Recently, I was listening to NPR Morning Edition as Steve Inskeep and Shankar Vedantam were doing a segment titled “A lively Mind: Your Brain on Jane Austin.”[1] It was an interesting discussion of how a researcher, Natalie Phillips, decided to do a study that used functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure brain activity while subjects … More NPR should up their game on reporting “Science”
The first presidential debate showed us the real Romney which is not to say it’s the same Romney we saw in the primary debates or the Romney we saw as governor of Massachusetts or the Romney we’ve seen campaigning for the last five years. The problem is they’re all the real Romney. The personality characteristics that compel … More The Pleomorphic Candidate
“I would love to have the students grade the teachers at the end of the year as opposed to just the other way around so that teachers get feedback. We did that when I got to graduate school. We got to grade the teachers and then it was published. They put it up for the whole … More Mitt misses on education – students grading teachers is strategically flawed.
I enthusiastically voted for Obama in 2008 but the sloth like economic recovery and the endless war in Afghanistan have tempered that enthusiasm to the point that I would have carefully considered a credible alternative in 2012. I watched with disappointment as the fringe members of the Republican Party separated the wheat from the chaff … More The camel’s back has been broken – an undecided decides.
I was reminded of the Nirvana Fallacy when it appeared in “Pertussis outbreaks and vaccine effectiveness”[1], posted in Respectful Insolence on September 5, 2012. The point of the article is that those opposed to vaccinations will argue that vaccine effectiveness below 100% is “proof” that vaccinations are all ineffective and therefore should not be used … More Pertussis, Politics and the Nirvana Fallacy (No Nirvana means no Obama?)
Seriously? This statement is disingenuous at best and should be an insult to any person who believes in the spirit and power of American entrepreneurialism. It should be especially offensive to any small business person that is in the trenches of free market capitalism and understands the cold, unemotional basics of supply and demand. Is … More “Job growth remains stagnant due to uncertainty about taxes and the cost of Obamacare.” Seriously?
Choose one – it really doesn’t matter much for how quickly we emerge from the current economic doldrums. The reason is that the recovery, however etiolated, has been underway for some time and will continue its anemic growth until some tipping point is reached and a recovery has been generally acknowledged. It is folly to believe that … More Headline 2014: President (Obama or Romney) Credited with Recovering Economy.
The fascination with sports, sometimes bordering on an obsession, is puzzling to me. It can be seen everywhere with discussions of the weekend’s games dominating Monday morning conversations. Maybe it’s just that it’s easy and safe to talk about sports. Maybe it’s that in today’s fast paced, constantly connected world it’s increasingly difficult to see … More Watchers versus Doers – The Enabling Role of Sports Obsession
Call this posting a point of personal privilege or maybe just an expression of personal irritation. In today’s age of technology enabled, perpetual personal connectivity it is not difficult to hear and see examples of how proper grammar is becoming accidental or at best discretionary. It is a reality that in some situations and environments … More Local Broadcasters Accelerate the Erosion of Proper Grammar.
Confronting Mediocrity 