Prescription addiction and drugs in our schools. Learn more!
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Monday, January 19, 2009
How We Decide
Ever wonder how it is that we make the choices we do? How does the brain process a decision, be it the split-second or the month-long rumination variety? Why did you choose that particular major? When you’re halfway across the street and a car is speeding toward mortal you, do you run across [...]
Ever wonder how it is that we make the choices we do? How does the brain process a decision, be it the split-second or the month-long rumination variety? Why did you choose that particular major? When you’re halfway across the street and a car is speeding toward mortal you, do you run across or turn back? Which first-date ensemble to wear, the obviously smoking hot one, or the more subtly smoking hot one? Paper or plastic? Large, Extra Large, Ridiculous, American, or Gigantic? Public or private? Which house should you buy, the one with enough bedrooms or the one with the amazing view?
Next month Jonah Lehrer’s newest book, How We Decide, comes out. Reading it will shed some light on the fascinating process that is human decision-making; how we make the choices we do, and how we can learn from the less-than-stellar ones and make better choices next time. Sometimes understanding the science behind it all helps.
A few reviews:
“Starred Review. Lehrer is a delight to read, and this is a fascinating book (some of which appeared recently, in a slightly different form, in the New Yorker) that will help everyone better understand themselves and their decision making.” - Publishers Weekly.
“Over the past two decades, research in neuroscience and behavioral economics has revolutionized our understanding of human decision-making. Jonah Lehrer brings it all together in this insightful and enjoyable book, giving readers the information they need to make the smartest decisions.” - Antonio Damasio, author of Descartes’ Error and Looking for Spinoza.
“An inviting, high-velocity ride through our most treasured mental act-deciding. This is truly one of the most accessible and richly-informed books on human choice. It’s a must read for anyone interested in the human mind and how cutting-edge research changes the way we think about ourselves. A marvelous success.” - Read Montague, Brown Foundation Professor of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine.
Posted by Alexa Harrington
Read the rest ...Investing In Students’ Futures
I’ve been stalling writing about this one—I can’t figure out where I stand. It seems creepy, kept, indentured and whore-ish, but when you really look at student loans, those do, too. College students need to finance their educations so they can learn lots, thereby enabling them to go off and seek their fortunes. [...]
I’ve been stalling writing about this one—I can’t figure out where I stand. It seems creepy, kept, indentured and whore-ish, but when you really look at student loans, those do, too. College students need to finance their educations so they can learn lots, thereby enabling them to go off and seek their fortunes. The catch-22 being, if they can’t afford to learn the stuff, they won’t be seeking much of a fortune.
Loan companies and the federal money people are basically gambling on a student’s future when they agree to front the student some money for a college education. Regardless of how much the student stands to earn in the future, whether it’s a teacher’s salary or a doctor’s, the student will owe the loan amount plus interest. I won’t go into too many painful details as I’m sure we’re all aware how far over the barrel college loan recipients are bent.
Some modern thinkers, like Miguel Palacios and his company, Lumni, have begun brokering their own deals with college students. The investors pay for a student’s college education, and in return the student owes the investors a percentage of his or her future earnings. The students who become doctors owe their investors more, and underpaid teachers owe their financial backers less. The percentage part of the deal is the bit that sways me over to the I’m-For-It side of the fence.
On the I’m-Against-It side, there’s the inevitable stickiness of investors only ever wanting to back kids who promise to go into large-gain careers; no one will be backing the future social workers of the world. And even if a student has big social-worker dreams, they will have to lie to investors until their pants combust in order to get their MSW paid for. Student loan companies and the Feds are evil with regards to interest rates, but they’re also equal-opportunity shafters—they’ll give anyone a loan, no matter what their future earning potential might be.
So you see my dilemma; on the one hand, it’s wonderful to see some new and creative ways for people with money to financially assist college students. On the other hand, the investor option seems just as evil as the student loan option, but in fresh and exciting new ways. And there’s the whole issue of how effed up it is that anyone has to pay for education at all, but we can skip that for today.
Further Reading:
The American: Popping the Tuition Bubble
Posted by Alexa Harrington
Obama: A political journey -- at warp speed
Every year, the dedicated teacher would put together a bulletin board for Black History Month, honoring famous achievers. Continue reading ...
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