Monday, September 25, 2017

Errornya Hipnosis Secara Ilmiah dan Islam



Oleh : D. Denis P. Putrantya

Mari kita mulai dengan memancing rasa ingin tahu kita melalui beberapa pertanyaan :

1. Apa itu hipnosis/ hipnotis? Sejarahnya? Sekarang?
2. Apa yang terjadi ketika seseorang terhipnotis?
3. Bagaimana seseorang bisa terhipnotis?
4. Apa prinsip-prinsip hipnosis?
5. Hipnosis, ilmiah atau tidak?
6. Apa kelebihan dan kekurangan hipnosis?
7. Bagaimana hipnosis menurut Islam?

Nah, sekarang mari kita coba telaah satu per satu:

1. Apa itu hypnosis? Sejarahnya? Sekarang?

Menurut Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Hipnosis: keadaan seperti tidur karena sugesti yang pada taraf permulaan orang itu berada di bawah pengaruh orang yang memberikan sugestinya, tetapi pada taraf berikutnya menjadi tidak sadar sama sekali.

Hipnosis berasal dari kata “hypnos”, nama dewa tidur orang Yunani Kuno. Kata “hypnosis” pertama kali diperkenalkan seorang dokter Inggris , James Braid (1795 – 1860). Meski demikian, hypnosis bukanlah tidur. Hipnosis adalah kondisi pikiran, dimana pikiran sadar menjadi kurang kritis, sehingga menjadikan pikiran “bawah sadar” menerima sugesti dengan lebih baik (menurut IACH/ International Association of Clinical Hypnotherapy).

Hipnosis dikelompokkan ke dalam dua kategori: klasik dan modern. Hipnosis klasik itu menyelami dan mempengaruhi pikiran orang secara mistis, klenik, dan syirik dalam pandangan Islam, misalnya sesajian, membakar kemenyan, ramu-ramuan tertentu, dan lainnya guna mendatangkan bantuan jin. Praktek hipnosis bahkan dilakukan sejak zaman kuno (seperti Yunani dan Mesir) untuk berhubungan dengan arwah para leluhur dan keperluan mistis lain.

Hipnosis modern menurut APA (American Psychological Association) Divisi 30 (Komunitas Hipnosis Psikologis) adalah prosedur dimana seorang ahli kesehatan atau peneliti memberi sugesti ketika tritmen/perlakuan, sehingga pasien mengalami perubahan sensasi, persepsi, pikiran, dan perilaku. Meski beberapa hipnosis digunakan untuk membuat seseorang semakin siaga, kebanyakan hipnosis mensugesti agar rileks, tenang, dan merasa nyaman.

Kita akan fokus pada pengkajian “hipnosis modern”.

2. Apa yang terjadi ketika seseorang terhipnosis?
Dari beberapa referensi komunitas maupun asosiasi hipnosis internasional (seperti IACH, APA, IMDHA), ketika seseorang terhipnosis, kondisinya bukanlah tidur. Secara fisik, memang memenuhi ciri-ciri orang tidur (nafas melambat, mata terpejam, otot rileks, gerakan berkurang) Tetapi secara mental, orang terhipnotis dalam kondisi rileks sekaligus siaga. Kondisinya nyaman dan dapat berfikir, berbicara, dan bahkan bergerak jika dibutuhkan.

Ada yang menyebutkan jika terhipnotis adalah kondisi yang sama ketika seseorang sedang sangat asyik dalam suatu aktivitas, seperti menonton TV atau melakukan sebuah hobi. Atau ketika sedang terbawa suasana yang menenangkan dan melenakan, seperti melihat matahari terbenam di pantai. Kondisi hipnosis juga disamakan dengan kondisi meditasi. Kondisinya bukan tertidur, tetapi sadar dan fokus (focused awareness) sekaligus rileks dan nyaman.

