by Thane Ritchie | Jan 29, 2017 | Innovation, Misc, Uncategorized
“To do these things well, most lawyers must forget everything they ever learned in law school…” This is the advice that the award winning author, Bryan Garner, holder of three honorary degrees, gives on legal writing. Garner is a lawyer, lexicographer, and teacher. Having written over 20 books, including a book he co-authored with Justice Antonin Scalia, Garner is considered one of the leading experts on legal writing of our time. One of Garner’s central values is efficiency. In Garner’s book, The Winning Brief: 100 Tips for Persuasive Briefing in Trial and Appellate Courts, he discusses the perfect formula on writing legal briefs. (Legal briefs are short documents used as pre-trial summaries). He urges lawyers to stop muddying the waters for Judges. Identify the main issue for the judge and give the Judge a quick and clear reason as to why your argument is the only possible option. “Within 90 seconds, the judge understands the basic question, the answer, and the reasons for that answer.”1Garner, Bryan A. “8 Frame the Deep Issues from the Outset so That You Meet the 90-second Test.” The Winning Brief: 100 Tips for Persuasive Briefing in Trial and Appellate Courts. New York: Oxford UP, 2004. 53-56. Print. Bryan Garner remains a somewhat controversial figure. His writing advice goes against the grain of traditional legal writing. According to Garner 1% of professionally written briefs are actually successful.2Garner, Bryan A. “8 Frame the Deep Issues from the Outset so That You Meet the 90-second Test.” The Winning Brief: 100 Tips for Persuasive Briefing in Trial and Appellate Courts. New York: Oxford UP, 2004. 53-56. Print. He urges lawyers...
by Thane Ritchie | Oct 26, 2016 | Innovation, Misc, Uncategorized
Why has Oxford climbed to the top spot on some surveys of the worlds best Universities? There seem to be a couple of main reasons for the ranking. One is a renewed emphasis on the hard sciences at Oxford in recent years. Oxford’s tradition as a bastion of literary arts and philosophy remain but are giving way to the needs of the modern workplace which requires first rate math and science education. Oxford’s Science Park is becoming a tech corridor for companies that reside there and feed off the the University’s programs and talent. Oxford was recently named the number one in research quality int the UK University system. The other reason that Oxford has made its push to the top is that it has relied on a time tested formula for education excellence. According to the University President Oxford hires quality professors who love to teach. No stockpiling of “names” that rest on their laurels need apply. All this excellence for only 12,000 USD per...
by Thane Ritchie | Oct 6, 2016 | Misc
Why Are The Polls Different? This US presidential political season there seems to be extra disparity in the polling data coming out. Personally, and this is just a theory, I think the US presidential race polls are swinging wildly in short time frames because the 2 major candidates are so odious that a number of people are vacillating on who they like less on any given day. That is strictly opinion but there are real reasons why the polls show disparity. First and foremost the various polls use different criteria to determine “likely voters”. Using anything from self-reporting to 7 question indexes pollsters frame how likely someone is to vote. Another issue is cell phones. Most polls include cell phone users (Gallup, NY Times , NBC etc) some do not (Rasmussen, Public Policy). The big outlier this year has been the LA Times Poll which consistently favors Trump by 4-7 points it seems. It uses a methodology that asks respondents on a scale of 1-100 how likely they are to vote for a particular candidate and puts that data into a formula to determine probable voting. There is weighting in the poll that many think skews to Trump. Maybe you should just average all the polls? The folks at 538 don’t think that idea is too helpful. They more reason that you should search for bias and note it in your estimation of accuracy. If you want to dig deeper go here for more in depth study of the polls. Just remember polls can be wildly wrong, ask the Brexit poll followers about that. UPDATE 10.27.16: And just when we thought there...
