Blog 3 Columns

Why Do Some People Lose Their S**T Over Bad ‘Star Wars’ Reviews?0
- Culture
- January 8, 2016
93% of reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes have given the new Star Wars movie a positive review. Those few reviewers out there who gave a negative review? Holy Crap… They experienced impassioned wrath from commenters of all different backgrounds. Andrew O’Hehir received “a barrage of hatemail” over his negative review. Some critics were even told to
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Very Cool! New York Public Library Releases 180,000 Historical Images into the Public Domain 0
- History
- January 8, 2016
NPR reports that the New York Public Library has released 180,000 public domain items as high resolution downloads available for free. This means that the public now has unprecedented access to historical images in high quality: “The documents include literary manuscripts, Farm Security Administration photographs, sheet music, papers from Founding Fathers, WPA-era art by African-American
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There’s No Such Thing as a ‘Fact’0
- January 8, 2016
It’s commonplace today for people to loosely use the term “fact.” When invoked, it’s used as a predicate for something that simply is and therefore not open to question or debate. For instance, when President Obama said in his 2014 State of the Union Address that “The debate is settled. Climate change is a fact.”
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Study: It’s Not Your Imagination, Modern Kindergarten is More Demanding 0
- Education
- January 8, 2016
It’s a question that’s been raised a number of times in recent months: are schools demanding more of young children these days? According to news out this morning, we no longer have to rack our brains to recall our own kindergarten experience for comparison’s sake. Research shows that today’s 5 year-olds are required to perform
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Philadelphia Cop Shot: Clash of Civilizations Continues 0
- Culture
- January 8, 2016
On the same night that President Obama held a televised, town hall meeting on gun control, a man shot a police officer in the name of Islam with a stolen police gun. Reuters reported the following: “A gunman claiming to have pledged allegiance to Islamic State militants shot and seriously wounded a Philadelphia police officer
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Penetrating Wisdom from Marcus Aurelius 0
- History
- January 8, 2016
1. “Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.” 2. “Never esteem anything as of advantage to you that will make you break your word or lose your self-respect.” 3. “Nowhere can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul.” 4. “There
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Keynes in 1930: Americans Will Have 15-Hour Work Week by 2030 (Ha!)0
- Economics
- January 8, 2016
In 1930, economist John Maynard Keynes predicted that by 2030 the American economy would be so productive as to allow for a 15-hour work week, according to a recent story in The Atlantic. As The Atlantic reminds us, three quarters of the way there, we’re not even close. For a while it appeared that Keynes’s
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Do LGBT kids need school choice?0
- Culture
- January 8, 2016
To much national acclaim, a new school for LGBT kids is opening in Atlanta called “Pride School”. According to the school’s website, its mission is the following: “To provide LGBTQQIAA students, families and educators a safe, fun and rigorous learning environment free of homophobia and transphobia – a place that honors their identities so they
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Democracy, Greed, and the Perils of Equality 0
- History
- January 8, 2016
If there are two things that one is likely to hear from college faculty today, they are that 1. Students are too careerist, and 2. We need a more democratic society. They worry about the growing utilitarian cast of education in general, as well as the remnants of hierarchy, authority, paternalism, and inequality in today’s
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Why Do Some People Lose Their S**T Over Bad ‘Star Wars’ Reviews?0