Prison, Museums, Selling, Genius
When You Are Pregnant In Prison
Mira Ptacin | Elle | 17th November 2015
America has 5 percent of the world's women, and 33 percent of the world's women prisoners. "Most states still allow pregnant prisoners to be shackled before, during, and after birth. The prison system is geared towards men. Men are always shackled when they are transported out of a correctional facility to receive medical care, and that policy has been applied across the board without considering the needs of women" (2,400 words)
Agony To Ecstasty
John Lanchester | Intelligent Life | 21st November 2015
Should you drag your child around museums? Yes. Especially the Prado. Museums are places of education. "My engagement with museums has been a game of three parts – so far – and in all three of them the question of children has been defining. In the first third, I was a child; in the second, I wasn’t; in the third, I’m a parent. My sense of what museums are, and are for, has changed accordingly" (2,040 words)
Sitting Next To A Salesman
Oded Golan | 22nd November 2015
Selling is special. Listen to a pro. You learn a lot. "Always use names, use the other side name to get his attention. I remember hearing him say 'So how is little Bryan doing?'. I asked him after what it was about and he told me this dude’s kid was sick this week. Why would I care? I don’t know why, but I assume that’s just the way it is. You can’t get to the point right away, everyone wants a little dance first" (800 words)
Bringing Up Genius
Paul Voosen | Chronicle Of Higher Education | 8th November 2015
Revisiting the Polgar phenomenon. A Hungarian father raised all three of his daughters to be world-class chess champions, encouraging some psychologists to argue that any child could be a genius if trained intensively from an early age. And perhaps that is indeed the case — in chess, at least. But the Polgar daughters are not repeating the experiment. They want their own children to get a rounded education (4,470 words)
Video of the day: Why Can't We Walk Straight?
What to expect: Animation, with voice-over by Robert Krulwich, for NPR (3'33")
Thought for the day
It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for subtlety
Isaac Asimov