Secara neuroscience (ilmu otak/syaraf), terhipnotis adalah kondisi dimana otak meningkat aktivitas gelombang otak lambat (alpha dan theta), dan menurunnya aktivitas gelombang otak cepat (beta). Akibatnya, pikiran menjadi sibuk dengan “menikmati” perasaan nyaman dan rileks sehingga berkurangnya pikiran cemas dan penuh pertimbangan akan suatu hal. Jika rasa nyaman dan tenang itu berlanjut, seseorang bisa menuju aktivitas otak gelombang delta (tidur).

Maka, kondisi hipnosis (gelombang otak lambat/ alpha dan theta) dianggap sebagai kondisi sehari-hari yang kita rasakan ketika bangun tidur dan akan tidur.

3. Bagaimana seseorang bisa terhipnosis?

Pada dasarnya, hipnosis adalah suatu kondisi mental yang khusus. Untuk mencapainya, seseorang menggunakan teknik yang disebut induksi hipnosis. Induksi ini dapat dilakukan oleh orang lain maupun diri sendiri. Diantara jenis induksi sudah banyak diketahui orang, seperti menepuk dengan tangan (ini dilakukan pada praktek gendam), menjentikkan jari, membisikkan atau mengatakan kata-kata yang mengkondisikan perasaan nyaman (seperti “Anda akan merasa nyaman dan mengantuk”), Mengajak obyek untuk membayangkan tempat yang nyaman (“Bayangkan Anda bersandar di bawah pohon yang rindang”), dan banyak variasi yang lain.

Setelah seseorang sudah berada dalam kondisi hipnosis, selanjutnya sugesti diberikan. Sugesti dapat berupa hal yang absurd (“Anda adalah ayam”) sampai terapi medis (“Anda tidak merasakan sakit” atau “Di tangan Anda ada tulisan “sakit”, sekarang saya hapus tulisan itu”).

Namun, kondisi hipnosis tidaklah harus berarti seseorang berada dalam kondisi seperti tidur. Hal ini ditunjukkan dengan adanya praktek hipnosis ketika seseorang dalam kondisi sadar (mata terbuka) bahkan sedang melakukan aktivitas fisik.

4. Apa prinsip-prinsip hypnosis?
Tidak semua orang bisa dihipnotis. Lebih tepatnya, kemampuan seseorang merespon sugesti hipnosis berbeda-beda.

Psikolog Amerika di Universitas Stanford (Ander M. Weitzenhoffer dan Ernest R. Hilgard) membuat skala yang dapat mengukur seberapa tingkat seseorang dapat dihipnotis, yang disebut Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scales. Ada 12 sugesti yang dilakukan. Jika skor 0 – 4, tergolong rendah. Jika skor 5-7, tergolong menengah. Jika skor 8 -12, tergolong tinggi atau mudah mendapat sugesti hipnosis.

Diantara bentuk sugesti hipnotisnya: tangan berpegangan dan menempel (yang terhipnotis, tidak bisa melepaskan tangan), tangan diulurkan kemudian disugesti terasa berat (yang terhipnotis, tangannya akan turun karena “merasa” berat), peserta diminta melupakan hal yang familiar (seperti nama sendiri), dan sugesti panca indera lain (seperti mencium sesuatu yang tidak ada, mendengar suara lalat yang tidak ada, dan lain sebagainya).

Beberapa prinsip yang ditemukan dari penelitian adalah sepertimana berikut :
1. Kemampuan seseorang untuk merespon sugesti hipnosis cenderung tetap pada usia dewasa.

2. Kemampuan peng-hipnotis tidak mempengaruhi tingkat respon orang yang dihipnotis. Bahkan, ketika seseorang menghipnotis dirinya sendiri, responnya pun akan cenderung sesuai tingkatnya.

3. Tingkat respon seseorang yang dihipnotis tidak dipengaruhi oleh karakter personal, seperti agresif- submisif nya seseorang, kemampuan berimajinasi, atau kemampuan bersosialisasi.

