Core77’s editors spend time combing through the news so you don’t have to. Here’s a weekly roundup of our favorite stories from the World Wide Web.
Entertainment’s Busiest Creators
These quotes, and more from these articles, apply to designers as much as writers and artists: “There’s a class of prolific writers who are neither nuts nor mercenaries (as all hacks are). They are the ones apt to say things like ‘I’m not even faintly myself when I’m not writing,’ as Saul Bellow confided in a letter to Stanley Elkin. Writers who follow their own star may be guilty of many sins and imperfections related to overproduction, but ultimately that output is a sign of health. 'Sloth in writers is always a symptom of an acute inner conflict,’ Cyril Connolly wrote, 'especially that laziness which renders them incapable of doing the thing which they are most looking forward to.’”
—Eric Ludlum, editorial director
Stop Giving Digital Assistants Female Voices
Why are all of our digital assistants preset to female—and does this actually matter? Despite women overtaking a variety of fields and outnumbering men on college campuses, major tech companies reinforce the 'cultural norm’ of women fulfilling support roles rather than positions of leadership through design choices. But how much does Siri, Viv, Alexa, and Cortana’s gender actually effect us—the real live humans? More than you might think.
—Molly Millette, editorial intern
Real Life
This week, the announcement of Real Life—an independent editorial initiative from Snapchat—caught my attention. Its focus is a topical one: living with technology. “The emphasis is more on living. We publish one essay, advice column, reported feature, or uncategorizable piece of writing a day, four or five days a week.” Excited to see where this goes.
—Carly Ayres, columnist, In the Details
A Decade of Design
Before closing their doors yesterday to prepare for a move to a new building, London’s Design Museum director Deyan Sudjic gave Dezeen a rundown of his favorite exhibitions from the past ten years. Established to highlight industrial design, the museum has presented shows that range from Formula One race cars to the wacky world of Paul Smith. Above Sudjic gives a tour of Less and More—The Design Ethos of Dieter Rams, one of his exhibition picks from 2009.
—Rebecca Veit, columnist, Designing Women
What Led to All of Us Eating Lunch at Our Desks
A really fascinating dive into the industrial origins of the lunch hour and how its structure has evolved over the years while it’s objective of productivity has remained the same (cue questions about the strange popularity of Soylent). Ultimately it turns out that analyzing our modern day adaptation of the lunch hour proves to reveal much more about our quest for ultimate efficiency in work and life. Tons of interesting facts packed in here too, like did you know that the idea of the power lunch was invented in the 1970s by the Four Seasons in New York?
—Allison Fonder, community manager
http://www.core77.com/posts/54368/The-Methods-and-Madness-of-Super-Prolific-Creatives-and-How-Did-We-All-Wind-Up-Eating-Lunch-At-Our-Desks