Links for 2010-11-19

A friend once told me that she never watches the Discovery Channel because she feels some sort of obligation to pay attention and retain the information being presented. I can see where she's coming from; science can be intimidating. But my message is simple: It's okay to watch scientific programming simply to be entertained. Just enjoy. I bet, without even knowing it, you'll learn something new without even trying.

"She knows that being decapitated for not producing a male heir is part of the deal, right?"

"Our brains have not evolved to sit still in classrooms, to listen to lectures or to cram for tests. Most of academia works against how our brains function. This mismatch produces a wide spectrum of symptoms that are presumed to be isolated deficiencies of the learners. Colleges fail to admit how the design of their currricula, teaching methods, assignments and schedules are responsible for so many of the problems experienced by students. Instead, academia seems to take the attitude: "if you cannot take the heat, quit your bitchin and get out of the kitchen". Academic rigor and traditions are valued over newly minted insights about cognitive functionality. As result, more than half of entering freshman "get out of the kitchen" by dropping out before graduation."