True ignorance
/True ignorance is not the absence of knowledge, but the refusal to acquire it. -Karl Popper
ideas that challenge / comfort / inspire
The Self-esteem Secret
/You can either let your self-esteem ride on the answer to questions like:
Do people think I am smart?
Am I shaped like a model?
Do I look weak and foolish?
Or you can let your self-esteem be based on the knowledge that you are of value because you are made in God's image and that he has set his affection on you.
You've made quite a journey already, struggling to keep going and learning to rest in that knowledge. Won’t it be enjoyable to march down that path, head held high and a big smile on your face? It’s there, not because you are ignoring your trouble, but because you know the secret.
Stephen Goforth
Articles of Interest about the virus, zoom, & religion
/***THE VIRUS
Covid-19 Symptoms: What to Do If You Might Have It
These are the two COVID-19 data sites I incessantly check
The UK plans to issue coronavirus 'immunity passports' so people can leave the lockdown early
Looking at the COVID-19 myths causing confusion
The coronavirus is creating a renaissance of the American family
College made them feel like equals: The virus changed that
***THE VIRUS & MINORITIES
U.S. Latinos among hardest hit by pay cuts, job losses due to coronavirus
Early Data Shows African Americans Have Contracted and Died of Coronavirus at an Alarming Rate
***TRACKING THE VIRUS
Experts warn of privacy risk as US uses GPS to fight coronavirus spread
Google is now publishing coronavirus mobility reports, feeding off users’ location history
***DOCTORS & THE VIRUS
Doctors Say Hospitals Are Stopping Them From Wearing Masks
California nursing students get path to degree amid pandemic
***USING ZOOM
Zoom Meetings Just Got Safer. Here's Why That Also Means It'll Be Harder to Use
19 Students And Professors Who Were 100% Hilarious During Online Classes
How to allow Zoom meeting attendees to join without installing the app
Zoom will enable waiting rooms by default to stop Zoombombing
We’re all video chatting now but some of us hate it
***ZOOM WARNINGS
A 20 Foot Cable And The Explosion Of Online Cheating
NYC forbids schools from using Zoom for remote learning due to privacy and security concerns
Maybe we shouldn’t use Zoom after all
Why Most Should Avoid The ‘Out Of Control’ Zoom Right Now
Zoom says engineers will focus on security and safety issues
‘Zoombombing’ Becomes a Dangerous Organized Effort
Thousands of private Zoom videos are online for anyone to watch
A Must For Millions, Zoom Has A Dark Side — And An FBI Warning
How to stop hackers from ‘zoom bombing’ your Zoom video chats
Zoom Sued for Allegedly Illegally Disclosing Personal Data
Zoom Tightens Privacy Policy, Says No User Videos Are Analyzed for Ads
***WORKING FROM HOME
Why Working From Home Is So Exhausting
***RELIGION & THE VIRUS
Can Technology Hold Religious Communities Together?
Asian American Christians denounce anti-Asian racism amid coronavirus
Florida, other states allowing church services during coronavirus pandemic draw criticism
Here's a look at what states are exempting religious gatherings from stay at home orders
Five days of worship that set a virus time bomb in France
Mormons start crowd-less conference due to pandemic
***RELIGION & THE LAW
Caught between gender equality and religious liberty (opinion)
Radio host ‘Doc’ Gallagher gets 25 years for bilking Christian investors out of millions
***MEGACHURCHES
Thomas Road Baptist Church's Charles Billingsley tests positive for coronavirus
Florida megachurch pastor says he's closing church due to 'tyrannical government'
Ill. megachurch pastor, grandfather of 10 dies of coronavirus
***DENOMINATIONS
Arkansas Baptists seek dismissal of sexual abuse lawsuit
Three-quarters of U.S. Catholics view Pope Francis favorably, though partisan differences persist
***RELIGION
Record low number of Americans hold biblical worldview, survey says
Man must Suffer
/Man must suffer to be wise. -Agamemnon
Take a deep breath
/A famous classical musician slipped on jeans and a baseball cap. He then took his million-dollar Stradivarius violin into the Washington, DC metro and played for passengers. They were not impressed because he didn't look the part of a professional. He wasn’t wearing concert attire or playing in a concert hall.
A mother brought her toddler into the emergency room of a hospital for three straight days. But doctors dismissed her symptoms because of her mother’s behavior. On the third visit, the girl died.
In their book Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior, Ori Brafman and Rom Brafman say these are examples of premature labeling.
Before you determine the inherent worth of someone or something, take a deep breath and make sure your first impression isn’t keeping you from seeing what's actually going on.
