Eschatology Quiz Results

In our ABF we're wrapping up a pretty detailed study on Revelation. We're studying the four major views and their various interpretations. It's been very interesting. Our pastor found a link to an eschatology quiz. My results below are pretty amusing. It looks like I've got all the bases covered.

You scored as Amillenialist. Amillenialism believes that the 1000 year reign is not literal but figurative, and that Christ began to reign at his ascension. People take some prophetic scripture far too literally in your view. Amillenialist 70% Moltmannian Eschatology 55% Postmillenialist 50% Premillenialist 50% Dispensationalist 50% Preterist 45% Left Behind 25% What's your eschatology? created with QuizFarm.com

The Myth of "Keeping Up"

This post about information overload from Creating Passionate Users (via LifeHacker) is so true. It describes me well.

... it's time to let that go. You're not keeping up. I'm not keeping up. And neither is anyone else. At least not in everything. Sure, you'll find the guy who is absolutely cutting-edge up to date on some technology, software upgrade, language beta, whatever. But when you start feeling inferior about it, just think to yourself, "Yeah, but I bet he thinks Weezer is still a cool new band..."

I am addicted to information, and it is killing me. I throw out far more than I read. I subscribe to tons of stuff just because I don't want to miss anything. Throwing it away doesn't bother me nearly as much as it used to. It's often a relief. What hurts now is deciding what to keep when I attack "the pile."

Not counting the Bible, which is obvious, here's my must-keep list so far:

• The Week -- is simply the best, unbiased news magazine I've found. It is in digest form with one page on everything. I read it cover to cover each week. A couple weeks ago they ran a one page summary about the DaVinci Code controversy, and it told me everything I really need to know. Now I can avoid all of the DaVinci hype and clutter.
  
• Wired -- I skip about every other issue because of time constraints, but Wired is an excellent way to stay up on technology from many different perspectives. Some of the pieces are pretty far out there, but Wired still makes the grade.  (Al Gore is on the cover of the current issue. I almost vomited. Good one to skip.)
  
• The Wall Street Journal -- No explanation required. It's one of the few remaining purveyors of original content left in this country. It's expensive and worth every penny.
  
• Consumer Reports -- My dad buys me a gift subscription for Christmas every year. Yeah, I know it's put out by a bunch of activists, but it really is a useful guide. CR is too practical to pass up.
  
• The Akron Beacon Journal -- Sadly, the paper is a shell of it's former self, but it's my source for local news, sports, etc. Terry Pluto and Chip Bok are worth it.
  

The guys at Manager Tools recommend Fortune as the best of the major business magazines in terms of management-related content. I recently re-subscribed, and I'm going to see if it makes my must-read list too. My past  impression was that it seemed more focused on investing than anything else.

I should probably let the rest of my subscriptions go... <whimper>... baby steps, baby steps.

A few weeks ago I spent about an hour cleaning up the feeds in my Bloglines account. I subscribe to 180 feeds, but I only read about six regularly. I put these six in a folder called "Daily Reads," and I filed the rest in other folders. They are there if I need them, but now I don't have to stare at them anymore and worry about catching up. The nice thing about RSS is that it never stacks up in your living room!

Focus Groups

Malcolm Gladwell's new blog is great, not that I would expect anything less out of a superb writer of intriguing subject matter. In his book, Blink, he posited the futility of focus groups. I agree that focus groups are nearly worthless at determining the success or failure of a product. At best, they are a reality check -- they point out obvious problems that marketers may fail to notice. Gladwell's post this week links to his review of a new book that explains why this is the case.

The Multitasking Generation

I just finished reading the cover story from last week's issue of Time. It was all about the incredible amount of multitasking in which young people are so often engaged. The article went well beyond facts and fluff and actually delved into the science and psychology behind the issue. As one would suspect, multitasking is not effective, and there's plenty of evidence to back this up.

I found this statement particularly interesting:

Every generation of adults sees new technology--and the social changes it stirs--as a threat to the rightful order of things: Plato warned (correctly) that reading would be the downfall of oral tradition and memory. And every generation of teenagers embraces the freedoms and possibilities wrought by technology in ways that shock the elders: just think about what the automobile did for dating.

It's pretty hysterical that reading was controversial at one time for similar reasons that electronic media are chastised today.  

Save Your Money on that MBA

On March 21, Ad Age published the results of a study showing that MBA degrees don't make marketers more likely to work for successful companies. In fact, it's a negative factor. Having an MBA means you're more likely to work for an underperforming company.