4. Orang yang dihipnotis tidak bersikap pasif. Yang terjadi adalah justru, seseorang yang dalam kondisi hipnotis secara aktif mengelola keyakinan dan pemahamannya agar dapat melakukan atau memenuhi sugesti yang diberikan.

5. Hipnosis, ilmiah atau tidak?

Meski para peneliti menemukan alat untuk mengukur tingkat respon seseorang terhadap hipnotis, hal ini tidak membantu menjelaskan proses ILMIAH apa yang terjadi ketika seseorang dihipnosis dan diberi sugesti.
Selain sugesti belum tentu berhasil karena tingkat respon yang berbeda pada tiap orang, peneliti tidak bisa memahami proses otak apa yang terjadi ketika seseorang dihipnotis/ diberi sugesti dalam kondisi hipnosis.

Maka, tidak heran kalau hipnosis tidak diterima sebagai bentuk psikoterapi oleh APA/ Asosiasi Psikologi Amerika. Dalam Psikologi, hipnosis masuk dalam bidang ilmu Pseudoscience Psychology (Psikologi Semu).

Keilmiahan hipnosis tertolak karena tidak dapat diterapkan pada semua orang dan belum tentu berhasil pada kasus medis atau psikologis yang sama.

Namun, karena banyak yang mengaku dan menunjukkan praktek hipnosis yang dapat membantu kasus-kasus medis maupun psikologis, penggunaan hipnosis semakin meluas.

6. Apa kelebihan dan kekurangan hypnosis?

Kelebihan yang saya sebutkan, sejatinya adalah hal yang diaku oleh pelaku hipnosis. Diantaranya kelebihan yang diaku adalah bahwa hipnosis PRAKTIS dan SUKSES. Kenyataannya, keberhasilan hipnosis sangat tergantung tingkat respon orang yang dihipnotis. Kalaupun berhasil dihipnotis, kondisi masalah atau penyakit pada pasien tidak disembuhkan tetapi pasien dibuat (disugesti) untuk merasa sembuh dan sehat. Sehingga ketika sugesti itu hilang, masalah akan kembali muncul.

Kekurangan lain dari hipnosis adalah tidak ada dasar ILMIAH jelas (apalagi dalil dari agama Islam). Selain itu, yang dihipnotis riskan mendapatkan sugesti yang tidak sesuai norma masyarakat maupun agama. Dan sebagaimana yang kita ketahui, sugesti tidak berlaku bagi semua orang (hypnotizable tiap orang berbeda-beda).

7. Bagaimana hipnosis menurut Islam?

Hipnosis klasik jelas haram. Hipnosis klasik termasuk kategori perdukunan. Lembaga Fatwa Saudi, Lajnah Daimah, pernah mengeluarkan fatwa:
“Hipnosis adalah termasuk jenis tenung (sihir) dengan menggunakan jin…
Menggunakan hipnosis dan menjadikannya cara untuk mengetahui tempat barang yang dicuri atau barang yang hilang, atau penyembuhan penyakit, atau melakukan pekerjaan tertentu dengan perantaraan orang yang dihipnosis adalah tidak boleh, bahkan termasuk syirik… juga ini termasuk bergantung kepada selain Allah” (Fatawa Al-Lajnah Ad-Daimah 1/348).

8. Jika Hipnosis modern dalam Islam?
Hipnosis sejatinya adalah teknik atau prosedur dengan kunci satu: memberi sugesti pada yang dihipnosis (proses bawah sadar).

Jika sugesti yang diberikan bertentangan dengan Islam, maka jelas bermasalah. Misal, seseorang disugesti agar bermaksiat atau berkeyakinan kafir.
Nah, jika sugesti yang diberikan sesuai Islam, apakah metodenya diperbolehkan? Misalnya, seseorang dihipnosis agar rajin sholat atau menjauhi maksiat?

