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How People Used to Celebrate ‘Midsummer Night’0
- History
- June 23, 2017
Tonight, June 23, is the setting for Shakespeare’s play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The setting was chosen for the fanciful comedy, presumably, because of the character of the feasting that took place throughout Europe on this night in times past. In his introduction to the 1878 edition of the play, Samuel Neil provides us with
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Homeschool is Booming, New Study Shows0
- Education
- June 23, 2017
A report issued this week by The Pioneer Institute, a Boston-based a public policy think tank, sheds light on the rapid growth and diversity of the U.S. homeschooling population. Co-authored by William Heuer and William Donovan, the comprehensive white paper explains that despite a paucity of support from government officials–and outright opposition by the nation’s
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‘Empathy’ is Becoming a Joke0
- Culture
- June 23, 2017
Empathy is one of the trendiest words in the English language today. The Google Ngram below shows how the use of this word has surged in the modern vernacular. Many people would view this as a good thing because they see empathy—the ability to understand and share the feelings of others – as a
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Why Your Kids Should Avoid Summer Reading Programs0
- Education
- June 22, 2017
Libraries are ideal examples of local, self-directed learning hubs that support all members of a community in learning naturally, without coercion. Late-nineteenth century steel magnate, Andrew Carnegie, who created many of the first public libraries, stated: “A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is a never
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Why the latest wave of terrorism will get worse before it gets better0
- International
- June 22, 2017
The latest attacks in London and Manchester – like last year’s attacks in Orlando, Florida and St. Cloud, Minnesota – epitomize what I call the newest form of terrorism. The newest terrorists aim to kill as many people as possible, as frequently as possible, as horrifically as possible, intimately, suicidally, with the most accessible weapons,
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Prof: Light Skin ‘a Handicap for Black Athletes’0
- Culture
- June 22, 2017
During an interview this spring, Golden State Warriors Draymond Green discussed why players around the league have long doubted or dismissed the talents of his superstar teammate, Stephen Curry. But it was Green’s last point, mentioned almost as an aside – “And of course, Steph is light-skinned so [players] want to make him out to be soft”
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Jordan Peterson Explains Why He Doesn’t Like Virtue Signaling1
- Culture
- June 22, 2017
In a recent youtube video, University of Toronto Professor and clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson spoke with students about virtue signaling. “Virtue signaling,” definitionally speaking, is the conspicuous expression of moral values done with the primary intent of improving one’s standing among one’s peers. Or, as Urban Dictionary describes it, virtue signaling is “saying you love
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How Many Libertarians Are There?0
- Culture
- June 22, 2017
There has been debate this week about how many libertarians there are. The answer is: it depends on how you measure it and how you define libertarian. The overwhelming body of literature, however, using a variety of different methods and different definitions, suggests that libertarians comprise about 10-20% of the population, but may range from
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Chores Lead to Happy Children. So Why Do So Few Parents Require Them?1
- Culture
- June 22, 2017
Why do kids really need to do chores? The answer to that question was recently highlighted in an Uncommon Knowledge production with Peter Robinson and U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse. As Sasse implies, kids need chores in order to form the habits and strong work ethic which has been lost as people have moved away from
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