afraid to laugh
/God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh.
ideas that challenge / comfort / inspire
Articles of Interest - August 26, 2019
/***JOURNALISM
BuzzFeed’s new MoodFeed recommends content based on how you’re feeling Tech Crunch
Hispanic Journalists Group Cuts Ties To Fox News NPR
The nation’s largest Hispanic journalism group says it no longer wants Fox News sponsoring its convention: Here’s why that’s a bad idea (opinion) Michael Koretzky blog
***THE BUSINESS OF MEDIA
The rise of advertising activism Axios
Streaming Video Will Soon Look Like the Bad Old Days of TV New York Times
Google: Publishers Lose Half Of Ad Revenue From Cookie Blocking Media Post
***FAKE NEWS
Pick a topic, and this website will generate realistic fake news about it Fast Company
They Crowdfunded for Their Dead ‘Baby Boy.’ Cops Say It Was This Doll The Daily Beast
Misinformation Has Created a New World Disorder Scientific American
Woman lied about cancer in attempt to get charity to fund £15k wedding BBC
Misinformation Has Created a New World Disorder Scientific American
***BIG DATA & AI
Are we telling stories or just making a point/elucidating an argument and calling it narrative? Medium
What’s the difference between analytics and statistics? The Chief Decision Scientist of Google has an answer Toward Data Science
The validity of detecting data fabrication using statistical tools Psyarxiv
***INTERNET
Google is cracking down on its employees’ political speech at work Vox
How Do I Automatically Expand Gmail Conversations? Life Hacker
Why so many of your favorite YouTube videos are secretly infomercials Washington Post
***SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook's new "clear history" tool doesn't actually delete anything New York Times
***PRIVACY & SECURITY
Ransomware Attack Affects Computers In 22 Towns In Texas NPR
Just how much our digital lives are tracked: Basically there is no privacy on the internet New York Times
How to Prevent Spammers From Infiltrating Your Google Calendar Life Hacker
***PRODUCING MEDIA
How Conan O’Brien and Other Top Hosts Are Tapping Into the Podcast Revolution Variety
***PERSONAL GROWTH
Pluck the Day Becoming (my blog)
***WRITING & READING
In defense of reading the same book over and over again Vox
Gwyneth Paltrow hired personal book curator for her home Page Six
***LITERATURE
Duplicity, Grace and Violence: New Spanish-Language Fiction New York Times
Is Fan Fiction a Helpful Literacy Tool? Jstor
The religious dimensions of Toni Morrison's literature Sojourners
How can academics keep up with the literature? (sub. req.’ed) Times Higher Ed
***POETRY
New & Noteworthy Poetry From James Tate, Jana Prikryl and More New York Times
Poetry book wins top award for theological writing Premier
***GENDER
STEM scholarships for women could face more Title IX challenges Ed Dive
Women May Be More Adept Than Men At Discerning Pain NPR
***RACE & ETHNICITY ISSUES
Justice Dept. sent anti-Semitic post to immigration judges Associated Press
The algorithms that detect hate speech online are biased against black people Vox
On Hyphens and Racial Indicators Jstor
Reflecting a demographic shift, 109 U.S. counties have become majority nonwhite since 2000 Pew Research Center
***FREE SPEECH
The global gag on free speech is tightening Economist
Don’t Use These Free-Speech Arguments Ever Again The Atlantic
***LEGAL ISSUES
Why Child Social Media Stars Need a Coogan Law to Protect Them From Parents Hollywood Reporter
California Bar Investigator Begins Probe in Exam Leak Big Law Business
***CRIME & COURTS
Police Photoshopped His Mug Shot for Lineup: He's Not the Only One New York Times
Every crime map needs context. This USC data journalism project aims to scale it Nieman Lab
***RELIGION
The Rise of the Bible-Teaching, Plato-Loving, Homeschool Elitists Christianity Today
Could Trump Drive Young White Evangelicals Away From The GOP? FiveThirtyEight
Christians targeted in Burkina Faso amid violence by Islamist militants Washington Post
Tourism To Israel Is On The Rise, With More U.S. Evangelical Christians Visiting NPR
Trump is the evangelicals’ enforcer (opinion) Washington Post
North Carolina police officer fired for following the 'Billy Graham Rule,' lawsuit says NBC News
The Righteous Gemstones Shines Its Satire on a Televangelist Empire Christianity Today
Megachurch pushes conversion therapy on Instagram, Facebook with #OnceGay Daily Dot
Unearthed tapes, letters show Southern Baptist leaders’ support for pastor who faced sex scandal Houston Chronicle
How anti-Semitic beliefs have taken hold among some evangelical Christian Washington Post
Kentucky supreme court hearing case of Christian printer who refused to make gay pride t-shirts Newsweek
An Existential Reading List for Middle-Aged Men (four Nazarene men and their annual retreat) The Atlantic
***RELIGION AND POLITICS
Why Some Christians ‘Love the Meanest Parts’ of Trump The Atlantic
Theologians condemn Christian Nationalism in open letter Washington Examiner
America Needed Spies During World War II: Many Missionaries Were Ready and Willing Christianity Today
***GOOD NEWS
Boy Scouts restore neglected historic black cemetery in Virginia The Week
Customer services representative 800 miles away helps save life of man having a stroke mlive
Strangers take West Virginia man on 8-hour road trip so he can be there for his son's birth The Week
Mom and daughter discover new bug species when daughter over-waters flower garden ABC News
NJ Couple Buys Out Payless Store, Then Donates All the Shoes to a Women’s Shelter NBC-10
