Memories of leaner times, both her own and those of an older Russian acquaintance, lead the author to appreciate the abundance she enjoys now, especially during this festive season.
The Tools of the Wordsmith
A student’s complaint over rejection of his coined word “sacricity” in an essay prompted examination of the ways in which coining words, as a substitute for a rich vocabulary, decreases the effectiveness of writing.
A Glimpse at the Hazards of Online University Programs
I recently had an interchange with a friend of mine who is enrolled in an online degree program with a university in another state – not one of the private for-profit diploma mills, but a public institution with a decent reputation, for which distance learning is a sideline. She had become frustrated with trying to […]
Healing in a Virtual Village – 3
A series of intimate sexual relationships that produce no children would be disastrous in any traditional culture. This may well be a source of unacknowledged emotional stress in our own society.
Healing in a Virtual Village – 2
Short-term uncommitted sexual relationships would have resulted in poor reproductive success in ancestral village environments, and thus a propensity for them, at least among women, would have been selected against in an evolutionary sense. Some of the grief and depression people experience today when intimate relationships fail may be hard-wired.
Healing In A Virtual Village – 1
Arguing that a good proportion of our psychology is hard-wired to be adaptive in a village environment, the author suggests that creating a virtual environment such as our ancestors inhabited and acting out present dilemmas there can be a useful tool towards better emotional health.
Viral Marketing – Conning People into Selling their Friends the Brooklyn Bridge
Viral marketing campaigns are making internet social media the equivalent of a vast virtual Tupperware party. Much of what is disseminated through viral marketing is deceptive and designed to induce people to act impulsively contrary to their own best interests. The veneer of grassroots populism conceals clever well-funded manipulators. The author urges readers to check facts and sources before sharing or liking political and commercial messages on the internet.
The Library of Life
The genetic diversity of the planet is like a vast library full of rare and unique texts. Wanton environmental destruction causing mass extinction is like burning a library, and much genetic engineering is like clumsy editing of classics of literature for commercial purposes.
Let’s Hear it For the Rag Bag
The other day I read in a syndicated advice column that a person should not give used clothing to Goodwill or some similar resale charity, unless its general quality were something she herself would wear. Actually, that’s not particularly good advice.
Books of Life
Electronic publishing is a great boon to certain sections of the publishing industry, and to the public. Catalogs and telephone directories need constant updating. Real-time text-based news feeds with internal links put a wealth of information at a person’s fingertips. Specialized articles generated outside of Academe, which would even a few decades ago have remained in manuscript, unread and unnoticed, can reach a wide audience through the Internet.
There are problems, however, with relying on an essentially ephemeral medium to be the repository of timeless knowledge.
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- Next Page »