This week at the beach I also got a chance to read Chris Hayes’ superb social commentary, “Twilight of the Elites.” Instead of gathering thoughts later to write a blog post, I tweeted some thoughts as they occurred to me. For those of you not on twitter (or don’t follow me, or missed it) here…
So this post is going to be about fixing my house, my dad, and a great great book I’ve read recently. As is my inclination, I’ll find parallels between things and other things. This summer my dad and I (mostly my dad) renovated our front porch and replaced our front door. For a lot of…
Welcome new readers! One of the themes of this blog is how I apply my perspective as a college professor or a cognitive psychologist to a variety of different circumstances, like kindergarten, or feminism, or googling, or school reform. This post is in that spirit, about my experience as a summer camp chess coach. One…
I am a professor at a small liberal arts college, and I love my job. I do my best to provide help my students develop, learn, and reach their full potential. Most days I think I do a pretty good job at this. But one of the enduring, needling little voices in my head asks…
There has been a trickle of misinformed media reports about a recent study from Caroline Hoxby and Christopher Avery, and the latest (from the Atlantic, of course) brought my frustration above the level necessary for a blog post. Apologies in advance. I’ll try to make this a productive exercise in venting. This is also quite…
Over the weekend I witnessed several seemingly unrelated conversations that held a common thread. On the surface, these might seem to be shallow conversations about logos, style of language, or word usage. However for many having strong feelings about these apparently shallow issues, investigating these issues are not scratching the surface, but rather using them…
In what is becoming an annual tradition, I spent a day at elementary school last week, as part of the WATCH Dogs program. I thought I’d share some reflections. I learn something new every time I go. If you are interested in education reform, there really is no substitute for actually spending a whole day…
Like many interested in how we apply basic cognitive science to education, I was interested in the recent finding that many teachers still endorse many myths and misconceptions about neuroscience and cognitive psychology. Here is the original paper, and an excellent op-ed by Chris Chabris and Dan Simons in the Wall Street Journal. One interesting…
Like many progressive Obama supporters, I was moved by his tears as he thanked his Chicago staff and volunteers this past week. Whether or not you believe he is a great president, it is pretty clear he is a good man and genuinely grateful for his audience’s service to his cause. This rare crack in…
I have followed with morbid fascination the downfall of Jonah Lehrer. I’ll admit to really enjoying Proust was a Neuroscientist, as well as How We Decide. I still see value in each of these books, and I will continue to assign the chapter on vision and Paul Cezanne, because it is a wonderful introduction to…
