Gary Ackerman @garyackerman@qoto.org

Don't be the person who uses colors to differentiate "allow" and "deny" email domains.

Add color commentators to meetings? Hmmm... this might actually not be a bad idea... someone to ask questions, summarize, etc. as the main presenter carries on.

“Theories act as straightjackets to channel observations toward their support and to forestall potentially refuting data....” -Stephen Jay Gould

What is interesting to me is how often we don’t see our theories and the limits they impose.

“Commerce will swallow museums if educators try to copy the norms of business for immediate financial reward.” -Stephen Jay Gould This seems to apply to schools as well.

Possible does not mean common.

What to be sure something won’t happen? Plan for it.

A single anecdote or case isn’t proof of anything other than nature is variable.

I used to work for a leader who allowed “5 minutes to complain” before expecting folks to get behind the initiative. I thought it was a great idea, until I realized they dismissed anything said during that time.

Yes, I am that person who carries the microphone for the crowd in meetings and purposely avoids that one person who always dominates the discussion.

If your agendas constantly have items you cannot get to, you need to either get a better filter, learn to manage dialogue, or learn to delegate those issues to subcommittees.

“Let our minds play with ideas; let our senses gather information; and let the rich interaction proceed as it must....” -Stephen Jay Gould

One of the reasons I find it so hard to use libraries is I have the habit of writing in my books.

“Echo chambers” exist in schools as they decide the best pedagogy.

"Wrong" and "the best explanation given what we knew" are not the same.

“Does it fit the story I like?” has become a proxy for “true.”

Yeah, not all of the answers are in “the data.”

“Bullshit artist” is a construct that is defined and studied by folks who are trained and use things like statistics to test hypotheses. I guess it shouldn’t be surprising, but still when it is first encountered, it causes one to sigh.

I still don’t understand prescription drug advertising. I can’t buy the stuff why is is marketed to me? Then I remember the beer and cigarettes ads my friends and I could recite as young teens.

Your service was terrible and it was way to expensive. I don't think you really want me to fill in your customer service survey.

"Scientists reach their conclusions for the damndest reasons: intuition, guesses, redirections after wild-goose chases, all combined with a dollop of rigorous observation and logical reasoning to be sure." - Stephen Jay Gould