OTBT | MM | TT | WW

EVIEMAGAZINE.COM -- A new study reveals that those enjoy using social media the most are more likely to enjoy embarrassing or humiliating others. The researchers asserted that social media platforms "unwittingly cater to people who seek rewards from being cruel, such as through cyberbullying or various aggressive online behaviors." This may be due our desire to seek bad news from the internet, called "doomscrolling." If we're constantly viewing and sharing bad news, perhaps we're less inclined to treat others with the care we normally would. Understandably, social media use has increased due to COVID-19 and it's hypothesized that social media habits formed during lockdown will far outlast COVID-19. This means it's crucial now, rather than ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

QUILLETTE.COM -- Let's look at two schools. Lincoln Elementary, a crown jewel of Chicago Public Schools and, just 12 blocks, Manierre Elementary, a failing school. In 2019, not a single Manierre eighth grader was proficient in reading, compared to 81% of Lincoln's. These two schools, a mere 1.3 miles apart, serve the same neighborhood but the children south of North Avenue, which lies between the two, schools aren't allowed to attend Lincoln. This happens across America. Scholars and journalists choose to ignore the fact that almost 80% of public school children attend their assigned public school. We already have a name for this practice of using your address to determine whether or not you are eligible for valuable government services. We call it redlining. The name comes from 1930s government maps created ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

QUILLETTE.COM -- If teacher education schools had a track record of helping low-income and minority students close the learning gap between themselves and their more advantaged peers, ideological bias and even low academic standards might be a price worth paying. But they have no such record -- just the opposite in fact. As an NPR headline said "America's high-school graduates look like other countries' high school dropouts." No wonder colleges and universities spend 7 billion dollars a year on remedial courses to get 40% of their first-year students ready for college-level work. And now a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the Illinois College of Education has called for "defunding math and STEM."It is just the latest of a century-old set of bad ideas which ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

SUBSTACK.COM -- In the United States, we are inundated with tales of COVID-19 doom and gloom.The mainstream narrative is rife with hopelessness. However, there's one country they don't want to talk about -- Sweden. And for good reason. Sweden debunks the hysteria. In Sweden, there's no masks, no lockdown, no vaccine, and most importantly, no problem. In August, Sweden has registered just one coronavirus death! Similarly in the hospitals: COVID-19 is hardly registering as a blip on the radar. Sweden reported only 4 new COVID-19 patients in their ICUs in August. It doesn't take a math whiz to realize the epidemic appears to have been wrapped up in Sweden for months. Life has largely returned to normal in Sweden, and without the economy-destroying ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

AMERICANMIND.ORG -- [ISMAILI DIGEST ED: Hazar Imam, 2006: "How can we inspire people to reach beyond rampant materialism, self-indulgent individualism, and *unprincipled relativism?*"] ARTICLE: The left have been the main proponents of scientism and moral relativism for much of the recent past. Scientific knowledge treated as gospel and non-scientific knowledge is considered oxymoronic so knowledge that can't be verified with science can't have a truth value and questions like morality or the meaning of life are just personal preferences with no objective answers. This view immediately gives rise to moral relativism and nihilism. But most people do have at least an intuitive sense of morality, something beyond current societal norms. Our conscience hurts when we do something that we sense to be immoral -- even when we try to rationalize its morality. For a group that doesn't believe "good" and "evil" can be defined objectively ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

[H/T MOHIB EBRAHIM] -- OZANVAROL.COM -- There's a scene im Good Will Hunting where Will and his friends walk into a bar. Chuckie starts chatting up a girl, pretending to be a Harvard student, when a Harvard grad student, Clark, tries to make him look dumb. In one of the best moments of smackdown in film history, Will chimes in. "You're a first year grad student who's just finished reading some Marxian historian, Pete Garrison probably. That's until next year when you're gonna be here regurgitating ... Were you gonna plagiarize the whole thing or do you have any thoughts of your own?" We regurgitate what others say because it's much harder to form original thoughts so we don't bother. If you want to be less like Clark and more like Will, here are three things you can do ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