***REALLY?!
Couple face up to six years in jail for taking sand from Italian beach CNN
Man lugging life-size doll found in dumpster raises alarm KSHB
88-Year-Old Man Tried to Shoot Nephew at Work Due to Damaged Cuckoo Clock Fox-61
McDonald’s worker burned by ‘smoldering’ dollar bill given at drive-thru, cops say NewJersey.com
This German city will give you $1.1M if you can prove it doesn't exist Associated Press
A NASA astronaut is accused of hacking her estranged spouse's bank account from space NBC News
'I was grossed out': Doctors find brown recluse spider in woman's ear KSHB
***ART & DESIGN
Persuasive Cartography: An Interview with Map Collector PJ Mode Jstor
***MUSIC
How Artist Imposters and Fake Songs Sneak Onto Streaming Services Pitch Fork
How Dave Brubeck’s Time Out Changed Jazz Music Open Culture
Mister Rogers Demonstrates How to Cut a Record Open Culture
***SOCIAL ISSUES
Silicon Valley’s Crisis of Conscience New Yorker
How many steps it takes to get an abortion in each state Axios
***BUSINESS & FINANCE
Yes, You Actually Should Be Using Emojis at Work WSJ
Is My Millennial Co-Worker a Narcissist, or Am I a Jealous Jerk? New York Times
The Next Recession Will Destroy Millennials The Atlantic
***ENVIRONMENT
Perfect Storm Hits U.S. Recycling Industry NPR
Windmills and Batteries to Attract Billions in the Green Energy Revolution Bloomberg
What’s recyclable, what becomes trash — and why NPR
***HEALTH
Measles is on the rise: outbreak grows to over 1,200 cases in 30 states Newsweek
Why a Promising, Potent Cancer Therapy Isn't Used in the US Wired
Detecting Fake Pills With Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance Spectrum
What Happens To Your Body & Brain If You Don't Get Sleep? Neuroscientist Matthew Walker Explains Open Culture
How Many Steps Should You Take a Day? New York Times
The Complicated Issue of Transableism Jstor
***MEDICAL RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY
Optic nerve stimulation to aid the blind EPFL
Scientists Attempt Controversial Experiment To Edit DNA In Human Sperm Using CRISPR NPR
Smart sensors listen to healing wounds BBC
***TRAVEL
Seven Wonders of the World: The best 1-star reviews Washington Post
***SPORTS & GAMES
Can Chess Survive Artificial Intelligence? The New Atlantis
Extreme Ironing: The Insane Sport You Probably Never Knew About Sad & Useless
***FOOD
Restaurants Are A Risky Business So They Often Resort To Tricks — Like Reusing Leftover Bread Digg
A deadly fungus could wipe out the world’s favorite banana—again Quartz
Social media users are horrified after it emerges not everyone cleans the bottom of their dishes Daily Mail Online
***FAMILY & SOCIETY
A half-century after ‘Mister Rogers’ debut, 5 facts about neighbors in U.S. Pew Research
***ANIMALS
Bird Twitter Is My Oasis in Internet Hell Gizmodo
The number of animal welfare citations is dwindling Washington Post
***SCIENCE
Space is dead: A challenge to the standard model of quantum Big Think
***PSYCHOLOGY
How Memories Form and Fade Cal Tech
Is psychological science headed for a split? Psychology Today
The age of comfort TV: why people are secretly watching Friends and The Office on a loop The Guardian
A parking garage had 6 suicides in 4 years: Signs on the walls are trying to prevent more Washington Post
***NEUROSCIENCE
Circuit found for brain's statistical inference about motion: Brain's equation for prediction looks like a Bayesian inference Science Daily
The most-detailed, highest-resolution list of the components of the human brain ever compiled Allen Institute
***POLITICS
Electoral College members can defy voters, court rules Associated Press
***RESEARCH
Detection of data fabrication using statistical tools Psyarxiv
Hundreds of extreme self-citing scientists revealed in new database Nature
The summer slump happens in scientific publishing, too Massive Sci
Addressing research misconduct and improving scientific integrity in China Science Direct
Dozens of Canadian researchers have faced discipline for integrity breaches The Globe & Mail
***HIGHER ED
Pew survey finds majority of Republicans continue to hold negative views of higher ed Inside Higher Ed
Handshake, popular career-services platform, now open to all students Inside Higher Ed
What the Numbers Can Tell Us About Humanities Ph.D. Careers Chronicle of Higher Ed
Flawed Algorithms Are Grading Millions of Students’ Essays Vice
***CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS
How the Supreme Court’s sex discrimination cases could affect BYU and hundreds of faith-based colleges Deseret News
Christian college mired in litigation Ocone Enterprise
Olivet Nazarene University Leader to Retire After 30 Years US News
Historic Christian colleges are facing financial crises that are forcing big changes: Some haven’t survived World Magazine
***TEACHING
The Missing Course: Everything They Never Taught You About College Teaching Inside Higher Ed
How teachers are preventing high-tech cheating in the classroom USA Today
What the Freshmen Know Inside Higher Ed
An Argument for Accepting Late Work Faculty Focus
***ACADEMIC LIFE
Kansas professor charged with secretly working on Chinese government program Washington Examiner
Mississippi prof, who went to Georgetown Prep with Brett Kavanaugh, sues HuffPost Clarion Ledger
Arizona Professor Showed QAnon Video in Class, Students Say Phoenix New Times
***STUDENT LIFE
Bureaucrats Put the Squeeze on College Newspapers The Atlantic
Robots bearing snacks are about to overrun college campuses Cnet
I Manipulated Lonely Teachers to Steal Tests in High School Vice
Want To Make Friends In College? Make Them Food In Your Dorm Room Digg
Most U.S. teens who use cellphones do it to pass time, connect with others, learn new things Pew Research Center
When College Dormitories Become Health Hazards New York Times
17 College Campuses That Tested Their Students's Sanity BuzzFeed
Dorm to Table: College Start-Ups Take Aim at Food Industry New York Times
Pluck the Day!
/“Carpe diem,” is taken from Roman poet Horace’s Odes, written over 2,000 years ago. As everyone and their grandmother knows by now, “carpe diem” means “seize the day.”
But “carpe diem” doesn’t really mean “seize the day.” As Latin scholar Maria S. Marsilio points out, “carpe diem” is a horticultural metaphor that, particularly seen in the context of the poem, is more accurately translated as “plucking the day,” evoking the plucking and gathering of ripening fruits or flowers, enjoying a moment that is rooted in the sensory experience of nature. “Gather ye rose-buds while ye may” is the famed Robert Herrick version.
Gathering flowers as a metaphor for timely enjoyment is a far gentler, more sensual image than the rather forceful and even violent concept of seizing the moment. We understand the phrase to be, rather than encouraging a deep enjoyment of the present moment, compelling us to snatch at time and consume it before it’s gone, or before we’re gone.
“Seizing” the day brings up images of people taking what they can get, people who can get things done—active, self-reliant individuals who are agents in pursuit of their own happiness, reflected in the #YOLO-infused, instant-gratification-obsessed consumer culture that exhorts us to “Just Do It” by buying products.
Chi Luu writing in Jstor Daily
your Calcutta
/Find your own Calcutta. -Mother Teresa (born Aug. 26, 1910)
Good questions
/Good questions outflank easy answers. -Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Samuelson
Showing Initiative
/Many people wait for something to happen or someone to take care of them. But people who end up with the good jobs are the proactive ones who are solutions to problems, not problems themselves, who seize the initiative to do whatever is necessary, consistent with correct principles, to get the job done.
