the interesting stuff
/All the interesting, important stuff happens outside the comfort zone. -Michael Hyatt
ideas that challenge / comfort / inspire
Boundaries
/Boundaries help us to define what is not on our property and what we are not responsible for. We are not, for example, responsible for other people. In short, boundaries help us keep the good in and the bad out. Sometimes, we have bad on the inside and good on the outside. In these instances, we need to be able to open up our boundaries to let the good in and the bad out.
Boundaries are not walls. But in every community, all members have their own space and property. The important thing is that property lines be permeable enough to allow pass and strong enough to keep out danger.
Boundaries are anything that helps to differentiate you from someone else, or show where you begin and end. The most basic boundary that defines you is your physical skin. The most basic boundary-setting word is no. It lets others know that you exist apart from them and that you are in control of you. Setting boundaries inevitably involves taking responsibility for your choices.
Setting limits on others is a misnomer. We can’t do that. What we can do is set limits on our own exposure to people who are behaving poorly; we can’t change them or make them behave right. The other aspect of limits that is helpful when talking about boundaries is setting our own internal limits. We need to have spaces inside ourselves where we can have a feeling, an impulse, or a desire, without acting it out. We need self-control without repression. We need to be able to say no to ourselves.
Henry Cloud, John Townsend writing in Boundaries
Our proper work
/To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work. -Mary Oliver
An imagined inner story
/We are so attached to an imagined inner story about who we are, causing both anxiety and fear, that we forget that the world in front of us isn’t at all dictated by this story; it simply is, in both its beauty and its simplicity. -Zat Rana
quarrels
/We make out of the quarrel with others rhetoric, but of the quarrel with ourselves, poetry. -WB Yeats (born June 13, 1865)
Motivation doesn’t equal Achievement
/You might think it is safe to assume that, once you motivate students, the learning will follow. Yet research shows that this is often not the case: motivation doesn’t always lead to achievement, but achievement often leads to motivation. If you try to ‘motivate’ students into public speaking, they might feel motivated but can lack the specific knowledge needed to translate that into action. However, through careful instruction and encouragement, students can learn how to craft an argument, shape their ideas and develop them into solid form.
A lot of what drives students is their innate beliefs and how they perceive themselves. There is a strong correlation between self-perception and achievement, but there is some evidence to suggest that the actual effect of achievement on self-perception is stronger than the other way round. To stand up in a classroom and successfully deliver a good speech is a genuine achievement, and that is likely to be more powerfully motivating than woolly notions of ‘motivation’ itself.
Carl Hendrick writing in Aeon
Articles of Interest - June 10
/***JOURNALISM
“You put that many people together from so many backgrounds, of course they’re going to start chasing each other with machetes” Columbia Journalism Review
What to Ask Yourself Before You Start a Crowdsourcing Project Propublica
Rural teens seek (but rarely find) themselves in local news coverage Reynold’s Journalism Institute
Redacted briefs before Supreme Court violate First Amendment (opinion) Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
The value of bias in a quest for inclusive journalism RTDNA
**THE BUSINESS OF JOURNALISM
Micropayments-for-news pioneer Blendle is pivoting from micropayments Harvard’s Nieman Lab
These Reporters Lost Their Jobs. Now They’re Fighting Back Against Big Tech BuzzFeed News
Five futures for journalism Salon
Sobering reality for news outlets: Your readers are somewhere else 99% of the time Harvard’s Nieman Lab
Google Made $4.7 Billion From the News Industry in 2018, Study Says New York Times
