An easy fix
/For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong. -H. L. Mencken
ideas that challenge / comfort / inspire
studying religion
/Few study religion to learn how to live – many search it for justification for the way they already live.
Work & Play
/Most middle-class Americans tend to worship their work, to work at their play, and to play at their worship. As a result, their meanings and values are distorted. Their relationships disintegrate faster than they can keep them in repair, and their life-styles resemble a cast of characters in search of a plot.
Gordon Dahl, Work, Play, and Worship in a Leisure-Oriented Society
Faith & Doubt
/Faith does not preclude doubt. It consists of staking your life on the rumor of grace. -Michael Gerson
Seizing the Initiative
/Everything in this world conspires to put you on the defensive. At work, your superiors may want the glory for themselves and will discourage you from taking the imitative. People are constantly pushing and attacking you, keeping you in react mode. You are continually reminded of your limitations and what you cannot hope to accomplish. You are made to feel guilty for this and that. Such defensiveness on your part can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Before anything, you need to liberate yourself from this feeling. By acting boldly, before others are ready, by moving to seize the initiative, you create your own circumstances rather than simply waiting for what life brings you. Your initial push alters the situation, on your terms.
Robert Greene, 33 Strategies of War
Articles of interest - July 8
/***TECHNOLOGY
Over 80% of facial recognition suspects flagged by London's Met Police were innocent, report says ABC News
Forecasters Caution 5G Will Interfere With Gathering Weather Data NPR
In the age of deepfakes, could virtual actors put humans out of business? The Guardian
***BIG DATA & AI
Soon, satellites will be able to watch you everywhere all the time MIT Technology Review
Artificial intelligence is coming for our faces Wired
Brown University researchers show ability to store and retrieve image data on molecules smaller than human DNA New Scientist
A new business in small satellites orbiting the Earth Economist
The strange link between the human mind and quantum physics BBC
Not all weather satellites are equal Wired
Will Machine-Generated Books Accelerate our Consumption of Scholarly Literature? Scholarly Kitchen
Using AI to speed up the processing of space images Where no neural network has gone before Economist
What is the Blockchain Really, and Should You Care? Scholarly Kitchen
Robot uses machine learning to harvest lettuce University of Cambridge
***SOCIAL MEDIA
Instagram is sweet and sort of boring—but the ads! Wired
‘Influencer’ bride tries to pay wedding photographer with exposure but fails spectacularly Indy
Instagram will now ask you to think twice before posting profanities The Next Web
Twitter bans 'dehumanizing language' aimed at religious groups Mashable
***MOBILE
Heedless smartphone zombies keep stepping out in front of cars Economist
***JOURNALISM
Watch A Reporter Block A Man From Entering Her Shot Like A Boss Digg
Journalism Job Cuts Haven’t Been This Bad Since the Recession Bloomberg
Behind the scenes with The Weather Channel’s mixed reality broadcasting Immersive Shooter
As the World Heats Up, the Climate for News Is Changing, Too New York Times
This is a great example for a statistics class, or a class on survey sampling, or a political science class Stat Modeling
***FAKE NEWS
Fact check: Trump promotes fake Ronald Reagan quote about him CNN
***PRIVACY & SECURITY
How to protect your privacy in Chrome Washington Post
Yes, your emails are being tracked: Here's how to stop it Mashable
Trick those #!@% spam calls with a fake phone number CNET
A City Paid a Hefty Ransom to Hackers. But Its Pains Are Far From Over New York Times
Zoom zero-day vulnerability could let websites turns your Mac's cameras without permission The Next Web
***PRODUCING MEDIA
How stock photography is made Vox
***INTERNET
The internet has made dupes—and cynics—of us all Wired
***PERSONAL GROWTH
Be a Poet Becoming (my blog)
***GRAMMAR
How to Use a Semicolon Correctly Life Hacker
Is an emoji a word or a gesture? Both Quartz
***WRITING & READING
How technology is changing the craft of screenwriting BBC
Microsoft's Ebook apocalypse shows the dark side of DRM Wired
The best books to read at every age, from 1 to 100 Washington Post
New ways of selling books clash with France’s old pricing rules Economist
Papermaking master a gem in a digital age Daily Iowan
10 of the Best-Selling Books in History (Minus Religious Texts) Mental Floss
The unlikely rise of book fairs in the Middle East Economist
An interactive map of over 5,000 book covers, organized by machine learning Pudding
