Recent research shows that sleep really does help you solve complex, creative problems. If true, then it gives a strong argument for multitasking. Define project #1 and give yourself a framework. Shift to other projects for the rest of the day. Sleep on problem #1 with good REM sleep Return to problem #1. The amount [...]

t’s been a tough economy, and recently the unemployment level topped six percent. We typically think about unemployment in its short-term consequences, but there are also long-term impacts on individuals and their connection to the community. There’s new long-term research that shows a layoff early in your career makes you more less likely to become [...]

Here’s an interesting question. Let’s say you use an instant messanger at least once-a-month. How far are you removed from any other person who sent an IM across the network that month? Leskovec and Horvitz, two researchers at Microsoft, conducted a planetary-wide study of MSN Messenger traffic for a single month (over 180 million users). [...]

Are social networks like a fishery digital data, or muscles? It’s a complex question that vexes many people who examine about social networks and social capital. In order to even frame the question, we need to explore economic theory. Let’s start with the fishery model. No one owns the sea or the fish within it. [...]