Blog 3 Columns

The Reason Why Universities Don’t Give Their Students Challenging Texts 0
- Culture
- April 18, 2016
In a recent article for The Times Higher Education, a variety of university professors from Great Britain and Australia note a common theme in today’s students: an inability to read anything of length or depth. Take, for example, the following quotes: “Our undergraduates – and postgraduate students as well – seem mainly not to be
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The Logical Fallacy of ‘Hasty Counter-Example’0
- Economics
- April 18, 2016
If you’ve taken a course in “critical thinking”—or even just had an excellent teacher in high school or college—chances are you’ve heard of “the fallacy of hasty generalization.” There’s also the logically converse fallacy, which is equally common but unlabeled and often confused with the first. I call it that of “hasty counter-example.” For the
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Study: Architecture Affects Your Brain 0
- Culture
- April 18, 2016
A scientific study conducted several years ago found that the sorts of architecture once typical of “museums, churches, and libraries” has measurable effects on brain function that are similar in some ways to traditional forms of meditation. That’s potentially very significant, not only for the small elite that designs such buildings today, but for the
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Stanford Dean: 8 Basic Skills We’re Failing to Teach Young People 0
- Culture
- April 18, 2016
Last week, former Stanford dean Julie Lythcott-Haims made a list of eight skills which every 18-year-old should possess. The list ran as follows: An 18-year-old must be able to talk to strangers. An 18-year-old must be able to find his or her way around. An 18-year-old must be able to manage his assignments, workload, and
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Failure Made Walt Disney Great 1
- Culture
- April 18, 2016
December 15, 2016, will mark the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney’s passing. Half a century later, I vividly recall the intense sadness I felt when I learned, at age 13, that he had died. It was as though I had lost a close member of the family. I doubt that I ever missed a single
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Why Do Religious People Tend to Be Happier?0
- Culture
- April 15, 2016
The results of a Pew Forum Survey, posted last week indicate that “highly religious people” are, on average, more engaged with family, volunteer more, and are happier overall than non-religious people. Before anybody concludes that “religion” is better than irreligion, however, three fair questions need to be raised and pondered. First, is this study isolated,
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Trump and Hillary: One and the Same?0
- Culture
- April 15, 2016
Through the help of expert handlers, great websites, and well-crafted campaign ads, presidential candidates can make themselves out to be model Democrats or Republicans. But sometimes, those public images of the candidate as ideal conservative or liberal are belied by their own words. In a newly released study from the American Enterprise Institute, Weifeng Zhong
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The Big Problem with Incest isn’t Genetic 0
- Culture
- April 15, 2016
Generally speaking, when individuals consider whether or not incest is acceptable or not, the first thought goes to genetics. Quite quickly, images of malformed backwoods-types or sickly kings and queens of old come to mind. For that reason, people may say that incest itself is okay as long as there is consent and that protection
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Study: Literacy in Ancient Israel Was ‘Far More Widespread than Previously Known’0
- History
- April 15, 2016
The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published a study on Monday revealing that literacy among ancient Israeli soldiers was much higher than previously believed. The study was based on 16 inscriptions on pottery fragments (known as ostracons) unearthed near the Dead Sea in an excavation from the Judahite desert fortress of Arad. The
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The Reason Why Universities Don’t Give Their Students Challenging Texts 0