by Thane Ritchie | Jun 30, 2016 | Misc, Technology
Britain recently held a referendum leading them to the notable decision to leave the European Union. This ‘Brexit’ leaves many questions unanswered, including questions on how disbandment from the EU might affect the technology hub that is the city of London. Recent statistics provide us with a picture of what the answers to these questions may look like. #1 ranking. The European Digital City Index ranked London as number 1 in all of Europe.1European Digital Forum, and Nesta. “{{ Metatags.fb_title }}.” European Digital City Index 2015. European Commission, 2015. Web. 01 July 2016. This ranking is based on how well a city supports digital entrepreneurship. Under research put out by Bloomberg Philanthropies London is considered the FinTech capital of the world.2Mandel, Michael, Dr., and Jonathan Liebenau, Dr. “London: Digital City on the Rise.” Mikebloomberg.com. Bloomberg Philanthropies, June 2014. Web. 1 July 2016. London’s position as a technology hub cannot be overrated. More people are employed in London’s tech sector than in any other city’s tech sector in the world.3European Digital Forum, and Nesta. “{{ Metatags.fb_title }}.” European Digital City Index 2015. European Commission, 2015. Web. 01 July 2016. London’s booming tech sector causes the city to quite possibly be Europe’s most influential city in the realm of technology. 1.46 Million People were employed by digital companies according to a 2015 study.4Tech City. “Welcome to Tech Nation 2016: Transforming UK Industries.” Tech City UK. Nesta, 2016. Web. 1 July 2016. This growing industry boasts the city of London to be the headquarters for 20% of the United Kingdom’s tech companies.5Tech City. “For Investors – Tech City UK.” Tech City UK. Nesta, 2016. Web. 01 July 2016. The technology sector in...
by Thane Ritchie | Jun 23, 2016 | Misc, Uncategorized
Andre Iguodala, last year’s NBA Finals MVP, throws on a pair of Nike HyperChases, dribbles down a 50 foot court, jumps nearly 35 inches in the air, releasing a basketball at his highest point. A faint swish sound can be heard- Iguodala, the Golden State Warriors guard, has just drained another three point shot. Arianna Huffington, editor in chief of The Huffington Post, and 70th most powerful woman according to Forbes1Forbes Media LLC. “#70 Arianna Huffington.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 2016. Web. 20 June 2016., spins around in her swivel chair, takes a break from writing her next bestseller, crumples up a piece of writing paper that never made the final cut, tosses it into the air, burying another shot deep into the recycling bin. She makes plays all day long at the office. What this NBA star and this 65-year old editor in chief have in common is more than just success in their respective fields: they both received a quality eight hours of rest last night. Arianna Huffington’s widely popular book, The Sleep Revolution, came out this April. Already a New York Times best-seller, Huffington’s book argues for the importance of sleep, relaying staggering statistics on how lack of sleep decreases every aspect of our lives; getting poor rest can even result in the tired individual functioning at the cognitive level of legal drunkenness. One among many intriguing studies from the informative book is an analysis of a boarding school. She cites how a boarding school made the decision to start 35 minutes later in the morning and as a result, the students GPA increased and the number of...
by Thane Ritchie | Feb 26, 2016 | Misc, Sports
Sports technology is a growing area of innovation, with increasing value in the realm of safety, health and entertainment. We hear a lot about different wearables, fancy gear and smart gadgets are useful for both professional and recreational athletics. The people behind (and in front of) these innovations rarely get as much coverage as the technology itself. The truth is, for every fitness band, impact detector and smart uniform there are the people without which such inventions might never hit the field or soared far beyond it. Here are five individuals worth knowing about. The influencer: Shaquille O’Neal Okay, so you’ve definitely heard of Shaq. But it may surprise you that aside from his basketball, TV, and movie career, Shaq has also been a technology mogul for years. An avid tweeter, his was the first “verified account” in 2008. It’s of little surprise, then, that he’s become even more involved in the technology scene since then — in sports tech in particular. In 2011, Shaq became endorsed and later joined the social video streaming company Tout, using its short video format to announce his retirement. Though not explicitly a sports app, Tout has entered a partnership with the WWE in 2012 and can be used by sports teams for a variety of purposes, like announcements, interviews, fan engagement and athlete messages. Shaq also attended the latest Consumer Electronics Show (CES) as part of a panel on tech investment in sports. He will also be a judge on “America’s Greatest Makers,” a TV competition in which inventors will pitch their ideas in hopes of winning $1 million toward the next...
