I have been working with my son on a research paper he’s writing about perfect pitch. (Fascinating to me: people with perfect pitch have autism.) I thought the hardest part about helping him would be that I have very little science education. But actually the hardest part has been predicting the reaches and limits of his digital literacy. Read more
The case against Harvard that’s going through the court system right now is fascinating. Rejected candidates are suing Harvard for systematic discrimination, and in order to defend itself, Harvard had to reveal salacious details of its arcane system for ranking applicants. Read more
This post is about a new course I’m doing. Oct 22.
But first, I have stuff to say. I recently wrote about the breakfast table effect, which explains why kids who have great science projects before college have parents who are scientists: they talk about science over breakfast because that’s what the parents like to talk about. Read more
Today’s students memorize fewer facts because they are well aware that everything they’d need to know is online. To get the best of this sea change, your kids actually know how to find things. It’s not as simple as you might think, and kids need a lot of time to explore the Internet unfettered by parental advice.
Yesterday women all over the US did a walk out to support Kavanaugh’s accusers.There are pictures of men and women getting arrested for protesting in the Capitol. As women are chanting on the steps of the Capitol they are telling the press they want Christine Blasey Ford to know that if the Senate won’t keep her safe, the women of this country will. We will not let her down.
JDP did a study of LinkedIn photos to see which profession is making the most mistakes in how they present themselves professionally. Educators were right up at the top. One might say that’s because LinkedIn is not an important way for teachers to get jobs, but then why are they on LinkedIn at all? Read more
I’ve been reading about the correlation between reading fiction and having empathy. The correlation has been established for a long time. And, of course, the correlation between empathy and good health is known as well. Read more
I go back and forth about if I should develop my weaknesses. I am bad with money. Not bad at earning it, but I’m bad at waiting for stuff. I just buy what I want. Imagine a petulant bratty child shopping online some nights and drinking wine to cope with self-induced financial pressure on other nights. Read more
YouTube is what my son does when his fingers hurt too much to do the last hour of practice. Today we watched Benjamin Zander’s TED Talk. Read more
When they were younger my kids would say, “Mom, you’re not wearing a bra.”
I’d say, “I know. Women can choose to wear bras or not wear bras. It’s my choice.”
When the boys got older they’d say, “Mom, you’re not wearing a bra. It’s gross.”
I’d say, “My body is not gross. And I do not need to wear certain clothing in order to not be gross.” Read more