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Fri, 09/12/2008

Nicholas DiFonzo, editor of The Watercooler Effect - our blogger the week of 9/15:

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Nicholas DiFonzo is our guest blogger during the week of September 15th. If you have any questions for Nicholas DiFonzo, add a comment to any of his posts. Here is some more information about The Watercooler Effect: A Psychologist Explores the Extraordinary Power of Rumors:

A deeply revealing look at why we spread rumors, why we believe them, and how they affect our behavior.

During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, rumors were flying about stranded residents shooting rescue workers. In New York City, the Brooklyn Bottling Group’s business was devastated by false rumors that its soda contained sterilizers.

Psychologist Nicholas DiFonzo has studied hearsay for more than fifteen years, and in this book he shows that the process that gave rise to these troubling rumors is fundamentally the same as a tete-a-tete around the company watercooler.

Why are rumors a ubiquitous aspect of the human experience— whether they’re about plots to wipe out the urban poor through sterilizers or a company’s plan to downsize? Armed with entertaining examples from all spheres of life, DiFonzo asserts that rumors are a window into both individual and group psychology.

DiFonzo ultimately argues that rumors stem from our deeply rooted motivation to make sense of the world. As social beings, when confronted with an ambiguous or threatening situation, our response is to talk to one another—whether at the dinner table, on the Web, or around the watercooler.

Posted by Penguin Group USA on Fri, 09/12/2008 - 3:25pm. in
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Fri, 09/12/2008

The 9/11 Toga Party by John Reed:

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Ok, I resisted writing about September 11th yesterday. But now, it's September 12th. The not so dreaded 9/12. The first thing I want to say about 9/11: Happy Birthday Uncle Norman. My pathetic, crazy uncle died a few years before 9/11. He was only 28—beset by misfortune and abuse his whole life—but at least the poor bastard died before his Holiday was the new D-Day.

So, I've been mulling this idea over with friends of mine—by email and live. And, after their consultations, I'd like to present a new plan for 9/11 in NYC.

Next 9/11, 364 days from now, precisely one year from yesterday …

Toga Party. Citywide.

I extend the invitation to New York, and the world.

Please, forward this invite to anyone you think might make a good guest, and have them show up, where shall we say? Downtown.

It is fitting that so many people have contributed to the dreaming up of the 9/11 Toga Party—and of course especially fitting that they are all New Yorkers. I imagine the festivities will meet, in some circles, an appalled reception—but we are New York. More charming than Romans, and lean enough (unlike those in the middle of the country), and pale enough (unlike them Californians), to wrap ourselves in Togas and look just fine (or, no worse) and make a night of it.

Perhaps not as larky as a Midsummer Night's Dream, but more along the lines of the tragi-comical Winter's Tale, or Cymbeline—it will be an evening of toothy smiles in the darkness, and ice-cubes melted in viscous Gimlets. We will howl at the moon, and kiss in dark elevators, and throw strawberries from rooftops. Togas will drag in gutters, and everyone will be wet with sweat and the sticky juice that oozes from the night.

Posted by Penguin Group USA on Fri, 09/12/2008 - 11:57am. in
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