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  • Have Americans Forgotten How to Make Friends?

    Have Americans Forgotten How to Make Friends?0

    Have you ever heard of paying someone to be your friend? If not, prepare yourself, for renting a friend or hiring a person to “snuggle with” is a rising new business. According to The Atlantic, “Samantha Hess and Becky Rodrigues are paid to hug people. Cuddlers for hire, they will hold clients close, in a

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  • 10 Rather Sobering Quotes from Joseph Conrad

    10 Rather Sobering Quotes from Joseph Conrad0

    1. “Being a woman is a terribly difficult trade since it consists principally of dealings with men.”   2. “It is not the clear-sighted who lead the world. Great achievements are accomplished in a blessed, warm mental fog.”   3. “A man is a worker. If he is not that he is nothing.”   4.

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  • Virtual reality is coming. Is that a good thing?

    Virtual reality is coming. Is that a good thing?0

    The Financial Times has an interesting piece celebrating the developments afoot in the virtual reality (VR) sector. According to Roy Taylor, a vice-president of the chipmaker AMD: “’VR is happening here on a scale and with an energy you can’t believe,’ he said. ‘The universities are pouring millions of dollars into it. I don’t think

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  • Teaching Students to Write in the Wrong Way

    Teaching Students to Write in the Wrong Way0

    American students are terrible writers. Employers, professors, and statistics agree. In 2011, only 27% of American 8th and 12th graders were deemed proficient in writing. Naturally, teachers are working hard to overcome this problem. But a recent article in The Wall Street Journal makes me wonder if some are approaching it the wrong way: “English

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  • Single Moms Now Rooming Together

    Single Moms Now Rooming Together0

    Yesterday The Washington Post reported on a growing phenomenon: more single, separated, or divorced mothers are joining forces and moving in with each other. “When Kimberly Taylor separated from her husband three years ago, she and her daughter, Amelia, stayed in the marital home — a four-bedroom house in Woodbridge, Va., with a finished basement

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  • Being Emotional Isn’t a Form of Debate

    Being Emotional Isn’t a Form of Debate0

    Discourse, especially in schools, is miserable these days. As Randall Smith, the Scanlan Professor of Theology at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, argues, there are only three options when it comes to uncomfortable topics, “Non-judgmentalism, furious indignation, or ironic detachment.” How he describes his experiences teaching at the college level goes a long

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  • Our Overcautious Society is Hurting Children

    Our Overcautious Society is Hurting Children0

    I walked by my childhood playground a few months ago. The massive wood structure, steep slides, and high swings were gone, replaced by a much smaller – and safer – set of plastic equipment. Such a change is a common occurrence these days – after all, we want our kids to be safe, right? But

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  • No Yoga for You!

    No Yoga for You!0

    According to sociologists, cultural appropriation occurs when a dominant culture takes culturally significant practices or symbols from a weaker culture. Such takings are seen as oppression or even cultural genocide and therefore, “bad”. The latest example of the fight over cultural appropriation occurred at the University of Ottawa when a free yoga class was cancelled

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  • Let Your Child Play Outside? You Could Face Jail for That.

    Let Your Child Play Outside? You Could Face Jail for That.0

    Americans are realizing that children need more time for outdoor free play. Lack of play is increasingly tied to a decline in non-cognitive skills and a rise in hyperactivity.  But what happens to the parents who actually provide outdoor playtime for their child? Some of them are threatened with jail time. California mother Sonya Hendron

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