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Blog 3 Columns

  • Prof’s CV of Failures Goes Viral (and Why That’s a Good Thing)

    Prof’s CV of Failures Goes Viral (and Why That’s a Good Thing)0

    Sometimes we feel good about other people’s failures. Too often, that’s the feeling the Germans called Schadenfreude—not something to be proud of. But sometimes the human instinct to relish in the failure of others can be used to instruct. That’s the implication of a Washington Post “Wonkblog” from last week entitled “Why it feels so

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  • Is there a Measurable Benefit to Public Art?

    Is there a Measurable Benefit to Public Art?0

    In the Western world, it’s widely assumed that making works of art easily available and visible to the public improves people’s lives in tangible ways. Having lived in half-a-dozen major American cities and one English city, I’ve seen public art everywhere. Much of it is funded in whole or part by the taxpayers. But what,

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  • Is ‘More Diversity’ Really the Answer to Racial Problems?

    Is ‘More Diversity’ Really the Answer to Racial Problems?0

    With all of the racial tension lately, is diversity really the answer to our racial problems? This seems to be the solution that the San Francisco Police Department favors at a time when it is under scrutiny for racist text messages among its officers. As Paul Elias reports for the Associated Press, “San Francisco’s police

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  • Do Most Humans Long to Be Ruled?

    Do Most Humans Long to Be Ruled?0

    Is America ripe for a dictatorial coup? It’s a question more and more pundits are asking. (We’ve also chimed in.) Why? First, it’s a presidential election year. And everyone gets a little crazy crazier during election season. But it’s more than that. Ross Douthat, writing in the New York Times over the weekend, observed that

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  • Children Help Adults to Grow Up

    Children Help Adults to Grow Up0

    It is a truism that children need adults to help them grow up. It is, however, less known but equally true that adults need children to help them grow into the fullness of maturity. Whereas children need to be taught about life in all its multifarious manifestations, satisfying their natural sense of wonder and their

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  • ‘I’m Smarter than Everyone Else’ Disease

    ‘I’m Smarter than Everyone Else’ Disease0

    “It’s a sickness,” said a friend of mine who until recently was an elected official in our city. “It sets in after you’re elected the first time, or maybe even when you’re running for office.” That sickness is “thinking you’re smarter than everyone else.” My friend made this statement after reading in our local paper

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  • The Moment of Conception is Marked (Literally) by Fireworks. Just Watch

    The Moment of Conception is Marked (Literally) by Fireworks. Just Watch0

    So say researchers from Northwestern University, according to this story from the Telegraph last week authored by the paper’s science editor Sarah Knapton. They call it “the zinc spark.” And they provided pictures to prove it. “Over the last six years,” writes the article’s author, “this team has shown that zinc controls the decision to

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  • Should U.S. Schools Encourage a ‘Gap Year’?

    Should U.S. Schools Encourage a ‘Gap Year’?0

    Malia Obama’s announcement that she will follow in the steps of her parents and walk the halls of Harvard University as a student really shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. What is a bit of a surprise, however, is the first daughter’s decision to take a “gap year” and wait to start college until the

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  • Liberals Can Be Anti-Science Too

    Liberals Can Be Anti-Science Too0

    We know the refrain: conservatives are “anti-science.” Whether the issue is evolution, climate change, stem-cell research, sex education, etc., conservatives simply reject the scientific consensus when it doesn’t fit their ideological dogmas. In some cases, there’s merit in that criticism. But it’s worth noting that liberals are by no means immune to similar thinking. Evidence

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