Strands of Genius: This Is Your Brain on 'Deep Reading.' It's Pretty Magnificent, Silicon Valley Has an Empathy Vacuum, Mr. Rogers Remixed: Garden of Your Mind

Guest curated by Rebecca Bedrossian, SMB & ISV Thought Leadership, Global Segments Marketing, AWS

Feb 15, 2024

:: A BIT MORE ABOUT GUEST CURATOR, REBECCA BEDROSSIAN ::

LOCATION: Portland, OR

I’m Rebecca, writer, editor, endlessly curious, and always self-deprecating. My mind meanders, and so does my life. It’s how I connect ideas, people, and places. It’s why I am where I am, mid-life, mom of teens, newly engaged. I trace it back to being raised by a single, immigrant father against a backdrop of chaotic energy, shouting through transatlantic phone calls in Armenian, French, Arabic, and broken English, stuffing grape leaves, and driving around in a Pontiac Grand Prix listening to Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes on 8 track—juxtaposed with summers in Southern Oregon with my hippy mom, listening to Neil Young by kerosene lantern light, in a cabin sans electricity, eating black-eyed peas and cornbread. I curtsied, I waltzed (debutante ball and all), and I skinny dipped.

That yin-yang continues to show up in all aspects of my life.

Some might say my career started in reverse, with a dream job. I worked at Communication Arts magazine for 15 years as an editor, developing stories about illustration, typography, design, branding, photography, and more. The relationships I built there continue to enrich my life. It was there I first learned of Faris, though it wasn’t until I transitioned to agency life that I really got to know his and Rosie’s work. Faris spoke at POSSIBLE’s “Inspired By” series in Seattle, but building an editorial program for an agency meant that I was following all things brand, marketing, and strategy—including Faris’s WARC articles. And while I reached out to them during the pandemic to speak at a Wunderman Thompson event, I feel the most meaningful connections have been bonding with Rosie over two of my favorite cities, CDMX and Tokyo.

Editor’s Note (Genius Steals): As Rebecca said, we’ve been connected through the years, professionally and personally! It’s always a joy when a work acquaintance becomes more of a friend, and every time we chat (whether about work or the world) we’re always left wanting more :) Hopefully we’ll end up in CDMX or Tokyo at the same time, but until then we’ll trade tips digitally! Thanks for being here, Rebecca!

:: THE LINKS ::

THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON ‘DEEP READING’ IT’S PRETTY MAGNIFICENT

Deep reading. When was the last time you experienced this? If you’re juggling work, life, and everything in between, including all the content we are fed daily, it may have been a while. This episode, with researcher and author Maryanne Wolf, goes into how our brain processes information differently, from a Kindle and physical book, what this is doing long term to society, and how to claw ourselves out of information overload—and back to a place of reflection and focus. (NY Times)

SILICON VALLEY HAS AN EMPATHY VACUUM

An oldie, but still so applicable today. Especially as we head into the election. This piece, written by Om Malik, soon after Trump was elected in 2016, while more than half the nation was reeling from shock, made me think. Not about the data and how we were all blindsided, but rather the “why”—Silicon Valley, empathy, and “the human consequences of technology.” As generative AI grows in strength and popularity, it’s a worthwhile read. (New Yorker)

MR. ROGERS REMIXED: GARDEN OF YOUR MIND

Mr. Rogers + curiosity = The Garden of Your Mind. For kids, for adults, for everyone… because it’s good to be curious. I’ve always been a fan of Mr. Rogers and have always loved this remix by Symphony of Science's John Boswell for PBS Digital Studios. It’s fun, nostalgic, and a reminder. Curiosity, much like creativity—for many—diminishes with age. We go to school and are taught to draw inside the lines, and quite frankly to think that way too. More imagination, wonder, and curiosity please. (PBS)

Looking for more from Rebecca? Coming Friday, look for an interview from her in your inbox!

:: AND NOW… SOME FAST FAVORITES ::

:: Game :: Conquian (Konkan) and Backgammon

:: City :: This is tough. Right now, it is Tokyo. I’m smitten and want more. CDMX is a close second, with London pulling up the rear.

:: Book :: You’re killing me, Smalls… It fluctuates. At the moment it’s The Creative Act: A Way of Being, by Rick Rubin and Quiet by Susan Cain.

:: Podcast :: The Ezra Klein Show and The Beautiful Thinkers

:: Album :: Might be the toughest of all, my taste runs wild and free across genres and decades—like my life!—from Neil Young Harvest, Stevie Wonder Songs in the Key of Life, Jeff Buckley Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk, The Beatles White Album, The Clash London Calling, and Margo Cilker Pohorylle, are some essentials for the soundtrack of my life.

:: WHILE I LOVE TO JAZZ, I ALSO DOWNWARD DOG ::

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right-doing, there is a field. I'll meet you there.
—Rumi

In 2005, I came back to work seven weeks after having my first child. (What the hell was I thinking?!) It was after I had my second daughter that I set boundaries. Two kids forced me to. As I’ve gotten older and wiser, and my girls are almost self-sufficient, I know that I am better at work, at being creative, by making time to pause, reset, move away from the screen, Jazzercise, yoga, read on paper…

All good cheer,
Rebecca Bedrossian
Email | LinkedIn | https://rebeccabedrossian.contently.com/

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It's called Genius Steals because we believe ideas are new combinations and that nothing can come from nothing. But copying is lazy. We believe the best way to innovate is to look at the best of that which came before and combine those elements into new solutions.

Co-Founders Faris & Rosie are award-winning strategists and creative directors, writers, consultants and public speakers who have been living on the road/runway since March 2013, working with companies all over the world. Our Director of Operations is nomadic like us, our accounting team is based out of Washington, our company is registered in Tennessee, and our collaborators are all over the world. Being nomadic allows us to go wherever clients need us to be, and to be inspired by the world in between.

Hit reply and let’s talk about how we might be able to work together :)

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