Here are a few interesting articles that I’ve read recently but won’t have time to give their own post. I’ll list each one and give a brief summary with each:
This is an interesting WSJ opinion piece by lawyer Eric Rassbach, who explains:
The simple fact is that freedom of religion doesn’t mean much if it protects only those beliefs that the government, or the general populace, decides it likes. It is first and foremost unpopular beliefs that need the protections afforded by the First Amendment and international human rights treaties like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
He makes a case that every religious (and frankly, non-religious) person in this country should understand: if you want the freedom to practice your own beliefs, you should first seek to protect the rights of others. In a sense, it’s a legal Golden Rule.
“Early Risers Crash Faster than People Who Stay Up Late”
A study working with early risers and night owls shows that both groups “were equally alert and showed no difference in attention-related brain activity.” But after 10.5 hours being awake, night owls were even more alert and showing increased attention, while the early risers didn’t get this late “second wind.” This night owl is glad to hear it.
“Self-effacing people are secretly confident”
I’ve said this for years: regardless of appearances, people go through life thinking they’re right. Some people are simply more honest or open about this than others (that is, for various socio-cultural reasons, they hide this confidence). It’s an obvious conclusion: it’s really not possible to go through life thinking one is wrong about everything—one would then think one was right about being wrong. So it’s apparent that humility has nothing to do with whether one presents oneself as confident or not—it has more to do with whether a person is teachable or willing to learn to have their views disconfirmed. Some of the must self-effacing people can be, by this standard, some of the most arrogant (that is non-humble) people, while very openly confident people can be among the most humble.
“What Obama Should Have Told The Kids Today”
John Carney says that Obama should have talked to the kids about how only some of them should go to college, while the rest shouldn’t waste their time or money:
For most of you, college is an expensive waste of time. At some of our elite schools, you would form connections that are invaluable. It’s one of the things our elite colleges do best—putting the highly intelligent in the same place as the well-off and well-connected. Going to these schools serves as heuristic for employers—your admission to the school is short hand for intelligence and diligence.
But this kind of education—the standard college education—is really only suitable for somewhere around 15% of the population. Unfortunately, we now send a much higher proportion of our students to college, which amounts to a terrific economic waste.
Much of this waste—let’s call it the college education bubble—is due to distorted economics, bad government policy and misplaced social pressures. Government subsidized loans have made college attainable for many—but the ultimate debt burden can be untenable for many. The economic rewards of attending college can make it attractive—but most of those are concentrated in the extremely smart and capable. Perhaps most damaging of all, we have a create a culture of collegiate achievement that discourages you from pursuing your education and careers in ways best suited to your abilities.
