I received a copy of The Bordeaux Kitchen: An Immersion into French Food and Wine, written by my friend Tania Teschke, and I’m excited to dig in. Flipping through the pages transports you to France, and the recipes look delicious!
Archive for the ‘Interesting Random Stuff’ Category
In Praise of A.D.H.D. – The New York Times
Published under Education/Raising Children, Family, Global, Interesting Random Stuff, Kindness, Leadership, Life, Students, Teachers May 07, 2018By Leonard Mlodinow
Ten years ago, when my son Nicolai was 11, his doctor wanted to put him on medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. “It would make him less wild,” I explained to my mother, who was then 85. “It would slow him down a bit.”
My mother grumbled. “Look around you,” she said in Yiddish. “Look how fast the world is changing. He doesn’t need to slow down. You need to speed up.”
It was a surprising recommendation from someone who had never learned to use a microwave. But recent research suggests she had a point: Some people with A.D.H.D. may be naturally suited to our turbocharged world. [Read more →]
how much sugar is hiding in the food you eat
Published under Health, Interesting Random Stuff Jan 25, 2017
Social media becomes primary enabler of fake news
Published under Innovation, Interesting Random Stuff, Leadership Nov 18, 2016It may not be optimal to its business model, but Facebook needs to acknowledge it is now a primary source for news, and it does bear a journalistic responsibility. Otherwise we will continue to see hatred and misinformation skyrocket. Facebook has an even greater responsibility to be consistent with its brand. The whole design is premised on verifiable and trustworthy content. There are plenty of gray areas where Facebook can stay out. But there are also plenty of black and white ones where staying out is an easy and financially convenient but socially harmful (and eventually brand dilutive) strategy. For Twitter, part of the reason it suffers is that it is so full of noise and fake identities that advertisers can’t monetize it as much. Sharing the below article from the Wall Street Journal.
The Wall Street Journal
Deepa Seetharaman, Jack Nicas and Nathan Olivarez-Giles
Fran Lebowitz – Public Speaking
Published under Funnies, Interesting Random Stuff, Introspection Oct 04, 2016This weekend I watched an HBO special about Fran Lebowitz, Public Speaking, and enjoyed it SO much I want to recommend it. She is quite a funny and provocative author and thinker.
Should We Let Toddlers Play With Saws and Knives?
Published under Family, Interesting Random Stuff Sep 08, 2016Interesting article from the Wall Street Journal: Should We Let Toddlers Play With Saws and Knives?
Should we Let Toddlers Play With Saws and Knives?
By shielding children from every possible risk, we may lead them to react with exaggerated fear. New research on how youngsters learn across different cultures
Last week, I stumbled on a beautiful and moving picture of young children learning. It’s a fragment of a silent 1928 film from the Harold E. Jones Child Study Center in Berkeley, Calif., founded by a pioneer in early childhood education. The children would be in their 90s now. But in that long-distant idyll, in their flapper bobs and old-fashioned smocks, they play (cautiously) with a duck and a rabbit, splash through a paddling pool, dig in a sandbox, sing and squabble.
My son asked me how many languages there are in the world and, in trying to come up with a cogent answer to him, I came across this fascinating article about languages around the world. I love how much I learn thanks to my kids’ curiosity.
How many languages are there in the world?
Stephen R. Anderson
The object of inquiry in linguistics is human language, in particular the extent and limits of diversity in the world’s languages. One might suppose, therefore, that linguists would have a clear and reasonably precise notion of how many languages there are in the world. It turns out, however, that there is no such definite count—or at least, no such count that has any status as a scientific finding of modern linguistics.
The Shampoo Summit by Iris Zaki
Published under Interesting Random Stuff, Introspection, Israel, Middle East Jun 01, 2016In a hair salon in Israel, Arab and Jewish women find common ground… in a sink.
Our epiphanies were someone else’s before us
Published under Anthropology, Interesting Random Stuff, Introspection May 02, 2016Back in 2011, when I gave a commencement talk at Trinity University, I spoke about the importance of “talking to yourself” and understanding yourself, of pausing to truly reflect about what gives you meaning. Of course this is not a revolutionary thought, and many Western thinkers have shared similar concerns in much deeper and more eloquent ways, though I feel the concern has gained critical importance as the internet and electronic devices increasingly inundate our lives and steal away any remaining time for us to connect with ourselves and “do nothing.” Then a while back (about 2 years ago, but I hadn’t gotten to blog about it, because I have no time to myself!) I came across this very interesting article in The Atlantic, sharing how Eastern/Chinese philosophies had shared similar concerns millennia ago. It goes to show me/us that all our revelations and lessons have precedent and all interesting thoughts have been had by someone smarter than us in the past. Part of what I want to adjust in my life is carving out time to be able to read more historical books, to soak up some of that wisdom.
Full article below:
