Learning

Rose Madeline Mula writes: You’re happy to hear a flight attendant say that your seat cushion can be used as a “personal flotation device.” That sounds like so much more fun than “life saver” — more like it’s possible that you will be visiting a Disney water park soon instead of splashing down in mid-Atlantic. And isn’t it great that people no longer “lie”! We simply “misspeak,” “fabricate,” “bend the truth” or dispense disinformation.” Talk about a positive spin. more »

 In past versions of the News IQ test, Republicans have often outperformed Democrats and independents, but that was not the case with the current quiz. Overall, Republicans on average answered 8.7 items correctly, no different than Democrats (8.6) and independents (8.7). Democrats (47%) were more likely than Republicans (37%) to recognize a photo of Elizabeth Warren, the new senator from Massachusetts. Other partisan differences were very small. more »

Doris O'Brien writes: Who can fault frightened people for blaming the metal instead of the mentality? The concept of a ban on a commodity as a way of preventing bad behavior is nothing new. In the 20s, Prohibition was enacted to do just that. A law was passed making the sale and use of liquor illegal. If we didn't have access to booze, the argument went, there wouldn't be so many drunken brawls, accidents, killings. But Prohibition failed. more »

Nurse practitioners, registered nurses with advanced degrees, are capable of providing primary-care services such as diagnosing and treating illnesses, prescribing medication, ordering tests and referring patients to specialists. But only 18 states and the District of Columbia currently allow nurse practitioners to perform these services independently of a doctor. more »