Marketing executives from 18 underperforming companies -- which had sales grow 7% less than their categories on average in the two years ended August 2005 -- were twice as likely to have been recruited out of M.B.A. programs than marketing executives from out-performing companies, which averaged growth 6.2% faster than their categories over the two years. Of executives from underperforming companies, 90% had M.B.A.s vs. 55% at outperforming companies.

Not all master’s degrees appear worthless in the study. Just M.B.A.s. About 10% of the marketing executives at the out-performers had master’s degrees other than M.B.A.s vs. none at underperformers.

My brother has said for years that his MBA offered little new knowledge incremental to his undergraduate business degree. There were just more group projects and somewhat more mature class discussions.  

I still believe that MBA's are best for people with non-business degrees who need to learn how to manage a business. Likewise, those of us with business degrees are probably better off pursuing a masters in a field other than business. 

XM Radio

We're on vacation visiting my parents. My dad is a big XM radio fan, and it now features over 200 channels (up from 150 a year ago). Despite the variety, my dad has managed to find and choose the one that plays elevator music.

Average New Home

The Week reported that the average new home is now 2,412 square feet, 50% more than in 1973. That sure doesn't help utility costs.

A Different Kind of Celebrity Worship

There's a book review of The God Factor in today's Wall Street Journal (paid subscription required). The book, written by Cathleen Falsani, is a series of interviews with 32 celebrities about their beliefs in God (or "god").

Only 10 of the 32 celebrities attend church regularly. That's less than the approximately 50% of the general population that attends. This isn't particularly alarming. Nevertheless, celebrity "spirituality" is so widely publicized now that it's not a stretch to believe that celebrities have a disproportionate influence on the beliefs of Americans.

The last few paragraphs and Ms. Falsani's response are excellent:

Former Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan likewise has problems with crucifixes. "I think there is a reason they're not obsessed with the cross that much on the Eastern side of the planet," he says, "because they have more of a group consciousness. And when you have a solo consciousness, like a lot of Westerners do, it is really about being on the cross. You're the one putting yourself up there."

It's an observation that closely -- and, one would guess, unwittingly -- recalls a line in G.K. Chesterton's Christian classic "Orthodoxy": "Buddhism is centripetal, but Christianity is centrifugal: it breaks out." But Mr. Corgan elaborates with a thought that would have most likely made Chesterton choke on his cigar: "And I think the whole point is to try to figure out how to get off the [expletive] cross."

If that's Mr. Corgan's theology, it's not Christian in the sense of the Gospel according to Luke, where Jesus urged his followers to take up their cross daily, nor is it the Gospel according to Matthew: "He who endures to the end shall be saved." It is, however, the Gospel according to "Peanuts": "No problem is so big or so complicated that it can't be run away from."

Mr. Corgan clearly means well. Unlike many of the book's subjects, he readily admits that he is a seeker who has yet to find all the answers. But to a Christian (and I am one), downsizing the cross from the instrument of salvation to a symbol of aggravation reduces Jesus from the messiah who died for our sins to a nice guy who had a bad day. It was back in those days that the Roman celebrity Pontius Pilate famously asked, "What is truth?" To this day, many cultural icons don't have an answer -- and as "The God Factor" makes clear, few can even bring themselves to consider the question. 

I've long contended that today's problem is not that people don't know the answers; rather, it is that they so often fail to ask the questions -- or even know what questions ought to be asked. Thoughtful deliberation, prayer and debate lead to truth more often than ignorance does. Faith does not exist in a reasonless vacuum.

Good things to know about your friends

Doug emailed me this questionnaire. I decided it would be more fun to respond via blog.

1. What time did you get up this morning?

    6:15 am

2. Diamonds or pearls?

    Lisa's not a big jewelry person, but someday I will buy her diamonds. She has pearls and likes them very much.

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?

    I can't remember for sure, but it was probably Serenity. It was excellent.

4. What is your favorite TV show?

   Old show: Seinfeld (IMO, the best comedy TV show ever made.)

   Current show: The new Battlestar Galactica. It's simply an amazing show, even if you don't like sci fi. Lisa agrees.

5. What did you eat for breakfast?

    Honey Nut Cheerios. I would have had a banana too, but we were out of them.

6. What is your middle name?

   Andrew

7. What is your favorite cuisine?

    Italian or Chinese

8. What foods do you dislike?

    Lima beans

9. What is your favorite chip?

    Doritos

10. What is your favorite CD at the moment?

    Mirror by Monte Montgomery  It's lyrically kind of on the sad side, but this guy is simply amazing.