Stephen Covey, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
Your Greater Goal
/We often imagine that we generally operate by some kind of plan, that we have goals we are trying to reach. But we’re usually fooling ourselves; what we have are not goals but wishes. Our emotions infect us with hazy desire; we want fame, success, security – something large and abstract.
Clear long-term objectives give direction to all of your actions, large and small. Important decisions became easier to make. If some glittering prospect threatens to seduce you from your goal, you will know to resist it You can tell when to sacrifice a pawn, even lose a battle, if it serves your eventual purpose.
Robert Greene, 33 Strategies of War
The use of life
/The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it. -William James
Articles of Interest - August 19
/***JOURNALISM
Journalists face job losses, low pay, attacks by Trump — and I want in USA Today
The news gets worse for local journalism Washington Post
Local newsrooms can now get extra legal help with their reporting Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
Matt Drudge Has Barely Changed Anything About The Drudge Report In The Last 20 Years BuzzFeed News
***FAKES
A Texas con artist made millions promising prisoners' families the thing they wanted most: To bring their children home The Marshall Project
How And Why People Come Up With Conspiracy Theories NPR
These deepfakes of Bill Hader are absolutely terrifying CNET
Maybe you know that article is satire, but a lot of people can’t tell the difference Harvard’s Nieman Lab
Websites that peddle disinformation make millions of dollars in ads, new study finds CNN
***TECHNOLOGY
Amazon says its facial recognition can now identify fear CNBC
Teen's tweets from her smart fridge go viral after mother confiscates phone The Guardian
Octopus-Inspired Wearable Sensor Nature World News
***BIG DATA & AI
A summer camp for the next generation of NSA Agents New Yorker
Re-Imagining big data in a post-Hadoop world Datami
***SOCIAL MEDIA
Why These Social Networks Failed So Badly Gizmodo
***PERSONAL GROWTH
D.E.S.C. when someone keeps repeating inappropriate behavior Becoming (my blog)
Stephen Colbert's Perspective On Grief Brings Anderson Cooper To Tears During Powerful Interview Digg
***WRITING & READING
Avoid Plagiarism With Google's New Assignments Tool Life Hacker
The Em Dash Divides New York Times
***LITERATURE
Video games are literature’s new frontier Venture Beat
A New Literary Timeline of African-American History New York Times
Review of dystopian novel “The Memory Police” Washington Post
These Classic Books Are Surprisingly Fresh—and They're Free Life Hacker
An overview of the amenities-heavy new libraries that are becoming tourist attractions across the world New York Times
Five novels win China's top literature award Xinhuanet
***POETRY
Someone painted bullet holes on face of Emily Dickinson in art display Mass Live
Emily Dickinson’s ‘scraps of paper’ inspire art installation at poet’s Amherst conservatory Boston Globe
The Unsung Influence Of Poetry On Iron Maiden Kerrang
Elizabeth Thomas uses her writing to make sense of the world Courant
On the Gleefully Indecent Poems of a Medieval Welsh Feminist Poet Lit Hub
How a Scottish Borders boy became a leading Australian bush poet BBC
***GENDER
Nearly 200,000 trans people have been exposed to conversion therapy, study says NBC News
The Hazards of Writing While Female The Atlantic
Christian Women’s Shelter Doesn’t Need to Admit Trans Woman, Court Rules Daily Signal
StoryCorps: Transgender Woman Recalls Coming Out To Her Family In The 1960s NPR
MSU suggests employees avoid saying 'I apologize,' 'no problem,' 'sir,' 'ma'am' Campus Reform
Two-thirds of published poets are male, so does poetry have a gender issue? Irish Times
***RACE & ETHNICITY ISSUES
The 1619 Project New York Times
***CRIME & COURTS
Inside The Prison Where Inmates Set Each Other On Fire and Gangs Have More Power Than Guards
***BORDER ISSUES
Trump’s 'Invasion' Was actually a Corporate Recruitment Drive The Atlantic
Ruling limits border agents’ ability to search cellphones LA Times
Documents Allege Serious Medical Neglect Inside Otay Mesa Detention Center Voice of San Diego
***PRIVACY & SECURITY
FBI seeks to monitor Facebook, oversee mass social media data collection zdet
Security Researcher’s ‘NULL’ Vanity Plates Cause Glitch That Lands Him $12,000 in Parking Tickets Gizmodo
Microsoft warns Windows 10 users to update immediately CNN
Facial recognition tech misidentified 26 California lawmakers as criminals Engadget
***INTERNET
Computer Science Professors Says We Can Probably Make Email Better For Everyone NPR
***RELIGION
Hillsong Songwriter Marty Sampson Says He’s Losing His Christian Faith Relevant Magazine
The reputation of the gospel is at risk (opinion) Washington Post
U.S. Missionary With No Medical Training Sued After Malnourished Ugandan Children Died At Her Center NPR
Oregon pastor and stripper team up to raise money for migrant kids after sweeping ICE raid The Hill
A new priest’s more traditional approach has split one of Portland’s oldest Catholic churches Oregon Live
Southwestern Distances Itself from Paige Patterson in Sex Abuse Lawsuit Christianity Today
Bid to allow some married priests engages celibacy debate Washington Post
Methodist Church closer to official split over LGBTQ issues Washington Times
Billy Graham's Grandson Back in the Pulpit following Cheating Scandal Christian Headlines
What HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones gets right about evangelicals Vox
***RELIGION AND POLITICS
Reviews of Netflix Documentary The Family
***GOOD NEWS
3-year-old uses lemonade sales to buy baby supplies for mothers in need ABC-11
FBI agent reunited with abducted baby he helped rescue decades ago NBC News
Indiana boy convinces mayor to put up 'turtle crossing' signs near ponds ABC News
Warm-hearted Uber driver surprises fast food worker with a new dress after hearing her struggles Digg
He Gave a Bike to a Refugee Girl. 24 Years Later, She Got to Thank Him New York Times