Jika sugesti bertujuan mengubah “bawah sadar” sehingga seseorang berubah tidak secara sadar, maka ada KEKURANGAN BESAR dalam amalnya, yaitu “NIAT”. Islam mengajarkan untuk beramal dengan niat yang BENAR. Betapa pentingnya masalah niat, sehingga ulama-ulama Islam menyebutkan perkara NIAT di bagian awal kitab-kitab karya mereka.
Mengapa kita menerapkan hipnosis sebagai solusi permasalahan kita, ketika Allah sudah memberikan jawaban atas permasalahan hidup dengan ISLAM?

Sebagai penguat akan bermasalahnya hipnosis, sejatinya hipnosis adalah satu diantara metode penyebaran atau program NAM (New Age Movement), meskipun hipnosis tidak lahir dari NAM. Selain itu,program NAM lainnya ada Energi Prana, Fengshui, Huna, NLP, dan bentuk lain yang intinya sama meski namanya berbeda.

Kesamaan program-program NAM adalah percaya pada kekuatan bawah sadar, kehebatannya dan pentingnya kekuatan bawah sadar, dan berlatih untuk masuk ke “kesadaran berbeda” untuk memaksimalkan potensi yang terpendam agar bisa melakukan perubahan.

Lalu apa itu NAM?

Semoga Allah memberi kita kesempatan untuk membahas ataupun mempelajari tema yang berbeda ini.

Allohu a’lam bish showwab

Referensi:
1. “Menguak New Age Movement” oleh F.A. Kurdi
2. “Self-Hypnosis Techniques for Management of Pain, Relaxation and Sleep” By Mark P. Jensen, PhD.
3. “Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology” edited by S.O. Lilienfield, S.J. Lynn, J.M. Lohr.
4. “The Truth and the Hype of Hypnosis” By Prof. Michael R. Nash





https://www.facebook.com/RumahKertasRAMI/posts/1244770105628078

Nafsu dan Akal

Ramai yang menyangka bahawa nafsu dan akal adalah bertentangan atau berbeza. Hal ini berlaku kerana salah faham dalam menterjemahkan istilah 'nafs' yang merujuk kepada diri seseorang. Setepatnya ia diterjemahkan sebagai 'jiwa'. Jiwa ada pelbagai jenis, antaranya ialah shahwaniah iaitu kehendak terhadap makanan dan pasangan. Jiwa shahwaniah inilah yang selalu kita fahami sebagai nafsu. Ada juga jiwa jenis ghadabiah, iaitu kehendak terhadap kekuasaan, kedudukan, kemuliaan dan kebanggaan. Seterusnya ada jiwa yang dinamakan aqliah, inilah yang dimaksudkan dengan nafsu akal. Kehendak bagi nafsu akal ialah ilmu, yakni pengetahuan tentang sesuatu perkara. Media massa boleh wujud dan berkembang kerana adanya nafsu akal. Manusia sentiasa ingin tahu tentang sesuatu, sekalipun sesuatu itu tiada kaitan dengannya dan tidak bermanfaat baginya. Bahkan ada yang sampai tahap ingin tahu tentang keburukan pihak tertentu, kita boleh namakannya sebagai bergosip atau mengumpat. Namun, kita perlu tahu bahawa rasa ingin tahu ada beberapa peringkat. Asasnya tiga peringkat, iaitu ingin tahu tentang alam fizikal, alam akal dan alam ketuhanan. Manusia yang rendah jiwanya hanya ingin tahu tentang alam fizikal. Yang lebih tinggi pula ingin tahu tentang alam akal. Manakala yang paling tinggi jiwanya, ia ingin tahu tentang alam ketuhanan. Adapun yang paling malang ialah, jiwa yang tidak pernah tahu dan tidak pernah sedar tentang Tuhan.


Naseer Sobree

Tuesday, September 12, 2017

37signal's Manigesto - So I can read better



00 Start Here

The web should empower, not frustrate
We design visual interfaces (what people see and how they use it) for web sites and applications. We focus on making sure these sites are both useful and easy to use.

How you fit in
We work with smart clients who understand that it's the customer, not org-charts or office politics, that matters most. These clients are hard to find, so when we get them we treat them well.

