Learning
Streaming on May 10th: NCCIH Presents When Experts Disagree, The Art of Medical Decision Making
Drs. Groopman and Hartzband (also husband and wife) reveal that each of us has a 'medical mind,' a highly individual approach to weighing the risks and benefits of treatment. Are you a minimalist or a maximalist, a believer or a doubter, do you look for natural healing or the latest technology? Drs. Groopman and Hartzband explain how pitfalls in thinking and the way statistics are presented in pharmaceutical advertisements, the media, and even scientific reports can mislead all of us. Streaming at NCCIH and a YouTube at the Aspen Institute. more »
Renewing Respect for Language: The Subjunctive Is a Governor of the Consciousness That Uses It
Joan L. Cannon writes: In my teens I came to the realization that without words we could not actually think. Feel, emote, react — of course, but it takes words to think. My father was a perfectionist. A musician and writer, he did his best to reorder his world to an ideal of regularity and esthetic standards. That included his growing daughter's handling of the English language. more »
5th White House Science Faire; The Theme? Diversity and Inclusion in STEM
Announced at the Science Faire: A $150-million philanthropic effort to empower a diverse cadre of promising early-career scientists to stay on track to become scientific leaders of tomorrow; The $90-million Let Everyone Dream campaign to expand STEM opportunities to under-represented youth; A $25-million Department of Education competition to create science- and literacy-themed media that inspires students to explore 120 universities and colleges committing to train 20,000 engineers to tackle the “Grand Challenges” of the 21st century; A coaltion of CEOs called Change the Equation committing to expand effective STEM programs to an additional 1.5 million students this year more »
Irresistible: Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence Extends to New Realms
Astronomers have expanded the search for extraterrestrial intelligence into a new realm with detectors tuned to infrared light. Their new instrument has just begun to scour the sky for messages from other worlds. The idea dates back decades, Wright pointed out. Charles Townes, the late UC Berkeley scientist whose contributions to the development of lasers led to a Nobel Prize, suggested the idea in a paper published in 1961. more »