Man invites police to help mow lawns in all 50 states Associated Press
***REALLY?!
Lil Nas X’s hit song is leaving one Massachusetts town without its ‘Old Town Road’ street signs Mass Live
Architect goes blind, says he's actually gotten better at his job CBS News
Burglar Carefully Wipes Down His Fingerprints — While Staring Directly Into Security Camera (with video) Digg
Man says emotional support alligator helps his depression New York Post
Man Implicates Himself After Using Stolen Credit Card And Signing As ‘Thief’ CBS Pittsburgh
Man Accused of Stalking Sent Woman 10,000 Texts NBC Washington
Missing dentures found stuck in throat 8 days after surgery Associated Press
Too Much Karaoke Sent a Man to the Hospital with a Collapsed Lung Live Science
Clinton: Woman reports her car stolen, while running from police in that car WQAD.com
$12.3M payout for infant burned in Madigan operating-room fire delayed as feds consider appeal The Seattle Times
***ART & DESIGN
Cultural Regions Of America, Visualized Digg
10 best Chrome extensions for designers UX Design
***MUSIC
Are men singing higher in pop music? Pudding
The 30 best films about music, chosen by musicians The Guardian
***THE BUSINESS OF MEDIA
Verizon to sell Tumblr to WordPress owner Reuters
U.S. Pay-TV Subscriber Losses More Than Triple To 1.5M In Q2 – Report – Deadline Deadline
UK's 'The Spectator' To Launch U.S. Monthly Print Magazine Media Post
Friends is hitting theaters for show's 25th anniversary Entertainment Weekly
***BUSINESS & FINANCE
Learn & Practice On How To Fire Employees In Virtual Reality VR & Fun
***ENVIRONMENT
India’s holiest river is drying up National Geographic
Extreme climate change has reached the United States: Here are America’s fastest-warming places Washington Post
***HEALTH
Smog And Other Air Pollution Is Linked To Lung Damage NPR
Healthy tips on preparing for surgery Washington Post
Why Some Doctors Purposefully Misdiagnose Patients The Atlantic
Dozens of Young People Hospitalized for Breathing and Lung Problems After Vaping New York Times
Pakistan’s doctors are getting fired in Arab countries. Blame its unreliable medical degrees The Print
***MEDICAL RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY
Tissue model reveals role of blood-brain barrier in Alzheimer’s MIT
Scientists discover new pain-sensing organ The Guardian
Engineers Have Found A Way To Use Sweat For Some Medical Tests NPR
***TRAVEL
FAA Bans Recalled MacBook Pros From Flights Bloomberg
***SPORTS & GAMES
Chess champ’s formidable opponent: Red tape Washington Post
Welcome to the World of Competitive Wiffle Ball The Ringer
When the internet Chases you from your Home New York Times
***FOOD
This Is The Most Popular Ice Cream Shop In Every State Delish
The 33 Best BBQ Joints in America Thrillist
Pumpkin Spice Spam Is Real And Coming Out This Fall Delish
***FAMILY
The Weird History of Baby Cage, The Oddest Parenting Trend of the ’20s Fatherly
***ANIMALS
Amazing octopus found in a rock pool in Cornwall Cornwall Live
These Scientists Gave Ecstasy To Octopuses And Discovered Something Unexpected Gentside
It will soon be a crime in Alabama to misrepresent a pet as a service animal AL.com
***SCIENCE
A dozen science sites around the US Washington Post
Chemists make first-ever ring of pure carbon Nature
Scientists know gravity exists: They just don’t know how it works Washington Post
***PSYCHOLOGY
A psychiatry publication goes from open access to subscription Healio
***PHILOSOPHY
John Rawls and the Remaking of Political Philosophy Harvard Magazine
Philosopher Portraits: Famous Philosophers Painted in the Style of Influential Artists Open Culture
***RESEARCH
When so many email addresses on journal articles don’t work, we have a problem Nature Index
US Faculty Survey 2018 Reveals Uncertainty about Fraudulent Research Practices Ithaka S+R
When I read an article, I often have the sinking feeling that the authors didn’t actually read some of the papers they are citing Journal of Cell Science
Due to the publication of the article by the supervisor without the knowledge of a college student, this article is retracted International Journal of Infection
Four erroneous beliefs thwarting more trustworthy research eLife Science
UC faculty members quit Cell Press editorial boards over impasse with publisher Science Mag
Here is how fake scientific journals are bypassing detection filters Down to Earth
The Value of Redundancy in Research, or, In Research, Redundancy Has Value Scholarly Kitchen
***HIGHER ED
Moody's Maintains Negative Outlook for Higher Ed Inside Higher Ed
College Campuses: Are They Too P.C.? (opinion) New York Times
What This Title IX Case About Hazing Means for Women on Campus MS Magazine
Court Victory for Foreign Students Enrolled in Fake College Inside Higher Ed
Camp at Oklahoma Christian University brings together missionary families Oklahoman
Methodist University Hires a Muslim Chaplain PJ Media
Are faith-based ideas about sex spurring a consent conversation at Christian colleges? Deseret News
***TEACHING
Banning laptops or other note-taking devices from the classroom is an extreme stance that isn’t right for every student Inside Higher Ed
'Substantial doubt' that Cincinnati Christian University keeps accreditation Cincinnati
How Calling on Random Students Could Hurt Women Chronicle
Could eye-tracking software help catch students cheating on exams? T&F online
How Do We Teach With Primary Sources When So Many Voices Are Missing? Ed Week
***STUDENT MEDIA
Court report supports Lantern case for Ohio State records The Latern
***ACADEMIC LIFE
Fired University of Illinois professor, has lost his court bid to be reinstated News-Gazette
The firing of a university tennis coach accused of sexual harassment may have been motivated by public arm-twisting Inside Higher Ed
Professor exonerated for quoting iconic black writer at The New School The FIRE
***STUDENT LIFE
India Sets Weight Limits On Students' Backpacks NPR
Graduate Students Are Increasingly Shouldering The Country's Student Debt NPR
Alabama girl wore tux for senior portrait. Her school yearbook left her picture out NBC News
Pascal’s Wager
/Pascal’s argument (written in the 1600’s) went like this: Suppose you concede that you don’t know whether or not God exists and therefore assign a 50 percent chance to either proposition How should you weight these odds when decided whether to lead a pious life? If you act piously and God exists, Pascal argued, your gain – eternal happiness - is infinite. If, on the other hand, God does not exist, your loss, or negative return, is small – the sacrifices of piety. To weigh these possible gains and losses, Pascal proposed, you multiply the probability of each possible outcomes by its payoff and add them all up, forming a kind of average or expected payoff.
In other words, the mathematical expectation of your return on piety is one-half infinity (your gain if God exists) minus one-half a small number (your loss if he does not exist). Pascal knew enough about infinity to know that the answer to this calculation is infinite, and thus the expected return on piety is infinitely positive. Every reasonable person, Pascal concluded, should therefore follow the laws of God. Today this argument is know as Pascal’s wager.