That “$4.7 billion” number for how much money Google makes off the news industry? It’s imaginary Harvard’s Nieman Lab
How the Star Tribune became the most successful metro paper in America — a decade after going broke Traffic
***FAKE NEWS
Americans think fake news is big problem, blame politicians Associated Press
Congress to investigate deepfakes as doctored Pelosi video causes stir CNN
The Real Problem With Fake News The Atlantic
The one Weird Trick will help you spot Clickbait TED
To detect fake news, this AI first learned to write it Tech Crunch
***TECHNOLOGY
When Grown-Ups Get Caught in Teens’ AirDrop Crossfire The Atlantic
Machine Learning Experts Have Found A Way To Edit Videos Of People Saying Words They've Never Said Digg
Why Is It So Hard to Solve Problems with Technology? Scholarly Kitchen
***BIG DATA & AI
Google’s AI can create videos from start and end frames alone VentureBeat
How do neural networks see depth? ZD Net
***SOCIAL MEDIA
Pizza Place In California Wants Patrons To Put Away Their Cellphones NPR
Facebook bans health and conspiracy site Natural News ArsTechnica
HBO’s ‘Chernobyl’ has Instagram influencers flocking to the site of the disaster BGR
***PRIVACY & SECURITY
Schools Are Deploying Massive Digital Surveillance Systems: The Results Are Alarming Ed Week
How to stop robocalls—or at least slow them down Wired
Privacy concerns don’t stop people from putting their DNA on the internet to help solve crimes The Conversation
CBP says traveler photos and license plate images stolen in data breach Tech Crunch
***PERSONAL GROWTH
The Danger of Love Becoming (my blog)
Work-Life Balance Is a Myth: Do This Instead TIME
Be a Better Conversationalist by 'Supporting' Instead of 'Shifting' Life Hacker
***WRITING & READING
13 methods for achieving your writing goals PR Daily
Why Writing Better Will Make You a Better Person Chronicle of Higher Ed
How I Taught My Kid to Read The Atlantic
***LITERATURE
Dispute Arises Over ‘No-No Boy,’ a Classic of Asian-American Literature With a Complex History New York Times
10 Facts About Dr. Seuss’s Oh, The Places You’ll Go! Mental Floss
***POETRY
How poetry influenced scientists Cosmos Magazine
Jim Harrison’s Essential Poetry National Review
The Making of Poetry by Adam Nicolson review — a superb study of Coleridge and Wordsworth The Times
When Poets Pray Presbyterian Outlook
Poetry and the Art of Minimalism Thrive Global
How Instagram Could Stifle a New Generation of Poets Ozy
There's a Poem for Every Reader (sub. req’ed) Wall Street Journal
For Poet Billy Collins, the Vineyard Is an Entrancing Isle Vineyard Gazette
***GENDER
Bias in Science Hiring: New study finds discrimination against women and racial minorities in hiring in the sciences Inside Higher Ed
Women in Animated Films Make Up Only 17% of Lead Characters The Wrap
***RACE & ETHNICITY ISSUES
Racial and gender biases plague postdoc hiring Science Mag
Inside an all-white town’s divisive experiment with cryptocurrency Wired
A new podcast amplifies Asian American stories Columbia Journalism Review
***FREE SPEECH
Texas becomes 17th state to enact campus free speech legislation The FIRE
Alabama governor signs campus free speech bill into law The Hill
***LEGAL ISSUES
Sorry, but you can’t copyright a meme The Next Web
InfoWars Pays $15K to Settle 'Pepe the Frog' Copyright Lawsuit Hollywood Reporter
***RELIGION
Amber Scorah On Losing Her Faith, And Her Son, In 'Leaving The Witness' NPR
Southern Baptists discuss whether one woman can preach AL.com
Evangelicals opening to science-friendly “process” theology, says Thomas Jay Oord Vancouver Sun
Univision, sued for news story about Evangelical Church Miami Herald
Former Liberty University professor convicted of child sex solicitation News Advance
Her Evangelical Megachurch Was Her World. Then Her Daughter Said She Was Molested by a Minister New York Times
***GOOD NEWS
97-year-old vet with the 101st parachutes again over Normandy Clarksville Now
Woman given just 3 days to live at birth graduates from college — with honors The Week
Formerly homeless man readmitted to University of Texas after leaving school in 1975 NBC News
Indiana teacher takes students' drawings and turns them into stuffed animals The Week
He checked on elderly resident, fed neighborhood cats and gave hugs to people going through hard times BuzzFeed News
