Your weekly installment of things we’ve been reading (and watching) around the web.
Video of the Week
“Nice Guys Finish First,” Asap Science. Nice guys finish last, or so the saying goes. And while it’s true that acting selfish and nasty can get you ahead now and then, Asap Science shows that this doesn’t hold true as a general principle. They use the classic “prisoner’s dilemma” (a philosopher favorite) to show that honesty, forgiveness, and generosity aren’t just good for others—they’re good for us as well. (Disclaimer: the content is based on Richard Dawkins, who has a wildly different understanding of why this is the case. But the evidence is intriguing regardless.)
Articles of the Week
Four Ways to Become a Terrible Pastor, Andy Flowers. “No one sets out to be a horrible pastor, it just sort of happens. My guess is you aren’t reading this article to learn how to be more horrible as a pastor, but to make sure that you aren’t on the list. Sometimes horrible pastors are bad from the very beginning, but often they don’t start out that way. Their slide into horribleness is a gradual process. Being a horrible pastor is easy; you just need to love the wrong things.”
Cracking the Christian Code, Stephen Altrogge. It has, of late, become a bit too easy to pick on Christians for particular Jesus-speak jargon. (Case in point.) At the risk of piling on, we share Altrogge’s article as a guide. Use this guide in one of two ways: (1) if you can’t hash out anything your Christian friends are saying, this will clue you in; or (2) if you’re a Christian, consider why you may use some of the overly catchy (but often confusing) phrases on this list.
I Didn’t Lie for Two Years: Here’s What I Learned, Dina Kaplan. “I didn’t realize how often I lied until I stopped lying completely. . . .Before this vow, I think it’s fair to say I was pretty honest. I don’t excessively embellish, I never lied to my investors (really), and I don’t generally lie about anything important to friends or loved ones. But under this new vow, I was shocked at how often I lied to people about little things, unimportant items that I easily could have been truthful about. It’s almost like I had a reflex to lie only about things I had no reason to lie about.”
Are You More Likely to Have an Affair? Elizabeth Bernstein, Wall Street Journal. A lot of people have affairs. Not many will admit it. That’s part of what makes several recent surveys about infidelity interesting: researchers from NYU, UCLA, Purdue, and elsewhere have collected reliable and abundant information from online dating sites that are marketed specifically for married people. (Yes, gross.) Some of their findings are rather unsurprising: men cheat more than women; those lacking self-discipline cheat more than with self-discipline; satisfied spouses cheat less often. But others were more surprising: 29 is a more dangerous age than 28 or 30; job promotions can be a risk factor; and the 35-50 age range is generally pretty safe.
On The Lighter Side
An Ode to SkyMall as It Files for Bankruptcy, Emily Dreyfuss, Wired.com. Smartphones have claimed another victim. Because airlines are beginning to relax some of their tech restrictions, smartphone use on flights has sounded the death knell for the quirkiest of publications, SkyMall. No longer will you be able to use your tarmac time to browse for a Bigfoot garden statue, talking dog collars, or toilet paper holder/iPad stand hybrids (all real SkyMall items). If you fly in the near future, enjoy this small luxury before it fades away.
Wisdom For Your Weekend is presented to you by Chris Pappalardo, with occasional guidance from J.D. Greear. This is our attempt to reflect Proverbs 9:9, “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.”