Pascal’s wager is often considered the founding of the mathematical discipline of game theory, the quantitative study of optimal decision strategies in games.
Leonard Mlodinow, The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives
Real Love and Fidelity
/It may be said that fidelity secures itself against unfaithfulness by becoming accustomed not to separate desire from love. For if desire travels swiftly and anywhere, love is slow and difficult; love actually does pledge one for the rest of one’s life, and it exacts nothing less than this pledge in order to disclose its real nature. That is why a man who believes in marriage can no longer believe seriously in ‘love at first sight’, still less in the ‘irresistible’ nature of passion…which is an alibi invoked by the guilty.
Denis de Rougemont, Love in the Western World
Mottos
/Learned from childhood (not necessarily verbalized)
a. Measure up (you’re climbing a ladder to get to ahead and when you get there it’s already been moved 3 rungs up)
b. Don’t let your guard down. People won’t like you.
c. You can’t trust a man until he’s 6 feet under
d. Sex is dirty. So save it for the one you love.
e. Good Christians don’t show negative emotions
You must let go of false messages from your childhood and carry your OWN cross. Not someone else’s.
What mottos have you had to battle and what effect have they had on your life?
David Seamonds
Articles of Interest - August 12
/***TECHNOLOGY
Critical U.S. Election Systems Have Been Left Exposed Online Despite Official Denials Vice
California police robot flagging "blacklisted" people and cars Quartz
Robotic Contact Lenses That Let Users Zoom with the Blink of an Eye People
***BIG DATA & AI
Attempting to get deep learning past pattern-recognition correlation to causation with a little Bayesian help Enterprise AI
50 successful blockchains applications Data Science Central
MIT breaks new ground in AI with ‘deep’ knitting ZDnet
***SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook Said to Be in Talks With Publishers on News Effort New York Times
Trump draft order targets "anti-conservative" social media Quartz
I want the best, and only the best tweets Tools for Reporters
***MOBILE
Google Maps AR Navigation comes to iPhones and Android devices Are Technica
***PRIVACY & SECURITY
WhatsApp Flaws Could Allow Hackers to Alter Messages Bloomberg
Robocall blocking apps caught sending your private data without permission Tech Crunch
These Legit-Looking iPhone Lightning Cables Will Hijack Your Computer Vice
What a security researcher learned from monitoring traffic at Defcon Cnet
***INTERNET
Faster internet is coming, but only for a few Axios
Robocall blocking apps caught sending your private data without permission Tech Crunch
***JOURNALISM
7 facts about black Americans and the news media Pew Research
The art of the unhurried interview Live Mint
Washington Post adds 15 corrections to story on black families & southern farmland iMediaEthics
***FAKE NEWS
Author discusses new book on inclusion, free speech and political correctness on campus Inside Higher Ed
Pushing back against anti-vaxxers Washington Post
Flat-Earther 'Mad' Mike Hughes Is Being Sponsored by a Dating App to Nearly Get Himself Killed Live Science
Epstein Suicide Conspiracies Show How Our Information System Is Poisoned New York Times
***PERSONAL GROWTH
I can’t and I don’t Becoming (my blog)
Pluck the Day is more accurate than Seize the Day Jstor
The crucial piece of advice TED gives to nervous speakers Quartz
***GRAMMAR
Even A Grammar Geezer Like Me Can Get Used To Gender Neutral Pronouns NPR
APA Style Guide Endorses 1-Space Rule Inside Higher Ed
Why widely spoken languages have simpler grammar Economist
***WRITING & READING
From a wrongful arrest to a life-saving romance: the typos that have changed people's lives The Guardian
Religious activist convicted for burning LGBTQ library books NBC News
Millions of Books Are Secretly in the Public Domain. You Can Download Them Free Vice
***LANGUAGE
Wikipedia Is Helping Keep Welsh Alive Online Slate
As a language dies, who will mourn? Should anyone? (opinion) Washington Post
***LITERATURE
The Classic Novel That Is Most Often Abandoned By Readers Mental Floss
San Francisco Will Raise Maya Angelou Sculpture Hyperallergic
The Bookstagrammers and BookTubers changing the way people read Washington Post
Jane Austen was shockingly underpaid compared to other authors of her era Vox
J.D. Salinger son typing up father’s handwritten work for digital Quartzy
Franz Kafka papers lost in Europe but reunited in Jerusalem BBC
Take a Virtual Tour of Jane Austen’s Library Open Culture
‘Landmark’ BBC series on the novel kicks off year-long celebration of literature The Bookseller
***LITERATURE: TONI MORRISON
Toni Morrison and the Power of Literature New York Times
The Toughest Sentence Toni Morrison Ever Wrote The Walrus
Toni Morrison Deconstructs White Supremacy in America Open Culture
Going to the Movies with Toni Morrison New Yorker
Don’t Call Toni Morrison a Poet New York Times
***POETRY
How Devotional Poetry Unlocks the Bible's Surprises Christianity Today
'The Negro Artist' tells his own identity story through poetry Columbia Missourian
'At Last History Has Meaning': The Poetry of Jean Arasanayagam The Wire
Writing for future generations: New poetry collection by James Jay looks at life from behind the bar Aztec Daily
'A Frank O'Hara Notebook' gives us two poets and New York City in the '60s SF Gate
Walt Whitman Isn’t America’s Greatest Poet National Review
23 collections of Canadian poetry to watch for this fall CBC
The Case of the “Disappearing” Poet New Republic
***GENDER
Men avoid reusable shopping bags to not look gay: study New York Post
What the research says about hormones and surgery for transgender youth Journalist’s Resources
The female spies who helped liberate WWII France Washington Post
***RACE & ETHNICITY ISSUES
"Erased from Public Memory": The History of Anti-Latino Violence in the US WNYC Studios
U.S. State Department confirms alleged leader of white-nationalist group is an employee Associated Press
Hispanic women no longer account for the majority of immigrant births in the U.S. Pew Research Center
Police: El Paso shooting suspect said he targeted Mexicans Associated Press
A furore over an offensive advert divides Singapore Economist
The challenges for black performers in ‘white’ roles Washington Post
***LEGAL ISSUES
Court OKs Copyright for Banana Costume’s Artistic Features Bloomberg
Lawyers’ Recent Stagnant Wages Highlighted in ABA Profile Bloomberg