***REALLY?!
The restaurant owner who asked for 1-star Yelp reviews Hustle
***MUSIC
Learning to Love the Music You Hate Topic
The sociology of country music lyrics Economist
***FILM
Watch 3,000 Films Free Online from the National Film Board of Canada Open Culture
The Films that Defined Generation X BBC
***THE BUSINESS OF MEDIA
Mobile Internet Usage Reaches 800 Hours A Year Media Post
America's rural radio stations are vanishing – and taking the country's soul with them The Guardian
What Loosening Restrictions On Radio Consolidation Could Do, And What It Already Has NPR
***JOBS
You’re probably answering these 5 common interview questions wrong Fast Company
Career advice for TV Journalists Twitter
Three men who all told very different lies on their resumes (and still got the job) Mel Magazine
***FREELANCING
Personal essays and reported features on the integral role pets play in millennials' lives Bustle
The Sierra Club is looking for new environmental writers
Food pitches Topic magazine
Pitches for an upcoming “Books & Authors" issue High Country News
Writers and photographers to produce Portland-based neighborhood guides Portland in Color and Travel Portland
Freelance pitches Medium's new publication for women of color
Freelance games writer Radar
***SOCIAL ISSUES
Boom in electric scooters leads to more injuries, fatalities Associated Press
Americans’ views flipped on gay rights. How did minds change so quickly? Washington Post
Better Schools Won’t Fix America (opinion) The Atlantic
***SOCIAL ISSUES: ABORTION
5 facts about the abortion debate in America Pew Research Center
In Alabama where lawmakers banned abortion for rape victims—rapists' parental rights are protected Washington Post
A majority of Americans think abortion will still be legal in 30 years, but with some restrictions Pew Research Center
***IMMIGRATION
3 myths about Mexico and migration, debunked CNN
Migrants in Custody at Hospitals Are Treated Like Felons, Doctors Say New York Times
Not content with merely providing unsanitary conditions for border detainees, CBP decides to poison the entire El Paso area Washington Examiner
Georgia professor’s immigration comments cause stir on social media AJC
***BUSINESS & FINANCE
More Americans Are Living Solo, and Companies Want Their Business Wall Street Journal
The weakness of online consumer reviews The Week
***ENVIRONMENT
Art from invasive species creates conversations about conservation MPR News
Record-Breaking Heat in Alaska Wreaks Havoc on Communities and Ecosystems Smithsonian
More People See Climate Change In Record Flooding NPR
Amazon Rainforest Deforestation in Brazil on the Rise for Years Bloomberg
***HEALTH
How Early Trauma Can Shape The Brain's Response To Pain NPR
A new study of how spin in coverage of medical studies affects perceptions BMC Medicine
How Safe is Sunscreen? New York Times
How old are your organs? To scientists’ surprise, organs are a mix of young and old cells Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Apple's 'noise' app Buzzes your wrist whenever you're in a loud environment Wired
Don’t trust advice from streaming ‘health’ films, experts say New York Post
More evidence that autism is linked to gut bacteria Economist
***TRAVEL
136 Maps Reveal Where Tourists & Locals Take Photos in Major Cities Across the Globe Open Culture
Forget the Bahamas. China's cruises are where it's at Wired
***FOOD
The Majic of Japan’s Convenience Store BBC
***IMMIGRATION
Trump Administration Cancels English Classes Soccer Legal Air for Unaccompanied Child Migrants in US Shelters Washington Post
Taking on the system: 'Dreamers' are getting law degrees Associated Press
American Bar Association Says Immigration Courts Are 'On The Brink Of Collapse' NPR
***ANIMALS
A New Photo Book Documents the Wonderful Homemade Cat Ladders of Switzerland Open Culture
Prison Dogs Of Angola New York Times
Ogden restaurant won’t allow service dogs; customers upset Fox-13
Stressed out? Your dog may feel it too, study suggests Associated Press
Bees can link symbols to numbers: study RMIT University
How to Get Your Neighbor’s Dog to Stop Barking Incessantly Life Hacker
***SCIENCE
Physicists see a quantum leap, halt it, and reverse it Wired
Share your science with a story Science Mag