[H/T MOHIB EBRAHIM] -- FS.BLOG -- When I was young, I thought other people could give me wisdom. Now that I'm older, I know this isn't true. Wisdom is earned, not given. When other people give us the answer, it belongs to them and not us. While we might achieve the outcome we desire, it comes from dependence, not insight. Instead of thinking for ourselves, we're dependent on the insight of others. The abundant directives, rules, and simplicities offered by others may make us feel like we're getting smarter, but it's nothing more than the illusion of knowledge. Others help you but they can't do the work for you. Thinking is something you have to do by yourself. Owning wisdom for oneself requires ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

THEGUARDIAN.COM -- [ISMAILI DIGEST ED: We post this scathing criticism of the New Atheists to showcase their utter ignorance (or wilful misrepresentations) about Islam. It reflects their similar utter ignorance (or wilful misrepresentations) over arguments against God, per the scathing criticisms against them on that topic in our other posts today.] ARTICLE: Consider this ignorant remark by New Atheist Richard Dawkins: "Islam [is the] greatest force for evil today." Or this ignorant one by New Atheist Sam Harris that "we" -- the civilized peoples of the west -- are at war with "millions" of Muslims. Indeed, Harris repeatedly separates "civilized" people from Muslims: "All civilized nations must unite in condemnation of a theology that now threatens to destabilize much of the earth." Consider, too, another ignorant remark by Harris: "The outrage that Muslims feel over US and British foreign policy is primarily the product of theological concerns.... Because of what they believe about God and the afterlife, devout Muslims tend to reflexively side with other Muslims, no matter how sociopathic their behaviour." Can you believe those primitive, irrational Muslims get angry when ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

EVOLUTIONNEWS.ORG -- New Atheism is dead. It was conceptually dead from birth, but now it's stopped twitching. New Atheism never had a chance. It was intellectual vapor, and its practitioners were repellent fools. They were defeated by atheism's perennial Achilles' heal: they were forced to explain themselves. Atheism never reigns openly and explicitly for long; it cannot withstand even cursory scrutiny. In "New Atheism: An Autopsy," Ben Sixsmith wrote "To be sure, New Atheists could be very, very bad at arguing that God does not exist. There was, for example, Lawrence Krauss writing a book about how something can come from nothing while attributing material qualities to the latter. There was Richard Dawkins trying to refute the famous 'Five Ways' of Aquinas without even attempting to ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

DISCOVERY.ORG -- On this episode of ID the Future, Jerusalem-based guest host Ira Berkowitz talks with Rabbi Moshe Averick about his book "Nonsense of a High Order: The Confused World of Modern Atheism," a critique of the the new atheists' views on nature. Rabbi Averick shares his spirited takedown of the multiverse theory for the origin of life, dismantles the "God of the Gaps" objection to intelligent design, and wonders why people who criticize books like his think they can do so intelligently without taking the time to read them. ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

SCIENTIFICAMERICAN.COM -- We live in some interesting times [2018]. On the one hand, things are better than they've ever been. On the other hand we are more divided than ever as a species. Tribalism and identity politics are rampant on all sides of everything. Intellectuals think the answer is a return to Enlightenment values -- things like reason, individualism, and the free expression of ideas. I agree that this is part of the solution, but I think the problem is more fundamental: all of our egos are just too damn loud. To be clear, a quiet ego is not the same thing as a silent ego. The quiet ego perspective emphasizes balance and integration. The quiet ego focuses on ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