***BORDER ISSUES
100 Immigrants Pepper-Sprayed At Louisiana ICE Facility BuzzFeed News
***RELIGION
A desperate, panicked, and openly theocratic evangelical movement is falsely demonizing secularism and those who believe in the separation of church and state as a threat to religion (opinion) Above the Law
Losing My Religion at Christian Camp Longreads
Evangelical Lutheran Church first 'sanctuary church body' in US CNN
Assemblies of God Elects First Woman to Top Leadership Team Christianity Today
Religiously unaffiliated people face harassment in a growing number of countries Pew Research Center
Are podcasts replacing church for some believers? Baptist News
Evangelical community thriller is so-so, but actors are charming Washington Post
***RELIGION AND POLITICS
Pete Buttigieg hires the first faith outreach director of the 2020 campaign Washington Post
Why do evangelicals oppose gun control? (Opinion) The Week
***GOOD NEWS
Oregon man reunited with $23,000 in cash discarded in Humboldt recycling bin Press Democrat
Actor Danny Trejo rushes in to rescue child in Sylmar car crash ABC-7
***ART & DESIGN
25+ Simple Tattoo Ideas Offering Creative Ways to Say More with Less My Modern Met
Giant emoji painted on house roil California community Associated Press
***MUSIC
Alma Deutscher: The prodigy whose "first language" is Mozart 60 Minutes
***THE BUSINESS OF MEDIA
Would you care if music disappeared from FM radio? You may only have a decade to save it CNBC
***FREELANCE OPPORTUNITIES
Story Pitches LA Taco
Journalists to help edit/rewrite existing articles Healthline
Pitches for its upcoming issues Roadtrippers Magazine
Freelance pitches Runner's World magazine
Seeking new writers Modern Parent
Freelance science writers Stacker
***SEXUAL HARASSMENT & ASSAULT
A Potential Title IX Supreme Court Case? Inside Higher Ed
9 women sued Dartmouth for ignoring sexual misconduct. The college settled for $14M USA Today
Title IX a Sticking Point in Talks Over New Higher Ed Law Inside Higher Ed
***SOCIAL ISSUES
The US funeral industry is getting innovative Axios
The rural America death spiral Axios
***BUSINESS & FINANCE
Why People Move Flowing Data
A 50,000 Person Harvard Study Reveals the 3 Ways to Spot the Most Toxic Employees Inc.
What to Do When You Feel Uninspired at Work New York Times
Meet the next generation of entrepreneurs: They’re all over 65 MIT Technology Review
***HEALTH
Researchers Find Proteins That Might Restore Damaged Sound-Detecting Cells in The Ear Hopkins Medicine
Advanced sleepers go to bed early, rise early because of natural body clock UPI
Scientists Determined Why Room Temperature Is So Important for Sleep Curiosity
We've Known How To Treat Pneumonia For Decades, Why Is It The No.1 Killer Of Children? Seeker
Hearing aids: You ain't heard nothing yet CBS News
Penn Engineering’s Blinking Eye-on-a-Chip Used for Disease Modeling and Drug Testing Medium
***TRAVEL
The Best and Worst US Airports of 2019 The Points Guy
***SPORTS & GAMES
Video-Game Violence Is Now a Partisan Issue The Atlantic
A chess obsessive resigned to his fate Washington Post
Video games’ real problem? The gamers (opinion) Washington Post
Walmart pulls violent video game displays from its stores, but it will still sell guns CNN
***FAMILY
Less Sex, Fewer Babies: Blame The Internet And Career Priorities NPR
What Parents May Not Realize When They Post About Their Kids Online NPR
***ANIMALS
Woman sent to hospital after posing with octopus on face KIRO-TV
***SCIENCE
Is the Threat of ‘Fake Science’ Real? Lawfare
Probing the Mysteries of Gravity Undark
It’s important for scientists (and others who care about it) to tell the story of science, while not trying to hide its flaws Inside Higher Ed
Particle physics once again finds itself at a crossroads: which big particle-collider experiment to build next Quantam Magazine
***PSYCHOLOGY
Your Therapist’s Prescription? The Right Book New York Times
When Did Self-Help Become Self-Care? New York Times
***NEUROSCIENCE
Our Brains Tell Stories So We Can Live Without inner narratives we would be lost in a chaotic world Nautil.us
A protein in your brain behaves like a virus, infecting your cells with memories Massive Science
***CHINA
China bans movies, actors from prominent Taiwan film awards ABC News
Schoolchildren in China work overnight to produce Amazon Alexa devices The Guardian
***POLITICS
The World's Military Spending, Visualized Digg
Orange County, longtime GOP stronghold, now has more registered Democrats than Republicans LA Times
46% of U.S. social media users say they are ‘worn out’ by political posts and discussions Pew Research
***RESEARCH
Dorothy Bishop on correcting one’s own errors Bishop Blog
Pepsi employee caught masquerading as unbiased academic, sticks to the act CrossFit
Pacific Standard is shutting down, cut off from its major foundation funder Harvard’s Nieman Lab
***HIGHER ED
Court Approves Purchase of Law School by For-Profit Inside Higher Ed
More Private Colleges Are Cutting Tuition, but Don’t Expect to Pay Less New York Times
Dispute Over Minority Affairs, Collapse of a Student Senate Inside Higher Ed
Author discusses new book on inclusion, free speech and political correctness on campus Inside Higher Ed
***CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS
Thinking about Liberty University and decades of journalism struggles at private colleges Get Religion
Transgender student suspended from Christian college after top surgery NBC News
Northwest Nazarene University satellite now in orbit, sending data back to Nampa KTVB
***TEACHING
A national experiment reveals where a growth mindset improves achievement Nature
Talk to Text: A Hack on Grading Faculty Focus
***STUDENT LIFE
7 things everyone should do while they’re in college that can help them in the future TED
Helping Students With Disabilities New York Times
Half of young Americans say their degree is irrelevant to their work MarketWatch
No, Half of Young Americans Don't Believe College Is Unnecessary Inside Higher Ed
After racist ‘troll storm,’ AU grad awarded over $700,000 Washington Post
***ACADEMIC LIFE
Another professor is under fire for using the slur in class while discussing a work by James Baldwin Inside Higher Ed
Professor fired over confrontation with protesting students The Star
A significant minority of tenured faculty spend their lives undermining others (sub. req’ed) Times Higher Ed
I can’t and I don’t
/Every time you tell yourself “I can't”, you're creating a feedback loop that is a reminder of your limitations. This terminology indicates that you're forcing yourself to do something you don't want to do.