***PSYCHOLOGY
Human Brains Are Sensitive To Musical Pitch, Unlike Those Of Monkeys NPR
The Men’s Mental Health Double-Bind Psychology Today
***NEUROSCIENCE
How Did You Learn to Type? Life Hacker
How the brain changes when mastering a new skill Science Daily
***PRODUCTIVITY
How Did You Learn to Type? Life Hacker
I've been working from home for 9 years — here are my best productivity hacks Business Insider
***HISTORY
The Roads of Ancient Rome Visualized in the Style of Modern Subway Maps Open Culture
***RESEARCH
Conflict Over Sociologist's Narrative Puts Spotlight on Ethnography Chronicle of Higher Education
Exposing Hidden Defects in Citation Statistics and Journal Impact Factors Clarivate Analytics
Knowledge and attitudes among life scientists towards reproducibility within journal articles Bio Rxix
After outcry, USDA will no longer require scientists to label research ‘preliminary Washington Post
***HIGHER ED
Bakery awarded $11 million in libel lawsuit against Oberlin College over alleged racial profiling CNN
Study: College degree a good investment, despite cost KSNT
Oral Roberts University pays $300K in recruiting settlement Associated Press
Jerry Falwell Jr. Deletes Crude Tweet over Prayer Over Trump at Church Christian News
Louisville's Southern Baptist seminary rejects call to make slavery reparations Courier Journal
Psychology and Christianity intersect at new Houston Baptist University institute Houston Chronicle
***TEACHING
How to Make the Best of Bad Course Evaluations Chronicle of Higher Education
***STUDENT MEDIA
Newspapers thrown away at two universities following publication of controversial articles Student Press Law Center
Civil Liberties Watchdog accuses Rutgers of using unconstitutional process to found student press Inside Higher Ed
***STUDENT LIFE
An astounding number of American college students are going hungry or homeless Business Insider
After Restraint And Seclusion, Students With Disabilities Pay An Emotional Toll NPR
***ACADEMIC LIFE
Sexual harassment, misconduct behind medicine professor’s dismissal Stanford Daily
A warning from the academic underground of adjuncts and contingent faculty Science Magazine
Each Step
/The longer we continue to make the wrong decisions, the more our heart hardens; the more often we make the right decision, the more our heart softens - or better perhaps, comes alive.
Each step in life which increases my self-confidence, my integrity, my courage, my conviction also increases my capacity to choose the desirable alternative, until eventually it becomes more difficult for me to choose the undesirable rather than the desirable action.
On the other hand, each act of surrender and cowardice weakens me, opens the path for more acts of surrender, and eventually freedom is lost. With each step along the wrong road it becomes increasingly difficult for people to admit that they are on the wrong road, often only because they have to admit that they must go back to the first wrong turn, and must accept the fact that they have wasted energy and time.
Erich Fromm, The Heart of Man: Its Genius for Good and Evil
Active Idleness
/We live in a culture that seems obsessed with eradicating boredom, as if it were Ebola or global poverty, and replacing it with a peculiar modern form of active idleness oozing from our glowing screens. -Maria Popova
Dunbar's number
/The number of people with whom we can maintain a stable relationship is about 150, according to British anthropologist Robin Dunbar. He says:
We devote around 40 percent of our available social time to our 5 most intimate friends and relations…and the remaining 60 percent in progressively decreasing amounts goes to the other 145.
Friendship is the single most important factor influencing our health, well-being, and happiness. Creating and maintaining friendships is, however, extremely costly, in terms of both the time that has to be invested and the cognitive mechanisms that underpin them. Part of friendship is the act of mentalizing, or mentally envisioning the landscape of another's mind. Cognitively, this process is extraordinarily taxing, and as such, intimate conversations seem to be capped at about four people before they break down and form smaller conversational groups.