AREOMAGAZINE.COM -- [ISMAILI DIGEST ED: Mawlana Sultan Muhammad Shah: "[Muslims] admit that there were similar Divinely inspired messengers in other countries -- Gautama Buddha, Shri Krishna and Shri Ram in India, Socrates in Greece, ..."] ARTICLE: When Socrates was awaiting execution, his wealthy friend, Crito, offers to help him escape. Despite the unjust charges against him and an easy escape, Socrates refuses, arguing that it is worse to commit injustice by violating the law than to suffer injustice oneself. It is better to maintain one's own virtue, even if it means accepting an unjust outcome. Being a just person matters more than injustice generated by institutions. Indeed, for Socrates, it matters more than life itself. Socrates' uncompromising claim about virtue and justice has gone unheeded in our times. Instead, social justice dominates public discussion. Social justice is concerned with outcomes. Whether intentionally or not, social justice tends to destroy what in earlier ages was called natural justice. Natural justice refers ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

AMERICANMIND.ORG -- [ISMAILI DIGEST ED: Mawlana Sultan Muhammad Shah: "[Muslims] admit that there were similar Divinely inspired messengers in other countries -- Gautama Buddha, Shri Krishna and Shri Ram in India, Socrates in Greece, ..."] ARTICLE: As Plato (Socrates' greatest pupil) describes it, democracy is basically what American society has become in the twenty-first century -- so much so that one wonders whether he had access to a time machine. Recognizing Plato's profound prescience begins with understanding his psychology, which formed the basis of his political philosophy. Specifically, Plato's four stages by which minds can become progressively disordered, and the ways in which four increasingly corrupt types of society parallel these disorders. The tendency toward disorder and tyranny, that Plato attributes to democracies, is a consequence of their egalitarianism, moral relativism, and sexual license. Plato distinguishes three main parts of the psyche: reason, spirit, and appetite. Naturally, appetite encompasses desires for ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

[H/T MOHIB EBRAHIM] -- OFF-GUARDIAN.ORG -- At a Quaker Meeting, occasionally someone will say, "Could we have some silence please?" when the discussion becomes too contentious and not progressing towards resolution. We wait and listen. What are we listening for? As corny and old-fashioned as it may sound, we are waiting for guidance from God. I have felt increasing awe and reverence for this process by which Quakers have conducted meetings for hundreds of years. No shouting. No interrupting. Instead of voting, we try to discern the "sense of the Meeting" before acting. Just one voice can be the one to heed, even if the whole group is going another way -- because we believe that all have direct access to God's guidance, no one person more than another. In this contentious time of lockdowns, isolations, staggering ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

YOUTUBE.COM -- THE WHEATLEY INSTITUTION -- [ISMAILI DIGEST ED: Hazar Imam, 1983: "Science is one means by which man perceives Allah's creation." Hazar Imam, 1982: "When we talk about science ... all that science is doing is discovering small windows on Allah's creation."] ARTICLE: Wheatley Scholar Ed Gantt explains scientism and how we can rely on it too much. ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

BIOLA.EDU -- [ISMAILI DIGEST ED: Mawlana Sultan Muhammad Shah, 1956: "The young Waezin should each try and find new arguments based on the discoveries in all branches of science for keeping the human soul like [sic] the ocean with the Divine wisdom and power."] ARTICLE: Ever had someone say "You can't prove that scientifically"? They may not know it, but they are assuming scientism. Scientism is a position in philosophy, not science and it is the greatest issue facing faith communities today. It is at the very foundation of secular culture and teaching its weaknesses should be a faith community's first priority. Children must be taught to recognize and undermine those ideas that make knowledge of God seem ridiculous. A Barna Group poll found Millennials unable to reconcile scientific claims with their faith's world view was a key reason they abandon faith. Scientism has led to cultural chaos in ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

THEFEDERALIST.COM -- Lots of parents want to check out of public schooling given the coronavirus mess. But they don't all want to homeschool. What are the laws for families hiring a tutor or sharing homeschooling? States like Washington, Alaska, and Michigan define "homeschooling" as parents teaching their own children. Other states are less restrictive in their regulation of who can teach. For example, New York requires the parent to file all the homeschool paperwork, and the parent is ultimately responsible for the child's education, but someone else can teach the child. In North Carolina, two families can homeschool together legally, which means that ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