11. What kind of car do you drive?

    Honda Odyssey

12.  What is your favorite sandwich?

    Tuna on wheat

13. What characteristics do you despise?

    Evil (I'm with Doug on this one)

14. Favorite item of clothing:

    My gray fleece hoodie

15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? 

    Switzerland, Florida or Northern California

16. What color is your bathroom?

    Dumb question

17. Favorite brand of clothing:

    Dockers

18. Where would you want to retire?

    In a motor home for a while and then someplace warm

19. Favorite time of day:

    Lunch hour 

20. Where were you born?

    Rhode Island 

21. Favorite sport to watch?

    Football. Nothing else even comes close.

22. Who do you least expect to send this back? (this was sent to me via email)

    I don't know, but I am probably the only one who will post it on his web site. 

23. Person you expect to send it back first?

    Lisa

24. What type of detergent do you use?

   The cheap stuff from BJ's that comes in the bucket.

25. Coke or Pepsi?

   Coke

26. Morning person or night owl?

    Night owl

27. What size shoe do you wear?

   9.5

28. Do you have pets?

    No

29. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with everyone?

   Not yet

30. What did you want to be when you were little?

    An ornithologist

31. Favorite candy bar:

    Heath 

32. What is one of your best childhood memories?

   The blizzard of '78. No school for three days, and the snow was deeper than the dog was tall.

33. What are the different jobs you've had?

   Dental assistant, retail salesperson, staff photographer, customer service manager, national sales manager, international sales director, VP of Internet sales & marketing

34. What color underwear are you wearing?

    It used to be gray. Now it is pinkish gray due to Lisa's love affair with Clorox.

35. Piercing?

    Left ear. I have not worn an earring in over a decade. I still can, though. It comes in handy for shock value.

36. Eye color?

    Hazel

37. Every been to Africa?

   No

38. Ever been toilet papered?

   No

39. Love someone so much it made you cry?

   When my kids were born

40. Been in a car accident?

    Yeah, but nothing major

41. Croutons or bacon bits?

    Croutons

42. Favorite day of the week?

   Saturday

43. Favorite restaurant?

    Chin Chin

44. Favorite flower?

    The ones that Lisa grows

45. Favorite ice cream?

    Pralines & cream 

46. Disney or Warner Brothers?

    WB 

47. Favorite fast food restaurant?

    Wendy's

48. What color is your carpet?

    It used to be tan.

49. How many times did you fail your driver's test?

    Once. I made a left turn from the through lane. Automatic failure.

50. Before this one, from whom did you get your last email?

    Internet Retailer

51. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?

    Costco, but only if I could pay it off when the bill arrived.

52. What do you do most often when you are bored?

    I have not been bored in a long, long time!

53. Who are you most curious about their responses to this questionnaire?

    My brother Andy

54. Last person you went out to eat with?

    My brother Andy

55. Ford or Chevy?

    Ford

56. What are you listening to right now?

    My computer fan

57. Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

    God

58. How many people are you sending this email to?

    None. I'm posting it here instead.

59. Time you finished this e-mail?

    7:26 pm

Happiness Inc.

There's a fascinating article in today's Wall Street Journal (subscription required) about the science of happiness. This may be the next great advancement in marketing research. (Or it's the next road to ruin in the world of business if you are an anti-marketing cynic.)

...gearing up to do something can make you happier than actually doing it. "Anticipation is totally underestimated," says Prof. Knutson, whose work is funded in part by the National Institute on Aging and the MacArthur Foundation. "Why do slot machines have arms? You could just have a button -- but the arm heightens the anticipation." 

Some marketers say such results will also reinforce a trend already well under way in advertising: selling the experience rather than the product. A running-shoe ad that focuses more on the pleasure of running, for example, can build a viewer's anticipation in a way that talking about the makeup of the shoe itself can't. 

It sounds like the old "features vs. benefits" discussion is alive and well. The twist this time is the quantification of product benefits. It involves turning that subjective thing -- a perceived benefit -- into objective, measurable information.

"The results you get through facial testing are much more accurate than focus groups," Mr. Ksiezyk says. "In focus groups, people say what they think you want to hear, or there's a leader and everyone nods and agrees."

The unreliable nature of focus groups is remarkable. Bias is inherent in focus group research, and it's hardly a fool-proof method of determining the success or failure of a product. In as much as this new research can improve the product development process, I'm all for it.

Science Friday had a program last fall about Satisfaction and Happiness that covered similar ground. It's well worth a listen.

There are also shades of Blink here. Malcolm Gladwell's writing on facial expressions and snap judgements dovetails with this nicely.