In comparison, when you tell yourself “I don't”, you're creating a feedback loop that reminds you of your control and power over the situation. It's a phrase that can propel you towards breaking your bad habits and following your good ones.
“I can't” and “I don't” are words that seem similar and we often interchange them for one another, but psychologically they can provide very different feedback and, ultimately, result in very different actions. They aren't just words and phrases. They are affirmations of what you believe, reasons for why you do what you do, and reminders of where you want to go.
The ability to overcome temptation and effectively say no is critical not only to your physical health, but also to maintaining a sense of well–being and control in your mental health.
To put it simply: you can either be the victim of your words or the architect of them. Which one would you prefer?
Proactive Language
/There’s nothing I can do.. Let’s look at our alternatives.
That’s just the way I am.. I can choose a different approach.
He makes me so mad.. I control my own feelings.
They won’t allow that.. I can create an effective presentation.
I have to do that..I will choose an appropriate response.
I can’t..I choose.
I must.. I prefer.
If only.. I will.
A serious problem with reactive language is that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. People become reinforced in the paradigm that they are determined, and they produce evidence to support the belief. They feel out of control, not in charge of their life or their destiny. They blame outside forces - other people, circumstances, even the stars - for their own situation.
Stephen Covey, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
The goal in marriage
/The goal in marriage is not to think alike, but to think together. -Robert C. Dodds
Death Ground
/You are your own worst enemy. You waste precious time dreaming of the future instead of engaging in the present. Since nothing seems urgent to you, you are only half involved in what you do. The only way to change is through action and outside pressures. Put yourself in situations where you have too much at stake to waste time or resources – if you cannot afford to lose, you won’t. Cut your ties to the past; enter unknown territory where you must depend on your wits and energy to see you through. Place yourself on “death ground,” where you back is against the wall and you have to fight like hell to get out alive.
Robert Greene, The 33 Strategies of War
Grace arrives
/Grace arrives, unannounced, in lives that least expect or deserve it. - Andrew Sullivan
Articles of Interest - August 5
/***JOURNALISM
Women Rewriting the Rules of Reporting in the Arab World The New York Times
What newsrooms need to know about Americans’ news habits RTDNA
Investigative journalism students play a key role in overturning a conviction Harvard’s Nieman Report
I’ve Seen the Limits of Journalism The Atlantic
***THE BUSINESS OF JOURNALISM
Dying Gasp of One Local Newspaper The New York Times
A Future without a Front Page The New York Times
***FAKE NEWS
He Was The Face Of A Bike-A-Thon To Fight Cancer. He Was Also A Fake The New York Times
***SOCIAL MEDIA
10 facts about Americans and Twitter Pew Research
The 2019 Instagram Rich List — Who Earns The Most From Sponsored Posts? Hopper HQ
TikTok, The Internet's Hottest Meme Breeding Ground, Turns 1 NPR
***SOCIAL MEDIA: FACEBOOK
Facebook is funding brain experiments to create a device that reads your mind MIT Tech Review
EU ruling says sites could be liable for user-tracking Facebook Like buttons The Verge
Why doesn’t Facebook help after your account gets hacked? Digitsal Trends
Facebook says it dismantles covert influence campaign tied to Saudi Arabia Reuters
***BIG DATA & AI
Chaos Computing: What it is and why we should care about it? Medium
***PRIVACY & SECURITY
Capital One Says Hacker Breached Accounts Of 100 Million People; Ex-Amazon Employee Arrested Forbes
Pentagon testing mass surveillance balloons across the US The Guardian
Kids at the center of facial recognition Axios
Internet of Things Cybersecurity Tips Offered by Science Agency Bloomberg
***PRODUCING MEDIA
PR’s Journalistic Roots Help Brands Transition to Digital Story Hunter
***INTERNET
People forged judges’ signatures to trick Google into changing results ArsTechnica
***THE BUSINESS OF MEDIA
Tech giants crush other media despite looming threats Axios
***PERSONAL GROWTH
Motivated Reasoning Becoming (my blog)
The trick that makes you overspend BBC
***GRAMMAR
The Birth of the Semicolon The Paris Review
Grammar rules are an invention: It’s time to stop taking them so seriously NBC News
A Defense of the Semicolon and Other Adventures in the English Language New York Times
***WRITING & READING
Dallas bodycam footage released showing moments before death of unarmed man NBC News
Authors Guild Hides Jokes In Their Copyright Notices Tech Dirt
***LANGUAGE
Because Internet,' A Guide To Our Changing Language, LOL NPR
Is the English language better because of the Internet? This linguist thinks so CTV
***LITERATURE
From every teen to annoying: are today's young readers turning on The Catcher in the Rye? The Guardian
A School Librarian's Philosophy of Lost Books School Library
How Japan's modern literature came under Nietzsche's spell Japan Times
***BORDER ISSUES
Border Patrol Detained a 9-Year-Old American Girl on Her Way to School for 32 Hours GQ
California professors install seesaws along U.S.-Mexico border wall NBC News
***POETRY
I’m ditching social media for poetry books this summer The Times
Opera inspired Walt Whitman; now his poetry is doing the same for musicians Star Tribune
The place of poetry and the poetry of place SMH
***GENDER
Transgender treatment: Puberty blockers study under investigation BBC
This Journal's Future Is Female Inside Higher Ed
Craving Freedom, Japan's Women Opt Out Of Marriage The New York Times
***RACE & ETHNICITY ISSUES
How white nationalists have co-opted fan fiction Wired
‘It was terrifying’: Black Chadds Ford couple left shaken by white Pa. trooper’s alleged misconduct Philadelphia Inquirer
***CRIME & COURTS
Amazon Ring alerts often tie up police with false alarms Cent
No Immunity For Cops Who Arrested A Man For Creating A Facebook Page Mocking The Police Department Tech Dirt
Court warns reporters to be careful publishing reports from police logs Universal Hub
***RELIGIION
Early Christian 'Church of the Apostles' Possibly Unearthed Near Sea of Galilee Live Science
The Story Behind John Allen Chau, An American Missionary Who Was Killed While Working NPR
Evangelical Publisher’s Africa-Themed Bible School Kit Had Kids Pretending To Be Slaves Huff Post
What did church teach white students posing with guns in front of Emmett Till marker? Religion in the News
Radical Baptist church preaches LGBTQ hate just miles from California’s Capitol LA Times
Evangelicals’ Civility Religion in Public
U.S. Jews know a lot about religion – but other Americans know little about Judaism Pew Research
