On this episode of Spark: The tech gap in relationships, meta-movie reviews, and spatial intelligence
- Bill Buxton and Elizabeth Russ explain the technology gap in their relationship
- Twanna A. Hines on the importance of technological compatibility
- Bill Buxton explains how a computer is unlike a pencil
- New York Magazine film critic David Edelstein explains how review aggregators like Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic are affecting film criticism (full interview)
- Marc Doyle from Metacritic says that some critics never intended there to be a score on their reviews
- Nora tries her hand at the Rubik’s 360
- Will Shortz explains why our love affair with puzzles persists
- Cognitive neuroscientist Philip Servos on spatial intelligence and Rubik’s puzzles (full interview)
- 9 year-old Callum Moseley solves the Rubik’s 360 (video)
This episode features Creative Commons music and sound effects:
- “Wadidyusay?” by Zap Mama
- “Pling” by Jaspertine
- “Fragile, Do Not Drop,” Do You Want to Know a Secret,” and “Steppin’ In” by Podington Bear
- “I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm” (1948) by the Mills Brothers
Play audio:
You can download this episode as an MP3, or receive Spark automatically by subscribing to any of our totally free podcast feeds:
- Free weekly podcast (Subscribe in iTunes)
- Free weekly podcast + additional blog-only content (Subscribe in iTunes)
- Free weekly podcast (low bandwidth version)
For more information (and instructions) visit cbc.ca/podcasting
[Original image by Manel]
Rottent Tomatoes is the only reliable form of movie criticism in the world. Before Rotten Tomatoes, there was absolutely 0 correlation between a criticism I heard and whether I liked a given movie. As a matter of fact, the two mediums where I received criticism, The Globe and Mail and Rolling Stone, give notoriously bad movie reviews. The only thing that I could count on is if the Globe or Rolling Stone liked the movie, I probably would not. But if a movie gets a high score on Rotten Tomatoes I will almost definitely like it.
Rafe
http://www.myspace.com/trickofdisaster
Re: Rubik's Cube 360 not having training of spatial abilities in school
I had this training in high school drafting class.
I don't really read film reviews at all – I'll watch trailers and what not, but I typically go into a movie with pretty low expectations, and am usually happy. Not every movie has to be a work of art.
Re: "You spend too much time on your pencil…" I was reguarly told as I child that I spent too much time reading and drawing. My parents introduced a rule that I had to spend at least two hours a day watching TV with them, as 'family time'.
That's a great story, Toben. I love the idea of watching TV as 'family time'! Actually, though, it points out something that we keep coming across on the show, which is the idea of developing a diverse basket of skills and practices. You know, that it's not 'gaming is bad' or 'reading is bad' but the lack of a mix.
I live in a very small town. We have only one movie theatre with only one screen. If I want to go see a movie, I can see the movie that's playing at the theatre that week, or I can do without. That's perhaps the easiest movie decision ever.
I don't agree with David Edelstein. The movie aggregation sites provide us with collective view of a movie. Instead of being confined to reading two to three movie critiques… Rotten Tomatoes and the like reviews allows me to connect and listen to people who like my genre. A human being has a limited set of experience, the internet (and movie rating sites) give me the advantage of experiencing experiences of many people – not of just one, two or three people.