Category: ideas

Hoover Institution scholar Harvey Mansfield (author of Manliness) says, “Courage is not solely for men, but it is mainly for men. The Greek word for courage is andreia, which comes from he-man and also means manliness.” Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s disagreement is more nuanced than one might expect …

“The study by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln … found the practice is widespread and many students carry misperceptions about academic dishonesty, and also identified patterns among students that may help teachers stop it. … In some cases, though, students simply don’t grasp that some dishonest acts are cheating.”

“Six-dollar movie nights have completely changed the way I interact with the world. I used to give the saxophonist in Central Park a buck when he rasped his way through ‘The Girl From Ipanema.’ Now I’ve cut back to 62 cents.”

“Scientists studying breathing patterns think they have found the reason we sigh: To reset breathing patterns that are getting out of whack and keep our respiratory system flexible.”

“Granted, it’s cruel and offensive to make fun of fat people … But do we really want to remove all stigma from being overweight? I don’t want to become comfortable with my beer belly, not only because it’s going to mean a greater chance that I’ll be chronically ill in the future, but also because I cannot yield to the excuse that controlling my weight is beyond my control.”

“Start with two urgent social concerns–that America is falling behind in the global talent race and that inequality is rising at home. Add some nifty research from cutting-edge labs (about neurons, genes, and the acquisition of expertise). Factor in the Gladwellian model of publicizing such findings in mega-best-sellers that blend upstart argument, cool data, and irresistible anecdotes–and you have a boomlet.”

“When we listen to music from another culture, it’s easy to get it badly wrong… We are likely to miss most of the nuances and allusions, think it all sounds the same or even dismiss it as a racket. Most 20th-century ethnomusicologists who compared the music of different cultures argued that this was because the way we make music and respond to it is learned, and therefore culture-specific. Yet there does seem to be something universal about music.”

“The images of signals flashing across frontal lobes have pushed scientists to re-examine the very way creativity is measured in a laboratory.”

“Humility sets itself against many of our most fundamental impulses, clips our wings, and negates our desires – working, in a sense, against nature itself. … [Yet humility] is a virtue that is constantly in danger of subverting itself and turning into its own opposite” – proud and ostentatious.

“Research suggests hand washing does more than rid you of dirt and germs. It may help you emotionally disconnect from past decisions as well as heighten feelings of moral superiority.”