During this political season, you probably have heard the statistic that women typically earn about 77 cents for every dollar a man makes. The President even mentioned this during his recent State of the Union address. But is it really true? The behavioral-economics authors at Freakanomics have a podcast that explores this subject in depth.
You have probably heard how microbes become resistant to antibiotics. At great expense, an antibiotic is developed, only to have germs (technical medical term) like staph become resistant in just a few years. It’s happening so fast that it’s becoming uneconomical for drug companies to develop new medicines. I’ve just found an interesting NPR
Many people consider autism to be a 20th-century disorder, but an article in the January-February 2016 issue of Smithsonian magazine presents surprising evidence that the condition is much older than that. Entitled “Autism in Early America”, it outlines some possible early cases. There was the Wild Boy of Aveyron, who walked naked out of a
This is an obvious question with what seems to be an obvious answer — why do we get bored? Actually, it’s not that simple. Researchers are studying how and why people get bored, and what the implications are. For example, our economy would be much better off if everyone were fully engaged in their work.
This is one of those stories you check multiple times to make sure you’ve seen it right. I read this on Time magazine’s daily news brief awhile back, and I didn’t believe it either. Basically, here’s what happened — After fertility treatments had produced a son, the couple had a paternity test. Imagine their surprise when
If you’re concerned about the state of the world and are looking for a worthwhile charity to support in 2016, I’d like to introduce you to someone who feels the same way. Her name is Barbara Abdeni Massaad and she’s from Beirut, Lebanon. Less than an hour’s drive from her home were Syrian refugees in
If I were smart, I’d stay away from this one, because it gets complicated, but I just ran across this topic on the EarthSky News. The short answer to how big a black hole can get is 50 billion suns before the food that powers them crumbles into stars. (Like I said, it’s complicated.) The
It’s all downhill from here. The winter solstice — officially the first day of winter, although I have my own definition — is the shortest day and the longest night of the year. Of course that’s in the Northern Hemisphere; in the Southern Hemisphere it’s just the reverse. Depending upon your time zone, the
Actually, no one is postive when Beethoven was born. He was baptized on December 17, 1770 in Bonn, in what is now Germany, and his birthday is thought to be December 16, 1770. Beethoven was a bonafide musical genius who gave us some of our best-known classical music and who ironically went deaf later in
You never know what you’ll find on the Internet. The most unusual website I’ve ever found is https://isitchristmas.com/ It answers the question “Is it Christmas?” in a very direct way. Be sure to check it on Christmas, although you will probably be disappointed.