THEHOMESCHOOLMOM.COM -- You work. Or you cannot imagine yourself as a homeschool parent. Or your kids are demanding, and you don't mesh with them well. Or you have a child who has special needs you don't feel prepared to help with. Or you have a health problem that will make homeschooling challenging to impossible. But your kids need to be out of school, and they need to be homeschooled. I hear your question: "Can somebody homeschool my kids?" Maybe. Homeschool laws differ from country-to-country, and within the U.S., they differ from state-to-state. The first thing is to determine what your state law allows. In some cases, ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

[H/T MOHIB EBRAHIM] -- TEMPLETONPRIZE.ORG -- [ISMAILI DIGEST ED: Hazar Imam, 1983: "Those who are most qualified in scientific subjects today are often the most humble and the most convinced in their attitude to the existence of Allah." Mawlana Sultan Muhammad Shah, 1956: "The young Waezin should each try and find new arguments based on the discoveries in all branches of science for keeping the human soul like [sic] the ocean with the Divine wisdom and power."] ARTICLE: The 2020 Templeton Prize Laureate -- geneticist, physician and National Institutes of Health Director, Francis Collins -- has throughout his career advocated for the integration of faith and reason. At 1.1 million British pounds, The Templeton Prize, is one of the world's largest annual individual awards and recognizes discoveries that yield new insights about religion especially through science. In his scientific leadership, public speaking and bestselling 2006 book, "The Language of God," he writes "This book argues that belief in God can be an entirely rational choice," and encourages religious communities to embrace the latest discoveries of genetics and biomedical sciences. Although, in his youth, Collins veered from agnosticism to unapologetic atheism, his journey to Christian belief would evolve and strengthen over the next three decades. In a statement ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

WSJ.COM -- THE WALL STREET JOURNAL -- Colleges are no longer barred from recruiting students beyond May 1 who have put deposits on other schools: schools can dangle bigger discounts in front of a student who has accepted a rival's offer. 'It is a buyer's market,' says Nathan Mueller, an enrollment-management consultant at the firm EAB. After Frances Marcel's third child Ian was accepted this fall, she urged him to write them in early March asking that they go lower. "Really, you have nothing to lose," she told him. For Ms. Marcel, bargaining was a priority this year. When the acceptances arrived and Ian pushed for more, one college cut its price by $10,000 and another by $16,500.The third cut $26,000 off its $63,262 sticker price. Lars Boothroyd's, top choice was ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

FOXNEWS.COM -- [ISMAILI DIGEST ED: If video does not play in Chrome, try Firefox or Edge.] ARTICLE: Colleges are in trouble. Some may fail. They're getting so desperate, in fact, that they are willing to do something they have never done and that you didn't think possible: respond to markets. Some have even given out last minute tuition discounts. How do you get one? You just ask and make schools compete with each other on price, just like you would on anything else. I know, quite a concept. One family in Massachusetts got a 41% discount off tuition just by emailing the school. Another admitted to the University of Miami initially received no discount, but when she asked for a merit scholarship, the school gave her a $20,000. It is a buyers market right now in education. News you can use. ...

Click to view ❯❯❯

AREOMAGAZINE.COM -- For centuries, theorists have worried that unrestrained democracy could lead to a tyranny of the majority, where the majority rides roughshod over minorities. What we often see today is instead a kind of tyranny of the minority: where a particularly extreme and motivated minority wields outsized power over a majority, too indifferent or too scared to oppose it. However, activist minorities draw their strength from the tacit assumption they represent more people than they actually do.There is a reason why we make decisions based on how many people like a certain option, rather than how strongly its supporters feel about it: if intensity of feeling is allowed into the picture, that would create an unhealthy dynamic incentivizing ...

Click to view ❯❯❯