This site is a look into our minds
Inside you'll find our philosophy for simplicity in design, our influences, and ideas that drive us.

01 We See People

Users.
Sounds like a bunch of junkies or gigolos, doesn't it?

The people who visit web sites aren't "users," click-throughs, hits, numbers on a spreadsheet, or some other form of dehumanizing jargon. They're your husband, your mom, your friend, the guy who sits in the cube next to you. They're real PEOPLE, just like you and me.

That's why we think a successful site is one that makes real people's lives easier; One that makes them say, "This site worked for me." So we've made it our mission to ensure this kind of experience at the sites we build. At 37signals we don't see users, we see people.

02 Manager or external reporting?



Us.
A tight group of four dedicated to the craft of interface and customer experience design.


Them.
Associate Producer
Business Applications Analyst
CE Production Manager
Content Engineer
Desktop Support Specialist
Elite Application Specialist
European Sales Liaison
Front-End Technology Engineer
Knowledge Journalist
International/Consolidations Accountant
Managing Architect
Manager of External Reporting
Operations Architect
Site Builder
Special Projects Analyst
Traffic Coordinator
VP/Director of Pricing

03 <blink>12:00</blink>

How do i?

Most people can't even figure out how to program their VCR. So how are they supposed to figure out the "cutting-edge" technology that so many major sites impose on people? A: They won't.

The web gives people an omnipresent exit door and they won't hesitate to use it. If your business depends on your site, you better be damn sure it's easy for people to use your site and find what they're looking for. We'll help you.

04 Not full service

We're designated hitters

We don't do your database integration. Or your search engine submissions. Or your online media buying. We do interfaces and the strategy behind them.

Why? Because we think companies that claim they can do everything actually excel at nothing. That's why we choose to do one thing and do it right.


05 Size does matter

Question:
Wouldn't you want your project to be 1 of 1 or 2 rather than 1 of 10 or 20?


We're small and we like it that way. It gives us the ability to turn on a dime, deliver projects quickly, and dedicate extraordinary attention to your assignment.

Our size allows us to work on projects we want to do rather than projects we have to do. Plus we can all fit in one cab if we squeeze.


06 $6,000,000,000

Source: "Holiday '99 E-Commerce: Bridging the $6 Billion Customer Experience Gap," a report by Creative Good

Don't become a statistic

"39% of shoppers in user tests failed in their buying attempts because sites were too difficult. This rate of failure could result in a loss of more than $6 billion for online retailers this holiday season."


07 Are they experienced?


We've been designing sites since the web's commercial inception back in 1994. That's back when most designers thought a <TD> was some sort of football statistic. Ever since, we've been pushing the boundaries of HTML and innovating techniques that are commonplace today. We've got big game experience and we're money in the red zone.

08 Experience

The members of the 37signals team have performed work for a wide range of clients such as:

A.C. NielsenKraftSpyglass
ClickWorld/WareLettuce Enrtn. You.Telstreet
DigitalWorkLorealTony Stone
DisneyNorthwestern U.Transportation.com
Don CrabbOrganic OnlineUnilever
Emmis Brdcstng.PC QuoteUniversal Records
FOX SportsPerformance BikeU S West (Qwest)
Getty ImagesPlayboyWebTV
Hewlett PackardQuokka SportsWodex
Interface Sftw.SearsAnd more...


09 And I quote
In most agencies, account executives outnumber the copywriters two to one. If you were a dairy farmer, would you employ twice as many milkers as you had cows?David Ogilvy

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.Edmund Burke

Simplicity does not mean want or poverty. It does not mean the absence of any decor, or absolute nudity. It only means that the decor should belong intimately to the design proper, and that anything foreign to it should be taken away.Paul Jacques Grillo
10 Refugees

37signals is a company of refugees.


We've worked for the big guys (Agency.com, Disney Online, Organic Online, THINK New Ideas, Quokka Sports, among others) and left because we felt we could do better.

