Communication Skills

Cognitive Impairment and Stupidity Aren’t the Same Thing

by Bill Brenner November 11, 2014 Communication Skills

Writers and editors at The Independent had some fun with an article about a virus that, as they put it, “makes people more stupid.” The problem is that they confuse impaired cognitive function with stupidity. The headline may get attention, but it’s irresponsible. Mood music: The article begins with this: A virus that infects human brains and makes us more stupid has been discovered, according to scientists in the US. The algae virus, never before observed…  [Read More]

Gene Simmons Can’t See the Rock Through the Dollar Signs

by Bill Brenner September 8, 2014 Communication Skills

When KISS bassist Gene Simmons commented negatively on depression and suicide, I cheered Nikki Sixx for picking his argument apart. Now it’s my turn to pick apart a comment Simmons made. He said rock is dead. Mood music: Truth is, I like Simmons. He’s given a lot to rock, and I still love listening to KISS, especially the music it put out in the 1970s and early ’80s. I love, too, Gene Simmons Family Jewels,…  [Read More]

Gross Overreaction Still Haunts Kiera Wilmot

by Bill Brenner June 26, 2014 Communication Skills

A year ago, I wrote about Kiera Wilmot, a student at Bartow (Florida) High School who was expelled and criminally charged for setting off an explosive after her science class volcano experiment backfired. Mood music: The trumped-up charges were eventually dropped, but Wilmot’s brush with the law continues to haunt her. According to civil liberties site Police State USA, the charges continue to taint Kiera’s record and impede her chances for success. “All my charges have been…  [Read More]

Loudmouth Politics and the Damage Done

by Bill Brenner June 23, 2014 Communication Skills

I love that we live in a country where freedom of speech is an essential right; that you can call your president names without getting thrown in jail. I also love that people are willing to debate their beliefs fervently, whatever those beliefs are. But there’s a downside. For some people, it’s not enough to state a political belief. They have to judge people who believe differently and resort to name calling. Mood music: I…  [Read More]

Bullied by the Word “Bully”

by Bill Brenner April 28, 2014 Communication Skills

Walk into any school these days and you’ll see anti-bullying posters everywhere. I’m happy to see it, because kids need to learn what it is and how to stand up for themselves. Unfortunately, they’re taking cues from grownups who don’t always know what they’re talking about. Mood music: I was reminded of this after reading a blog post from Brian Martin, A.K.A. Jericho, of attrition.org. Martin got into a protracted debate recently with Elizabeth Weidman, mother of security…  [Read More]

You See a SecBurnout Cult; I See Common Sense

by Bill Brenner April 17, 2014 Communication Skills

Some folks are pissed over my recent posts about efforts in the security community to fight job burnout and depression. I won’t change your minds, so I’ll just clarify a few things and move along. People have made five observations: The data is far too insufficient to declare a problem specific to the security community. Without data, all we have is opinion. The greater InfoSec Burnout movement and I have made it sound like this…  [Read More]

Exploiting Tate-LaBianca Murders for Fun and Profit?

by Bill Brenner February 18, 2014 Communication Skills

Y’all know I’ve long been obsessed about the Tate-LaBianca murders. But let’s be clear: All those stories about the spirits of Sharon Tate and Jay Sebring haunting a house a few doors down from where the murders took place? I don’t buy any of it. Mood music: The claim has been made by David Oman, whose home has been the subject of a Ghost Hunters episode and several other news reports. Oman has been all…  [Read More]

Coca-Cola’s “America the Beautiful” Ad and Misplaced Outrage

by Bill Brenner February 6, 2014 Communication Skills

I finally got around to watching the Coca-Cola “America the Beautiful” ad that made so many people angry. So now I ask you: What’s the big deal? I usually avoid debates about immigration and whether people should learn to speak English in order to live here. There’s no winning debates like that. It’s a classic liberal vs. conservative argument. Those who feel strongly one way or the other are set in their views and will…  [Read More]

Sometimes, a Sex Song Is Just a Sex Song

by Bill Brenner February 3, 2014 Communication Skills

Columnists have gone nuts since Beyoncé and husband Jay Z performed “Drunk in Love” at the Grammys. The song is about them having steamy, drunken sex. Nothing more, nothing less. Yet we can’t help pontificating about what it says of their marriage. Here’s the Grammy Performance: Here’s the official video, which is dirtier: Debate over this song illustrates how we tend to overthink things. Alyssa Rosenberg raved about the powerful case Beyoncé and Jay Z made for marriage in…  [Read More]

Cable News and the Justin Bieber Effect

by Bill Brenner January 28, 2014 Communication Skills

I lost faith in cable news as a conduit for useful, balanced information long ago. Once I stopped watching, the drop in my depression and anxiety was considerable. I grew a lot less bored, too. When I see respected journalists like MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell cutting off an interview with a former congresswoman to report breaking news about Justin Bieber’s DUI arrest, I know all the more that shutting it off was the right course of…  [Read More]

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