Thinking – the Cloud Metaphors Metaphorical Thinking – the Guest Metaphor Metaphorical Thinking – the Web Metaphors The Greek word of μεταπερειν translates in English as metapherein, the root word for metaphor. Metapherein is composed of meta (over, across, higher, beyond) and pherein (to bear or carry). A metaphor carries meaning from one word, expression, or image to another, connecting the two concepts. Hence, the word metaphor is itself a metaphor.  The metaphorical language consists of metaphors, similes, analogies, …

Read more

Metaphorical Thinking – The Guest Metaphor

by

Reading Time: 3 minutes Metaphorical Thinking – Introduction Metaphorical Thinking – the Cloud Metaphors Metaphorical Thinking – the Guest Metaphor Metaphorical Thinking – the Web Metaphors There are two instances that the metaphor of guest can explain or enhance: treat our children as guests in our life, and how our body is a guesthouse for our emotions. The first meaning is an idea coined by Haim Ginott, a mentor to John Gottman (Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child), Adele Faber (How to Talk so Kids will Listen…) or Laura …

Read more

Shoshin, the Zen Concept that Applies to Companies, Science and Personal Development

by

Reading Time: 7 minutes “In the beginner’s mind, there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s, there are few.”  Zen master Shunryo Suzuki  In Zen Buddhism, “shoshin” translates as the “beginner’s mind”, where “sho” means beginning or origin, and “shin” means spirit, soul, or attitude.  A beginner’s mind is different from being a beginner. Shoshin is about having the attitude and mindset of a novice who learns a new practice for the first time, especially after reaching expert levels in our fields.    In the beginner’s mind, there is a lack of preconceptions, a willingness to learn, to ask and try, …

Read more

Celebrating The International Women’s Day – “Let me remind all women that we live longer and better lives when we have sisters we love, not necessarily born in our bloodline or of our race.” – Maya Angelou

by

Reading Time: < 1 minute The International Women’s Day, celebrated on 8 March, started as a strategy to promote equal rights, including suffrage for women. It seems appropriate that in this day when we celebrate womanhood to remember the eternal words of the ever-inspiring Maya Angelou. While researching the history of this date, I discovered that the Appenzell Innerrhoden (Swiss canton) was forced to accept women’s suffrage by the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland in 1991 (yes, 1991).  I also want to share one of the most inspiring videos I have ever watched, the Australian prime minister Julia Gillard attacking the opposition leader, Tony Abbott, calling him a misogynist and …

Read more

The Ethical Dilemma of Modern Content Creation and User Privacy

by

Reading Time: 3 minutes Currently, browsing the web without using an ad-blocker or better browsers looks like shopping in the middle of a pandemic without a mask. Viruses are everywhere, and they take advantage of their future hosts. Third-party tracking, collecting, sharing, or selling users’ personal information, paywalls, popups, clickbait titles, and scams all produce a broken web experience.  How many times did I not want to read an article only to feel trapped like the Romans in the Caudine Forks?   Mortal, disable your adblocker if you want to read this post. Then accept my …

Read more

Types of People in a Company: Liquid, Rocks, and Islands

by

Reading Time: < 1 minute As I said goodbye to my last job, I started to think about all the people I met there. While creating this mental list, I began to see a pattern. There were faces with no names, names that made me smile, and names that made me feel grateful. First, there are liquid people who fill a void, but when the door is opened, their names are gone from one’s mind. You might see them again on the streets, wave at them, but still, you …

Read more