Web Detritus

Editor’s note: The following rules for civil conversation were written in 1692 by the influential English jurist Matthew Hale in a letter to his children. It’s amazing how well they hold up over three centuries later! (The text has been abridged and re-formatted from the original.) 1. Never speak anything for a truth which you know or believe to be false. Lying is a great offense against humanity itself; for where there is no regard to truth there can be no safe society between man and man. And it is an...

Smells can conjure up powerful memories. The smell of pine needles can take you back to childhood Christmases or the smell of a laundry detergent can remind you of home. For me, there are certain smells that I’ve come to associate with manliness. Whenever I smell them I think of my dad or grandpa or some aspect of my boyhood and my initiation into the rites of manhood. It was back in 2009 when we first came up with the idea for creating a list of manly smells. We asked you, our readers, for your input, ...

Some might say swimming, or public speaking. Maybe, your friend will tell you to master a cocktail shake. No. The first two would stall you with phobia attacks. The third, however impressive, isn’t a life skill at all. What I am looking for are meta-skills that are so easy to learn that you can do them in one week or even a day. Yes, learn them in a few hours but apply them every day to change your life in little ways. Every week we highlight some of the best paid courses on Udemy. These five Udemy cours...

Introductions are hard. You’ve probably been asked to introduce yourself at a meeting before — and been struck with a total lack of anything to say. Or been at a party and wanted to make a good first impression, but fell flat. These situations suck. And a poor introduction can zap your self-confidence for the rest of the interaction. Fortunately, a few tweaks can help you make great introductions. All you need to do is master a few simple tricks. And in this article, we’ll show you what those things are....

Spoiler: * Does this need to be said? * Does this need to be said by me? * Does this need to be said by me... now? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4Ne_xQijhg

Advice will come at you from all directions as you go through life. When you’re in doubt about who’s advice you should trust, look to the advice that has stood the test of time. Read more...