Stephen Goforth
Questions and Answers
/Albert Einstein once said, “The important thing is not to stop questioning.” A friend who heard this wrote to me asking, “Why? Why? Why?????????”
I think Einstein was assuming there were answers to be found—as opposed to people (some of them I bumped into while studying philosophy) who dare not find any answers because it’s the "search" for truth/answers/reasons that appealed to them. Finding answers would require an identity shift from aggressive critic to defender of a viewpoint and that’s not as much fun. It’s like the search for romantic love—fun to chase but boring or frustrating to find it and try to live with it.
Our choices show whether we are asking questions because we want answers or whether we draw pleasure from shouting question marks and hearing empty echoes in response.
Stephen Goforth
Articles about the Virus, Journalism, Higher Ed & more
/***THE VIRUS
Interactive Coronavirus graphs
China Concealed Coronavirus Outbreak Extent: U.S. Intelligence
Corona Virus is sparking a new labor movement
"Walking Dead" actor Daniel Newman's coronavirus test wasn't processed, but he got billed $9,000
9 charts showing what coronavirus is doing to the economy
Hospitals Tell Doctors They’ll Be Fired If They Speak Out About Lack of Gear
The Medical News Site That Saw the Coronavirus Coming Months Ago
***STOPPING THE VIRUS
The race to find a coronavirus vaccine has one major obstacle: big pharma
Do Homemade Face Masks Help Stop the Spread of the Coronavirus?
***CORONAVIRUS & THE SOUTH
The Coronavirus’s Unique Threat to the South
Why is New Orleans' coronavirus death rate seven times New York's? Obesity is a factor
The South, Sickest Part of a Sick America, Falls Prey to Virus
***THE VIRUS & HATE CRIMES
Doctor kicked out of Ind. gas station for being Asian in coronavirus-related discrimination
FBI warns of potential surge in hate crimes against Asian Americans amid coronavirus
Stabbing Of Asian American Toddler And Family Deemed A Hate Crime: Report
***FAKES & FRAUDS
Coronavirus: Hackers are now launching dozens of email scams each day
Why coronavirus scammers can send fake emails from real domains
Coronavirus deniers take aim at hospitals as pandemic grows
***THE VIRUS & HIGHER ED
Hundreds of university staff made redundant due to coronavirus
Faculty discuss their quick transition to online instruction
How Much Did Coronavirus Disruptions Affect 2 Closing Colleges?
Christian Colleges Get Creative with Chapel Requirements
UC suspends SAT/ACT requirements for 2021 applicants
Scores of institutions announce faculty hiring freezes in response to the coronavirus
***THE VIRUS & RELIGION
Samaritan's Purse sets up emergency field hospital in New York's Central Park
Pastor of Louisiana church charged, accused of disobeying governor’s order
Texas pastors demand a “religious liberty” exemption to coronavirus stay-at-home orders
Coronavirus social distancing leads to empty churches and a rise in apps
***ISOLATION
Mental health support systems for coping with pandemic
China’s Divorce Spike Is a Warning to Rest of Locked-Down World
7 things that polar explorers used to stay sane for months of isolation that work in quarantine
***WORKING AT HOME DURING THE VIRUS
Just because you’re working from home doesn’t mean your boss isn’t watching you
Lockdown video: Making video conferencing and streaming work from home
Lockdown video: Making video conferencing and streaming work from home
I’m a parent and a teacher. Remote learning should worry us all
New Orleans educator solves online teaching problem, catches Google's eye
***ZOOM
The internet is now rife with places where you can organize Zoom-bombing raids
'Zoombombing' comes for houses of worship
Zoom under scrutiny by NY attorney general’s office for data privacy & security practices
***WRITING & READING
Coronavirus news is dominating readers’ attention
Pandemic Literature: A Meta-List of the Books You Should Read in Coronavirus Quarantine
Pandemics: An Essential Reading List
***JOURNALISM
Coronavirus is being used to suppress press freedoms globally
Gannett, responding to the coronavirus-related downturn, announces a series of cuts
Coronavirus news is dominating readers’ attention
Fox News is worried about legal action after misleading viewers about coronavirus
San Fran: $369k to a freelance journalist raided by police trying to find a confidential source
***THE BUSINESS OF JOURNALISM
Tomorrow’s life-or-death decisions for newspapers are suddenly today’s, thanks to coronavirus
Coronavirus presents existential threat for news media
***SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook, YouTube Warn Of More Mistakes As Machines Replace Moderators
Facebook Offers $100 Million Lifeline To News Outlets During Coronavirus Crisis
Today’s students