My Latinx students write what they know. And their words are powerful LA Times
***LITERATURE
Carrying a Single Life: On Literature and Translation New York Review of Books
Nigerian Schoolgirls' Abduction Told In 'Beneath The Tamarind Tree' NPR
Brenda Maddox, biographer of Nora Barnacle and others in literature, dies at 87 Boston Globe
***LANGUAGE
Want a truly mind-expanding experience? Learn another language The Guardian
***POETRY
She wrote a poem about a vagina. It landed her in jail CNN
Here’s how to arrange the poems in your poetry manuscript The Press-Enterprise
Watch Your Poetry With The Visible Poetry Project Book Riot
***GENDER
It could take 118 years for female computer scientists to match publishing rates of male colleagues Science Mag
***LEGAL ISSUES
Emojis increasingly appear in court cases and judges struggle with how to interpret them KTVQ
Dueling fake "independent" websites leads to unclean hands finding, but some injunctive relief Tushnet Blog
***CRIME & COURTS
FBI Records Could Have Solved A Civil Rights Cold Case. Now It's Too Late NPR
Professor faces 219-year prison sentence for sending missile chip tech to China The Verge
The Supreme Court wraps up its term, inching to the right Economist
Red Oak Man Wins Settlement After Being Arrested for Criticizing Police WHOT-TV
***RELIGION
Following plagiarism charges and multiple retractions, a priest resigns from a position at a television network Church Militant
Mormon and the tricky process of leaving the Church The Verge
Pope moves America's 'first televangelist' closer to sainthood Reuters
Pastor builds monster truck for Jesus AL.com
When Philip K. Dick turned to Christianity: Soon after he became a countercultural hero Salon
How California’s megachurches changed Christian culture Durango Herald
Poll: Americans rarely seek guidance from clergy Religious News Service
U.S. Confidence in Organized Religion Remains Low Gallup
Study: White Evangelicals Least Likely to Say the U.S. Has a ‘Responsibility’ to Accept Refugees Relevant Magazine
***RELIGION AND POLITICS
A matter of faith: Democrats embrace religion in campaign Associated Press
The Religious Right is Still Fanning Fear of California LGBTQ Resolution Right Wing Watch
The Deepening Crisis in Evangelical Christianity Support for Trump comes at a high cost for Christian witness (opinion) The Atlantic
***CHRISTIAN BOOKS
A Christian bestseller (and CT Book of the Year) was targeted by a major counterfeiting scheme Christianity Today
The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven changed Christian publishing forever—and tore a family apart Slate
***GOOD NEWS
Beloved 'singing doctor' who sang to 8,000 babies after delivery gets heartfelt honor GMA
How one couple's years-long battle against leukemia led to happily ever after ABC News
Woman Paints Her Children's Drawings And Transforms Them Into Incredible Pieces Of Art Digg
***REALLY?!
Watch 32,000 Dominos Fall in an Extremely Satisfying Way Mental Floss
13-year-old girl's rigorous study finds hand dryers can hurt children's ears WKYC
10 Scientific Benefits of Kissing Mental Floss
***ART & DESIGN
User Inyerface: All of the worst UI practices in one evil form
The 5 Top Destinations for Art and Design Lovers in August Architechural Digest
***MUSIC
Walkman turns 40 today: How listening to music changed over the years Business Insider
Brazilian bossa nova pioneer Joao Gilberto dies at 88 Associated Press
***THE BUSINESS OF MEDIA
The End of an Era: MAD Magazine Will Publish Its Last Issue With Original Content This Fall Open Culture
***SEXUAL HARASSMENT & ASSAULT
Lawsuit by student accused of sex assault seeks class-action status against Michigan State Detroit Press Press
University barred from punishing student in unusual Title IX case Inside Higher Ed
***BORDER ISSUES
Jurors refuse to convict activist facing 20 years for helping migrants The Guardian
Federal Agents Joked About Migrant Deaths, Propublica Reports NPR
Hispanic evangelical group offers to help migrant children Baptist Standard
A Pastor Who Was Put On A Watch List After Working With Immigrants Is Suing The US BuzzFeed News
Fiona Apple donating two years worth of song's royalties to help pay migrants' legal fees The Hill
Hispanic evangelical group offers to help migrant children Baptist Standard
***BUSINESS & FINANCE
The art of selling scent in the internet age Fast Company
How accessible technology is overcoming barriers in the workplace Verdict
***ENVIRONMENT
The Secret Language of Trees: A Charming Animated Lesson Explains How Trees Share Information with Each Other Open Culture
Planting more trees could suck up a huge share of carbon emissions MIT Technology Review
The California coast is disappearing under the rising sea. Our choices are grim Los Angeles Times