Read more at the BigThink
I'm listening
/Too often we find ourselves thinking ahead to what we want to say next, not what the person we’re speaking with is saying. -Sasha Quintana
Articles of Interest - June 3
/***TECHNOLOGY
This AI uses echolocation to identify what you're doing Wired
Improving robots’ grasp requires a new way to measure it in humans Economist
***BIG DATA & AI
A means to preserve the integrity of video, AI models and digital archives—data that can be easily manipulated to change historical facts Computer Weekly
Google’s AI can create videos from start and end frames alone Venture Beat
SpaceX’s Starlink satellites are clearly visible in the sky—and astronomers aren’t happy MIT Technology Review
***SOCIAL MEDIA
People Are Spending More Time on Instagram, at the Expense of Facebook and Snapchat Adweek
The quiet power of sound design Wired
Nancy Pelosi accuses Facebook of 'lying to the public' after it refuses to remove fake video Mashable
Instagramming Crowds Pack National Parks NPR
***WRITING & READING
A high school student says her principal’s graduation speech plagiarized Ashton Kutcher FOX-8
My phone helped me fall in love with books again Salon
***LANGUAGE
This crafty robot can write in languages it’s never seen before Wired
Iceland is inventing a new vocabulary for a high-tech future Quartz
***LITERATURE
Best Fiction – Spring 2019 The What
Tony Horwitz, Author and Pulitzer Prize Winner, Dies At 60 Slate
The best recent poetry – review roundup The Guardian
'Start With Truth And End With Art': Poet Ocean Vuong On His Debut Novel NPR
How can I expand my reading of Indian literature? The Guardian
Review: ‘Normal People’ harkens to 19th century literature to tell compelling contemporary love story Post & Courier
***POETRY
‘Don’t Read Poetry’ is a literary manual for the Instagram era Washington Post
Five Centuries of Yiddish Poetry, Written by Women Forward
New doctors in Scotland are being given a book of poetry to help them deal with the stresses of the job The i Paper
The Univ of Tenn at Chattanooga Poetry program receives $1 million endowment News-9
Foals Frontman Yannis is Currently Obsessed with Poetry And The Band Low Vice
An introduction to Georgian poetry, and the country’s beautiful alphabet Emerging Europe
Poetry Out Loud: The Finale Edition Book Riot
***POETS
The Cautionary Tale of the ‘Female Byron’ The New York Times
Fans Worldwide Prepare To Honor Bicentennial Of Walt Whitman's Birth NPR
A San Diego Poet and What She Saw in El Salvador Consortium News
Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass and the complex life of the ‘poet of America’ The Conversation
Tips from a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Everett Herald
What a San Diego Poet saw in El Salvador Consortium News
***GENDER
Why women are called 'influencers' and men 'creators' Wired
Professor paid less than men: Judge says that doesn’t matter Inside Higher Ed
Virtual reality: how women are taking a leading role in the sector The Guardian
A Starbucks Customer Ordered a Simple Coffee. Then the Barista Went Too Far Inc.
***RACE & ETHNICITY ISSUES
Kishi Bashi Uses The History Of Japanese Internment To Explore America Today NPR
Who's doing the heavy lifting in terms of diversity and inclusion work? Inside Higher Ed
Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill: Stamp puts Tubman's face on the twenty USA Today
Who Counts as a Person of Color? Conversations on Diversity Inside Higher Ed
***LEGAL ISSUES
Is a construction company right in suing a cafe over the word cat? The Guardian
Former student sues Oklahoma University over false rankings The Oklahoman
This Teen Planned A School Shooting. But Did He Break The Law? NPR
***GAMES & SPORTS
What online chess taught one teen about digital life Wired
Facing the ubiquity of fortnite in our kids' lives Wired
***PRIVACY & SECURITY
Security Experts Express Concern Over Electronic System To Check-In At Polling Places NPR
Apple promises privacy, but iPhone apps share your data with trackers, ad companies and research firms Washington Post
Flipboard database hacks exposed users' account information Cnet
Secret tracking device found in Navy email to Navy Times amid leak investigation raises legal, ethical questions Military Times
Russia demands Tinder give user data to secret services Associated Press
Microsoft says mandatory password changing is “ancient and obsolete Ars Technica
Privacy is Apple’s most premium product The Next Web
***PRODUCING MEDIA
Old politicians flock to new film media Axios
YouTube doesn’t want you to download their videos Tools for Reporters
***RELIGION
The False and Idolatrous Narrative of 'American Christianity' (opinion) SoJo
After harassment of Sikh bus driver, Maryland school district agrees to awareness training Religious News Service
The so-called (Billy Graham) Library is not a library: It has no archives. It has no archivist Religious News Service
Why politics may kill white churches (opinion) Religious News Service
***RELIGION & MONEY
Evangelical financial watchdog faces scrutiny over backing of errant megachurch Religious News Service
The preachers getting rich from poor Americans BBC
A wealthy televangelist explains his fleet of private jets: ‘It’s a biblical thing’ Washington Post
***POLITICS
Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X outvoted their elders in 2018 midterms Pew Research Center
***GOOD NEWS
Arizona softball team throws head-shaving party in support of teammate’s cancer fight WHNT
I hated my neighbor: Then one lesson led to a life-changing friendship Washington Post
