We Only Think We Know the Truth About Salt

WHY have we been told that salt is so deadly? Well, the advice has always sounded reasonable. It has what nutritionists like to call “biological plausibility.” Eat more salt and your body retains water to maintain a stable concentration of sodium in your blood. This is why eating salty food tends to make us thirsty:…

LinkedIn: now officially the most annoying of all social media

I’m generally ambivalent about the whole “LinkedIn experience,” but if it wants to inspire confidence, the company should devote the same amount of attention it currently places on badgering its members on tightening its security. —LinkedIn: now officially the most annoying of all social media | Loren Steffy | a Chron.com blog. Similar:Studying STEM Isn’t…

York Corpus Christi Play — Introduction

In an age when the concept of “separation of church and state“ was unthinkable, the Corpus Christi Play was an integral part of the religious, economic, political and artistic context of life in medieval York.  —York Corpus Christi Play Similar:Responding to Literature at the College LevelA new handout, based on the opening lect…AcademiaCharismatic People Don't Obsess…

It Evolved Into Birds: Ten Science-Fictional Thinkers On the Past and Future of Cyberpunk

Interesting collection of reflections on the status of cyberpunk, that branch of science fiction devoted to the exploration of dystopian networks and augmentations and hacking and  information, rather than galactic empires, huge space objects, aliens among us, etc. It Evolved Into Birds: Ten Science-Fictional Thinkers On the Past and Future of Cyberpunk Similar:Disruptions: Texting Your…

MLA Journals Adopt New Open-Access-Friendly Author Agreements

And there was much rejoicing. The journals of the Modern Language Association, including PMLA, Profession, and the ADE and ADFL bulletins, have adopted new open-access-friendly author agreements, which will go into use with their next full issues. The revised agreements leave copyright with the authors and explicitly permit authors to deposit in open-access repositories and…

Maker Faire and Science Education: American kids should be building rockets and robots, not taking standardized tests.

I was at a “serious games” conference several years ago. During a crowded seminar, where I found myself seated on the floor because there were no open seats, one of the industry types was frowning because an educator kept speaking critically of testing. “If you don’t test,” asked the pragmatic businessperson, “how can you assess?”…

We’re Creating a Culture of Distraction

I’d argue that what’s happening is that we’re becoming like the mal-formed weight lifter who trains only their upper body and has tiny little legs. We’re radically over-developing the parts of quick thinking, distractable brain and letting the long-form-thinking, creative, contemplative, solitude-seeking, thought-consolidating pieces of our brain atrophy by not using them. And, to me,…

My Parents (ages 72 and 78) Learn a Polka Step from my iPad

  Similar:Looks like somebody’s webmaster accidentally preloaded a headline that would be easy to ed… Looks like somebody’s webmaster acci…Current_EventsThe Rivals #PPTPlaytimeA great production of a delightful play.CultureSperm whales in 19th century shared ship attack informationFrom whaling and sealing stations to mis…AwesomeI am slightly ahead of the boy. Rare.PersonalMake Video Horizontal Again For confessionals or…

Stage Right’s Alice in Wonderland

My daughter shared the role of Alice this weekend (she played “Small Alice”). On one night, she also doubled as the mouse, for a different Alice. Similar:Me (glares in iambic pentameter)Me: I need to post the opening lecture f…AcademiaElderly woman who botched religious fresco demands royalties – TelegraphThe elderly Spanish woman who ruined a r…AestheticsSlicing…

Is Bilderberg a conference on world affairs or a powerful global cabal? Depends on who you ask. – The Washington Post

I love the obscure Prufrock reference win this Washington Post story: So as the motorcades come and go, are they talking of Marco Rubio? via Is Bilderberg a conference on world affairs or a powerful global cabal? Similar:Paper too short? Here are actual tips for serious students, not dumb tricks your prof will…Is your academic…

Redshirt (fan video for Jonathan Coulton song)

Similar:Orson Scott Card Builds an EmpireVideo games are a viable storytelling me…CybercultureThe Big Boy GraveyardOn road trips in my youth, watching the …Amusing'A Klingon Christmas Carol' Translates Dickens' Scrooge Fable to 'Star Trek' Universe for …Be still, my nerdy heart. (The other hea…AmusingNational Headline Contest 2011Great headlines from winner David Bowman…AestheticsThe Cabinet of Dr. Caligari…