empathy

Eureka! Engineers aren't empathetic because they can't be

To those of us who are human, a lack of empathy from others can be quite startling.

A lover says to us: "Oh, your mother's death made you sad? Why didn't you say?" We look at them and think: "You should never have studied engineering. Or math. Or business."

Now presumably uncaring scientists have delved into the roots of this issue and emerged, tousle-haired, with a fascinating conclusion: Empathy represses analytic thought.

This explains so much -- especially Google.

As Science Daily feels it out, research led by an unfeeling brain at Case Western … Read more

MIT body suit helps you feel old

Body suit simulators are nothing new. Earlier this year the Kanagawa Institute of Technology in Japan unveiled Mommy Tummy 8.0, designed to help the partners of expecting moms--as well as teenagers thinking about getting it on--to understand the physical ramifications of, well, getting it on.

Now students at MIT's AgeLab are taking this empathy concept to another level with AGNES, the Age Gain Now Empathy System, a suit designed to help wearers understand the physical ramifications of neglecting our bodies for decades on end. (AGNES is meant to emulate a 75-year-old with arthritis and diabetes.)

The suit incorporates shoes that compromise one's sense of balance and shorten one's gait; knee and elbow braces that limit joint mobility; earplugs that tune out soft or high-pitched sounds; a helmet that compresses the spine; and gloves that reduce not only strength and mobility in one's hands and wrists but also tactile sensation.… Read more

BlackBerry Empathy concept gets us emotional

Research In Motion is a serious company that makes serious smartphones. But a RIM-sponsored design competition aimed at creating phones that integrate human emotions with social networking has produced a concept device that looks nuttier than squirrel droppings: the Blackberry Empathy.

The Empathy is an angular phone that looks absolutely stunning--and a tad bonkers. Its front is home to an OLED touch screen that's transparent when not in use, and opaque at other times. It wouldn't be a proper BlackBerry without a physical keyboard, but the Empathy's is located on its back.

Is your brand vulnerable?

Social media strategist Shannon Paul, who works with the NHL Detroit Red Wings, said many good things on a SXSW panel this Sunday, but the one thing that stuck with me most was her assertion that brands need to become more “human” in order to connect with their audiences. She wasn’t referring to personifying a brand through a human face (be it an average employee or a charismatic leader), but rather to exhibiting ‘branded’ behavior that is truly human. What does that mean? What is the most human trait of all human traits? Shannon Paul posits it’s vulnerability.… Read more

Generation G: Wired to care, wired to share

Trendwatching gets it right (again): "Giving is the new taking, and sharing is the new giving." That's the key assertion in this month's trend briefing, which describes the characteristics of Generation G (for generosity) and offers eight ways for brands to join: from Tryvertising to Brand Butlers to Random Acts of Kindness (RAK).… Read more

The 404 123: Where DUCK! It's a defective thong!

Would you believe that the 404 gets a little serious on today's show? We push the buttons of the Texas Republican convention, pick apart militant veganism, complain about the PS3, and blow off Jeff's bout with Empathy Deficit Disorder. Don't worry though, it's not all serious--we also introduce a ridiculous new segment in the second half of the show. EPISODE 123 Download today's podcast