Several more decades of increased carbon dioxide emissions could lead to melting ice sheets, mass extinctions and extreme weather becoming the norm. We can’t yet be certain of the exact impacts, but we can look to the past to predict the future. We could start with the last time Earth experienced CO2 levels comparable to […] … learn more→
Monthly Archives: April 2016
How ancient warm periods can help predict future climate change
Why are we still searching for the Loch Ness monster?
People are fascinated by the unknown, by the possibility that there are things out there that are yet to be discovered. We think that most of our planet has been mapped by satellites and continents have been thoroughly explored. Although scientists estimate that millions of species are yet to be discovered, these are mostly assumed […] … learn more→
How you could be going to space
A look at the various means with which you can leave Earth behind for a weekend, or longer, as space tourism options expand. When NASA retired and mothballed its last space shuttle, many were wondering about the future of space travel. Since then, private companies have stepped in to create a robust landscape of companies […] … learn more→
Tackling a messy first draft
You may have just produced a great wadge of material through free writing. Or perhaps you have a very messy draft of a paper, or a draft thesis chapter. Where to start to try to sort out the useful writing from the rest? What is gold and what is dross? How to get to a […] … learn more→
English has taken over academia: but the real culprit is not linguistic
Not only is April 23 the anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death, but the UN has chosen it as UN English Language Day in tribute to the Bard. If growth in the number of speakers is a measure of success, then the English language certainly deserves to be celebrated. Since the end of World War I, […] … learn more→
MFA Pointless? Depends on who gets the checks.
It’s long been known that, for about half of college graduates, they are no different than high school students when it comes to cognitive skills, despite spending 6 years or so getting a college degree. This is simple fact. Many blame this on the higher education system, and I’m inclined to agree, although the complete […] … learn more→
Genetics: what it is that makes you clever – and why it’s shrouded in controversy
For nearly 150 years, the concept of intelligence and its study have offered scientific ways of classifying people in terms of their “ability”. The drive to identify and quantify exceptional mental capacity may have a chequered history, but it is still being pursued by some researchers today. Francis Galton, who was Charles Darwin’s cousin, is […] … learn more→
Criticize safe spacers = Family endangered
Higher education has been, for the most part, demented beyond recognition. Yes, there’s always been a distinct party-goer element to college (hi fraternities!), but the “free checks for all” of the loan scam opened up campus to an even wider array of kids that really, really, had no interest in or idea of higher education. […] … learn more→
Move over 401(k)s — this new perk is helping millennials pay off college loans
Excited to be back at his alma mater, the University of New Hampshire, Ed Farrington flashed bright-colored pie charts and graphs before a group of business students in what he considered a forceful presentation about the need for them to start saving early for retirement. An executive vice president at the investment company Natixis Global […] … learn more→
South Africa: student movement splinters as patriarchy muscles out diversity
It was a shocking series of images: a young woman – Thenjiwe Mswane – being violently handled by a group of young men. Mswane was part of a largely feminist and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersexed, queer and asexual (LGBTIQA+) student group. They had gathered at Johannesburg’s University of the Witwatersrand to protest against the […] … learn more→