Georgia girl saves sister from drowning in pool WSAV-3
***REALLY?!
6 Ideas That Were So Ahead Of Their Time Everybody Went Nuts Cracked
Lego dispute of biblical proportions sees Bible loving exhibitor walk from show Stuff New Zealand
***MUSIC
Metadata is the biggest little problem plaguing the music industry The Verge
Generative music apps let your phone write songs for you Wired
***FILM
Carpe Diem! Dead Poets Society Turns 30: See Where the Cast Is Now People
***THE BUSINESS OF MEDIA
Video measurement standard inches closer to reality Axios
Meredith Sells Sports Illustrated to Authentic Brands Group for $110 Million Variety
***JOURNALISM
Phone Records of AP Journalists Seized by US Government New York Times
The latest key newsroom job: membership editor Digiday
Former reporter creates ‘Rate my Professor’ for newsrooms Columbia Journalism Review
Is this the greatest timed shot in TV journalism? BoingBoing
Woman Who Pioneered Investigative Journalism The Atlantic
***FAKE NEWS
To fight deepfakes, researchers built a smarter camera Wired
How Russia’s disinformation strategy is evolving Poynter
I plant trees for a living, but Flat Earthers tell me they don’t exist Quartz
I was a Macedonian fake news writer’ BBC
Researchers Want to Build Fake Photo Detection Tools Right Into Our Cameras Gizmodo
Twitter Buys Machine-Learning Startup That Helps Detect Fake News Media Post
***STUDENT MEDIA
Washington Univ sued for violating the Public Records Act KOMO News
Rutgers trampled the constitution by letting students vote to defund the newspaper, group says NJ.com
***JOBS
How to quit your job on your terms Poynter
Tips on how to break into "long-form investigative journalism" Twitter
***FREELANCING
9 tips for branding yourself like a pro Freelancers Union
Freelance digital-only or digital-radio pitches on immigrant food, culture and history PRI
No, Freelancers are not banks The Free Lancers
The New York Times' Wordplay's Solver Stories New York Times
Radical essay ideas RaceBaitr
Paid contributors Vegan lifestyle magazine launching in July Twitter
Thoughtful, engaging book reviews between 1200-2500 words Rumpus
Personal essays with a research/critical component Catapult Story
Personal essays on mental health The Breakdown
***SEXUAL HARASSMENT & ASSAULT
Southern Baptist leaders plan to remedy ‘insufficient’ approach to abuse claims Religious News Service
This Elite Science Group Finally Has A Way To Expel Members For Sexual Harassment BuzzFeed News
How reporting sexual harassment impacts a woman’s career Fast Company
***SOCIAL ISSUES
Key findings about U.S. immigrants Pew Research Center
Birth Control Still Tops List of Morally Acceptable Issues Gallup
***BORDER ISSUES
I gave water to migrants crossing the Arizona desert. They charged me with a felony Washington Post
Extending 'Zero Tolerance' To People Who Help Migrants Along The Border NPR
Nearly 900 migrants found at Texas facility with 125-person capacity: DHS watchdog ABC News
More people are actually moving from the US to Mexico Business Insider
Botched family reunifications left migrant children waiting in vans overnight NBC News
***HEALTH
10,000 Steps Per Day? Fitness Trackers Push It, But How Many Do You Really Need? NPR
Is working out at the crack of dawn the key to productivity? We put it to the test Fast Company
New compound which kills antibiotic-resistant superbugs discovered Science Daily
Viruses and other parasites may sync with their host’s biological clock — or reset it — to gain an advantage Quanta Magazine
For Patients, It Matters How You Tell Your Story To A Doctor NPR
***VACCINES
How the anti-vaccine movement crept into the GOP mainstream Politico
Professor who links vaccines to autism funded through university portal The Guardian
***TRAVEL
There Are Two Types of Airport People The Atlantic
13 Ways Hackers Get You When You Travel Reader’s Digest
***FOOD
What banned substances might be hiding in your groceries? Find out now The Guardian
Fears grow over 'food swamps' as drugstores outsell major grocers The Guardian
***FAMILY
Does Having Divorced Parents Affect Your Marriage? The Atlantic
Where Europe stands on gay marriage and civil unions Pew Research Center
***CHILDREN
Nearly 30% of teens sleep with their phones, but parents’ device use may be more problematic Quarz