Christian group warns against rise of 'Christian nationalism' The Hill
***GOOD NEWS
Nurse helps save driver who crashed into her home Fox 35
***REALLY?!
Texas Man Caught With Missile Launcher In Checked Baggage At BWI Airport CBS Baltimore
The runner who makes elaborate artwork with his feet and a map The Guardian
Will Hitler HQ makeover create a Nazi theme park? BBC
***ART & DESIGN
Thousands of Miniature Mirrors Dazzle and Refract in Multi-Media Sculptures by Lee Bul The is Colossal
Where Does Major American Art Come From? Mapping the Whitney Biennial The New York Times
Fine and Street Art Aesthetics Merge in Anthony Lister’s Expressive Murals The is Colossal
Yulia Brodskaya Reveals Her Process of ‘Painting With Paper’ in a New Book The is Colossal
Meticulous Portraits of Young Women by Ozabu Are Eerily Fused with Plants and Feathers The is Colossal
***MUSIC
Why the Katy Perry/Flame lawsuit makes no sense (video)
Showtime's four part docuseries on Rick Rubin Showtime
The Wizard of Oz vs Lil Nas X (video) Lewis Wake Memes
***ARTICLES ABOUT JOBS
Journalism career advice Twitter threat
***SEXUAL HARASSMENT & ASSAULT
Ohio State’s troubled sexual assault center failed to report 57 potential felonies, audit finds Dispatch
Students accused of sexual harassment sue California universities LA Times
***BUSINESS & FINANCE
The Invention of Money New Yorker
***ENVIRONMENT
Trails of Wind (visualization)
Ethiopia Plants 350 Million Trees in One Day to Combat Drought Bloomberg
***HEALTH
Babies get critical gut bacteria from their mother at birth, not from placenta, study suggests Science Mag
Where People Don't Get Enough Sleep, Mapped Digg
Dark mode isn't as good for your eyes as you believe Wired
High levels of oestrogen in the womb linked to autism University of Cambridge
***TRAVEL
***FOOD
Is it unsafe or just unsightly? There’s an art to assessing produce Washington Post
America's Most Popular Burger Places, Visualized Digg
The first guacamole recipe written in English came from a British pirate Vox
***CHILDREN
Why Kids Invent Imaginary Friends The Atlantic
Behind gender-reveal party fouls, a parenting truth Washington Post
Kids See Bearded Men As Strong — But Unattractive, Study Finds NPR
Dying Dad Writes 'I Love You Like...' Book for Young Son MSN
Japanese park encourages kids to play with saws, light bonfires for learning experiences SoraNews24
***ANIMALS
Pit bull grabs baby by diaper, saves her from fire ABC-13
Meet he’e the octopus The Guardian
***SCIENCE
A scientific Ponzi scheme University of Pittsburg
The Milky Way is warped around the edges, new star map confirms National Geographic
Japanese Scientists Plan to Create Human-Mouse Hybrids: Here's How Live Science
***PSYCHOLOGY
Should Psychology Journals Adopt Specialized Statistical Review? Sage Journals
Paths to Treating Mental Illness (opinion) The New York Times
How expectation influences perception MIT Tech Review
The Psychiatric 'Wonder Drug' That Almost No One Is Using VICE
***NEUROSCIENCE
A cold case team is searching for who betrayed Anne Frank National Geographic
Neuroscientists find brain activity patterns that indicate how expectation influences perception MIT
UCSF Researchers Synthesize Speech From Brain Waves MIT Tech Review
***RESEARCH
Some of the scientists said that the prospect of financing blinded them to the seriousness of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual transgressions The New York Times
Fudged research results erode people’s trust in experts The Conversation
Why we shouldn’t take peer review as the gold standard Washington Post
Joint position statement on predatory publishing Taylor & Francis Online
***HIGHER ED
Wealthy Parents Are Giving Up Custody of Their Kids to Get Need-Based College Financial Aid Propublica
Tribal Colleges Struggle to Connect Diverse Educaiton
Major Universities are launching cannabis degrees and courses Quartz
Federal panel on accreditation will study how regional agencies should monitor politicians' influence over public colleges Inside Higher Ed
“The $300 textbook is dead,” says the CEO of textbook maker Pearson Vox
Some Colleges Collect More From Their Students Than They Spend Actually Teaching Forbes
Grandson of NNU Founder Passes Away Northwest Nazarene University
***TEACHING
Author discusses approaches that work to get students to the finish line Inside Higher Ed
***STUDENT LIFE
Are New Graduates Happier Making More Money or Having More Time? Harvard Business Review
Millennials say dating has gotten 'way too expensive,' 30% can't even afford love USA Today
A Fraternity Member Who Had "A Fascination With Death" Allegedly Encouraged Five People To Kill Themselves BuzzFeed News
New data on the first three jobs held by graduates of six popular majors show career pathways are a swirl rather than a straight line Inside Higher Ed
22 percent of millennials say they have “no friends” Vox
Almost 70 percent of college students favor banning assault-style weapons Newsweek
Why is the teen birth rate falling? Pew Research
***ACADEMIC LIFE
Major study led by a lifelong Republican finds no evidence that professors are discriminating against conservative students Pacific Standard
For academics, what matters more: journal prestige or readership? Science Mag
Academic freedom, scholarly responsibility and the new gender wars University Affairs
College faculty have become more racially and ethnically diverse, but remain far less so than students Pew Research
Motivated Reasoning
/When we identify too strongly with a deeply held belief, idea, or outcome, a plethora of cognitive biases can rear their ugly heads. Take confirmation bias, for example. This is our inclination to eagerly accept any information that confirms our opinion, and undervalue anything that contradicts it. It’s remarkably easy to spot in other people (especially those you don’t agree with politically), but extremely hard to spot in ourselves because the biasing happens unconsciously. But it’s always there.
Criminal cases where jurors unconsciously ignore exonerating evidence and send an innocent person to jail because of a bad experience with someone of the defendant’s demographic. The growing inability to hear alternative arguments in good faith from other parts of the political spectrum. Conspiracy theorists swallowing any unconventional belief they can get their hands
We all have some deeply held belief that immediately puts us on the defensive. Defensiveness doesn’t mean that belief is actually incorrect. But it does mean we’re vulnerable to bad reasoning around it. And if you can learn to identify the emotional warning signs in yourself, you stand a better chance of evaluating the other side’s evidence or arguments more objectively.
Liv Boeree writing in Vox