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Smart tips for parents about “educational” apps for kids
CBS: Tens of thousands of supposedly educational apps aimed at young children are little more than "digital candy" that offer few benefits for youngsters, according to a new study. The research, published in the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest, found that many of the 80,000 apps in the Apple app store may not be harmful but do "add even more distraction to children's deeply distracting lives." "Many apps marketed as educational are basically the equivalent of sugary foods," co-author Kathy Hirsh-Pasek of Temple University said of their findings.
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An ‘income-achievement’ gap within kids’ brain structures
The Boston Globe: Research has long shown that students from low-income families tend to lag behind their wealthier peers on standardized test performance and other measures of academic success. Now, a study led by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard finds a correlate to this “income-achievement” gap within kids’ brain structures. The researchers imaged the brains of 58 lower- and higher-income public school students in seventh and eighth grade and reviewed their scores on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exams.
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What Does ‘Middle Class’ Even Mean?
The Atlantic: If you had to place yourself in a socioeconomic class, where would you land? That’s a tricky and personal question for most Americans. Education, income, and even parental wealth can all factor into class status, but the borders of each group can still be hard to parse. That’s because socioeconomic class structure in the U.S. is a nebulous thing that can be as much about perception and comparison as it is about measurable metrics, like money. ... The shift is likely less about a downward economic trend than it is about feelings of runaway inequality.
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The Shaky Moral Compass of Silicon Valley
The New York Times: When I lived in Silicon Valley, I was struck by not just the region’s income disparity, but also by the lack of compassion that wealthy tech workers sometimes displayed toward the poor. I would overhear tech employees complain about the homeless in degrading ways — at coffee shops, bars and in parks. Sometimes their disgust spread online.
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New Research From Psychological Science
Read about the latest research published in Psychological Science: Is Playing Video Games Related to Cognitive Abilities? Nash Unsworth, Thomas S. Redick, Brittany D. McMillan, David Z. Hambrick, Michael J. Kane, and Randall W. Engle Although many recent studies have indicated that playing video games may enhance various cognitive abilities, other studies have failed to replicate these findings. The authors suggest that this discrepancy may be a result of methodological issues such as small sample sizes and extreme-groups designs. The authors reanalyzed two large sets of data on participants' video-game playing in relation to their performance on a variety of cognitive-ability assessments.
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The Mystery of Loyalty, in Life and on ‘The Americans’
The Wall Street Journal: A few weeks ago, I gave a talk at the American Philosophical Association, in an excellent, serious symposium on human experience and rationality. The only problem was that my appearance meant missing the brilliant, addictive TV series “The Americans.” Thank heavens for on-demand cable—otherwise the temptation to skip the conference and catch up on the latest betrayals and deceptions might have been too much for me. Still, one practical benefit of a philosophical education is that it helps you to construct elaborate justifications for your favorite vices. So I’d argue that “The Americans” tackles the same philosophical questions I wrestled with in my talk.
