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Why Not Polygamy?1
- Culture
- May 16, 2016
As same-sex marriage became widely accepted in the U.S. over the last decade, a surefire way to increase the decibel level of a conversation on the issue was to bring up polygamy. Liberal and conservative proponents of same-sex marriage alike said opponents of gay marriage were relying on weak slippery-slope arguments (they often were). Lengthy
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A Brain Teaser on the Power of Context 0
- Entertainment
- May 16, 2016
In his book The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell has a chapter called “The Power of Context.” The power of context shows how people’s decisions are highly influenced by the circumstances in which they are making a decision or presented information. For instance, a seminarian who had just heard the parable of the Good Samaritan might
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What Rudyard Kipling’s ‘The Jungle Book’ Gets Right About Rules 0
- Culture
- May 13, 2016
The latest issue of National Geographic arrived at our house with a dazzling cover story on Yellowstone National Park, full of images of grizzly bears, wolves, elk, and bison. Yellowstone is a wild place “filled with wonders—fierce animals, deep canyons, scalding waters—that are magnificent to behold but fretful to engage,” and the issue asks whether
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Sexual Harassment Training Isn’t Just a Waste of Time: It’s Harmful 0
- Culture
- May 13, 2016
The last time you had to sit through a training program or sign your office’s fine-print disclosure on sexual harassment policy, you probably thought you were just wasting your time. You were wrong: Research suggests that efforts to raise awareness and train employees about sexual harassment may be worse than a waste. They may actually
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Is It Time to Stop Bashing the Liberal Arts?0
- Education
- May 13, 2016
With college tuition and student-loan debt at all-time highs, it’s fashionable to bash “the liberal arts.” The standard complaint, and the point of many jokes, is that majoring in such subjects as literature, philosophy, and history doesn’t develop skills marketable enough to generate a decent “return on investment.” Even President Obama has beaten that drum.
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Ladies, You Need to Stop Husband-Shaming 0
- Culture
- May 13, 2016
Over the years, in posts on Facebook groups for mothers, I’ve seen my share of women talking smack about their husbands. Writing to hundreds (sometimes thousands) of other women, many of whom they don’t know, wives will unburden themselves about the latest insensitive things their husbands have done. The complaints run the gamut from real
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