***HEALTH
What the Measles Epidemic Really Says About America The Atlantic
Can Sunscreen Really Repair Your DNA? Wired
Antivaxxers turn to homeschooling to avoid protecting their kids’ health Are Technica
Man dies after adding a teaspoon of caffeine powder to protein shake New York Post
***HEALTH RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY
An Italian clan’s curious insensitivity to pain has piqued the interest of geneticists seeking a new understanding of how to treat physical suffering Smithsonian Magazine
Alexa could detect whether you're having a heart attack, study suggests USA Today
***TRAVEL
Strange Facts About the U.S. Condé Nast Traveler CNN
***SPORTS & GAMES
The future of sports gambling The Week
Unflappable. Unapologetic. Unequaled: The greatest U.S. women's soccer team ever Sports Illustrated
***FOOD
Woman Who Licked Tub Of Blue Bell Ice Cream In Viral Video Could Face 20 Years In Prison 5 News
Italian Chefs React In Relative Horror At YouTubers Making Pesto Dig
Scientists Engineer A Smooth, Beanless Coffee NPR
The Changing American Diet Flowing Data
***ANIMALS
This couple took engagement photos with dogs And cats In need of homes Huffington Post
Why Are Octopuses So Smart? The Atlantic
***PSYCHOLOGY
Catholic medical journal pulls paper on conversion therapy over statistical problems Retraction Watch
The all-too-understandable urge to buy a better brain Vox
***NEUROSCIENCE
Neuroscience has found that gestures are not merely important as tools of expression but as guides of cognition and perception Quanta Magazine
Could Lab-Grown Brains Develop Consciousness? Singularity Hub
Does Consciousness Exist Outside of the Brain? Psychology Today
Scientists are giving dead brains new life New York Times
How our brain sculpts experience in line with our expectations Aeon Essays
***PHILOSOPHY
Plagiarizing articles in philosophy Wiley Online
***HISTORY
Stravinsky’s “Illegal” Arrangement of “The Star Spangled Banner” (1944) Open Culture
When Charlie Chaplin Entered a Chaplin Look-Alike Contest & Came in 20th Place Open Culture
Trump's 'Revolutionary War Airports' Memes and Reactions eBaum’s World
Review of The Weather Machine By Andrew Blum Economist
Florida principal refused to call the Holocaust a fact Palm Beach Post
***CHINA
Inside the fight for Hong Kong Macleans
China Is Forcing Tourists to Install Text-Stealing Malware at its Border Vice
Taiwan’s Status is a Geopolitical Absurdity The Atlantic
***POLITICS
Some Trump supporters thought NPR tweeted ‘propaganda’: It was the Declaration of Independence Washington Post
Reactionary nationalism is a challenge to liberalism--and conservatism Economist
***RESEARCH
The researcher behind the smartphone “horns” study sells posture pillows Quartz
Nature says it wants to publish replication attempts. So what happened when a group of authors submitted one to Nature Neuroscience? Retraction Watch
A plant scientist has sued his university and 4 female students, accusing them of leaking a confidential investigation report to the media Bozeman Daily Chronicle
Statisticians clamor for retraction of paper by Harvard researchers they say uses a “nonsense statistic” Retraction Watch
***HIGHER ED
Why Is There So Much Saudi Money in American Universities? New York Times
Demand for Campus Child Care Is Growing: Choosing How to Provide It Can Be Fraught (sub. req’d) The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Education Deserts of Rural America The Atlantic
The Education Deserts of Rural America The Atlantic
Study: Millions of U.S. Students Are Without Home Internet Gov Tech
DeVos rescinds rule forcing colleges to disclose debt and salary data CNBC
ASU tries to boost Degree Completion With Blockchain Inside Higher Ed
What universities can learn from one of science’s biggest frauds Nature
Grand Canyon University spends $21.6M to buy church near Phoenix campus Arizona Central
Are Small Private Colleges Worth the Money? The Atlantic
Author in her new book discusses the challenges colleges, particularly religious institutions, face in mitigating sexual assault Inside Higher Ed
Rejection of LGBTQ student group leads to a fight at "unambiguously Christian" Baylor Texas Tribune
USC to pay UC San Diego $50M over Alzheimer's research Washington Post
***ACADEMIC LIFE
New study finds “important deficiencies” in university reports of misconduct Retraction Watch
I Help People Cheat Their Way to Getting PhDs Vice
***STUDENT LIFE
The ‘Mickey Mouse’ degrees and universities that actually reduce your earning potential Telegraph
Millennials Rely On Parents For Financial Help, Study Shows NPR
Anchoring
/You lower your anxiety about uncertainty by producing a number, then you “anchor” on it, like an object to hold on to in the middle of a vacuum.
