Guest Thinkers — February 16, 2011

Mind Dump: My new personal blog

Some of you have noticed that I’ve got a new blog! I’m using Posterous to capture those online items that interest me but for which I don’t have time (or inclination) to blog about on Dangerously Irrelevant. For example, recent items include:

‘But I don’t want to teach my students to use technology’

Beware the reverse brain drain to India and China

The Pomodoro technique

Iowa Department of Education: Characteristics of effective instruction

The mobile Web is taking over the world (and other Internet trends)

Games & video can improve preschooler literacy

Getting students more learning time online

If you’d like to subscribe, please visit Mind Dump!

Collage of classical art suggesting a theme related to somatic markers.

Business

How “somatic markers” can transform your decision-making

Ditch the old brain vs. heart assumptions, and instead think about a heart-led brain.

A black and white image of a bunch of spheres, symbolizing the multiverse concept discussed by scientists.

Starts With A Bang

How logic and reasoning can fail as scientific tools

In logic, 'reductio ad absurdum' shows how flawed arguments fall apart. Our absurd Universe, however, often defies our intuitive reasoning.

A wooden sign indicating "assisted migration rep 2" in a pine forest under a clear blue sky.

Life

Moving trees north to save the forests

As the world warms, trees in forests such as those in Minnesota will no longer be adapted to their local climates. That’s where assisted migration comes in.

Historical map illustration depicting a planned city layout with a circular central area and radiating streets.

Strange Maps

Ohio’s Circleville ditched the grid system. Then it got squared.

A small Ohio town tried to escape America’s addiction to rectangular grids. It didn’t last long.

Bullet Cluster separation mass gravity x-ray lensing

Starts With A Bang

Flagship NASA space telescope faces a penny-pinching death

NASA's only flagship X-ray telescope ever, Chandra, still works and has no planned successor. So why does the President want to kill it?

Up Next

Guest Thinkers

Teacher layoffs: Should seniority rule?

As budget cuts loom again in many states, employee termination, seniority, and ‘bumping rights’ are in the news. The essential issue is whether organizational leaders should be able to retain the employees […]