Now it's our turn.
11 Copy Righting
Would you read it if you didn't write it?

Nearly all corporate sites commit the sin of dullness in their writing. It's as if the clients and their consultants believe that if the design is good, all is good. Not so.

Writing is not the place to skimp on your budget. Seduce me, entice me, entertain me with words. Don't be cryptic, don't be stupid, and please don't be dull.

12 Occam's Razor

One should not increase, beyond what is necessary, the number of entities required to explain anything.

http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/OCCAMRAZ.html


13 Eight Seconds

"Remember the eight-second rule. Consumers have eight seconds worth of patience while waiting for your pages to load. This is especially true for home pages. It's like the restaurant business mantra: Don't keep them waiting, or they'll leave and never return."

14 Breadcrumbs

15 83%?!

NetSmart Research reports that 83% of web users have left sites in frustration due to poor usability. Unintuitive navigation and sluggish performance were reported as the main culprits.

Doesn't that make you mad?

16 Short Story

It's better to tell a short story well, than a long one poorly.

17 No Awards Please

37signals does not enter award competitions.

We believe that the marketing and communication awards "industry" encourages agencies to misplace their priorities on the opinions of their peers, rather than the needs of their clients' customers.


18 eNormicom

"Fantastic!"
-Jeffrey Veen, wired.com

"Awesome awesome awesome!...The best Web-industry spoof site ever created."
-Mark Hurst, Creative Good

"Very funny. Too true."
-David Weinberger, Cluetrain

And see what the New York Timessaid.
Enough of all this serious stuff.
Let's have some fun.


eNormicom

"Look, we don't want to waste your time...or ours.

You must be determined to create massive economic results in the next 10 minutes. Ready? Then read on."
19 Suits Who?

We're not fond of salesmen.

That's why we don't have any. Call us and you'll talk with someone who's an expert at building web sites, not at selling you something you don't need.

Call "bigwebshop" and you'll get a new business development manager or someone else who knows little about the web. This may help increase their sales but what does it do for you?

At 37signals, we keep it real. No used cars. No snake oil. No miracle cures or fad diets. Just an honest take on what your web site should be and what it will cost. Refreshing, isn't it?


20 Sloganeering

37signals
Simple for sale
We See People
Enemies of Mediocrity
Putting the Pixels in the Right Place
Megahaard
Web sites my mom could use
We're Only Human
Extraordinary web sites for ordinary people
Simplicity By Design
Signal vs. Noise
Web sites for people who can't program their VCRs
We Put the "Dig It" in Digital

21 A Not "Q"

We design web sites, not gadgets for James Bond.

Many of our peers do their best impersonation of Q, toying with flashy plug-ins and "next generation" technology.

We don't care about being the first to use the newest web gizmos. We believe in being thoughtful and providing the simplest, best possible solution for our clients.

You don't need a pen that's also a parachute, you need a web site that works for the people who use it.


22 B2whatever

Other companies talk about the importance of designing for the B2B, B2C, C2B, or B2C2B market. We don't.

The truth is corporations don't use web sites, people do. B2whatever, we'll design a site that works for the person on the other end.

23 Sightings

24 My cousin's buddy is a web designer

Then let him do it.

The money you save by using your cousin's buddy is nothing compared with the cost in time and money required to undo his mistakes.


25 Just Because You Can Doesn't Mean You Should


Scrolling news ticker

Spinning logo

Frames

Beveled Buttons

Pictures

Splash page

Music

Banner ads

3D

Virtual reality
None of these things are inherently bad. There is no evil in any one of them. The problem is that many of these things are used because they can be rather than because they should be.

Sure, there are times when light type on a dark background is appropriate, but we don't think "it just looks cool" is reason enough.