Ask someone to provide you with the last four digits of his social security number. Then ask him to estimate the number of dentists in Manhattan. You will find that by making him aware of the four-digit number, you elicit an estimate that is correlated with it.
We use reference points in our heads, say sales projections, and start building beliefs around them because less mental effort is needed to compare an idea to a reference point than to evaluate it in the absolute. We cannot work without a point of reference.
So the introduction of a reference point in the forecaster’s mind will work wonders. This is no different from a starting point in a bargaining episode: you open with high number (“I want a million for this house” the bidder will answer “only eight-fifty” – the discussion will be determined by that initial level.
Nassim Taleb, The Black Swain
No, You’re Not Addicted to Social Media
/I think post-millennial teenagers are misled. Many are deeply unhappy spending so much time on social media and would rather hang out with their friends in real life. But because they believe that everyone else expects them to be on it, disclosing their true preferences has become too costly. The immense pressure of the norm means that no one can quit.
Framing the issue solely as social media addiction, besides being unhelpful, might in fact hinder social change. Measures that give teens and parents more control over the time they spend on social media —work well to increase awareness of our behavior, but they do nothing to change expectations about the private beliefs and hidden preferences of other people. Because of this, strategies that target individual behavior will be largely ineffective when it comes to changing the social norm.
Arunas L. Radzvilavicius writing in Undark
what makes you come alive
/Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
The Promotion Curse
/The records of almost 40,000 salespeople across 131 firms were studied and researchers found that companies have a strong tendency to promote the best sales people. Convincing others to buy goods and services is a useful skill, requiring charisma and persistence. But, as the authors point out, these are not the same capabilities as the strategic planning and administrative competence needed to lead a sales team. The research then looked at what happened after these super-salespeople were promoted. Their previous sales performance was actually a negative indicator of managerial success.
People get promoted until they reach a level when they stop enjoying their jobs. At this point, it is not just their competence that is affected; it is their happiness as well. The trick to avoiding this curse is to stick to what you like doing. Beware the curse of overwork and dissatisfaction.
where you slipped
/Do not look where you fell, but where you slipped. -African Proverb
education
/The chief object of education is not to learn things but to unlearn things. -GK Chesterton
the Resistance
/Are you a writer who doesn’t write, a painter who doesn’t paint, an entrepreneur who never starts a venture? Then you know what Resistance is. -Steven Pressfield
The Adventure Risk
/Andre Gide once said, "One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time." Explorers of new worlds will always have times of ambiguity where they wonder if they are getting anywhere and whether the voyage was really worth it.
Stephen Goforth
invincible?