/Today’s students need universities and colleges that will help them navigate a world where constant changes are the norm and where learning how to adapt is the central problem of living and of citizens. -Caitlin Zaloom
Don't
/Don’t believe everything you read on the internet or on social media. -Abraham Lincoln
Sit in your cell
/Sit in your cell and your cell with teach you everything. -Abba Moses
Articles of interest about the virus (& higher ed)
/***THE VIRUS
Hospitals consider universal do-not-resuscitate orders for coronavirus patients
Data visualizations break down the virus
The pioneering doctor behind hand-washing
The Social-Distancing Culture War Has Begun
SoCal doctor says key differences between Los Angeles, New York play factor in spread of COVID-19
***SURVIVING THE VIRUS
How to tell if your nearest hospital is prepared to handle the coronavirus
The Reason You're Exhausted Is 'Moral Fatigue'
***THE VIRUS & CHURCHES
Florida Church Packed with Worshipers
Coronavirus News: Some Megachurches Still Pack in Crowds
About 500 worshippers in Louisiana church defy ban on gatherings
Choir practice turns fatal. Airborne coronavirus strongly suspected
43 people fall ill at Pentecostal church after revival, 10 test positive for coronavirus
***HIGHER ED
Study Abroad Provider Cuts More Than 600 Jobs
For Higher Education, Nothing Matters More Than September
SF City College Chancellor resigns
MacMurray College Closing at End of Semester
Law School Offers Pass/Fail But Only If You Tell Them A Good Enough Story About How COVID Hurt You
Colleges extend decision deadline due to coronavirus as new students reconsider
How a Pandemic Could Change Higher Education
***HIGHER ED & FINANCE
Higher Ed Institutions Lay Off Workers, Tighten Budgets Amid Coronavirus Crisis
College Fundraising and HR During the Crisis
Are Colleges Dancing Around Issues That The Coronavirus Has Exposed?
Universities Shouldn’t Spend Their Endowments on Coronavirus Relief (opinion)
Bay Area Private Catholic school: closure some fear is now inevitable
***WORKING REMOTE
Cybersecurity Lawyer Who Flagged The WHO Hack Warns Of 'Massive' Remote Work Risks
FBI investigating Zoombombing incident during faculty meeting
***ONLINE TEACHING
COVID-19 is forcing rapid tech adoption in higher ed
Dean Responds With Dance Video TO NYU Tisch’s Students Wanting Tuition Back Over Remote Learning
Sick of Zoom? Google Duo now supports video calls for up to 12 people
Forced off campus by coronavirus, students aren't won over by online education
Live video should not be your default online learning experience
A trauma-informed approach to teaching through coronavirus — for students everywhere, online or not
How to Video-Chat Between an iPhone and an Android Smartphone
When the Tide Goes Out: Identifying and Supporting Struggling Students in Online Courses
***ACADEMIC LIFE
The rise of the remote Ph.D. defense
***CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS
Christian Colleges Should Interact With World, Not Oppose It (opinion)
Trevecca releases documentary as church resource during pandemic
***LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
Liberty University Brings Back Its Students, and Coronavirus, Too
‘He’s Going to Do Whatever He Wants’
Liberty University Could Face Liability for Failure to Shut Down for Coronavirus
What’s It Like on One of the Only University Campuses Still Open in the U.S.?
Liberty University offers $1K credit to those who don't return to on-campus residence
***RESEARCH
An unprecedented shutdown of academic research underway on many campuses
***STUDENT LIFE
This could be worst job market for new college grads since the financial crisis
Attending Class From Home? Here Are 6 Tips For Success
Coronavirus Drives Colleges to Test Optional
***SEXUAL HARASSMENT & ASSAULT
The University of Rochester settled a long-running legal case over alleged sexual harassment
tell me a story
/We naturally avoid ambiguity. We want black and white, right or left, up or down. The greys of life are so distasteful that when a cause is attached to any set of facts, we assume the "facts" are more likely to have really happened.
Nassim Taleb in his book The Black Swain points out that if you ask someone, "How many people are likely to have lung cancer in the U.S.?" you might get a response like "half a million." But if you make one change to the question and ask, "How many people are likely to have lung cancer in the U.S. because of smoking cigarettes" you would get a much higher number. Why is that? Taleb suggests we tend to believe an idea is more likely to be true when a cause is attached to it.
Joey seemed happily married but killed his wife.
Joey seemed happily married but killed his wife to get her inheritance.
The first is broader and accommodate more possibilities. The second statement is more specific and less likely to be true. But if you ask people which is more likely, more of them would say the second statement. Why? The second statement tells us a story.