The world slime convention! Let's Goo! Wired
You can’t teach schoolkids ‘resilience’ when they’re micromanaged every day The Guardian
***ANIMALS
Octopuses' Big Brains And Unique Behavior Spur Basic Research NPR
***NEUROSCIENCE
The wagon wheel effect shows the limits of the human brain Wired
The Crucial Role of Brain Simulation in Future Neuroscience Singularity Hub
***PHILOSOPHY
What wrapping a rope around the Earth reveals about the limits of human intuition Aeon
***PRODUCTIVITY
10 Productivity Hacks From Wired
***PERSONAL GROWTH
Measure Up Becoming (my blog)
Why compassion fades Big Think
***HIGHER ED
College Students Aren't Checking Out Books at Libraries The Atlantic
Investigation Finds No Basis for Former Arizona State U. Professor’s Viral Claims of Corruption Chronicle of Higher Ed
US Universities And Retirees Are Funding The Technology Behind China’s Surveillance State BuzzFeed News
***LIBERAL ARTS
The liberal arts are under attack: So why do the rich want their children to study them? Washington Post
The value of a liberal arts education is more than most know The Hill
***TEACHING
How Should Professors Respond When Students Ask for Accommodations? Ed Surge
Why One University Went All Out on Teaching Reading Chronicle of Higher Ed
***ACADEMIC LIFE
Why a New Kind of ‘Badge’ Stands Out From the Crowd Chronicle of Higher Education
Aiding the Writing-Stalled Professor Chronicle of Higher Education
Jury Trial for Caltech scholar who claimed he was fired for whistleblowing Pasadena Now
Measure Up
/There is no way to quite describe the feeling that I got when I sat down to eat with daughter at the school cafeteria for the first time. She looked up at me. It was a look that said she completely adored me just for being me. That just blew me away. She couldn't hardly sit still, or know what to do with her hands, as if she wanted to hug me. There was a searching look as if to say, "Who am I?" "Tell me who I am."
Fathers have a way of planting life mottos in the heads of their daughters.
"Measure Up!" is one of the most often heard. Perhaps it is never verbalized, but a daughter knows what's expected—and her attempts to live up to those expectations from her childhood result in her running her life by guilt. She ends up serving a motto instead of her creator.
Stephen Goforth
Security
/Be wary of security as a goal. It may often look like life’s best prize. Usually it’s not. -Willaim Zinsser
Know your Perfectionist
/A study measured three types of perfectionism: self-oriented, or a desire to be perfect; socially prescribed, or a desire to live up to others’ expectations; and other-oriented, or holding others to unrealistic standards. A person living with an other-oriented perfectionist might feel criticized by the perfectionist spouse for not doing household chores exactly the “right” way. Socially prescribed perfectionism is “My self-esteem is contingent on what other people think.”
Perfectionists tend to devalue their accomplishments, so that every time a goal is achieved, the high lasts only a short time, like “a gas tank with a hole in it.”
There are also different ways perfectionism manifests. Some perfectionists are the sleeping-bag-toting self-flagellants, always pushing themselves forward. But others actually fall behind on work, unable to complete assignments unless they’re, well, perfect. Or they might self-sabotage, handicapping their performance ahead of time. They’re the ones partying until 2 a.m. the night before the final, so that when the C rolls in, there’s a ready excuse. Anything to avoid facing your own imperfections.
Olga Khazan writing in The Atlantic
All wars
/All wars are fought twice, the first time on the battlefield, the second time in memory. -Thanh Nguyen
The Growth Mindset
/When people believe that failure is not a barometer of innate characteristics but rather view it as a step to success (a growth mindset), they are far more likely to put in the kinds of effort that will eventually lead to that success. By contrast, those who believe that success or failure is due to innate ability (a fixed mindset) can find that this leads to a fear of failure and a lack of effort.
Carl Hendrick writing in Aeon