/Whoever is winning at the moment will always seem to be invincible. -George Orwell (born June 25, 1903)
Articles of Interest - June 24
/***TECHNOLOGY
The Invisible Battle for America’s Airwaves Popular Mechanics
Tesla Arcade Let’s You Play a Videogame Right in Your Car Wired
Ever Plugged A USB In Wrong? Of Course You Have. Here's Why NPR
***JOURNALISM
Trump threatens Time journalist with prison over photo BBC
Five NY1 anchors file age and gender discrimination lawsuit against the New York station CNN
***FAKE NEWS
"First-generation fact-checking” is no longer good enough. Here’s what comes next Harvard’s Nieman Lab
Identifying a fake picture online is harder than you might think The Conversation
Debunked: The absurd story about smartphones causing kids to sprout horns Ars Technica
How Do You Solve a Problem Like Deepfakes? The Fashion Law Blog
***BIG DATA & AI
Imminent quantum supremacy may turn out to have an important application after all Wired
Walmart is using AI-powered cameras to track theft in 1,000 stores: It’s called Missed Scan Detection technology Business Insider
Can AI spot early signs of schizophrenia? Science Daily
How machine learning can be used to drive experimental quantum physics discoveries Pyys.org
The concept of the data lake has edged its way into wider business strategy for many orgs IT Proportal
***SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media can hurt. Here are 6 ways to reduce its harms Fast Company
If Slack is so good, why are so many companies trying to fix it? Vox
Instagram Advertising By Micro-Influencers: Do You Know It, When You See It? NPR
***TIKTOK
Meet TikTok: How The Washington Post, NBC News, and The Dallas Morning News are using the of-the-moment platform Harvard’s Nieman Lab
TikTok Has A Predator Problem. A Network Of Young Women Is Fighting Back BuzzFeed News
Brands and advertisers are scrambling to tap into TikTok Fast Company
***PRIVACY & SECURITY
Google Chrone has become Surveillance Software Washington Post
Florida city pays $600,000 ransom to save computer records - single employee clicked on an email link that allowed them to upload malware Associated Press
***PRODUCING MEDIA
NASA releases 140,000 high-resolution photos from its archives This is Colossal
Tools to fix your noisy video chats, send emails with confidence and improve your newsletters Poynter
***INTERNET
How the pursuit of leisure drives internet use Economist
Is Firefox better than Chrome? It comes down to privacy The Washington Post
The Most Visited Websites In The World, Visualized Digg
***PERSONAL GROWTH
Your career as a Painting not a Ladder Becoming (my blog)
What Advice Would You Give Your Younger Self?: What Research Shows, and What You Have to Say Open Culture
Gardening Fixes Everything Forge
***LANGUAGE
Latin is dead—yet it also lives on Economist
The Lost Words: An Illustrated Dictionary of Poetic Spells Reclaiming the Language of Nature Brain Pickings
How to change a word’s meaning: misogyny Economist
***POETRY
Poetry paints a lyrical picture of Canada The Record
‘The spirit of activism has always been in LA poetry’ KCRW
Reviving Northern Ireland's poetry scene one poem at a time BBC
‘Dreaming of Stones’: Poetry collection offers spiritual solace Chicago Tribune
The Last Love Poem I Will Ever Write’ and other best poetry of the month Washington Post
***POETS
Meet Joy Harjo, The First Native American U.S. Poet Laureate NPR
How Erasmus Darwin’s Poetry Prophesied Evolutionary Theory The Wire
Eve L. Ewing on ‘1919,’ her new poetry collection about Chicago’s little-known race riot Chicago Tribune
Psychiatric survivor Mel Starkman turned his experiences into poetry and activism The Globe
***LEGAL ISSUES
What the google-genius copyright dispute is really about Wired
How 25 countries in the Americas could end up allowing gay marriage Economist
Who owns song lyrics on the internet? It's complicated Wired
Supreme Court Strikes Down Ban on Scandalous Trademark Registrations Hollywood
***CRIME
What it’s like to spend half a life in solitary confinement Economist
Supreme Court rules 'crime of violence' law is unconstitutionally vague UPI
***RELIGION
'Throughline' Traces Evangelicals' History On The Abortion Issue NPR
Southern Baptist leader allegedly told woman her rape was a ‘good thing,’ according to lawsuit Houston Chronicle
Supreme Court: Cross Can Stand On Public Land In Separation Of Church And State Case NPR
Man who says he founded ‘Biblical Flat Earth Society’ busted on 56 counts of child sexual exploitation News Observer
Dying churches merging with megachurches a growing trend, some oppose 'drastic change' Christian Post
Did Oxford Scholar Secretly Sell Bible Fragment to Hobby Lobby Family? The Daily Beat
After refusing archdiocese’s order to fire gay teacher, school is told it will no longer be recognized as Catholic Washington Post
China tariffs could lead to a ‘Bible tax’ in the US, say Christian publishers Religious News Service
My Pastor Bought a Brand New Sports Car (music video)
***RELIGION AND POLITICS
Is the Religious Right Privileged? (opinion) The New York Times
‘Hail Satan’ prayer at Alaska gov’t meeting sparks protest The Washington Post
***RELIGION & LGBTQ
LGBTQ Movement's Culture War With The Religious Right Persists NPR
Cracker Barrel bans an anti-gay pastor from holding an event in one of its stores CNN
***GOOD NEWS
A young girl was afraid of IVs. So she invented a teddy bear to disguise them CNN
