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Poignancy and Patriotism: How 4th of July Speeches Inspire
With the planet on the verge of extermination by alien invaders, U.S. President Thomas Whitmore summons all his rhetorical talent to rally Americans for an epic 4th of July battle, the “largest aerial battle in the history of Mankind.” The Earth faces annihilation, he warns a rag-tag assembly of patriots: “But we will not go quietly into the night. We will not vanish without a fight. We are going to live on. We are going to survive. Today we celebrate our Independence Day!” The speech works, as anyone knows who has seen the blockbuster 1996 movie Independence Day.
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Fast and furious: Belief, catharsis and video violence
The Supreme Court’s decision today to overturn California’s ban on selling violent video games to children will no doubt rekindle debate about catharsis. Catharsis is the notion that we can dampen our negative emotions by acting them out or witnessing them in our arts and entertainment—and that this is a healthy thing to do. The scientific evidence is fairly heavily stacked against this idea. Indeed there is evidence that indulging our anger and aggression can increase—not decrease—those destructive emotions. Even so, a lot of people still believe in catharsis. They believe that pummeling punching bags and watching Fight Club and cursing at the universe is cleansing.
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Is reading comprehension a hidden disability?
A team of researchers find evidence suggesting that children’s problems with reading comprehension may, at their core, be a spoken language problem.
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The Fly-on-the-Wall Effect: When Bad Things Happen . . .
When I was a kid, and had to deal with life’s early disappointments, my parents would always call it a “learning experience.” If I failed to win a coveted academic award or athletic trophy, or if I was rejected by a former best friend, they would assure me that, as bad as I felt at the moment, the pain would help me build character over the long haul. It was a good thing. It didn’t feel like a good thing, but I trusted they knew what they were talking about. And they weren’t alone. Indeed, common wisdom holds that when bad things happen to us, we should try to examine our negative feelings in order to defuse them.
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Solstice Psychology: How We ‘See’ Nature
Imagine that you arrive by bus at a vacation spot you’ve never been to before. You get out and look around. What do you notice at first glance? Well, you can’t miss the large lake right in front of you; should be some good water skiing there. There’s a snow-capped mountain rising in the distance, and a copse of hemlock trees just to the left. The lodging must be in that chalet down to the right. The screened porch looks inviting, and the weather’s perfect. Now imagine you’re a criminal on the lam, and you step off the same bus. What do you see? Well mostly you see a vast open space. Other than that small stand of trees, there is very little place to hide. You feel exposed, vulnerable.
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In the Hole! Golfing in the Mind’s Eye
When the world’s finest golfers descend this week on Maryland’s Congressional Country Club for the 111th U.S. Open, there will be no hands-down favorite for the crowds to follow. Bubba Watson will bring his monstrous drives, KJ Choi his intense focus, and Luke Donald his consistency. Veterans Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson will have experience on their side, and Graeme McDowell his status as defending champion. That's the great thing about golf. Golfers may have different strengths, but at the end of the day each of them faces the identical challenge: Putting a sphere measuring 42.67 mm in diameter into a hole measuring 108 mm in diameter. Or maybe not.
