Everything Else Archives

4 10, 2016

The 17th-C. Plague in London: Now We Know (Nicole Staybridge, BBC)

Humanities Watch2016-10-03T17:01:33-04:00October 4th, 2016|2016, Academia, Debate / dialogue, Europe, Everything Else, health, History, Literature, Medicine, News, October|0 Comments

The 17th-C. plague in London: now we know. How DNA (and Daniel Defoe) reveal the killer bacteria's identity in one of history's longest cold cases. From the article: Testing in Germany confirmed the presence of DNA from the Yersinia pestis bacterium - the agent that causes bubonic plague - rather than another pathogen. Some authors have previously questioned the [...]

28 09, 2016

The pen is mightier than the (key)board, says technology (Microsoft News Center)

Humanities Watch2016-09-28T07:52:49-04:00September 28th, 2016|2016, Debate / dialogue, Europe, Everything Else, History, Italy, News, science, September, Writing|0 Comments

In an recent study, Norwegian researchers funded by Microsoft discovered that using a pen stimulated more cerebral activity than typing on a computer. Drawing words makes the brain more prone to learning. From the article: Inspired by previous studies that suggested long-hand notetaking using a pen deepens the mind’s ability to retain and process information, van der [...]

24 09, 2016

Healthy living from technology and modern science (Sarah Frier, Bloomberg)

Humanities Watch2016-09-24T07:16:18-04:00September 24th, 2016|2016, Everything Else, History, Medicine, News, science, September, STEM, Technology, U.S. / Canada|0 Comments

Healthy living from technology and modern science: how the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative would change history within the next generation. “Can we work together to cure, prevent or manage all disease within our children’s lifetime?” Chan said Wednesday onstage at an event in San Francisco for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. “Mark and I believe that this is possible.” Chan, a [...]

21 09, 2016

From the newsletter of the Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies, September 2016

Humanities Watch2016-09-21T20:27:34-04:00September 21st, 2016|Everything Else, HW News|0 Comments

Humanities Watch Do you find more need these days to voice the value of the humanities? A new website and newsletter offers help. Who watches the watchmen, who guards the guardians? If the humanities are central to the history of our schools, and thus our way of life, do they stand watch over our leading [...]

20 09, 2016

The language of numbers (Barbara Oakley, Nautilus)

Humanities Watch2016-09-21T12:21:27-04:00September 20th, 2016|2016, Academia, Arts, Everything Else, History, Language, Literature, mathematics, News, STEM, Technology, U.S. / Canada|0 Comments

The language of numbers: how learning a language can become the model for acquiring the basics of engineering. From the article: Trying to reprogram my brain sometimes seemed like a ridiculous idea—especially when I looked at the fresh young faces of my younger classmates and realized that many of them had already dropped their hard math and [...]

18 09, 2016

Civilization’s tricky situation

Humanities Watch2016-11-02T11:52:05-04:00September 18th, 2016|2016, Europe, Everything Else, History, Philosophy, Politics, psychology, Quotes, Religion, September, U.S. / Canada|0 Comments

Civilization's tricky situation: as we enter the autumnal season, the shadow self would be heard, as the gateway to introspection. Here history and imagination are in play. The so-called civilized man has forgotten the trickster. He remembers him only figuratively and metaphorically, when, irritated by his own ineptitude, he speaks of fate playing tricks on him [...]

16 09, 2016

Thinking critically on the job (Kate Davidson, Wall Street Journal)

Humanities Watch2016-11-16T17:26:10-05:00September 16th, 2016|2016, Academia, Everything Else, News, September, U.S. / Canada|0 Comments

Thinking critically on the job: do workers have what it takes (non-technically speaking) to succeed in the Age of Technology? From the article: To determine the most sought-after soft skills, LinkedIn analyzed those listed on the profiles of members who applied for two or more jobs and changed jobs between June 2014 and June 2015. The [...]

14 09, 2016

The costs of learning

Humanities Watch2016-09-18T14:09:15-04:00September 14th, 2016|2016, Academia, Arts, Debate / dialogue, Economics, education, Employment, Europe, Everything Else, Libraries, Quotes, September, Writing|0 Comments

The costs of learning: prudent parents have thought of better investments than financing the studies of their children I am thinking of something I heard in Bologna, where I was a student, from a certain honorable citizen, the father of a legal scholar, who told me more than once that there was nothing he regretted as much [...]

12 09, 2016

No literature allowed (Steven Pearlstein, Washington Post)

Humanities Watch2016-09-12T05:45:30-04:00September 12th, 2016|2016, Academia, Debate / dialogue, Economics, Employment, Everything Else, News, September, STEM, U.S. / Canada|0 Comments

No literature allowed: parents see little need for their children to receive a broad university education, as its ROI seems negligible. From the article: For me, there’s nothing more depressing than meeting incoming freshmen at Mason who have declared themselves as accounting majors. They’re 18 years old, they haven’t had a chance to take a course in [...]

6 09, 2016

What was Shakespeare thinking? (Scott L. Newstock, Chronicle of Higher Education)

Humanities Watch2016-09-06T14:55:43-04:00September 6th, 2016|2016, Academia, Debate / dialogue, Everything Else, Language, Literature, News, poetry, September, Theater, U.S. / Canada|0 Comments

What was Shakespeare thinking (and why does it matter)? The ways that old, even ancient, methods of learning can produce original results. From the article: You take it for granted that Olympic athletes and professional musicians must practice relentlessly to perfect their craft. Why should you expect the craft of thought to require anything less [...]