Nursing student honored for her role in saving 3-year-old's life Local 10
***REALLY?!
North Alabama ‘attack squirrel’ suspect posts video while on the run...with another squirrel WAFF-TV
103-Year-Old Sprinter Sets Senior World Record In New Mexico NPR
Minor league outfielder forgets score, tosses ball in play into the stands, costs team game Golf Digest
Alaskans Attend Reindeer Yoga Classes NPR
***ART & DESIGN
Researchers find a way to use minute samples to detect forged paintings Economist
Pistol that Van Gogh used to shoot himself sells for $145,000 Reuters
5 keys to accessible web typography Better WebType
Fold-up kayak is a work of oar-igami art Wired
***MUSIC
Bruce Springsteen and Led Zeppelin Riffs Might Be Up For Grabs Bloomberg
His Biggest Hit Sold More Copies Than Any of the Beatles’. So Why Haven’t You Heard of Him? Narratively
A musicologist explains the science behind your taste in music NBC News
***FREELANCING
Reporting on the homeless, solution journalism features and timely art and culture pieces Los Angeleno
branded content USA Today
Pitches related to mental, emotional, social, and sexual health SELF magazine
Pitches for investigative reporting projects related to global trade and environmental crisis Mongabay
***SEXUAL HARASSMENT & ASSAULT
How facial recognition is fighting child sex trafficking Wired
HR Isn’t Stopping Workplace Sexual Harassment The Atlantic
***BORDER ISSUES
Texas Republican says conditions in migrant detention centers are worst he's ever seen Axios
Lawyers claim infants, children are in dangerous situation at border detention site NBC News
Migrant children describe neglect at Texas border facility Associated Press
1st-Generation Mexican American Aids Migrants In The Desert NPR
Why Sarah Fabian Argued Against Giving Kids Toothbrushes The Atlantic
***BUSINESS & FINANCE
The promotion curse: Updating the Peter principle Economist
This Japanese Company Charges Its Staff $100 an Hour to Use Conference Rooms Bloomberg
Toxic workplaces can be found in every sector Economist
Millions of Business Listings on Google Maps Are Fake—and Google Profits (sub. req’ed) WSJ
California and Texas have different visions for America’s future Economist
The share of US job posts offering unlimited vacation is up sharply Quartz
***ENVIRONMENT
Scientists discover sea of fresh water under the ocean Quartz
633 divers set world record cleaning ocean floor off Deerfield Beach Orlando Sentinel
How spy satellite info is providing a historical record to track climate changes NPR
***HEALTH
Ranking the Best Children's Hospitals US News
Here’s How to Get Stronger After 50 Outside
The Hidden Cost of GoFundMe Health Care New Yorker
New Sex Drug for Women to Improve Low Libido Is Approved by the F.D.A. New York Times
How A Break From Alcohol Influences Health NPR
***TRAVEL
Foreign travellers to America face scrutiny of their online activity Economist
Around the World in 80 Sandwiches The Thrillist
The 10 best travel experiences around the world, ranked by TripAdvisor USA Today
How to be a better tourist BBC
11 Tips for Traveling With Your Pet, According to a Veterinarian Mental Floss
***FOOD
Don't Buy Another Piece Of Cheap Meat Until You Watch This Mashed
How The Chow Mein Sandwich Claimed A Small Slice Of New England History NPR
***FAMILY
5 facts about same-sex marriage Pew Research Center
Couples who meet online are more diverse than those who meet in other ways, largely because they’re younger Pew Research Center
***ANIMALS
You Were Probably Forced To Read A Book About A Dog Dying In Grade School And We'll Never Know Why Buzzfeed News
The startup Bark has the most dog-friendly office ever Fast Company
Legalized Marijuana May Be Increasing Pot's Hazard To Pets NPR
Pets have gained the upper paw over their so-called owners Economist
Stopping bees swapping hives keeps disease down and productivity up Economist
Giant Squid, Phantom of the Deep, Reappears on Video The New York Times
***SCIENCE
It's quiet out there: scientists fail to hear signals of alien life The Guardian
A theory of information that could explain living systems Aeon
***PSYCHOLOGY
Understanding Microsleep — When Our Minds Are Both Asleep and Awake The Crux
Machine learning predicts psychosis from subtle changes in word choices Medgadget
Neuroscience Study Explains Why We Go Down the Wikipedia Rabbit Hole Inverse
***HISTORY
The gay first lady wrote love letters to her longtime partner The Washington Post