37signals believes that "hip" and "legible" don't have to be mutually exclusive. We love "cool" as much as the next person, but we also realize that part of our job is to make people's lives easier, not harder.
26 Make it useful


"Usability is always secondary. It's never the most important thing about an experience. I will accept poor usability if I get what I need, if the total experience is great. I will reject perfect usability if I am not rewarded with a useful, engaging experience."
-Donald Norman himself, author of "The Design of Everyday Things"
Usability isn't enough

Usability this, usability that. With all the talk about usability people sometimes forget the other "u" word, usefulness.

You can have the most usable site in the world but if it doesn't provide a useful, helpful service, you're just wasting your visitor's time. And, when your visitors are frustrated, your competitors are their best friends.

So please, be usable and useful.


27 Simplicity by design

LightbulbTeapot
PencilFrisbee
Post-It NotePaperclip
BrickOne-button Mouse
PaperAirplane Wing
MagnetLego
SpringScrew




28 Tulipomania

Goods received by a merchant for one (1) Viceroy tulip:

Eight fat swine
Twelve fat sheep
63 gallons of wine
60 kegs of beer
30 kegs of butter
1000 lbs. of cheese
A silver drinking-cup
In the late 1500s, tulips were introduced to Holland. The flower was considered so rare that wealthy aristocrats and merchants tripped over themselves to buy them. Speculation ensued and the flower became wildly overvalued.

In 1637 the tulip trade crashed. People who thought of themselves as extremely rich were reduced to poverty overnight.

Trends are temporary. Don't just do something because everyone else is doing it – do something because it makes sense.


29 Linkin' Logs

30 ASAP

We know, we know...you need it done yesterday. We're all living in web time now and it's redundant to even bother saying a project needs to be done ASAP.

At 37signals, we forgo the bloat and bureaucracy that plagues our industry. We don't have red tape or 5 layers of management. When you talk to us, you talk to us – not someone representing us.

We're sharp, efficient, and pay attention to the details. It's amazing what a difference this can make.

31 Referece

Simplicity is the Secret
The title says it all
Mud-Throwing & Usability
Another from Nielsen
Reading on the Web
Keep it short and narrow
Yahoo!
Simple is still the best
Designing Visual Interfaces
Required reading
Good Design, Better Sales
$3,000,000,000 lost
Prioritize
Everything can be nothing
Creative Company
Inspiration for inspiration
Small and Big
Advantages of being small

32 Highest Common Denominator

Steve Jobs, Apple CEO and co-founder on building a tight team of very talented people:

"...I found that there were these incredibly great people at doing certain things, and you couldn't replace one of these people with 50 average people. They could just do stuff that no number of average people could do...small and medium-sized teams of these people could accomplish extraordinary things and run circles around large teams of normal people."

33 Whats in a name?

Mankind constantly analyzes radio waves from outer space in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Since this analysis started, almost all of the signal sources have been identified. 37 signals, however, remain unexplained.

34 Out Team

The Bio37signals, located in Chicago, designs interfaces for web sites and applications. Pioneers of minimalistic, user-friendly designs, we have worked on projects for Qwest, Tenzing, Performance Bike, FOX Sports, and Transportation.com. We have also garnered significant attention for internal projects like Signal vs. Noise, eNormicom and Kicksology.

Our work has been featured in the New York Times, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune, and numerous other publications. We have also appeared as featured speakers at AIGA Risk/Reward, Activ8, South By Southwest, and other conferences. We also launched the AIGA Chicago Experience Design Group.




The 37signals Team
Ernest Kim

Jason Fried

Matt Linderman

Scott Upton


35 We come in peace

Be not afraid.

We're not racing to IPO; Big billings are not what drives us.

What drives us is the knowledge that the everyday person is seeing only the smallest glimpse, 1/100th at best, of the full potential of interactive media today. To most folks, the web is a scary place. Our mission is to change that perception.


36 Signal vs noise

Our soapbox

Signal vs. Noise is our weblog with ongoing dialogue and musings on the web world, design, entertainment, politics and whatever else we feel like talking about on that given day.

It's what's on our mind.


37 SETI

There's got to be more out there.

http://www.seti.org