Blog Posts
Academic Mug Shot
By Hillary Rettig |
Those who need to know what this means will know what it means.
Michael Chabon on True Novelists versus “Rebel Angels”
By Hillary Rettig |
From Wikipedia: In a 2012 interview with Guy Raz of Weekend All Things Considered Chabon said that he writes from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. each day, Sunday through Thursday. He tries to write 1,000 words a day. Commenting on the rigidity of his routine, Chabon said, "There have been plenty of self-destructive rebel-angel ...
The Importance of Perception to Productivity Work
By Hillary Rettig |
People carrying a backpack or other weight typically estimate hills to be much longer and steeper than they really are, to a greater degree than unencumbered people. It also turns out, however, that if someone puts a backpack on your avatar you will experience virtual "hills" as being longer and ...
For Kids: Fern’s Writers Block (from Arthur)
By Hillary Rettig |
Note Fern's situational perfectionism, caused by: *being told her story will be the "main event" at the next day's Fiction Forum *being told a famous author will be there *being labeled as "creative." Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck says that when you praise kids for attributes--by calling them, for instance, "smart" ...
On the Other Hand, This Little Duck Seems Plenty Empowered
By Hillary Rettig |
Starting tomorrow, we'll resume our normal non-duck-centric programming.
“Mean” Duck Mom and Unhelpful Bystanders!
By Hillary Rettig |
So...check out this video of a mother duck forcing her ducklings to jump down a high ledge onto a concrete walkway: Ouch! I found it painful to watch. The Mom Duck is just doing her thing, but I've seen similar videos where a kindly bystander finds a plank or other ...
Tiger Moms Don’t Just Suck, They Don’t Even Exist as a Category
By Hillary Rettig |
Slate writes up the study by University of Texas psychology professor Su Yeong Kim analyzing children of so-called Tiger Moms. Yes, "tiger parenting" stinks: "Authoritarian parenting combines coercion with less responsiveness, and leads to higher depressive symptoms and lower self-esteem.... [they] produced kids who felt more alienated from their parents ...
