Monthly Archives: June 2023

Why the super-rich may take more risks than the rest of us

Why the super-rich may take more risks than the rest of us

Like most people, I watched the tragedy of the Titan submersible unfold with horror. We talked about it in cafes, jumped when news reports came in on our phones, and wondered why people would ever actually pay money to experience such risk. Are billionaires like this ultimately just vain or stupid? Or is reckless risk-taking in […] … learn more→

The male example, one of the keys to educating equality at home

The male example, one of the keys to educating equality at home

Recent reports indicate that, although it is decreasing, there are still prejudices against women that justify gender inequalities , as well as an unequal distribution of domestic tasks, both in Spanish homes and in the rest of the world . Education, both the formal one in schools and institutes and the one that is carried out at home, must continue to […] … learn more→

Set ground rules, get them outside and do things together: how to navigate school holidays with high school kids

Set ground rules, get them outside and do things together: how to navigate school holidays with high school kids

School holidays become a very different challenge when kids leave primary school. The holiday program arrangements that once enabled parents to juggle work commitments may no longer be suitable or even available. You may find your child is at home largely unattended for two or three weeks. This can put you at direct loggerheads with […] … learn more→

English dialects make themselves heard in genes

English dialects make themselves heard in genes

If you need to hit a nail, what tool do you ask for? If you say “hammer,” do you pronounce the “r”? Do you drop the “h”? Different people pronounce the same English words in different ways. People learn which words to use and how to pronounce them as they’re learning to talk with family, […] … learn more→

Positive discrimination at Harvard: the end of a contested conception of justice?

Positive discrimination at Harvard: the end of a contested conception of justice?

In 2014, an NGO  attacked the universities of North Carolina and Harvard , accusing them of discriminating against Asian students in favor of white students through “affirmative action” practices supposed to promote ethno-racial diversity. After several years of proceedings, the Supreme Court of the United States must finally render its decision in June 2023. This decision will be […] … learn more→

The digital future may rely on ultrafast optical electronics and computers

The digital future may rely on ultrafast optical electronics and computers

If you’ve ever wished you had a faster phone, computer or internet connection, you’ve encountered the personal experience of hitting a limit of technology. But there might be help on the way. Over the past several decades, scientists and engineers like me have worked to develop faster transistors, the electronic components underlying modern electronic and digital communications […] … learn more→

A video game to rethink gender stereotypes

A video game to rethink gender stereotypes

The society in which we live is still in need of achieving greater equality and integration. Cases of gender violence still open the news almost every day. We still verify that there is a gender gap in certain jobs or, even, we find out that drugs are not usually tested on women , among other issues. However, these situations are much worse in […] … learn more→

ChatGPT will not put mathematicians out of work, but will create new opportunities

ChatGPT will not put mathematicians out of work, but will create new opportunities

The British mathematician Alan Turing, one of the fathers of computing, asked himself in 1950 the question: can machines think? Right away he also wondered: can machines do what we (as thinking entities) can do? We now ask ourselves: is ChatGPT the answer to Turing? At the moment, many mathematicians have already detected that, in our discipline, the chatbot “fails more […] … learn more→

Vocational education: between schools and companies, a complex story

Vocational education: between schools and companies, a complex story

What part should the company take in the vocational training of young people? The question is not new, nor are the demands for a match between the courses offered and the needs of companies. There are many relationships between schools and companies. Putting it into perspective makes it possible to identify the great diversity of experiences over […] … learn more→

Should we pay our children?

Should we pay our children?

The number of parents giving money on demand in lieu of pay has been on the rise of late. Is this a good option? The key is not so much in giving or not giving pay, but in how it is given. Learn money management Giving our children some money each week is an excellent opportunity for them to […] … learn more→