The narrative misguides us. We want an explanation, a back story. That's why it’s hard for us to look at a series of facts without weaving an explanation into them and tying the factsto the because. We like a good story-even when it misleads us about what is true. That's why you should be careful whenever you come across a because. Connecting causes to particular events must be handled with care.
Stephen Goforth
Articles of interest about the virus (& religion)
/***THE VIRUS
Governors are starting to close their borders. The implications are staggering.
The Pandemic Has Led to a Huge, Global Drop in Air Pollution
Simulating an epidemic (video)
Cities after coronavirus: how Covid-19 could radically alter urban life
Citing virus, EPA has stopped enforcing environmental laws
Federal health agencies block journalists' access to COVID-19 experts & information
Surging Traffic Is Slowing Down Our Internet
Mayor urges citizens to stay home in explicit online rant
“This is a white-collar quarantine." How the pandemic is magnifying America’s class divide.
The Week's Best Quarantine Memes, Ranked
***THE VIRUS & YOUR JOB
What To Do If You Lose Your Job Due To The Coronavirus Outbreak
You can’t get fired for having the coronavirus, but your boss can take your temperature
***STOPPING THE VIRUS
Do you wear contact lenses? You should switch to glasses to stop spreading the virus
Homemade face masks: Why they may not protect you from coronavirus
Can You Catch Coronavirus From Your Shoes?
Now Is the Time to Take Care of Your Lungs. Here’s How.
***COPING DURING THE VIRUS
Why We Turn to Gardening in Times of Crisis
'Call Your Friends': The Importance Of Maintaining Friendships During The Pandemic
***HACKERS
Hackers Trick Thousands Into Downloading Dangerous ‘Google Chrome Update
Hackers hijacking home routers to direct people to malicious coronavirus app
***FRAUD
How shadowy social media groups are spreading myths and conspiracy about coronavirus
When Coronavirus Misinformation Goes Viral
***RELIGION & THE VIRUS
Rabbi who rescued 56 families from the Nazis dies of coronavirus
Nearly 3 dozen who attended Arkansas church event test positive for coronavirus
Trump's Bible teacher says gays among those to blame for COVID-19
US Christian leaders criticise Trump's Easter coronavirus deadline
Pastors from Europe Tell North America: Get Ready Now
Coronavirus: 'I'm stuck in isolation with my homophobic parents'
Trump wants ‘packed churches’ on Easter. Pastors expect their doors to be shut.
The Road to Coronavirus Hell Was Paved by Evangelicals (opinion)
Megachurch in LA refuses social distancing, Pastor says God will heal
***ZOOM
Religious communities are offering baptism by Zoom - such innovation has deep historical roots
Trolls exploit Zoom privacy settings as app gains popularity during lockdown
Zoom is giving Facebook your personal information without telling you
The two Zoom features you need to know about for video conferences
How to change your Zoom background just like everyone else is doing right now
***RELIGION
The Vatican museums have free virtual tours, including one where you can see the Sistine Chapel
As offerings dwindle, some churches fear for their future
Miley Cyrus Explains to Hailey Bieber Why She Left the Church
Students Are Scrambling After Universities Close. Churches Can Help.
How Corrie ten Boom’s 'The Hiding Place' Earned its Place in the Evangelical Canon
***RELIGION & THE LAW
Caught between gender equality and religious liberty (opinion)
Virginia Gov. quotes Scripture, pleads with Fallwell to close Liberty University
Together
/“No man is an island,” John Donne wrote in 1624, as he lay ill with a persistent fever, fearing death. “Every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.” In the solitude and delirium imposed by his illness, his connection to all others became manifest. Americans have always viewed the communitarian ethos with some ambivalence; our founding ideals are rooted in a rebellion against authority and duty, and reverence for individual liberty. Epidemics, Anne Applebaum recently pointed out in The Atlantic, “have a way of revealing underlying truths about the societies they impact.” This one has caught us in a moment of profound weakness. Faith in science, government, media, and all our institutions has badly eroded, and we are deeply divided politically and culturally, viewing each other as enemy tribes, not countrymen. The coronavirus cares nothing for these distinctions; it is a reminder that our separateness is an illusion. We Americans, and all of humanity, are at war with a common foe. We can only defeat it together.
William Falk writing in The Week magazine
Love and Death
/Love is a reminder of our own mortality. When a friend or member of our family dies, we are vividly impressed by the fact that life is evanescent and irretrievable. But there is also a deeper sense of its meaningful possibilities and an impetus to risk ourselves in taking the leap. Some -perhaps most - human beings never know deep love until they experience, at someone's death, the preciousness of friendship, devotion, loyalty. Abraham Maslow is profoundly right when he wonders whether we could love passionately if we knew we'd never die
Rollo May, Love and Will
Articles of Interest about the virus and its impact on your job, lit, teaching, & journalism
/***THE VIRUS
Coronavirus is a Waffle House 'Index Red': Restaurant chain shutters 418 stores
How Do You Make a Will During the Coronavirus Lockdown?
