Notion

A day doesn't go by that I do not hear the word "notion".

At my workplace, its use is rampant..,three times on this morning's team concall alone! (I would bet that at our last conference, it was used well over 50 times during the various lectures.) On NPR, every educated person uses it. At the conference I went to yesterday, it was used four times. I don't seem to recall it being used so much in the past, but like many things, you don't notice them, until you notice them. Enough of my co-workers know this (I've mentioned it to them on numerous occasions) that we have a smile/nod routine whenever we hear it.

The car you are driving, the first week or two that you drove it around, I'll bet you thought that there were hundreds of the same make/model on the road (actually there are, since there really aren't that many different kinds of cars). Something new to us always has a way of heightening our senses of it. "YOU are reading that book, too?"

Different businesses (accounting, consulting, software, etc.) probably all have their "words du jour". What things consistently (annoyingly?) stand out in your life?

[Update] One of our former interns found a phrase that irritates him.

Will you download your brain?

Last week, I finished reading Radical Evolution by Joel Garreau, a Washington Post reporter. It contains various scenarios (heaven, hell, prevail and transcend) that detail how we humans will evolve in the coming decades. I have to agree with most of the reviews that I've read: prevail seems the most likely. In heaven, while downloading your brain & living forever seem interesting, it's just to *sci-fi* to believe. Hell, with its doom and gloom doesn't seem likely either...I have too much confidence in mankind. Prevail, with its fits-and-starts idea of how we will muddle ever onward seems right in step with humans. We are sloppy and dumb at times, but we always seem to figure things out and move forward. Regardless of which way you think we'll go, this makes for a good read.

Now, I'm reading Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs. It contains a series of essays on popular culture. Its a quick read and it shouldn't be too long before I've moved on to my next book.