A Crispy, Salty, American History of Fast Food Smithsonian
***POLITICS
How White Politicians Can Talk About Race NPR
Knitting Site Bans the Support of Donald Trump The Cut
Study: Americans have little understanding of their political adversaries The Atlantic
***HIGHER ED
Audit says CSU stashed away $1.5 billion and raised tuition 10 News
What It’s Like When Your College Shuts Down The Atlantic
Soaring college costs crushed millennials once, and their kids are next NJ.com
University President Orders Lady Gaga taken down: Explanation angers many on campus Inside Higher Ed
Tools to fix your noisy video chats, send emails with confidence and improve your newsletters Poynter
With skills mapping, colleges create a 'universal language' to explain value Ed Dive
Designing Meaningful and Measurable Outcomes: A First Step in Backwards Design Faculty Focus
How cut-rate SoBe hostel launched Jerry Falwell Jr. ‘pool boy’ saga, naked picture hunt Miami Herald
Taylor University president resigns after hosting VP Pence as commencement speaker Religious News Service
***TEACHING
Professor requires his students to check in for class on a new app he developed Inside Higher Ed
Teaching without Talking Faculty Focus
What Grades Mean New York Times
***STUDENT LIFE
Our Top 6 Pieces of Career Wisdom for New Grads (and Everyone Else Too) First Round Review
Students Provide Guides For Paying For College NPR
How Dorm Rooms Can Affect Grades Inside Higher Ed
Study: More than 40% of young people ditch deodorant Fox 43
9 College Hashtags That Every Student Should Follow Study Breaks
***ACADEMIC LIFE
Things I Have Suffered While a Visiting Assistant Professor in Central Maine
Professor sues Wesleyan U, saying it failed to act against students who falsely called him a "sexual predator" for two years Inside Higher Ed
inner peace
/Because nothing promotes inner peace like being bombarded with a constant stream of information about other people’s lives. -Markoff Chaney
The Chains of Victimhood
/Glorying in victimhood is a favorite path for people hurt in relationships (especially the divorced). When someone has been wronged (and wronged many times), it is easy to keep seeing life through those pain-filled moments and “define” yourself by what others have done to you. Instead of moving on and creating your own identity, your past pain becomes an excuse for not taking responsibly for today.. and a means to gain sympathy. When you meet new people, you find yourself quickly working your way to an explanation of what happened. You want it front and center so that others to see you in that light. You want that shadow of the past to fall over your face when they look at you. How much better it is to let them get to know the person you have become rather than what you once were! It’s a risky but healthy step toward breaking the chains of victimhood.
Stephen Goforth
How I take sorrow
/As to how I take sorrow, the answer is 'In nearly all the possible ways’. Because, as you probably know, it isn't a state but a process. It keeps on changing — like a winding road with quite a new landscape at each bend. -C.S. Lewis
Do you like Cake? Delaying gratification
/“Delaying gratification is a process of scheduling the pain and pleasure of life in such a way as to enhance the pleasure by meeting and experience the pain first and getting it over with. It is the only decent way to live.” ~ M Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled
A financial analyst was locked into a cycle of procrastination.
Peck asked, "Do you like cake?" She replied that she did.
"What part of the cake do you like better, the cake or the frosting?"
"Oh, the frosting!"
"And how do you eat a piece of cake?"
"I eat the frosting first, of course."
Having gained this insight, Dr. Peck started probing her work habits. Invariably she would devote the first hour or so of each day to the most gratifying and easiest of her tasks and the remaining hours never quite accomplishing the more onerous chores. He suggested that she force herself to do the objectionable tasks during the first two hours, then enjoy the remaining time.
There is a critical moment early in your day when you make the decision as to whether you will plunge into the difficult tasks in front of you or not. Don’t allow yourself to decide – just act. When taking the easy road is not an option, and you just plunge into the difficult tasks, you save yourself time and energy.. and make it easier to avoid those detours.