Kansas official: Pandemic isn’t a problem here because there are few Chinese people
10 Misconceptions About the 1918 Flu, the ‘Greatest Pandemic in History’
How Long Will Schools Need To Stay Closed? A Pandemic Expert Weighs In
UC San Diego 'inundated' with gifts after it asks for equipment, money to fight coronavirus
When Language Goes Viral during a Pandemic
***VIRUS FAKES & FRAUDS
The Ibuprofen Debate Reveals the Danger of Covid-19 Rumors
Coronavirus crisis brings wave of scams
How Wikipedia Prevents the Spread of Coronavirus Misinformation
***THE VIRUS & YOUR JOB
My employer is denying routine remote working requests
Are you an 'essential' worker? Here's what that means
Law You Can Use: Coronavirus and your job
***THE VIRUS & WORKING FROM HOME
How to keep your internet from slowing to a crawl while working from home
Can you be fired for working from home?
Why Does My Work Laptop Have Slower Wifi Than My Other Devices?
***TEACHING ONLINE
Zoom’s A Lifeline During COVID-19: This Is Why It’s Also A Privacy Risk
Flood of Online Learning Resources Overwhelms Teachers
Should I use Zoom or FaceTime? Here’s how to decide
Babbel makes its language learning app free for all US students
Coronavirus: Add 'Zoom-bombing' to the stresses overwhelming schools
***JOURNALISM
News Publishers Deemed “Essential” Businesses During Pandemic
How newsrooms are preparing for coronavirus while also covering it
Resources to help reporters cover coronavirus
San Diego Magazine Laid Off Nearly Entire Staff
Do news sites have an ethical duty to remove paywalls on coronavirus coverage?
Coronavirus news is America's new national pastime
Student journalists are continuing to cover their colleges and surrounding communities
The FBI Has Limited Public Records Requests During The Coronavirus Pandemic
***STUDENT MEDIA
Student Journalists Are Still Reporting on Coronavirus After Schools Shut Down
How to access the information you need to cover mental illness at your school
Their college year upended, Gen Z journalists keep breaking news on Coronavirus
***SOCIAL MEDIA
Instagram adds video chat to help people stay connected
TikTok Told Moderators: Suppress Posts by the “Ugly” and Poor
In Largest Study Yet, Pandemic Fuels WhatsApp, Social Media, TV
***LIT & POETRY
How Emily Dickinson Wrestled with Darwinism
Famous Lines of Poetry Revised for the Age of Coronavirus (McSweeney’s)
Poetry can be the bridge that connects us during these difficult times
There is a time for departure
/There is a time for departure, even when there’s no certain place to go. -Tennessee Williams (Born: March 26, 1911)
Articles of interest about the virus (& higher ed) - March 25
/***THE VIRUS
How to Handle Packages During the Coronavirus Pandemic
Coronavirus Sets the Stage for Hacking Mayhem
The psychological toll of coronavirus coverage
The Doctor Who Helped Defeat Smallpox Explains What's Coming
***WORKING DURING THE VIRUS
People Are Looping Videos to Fake Paying Attention in Zoom Meetings
How To Work From Home Most Chaotically
What Employees Need to Know Amid the Coronavirus COVID-19 Outbreak
***HIGHER ED
North Carolina College Investigates Use of Force by Officers
Small colleges were already on the brink. Now, coronavirus threatens their existence
***TEACHING DURING THE VIRUS
Google and YouTube Launch Remote Learning Tools for Parents and Teachers
15 Moments That Perfectly And Hilariously Capture Online Classes In The Time Of The Coronavirus
From Zoom University to the Zoom Party
All of Poynter's courses are now free
***ACADEMIC LIFE
Working from home during COVID-19 proves challenging for faculty members
The Move to Online College is Hitting Adjunct Professors the Hardest
University of Memphis instructor dies in Wisconsin from COVID-19 Complications
Will the coronavirus kill off the ‘dinosaur’ world of academic publishing?
***CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS
Liberty University students returning to campus dorms amid coronavirus shutdowns
Christian Colleges Should Interact With World, Not Oppose It (opinion)
How Christian higher education responded to a pandemic
Students sue to stop Christian university from merging with art college in Tennessee
***STUDENT LIFE
Study abroad students caught by international border closures
Students Are Scrambling After Universities Close. Churches Can Help
leaping
/Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning. –Gloria Steinem (born March 25, 1934)