Ed Observers
books
Getting back to basics with books
Just thinking on the events from the past week, there’s a lot I could have written about. There was a government shutdown, the start of the Winter Olympics, and Trump making inappropriate comments on the #MeToo movement. Read More
financial aid
Are you there, financial aid office?
Let me get right to the point: This is about money. That can be a hard thing to talk about, and not everyone likes to do it, I know. Maybe you don't like to do it either, and that's why you answer all my questions with the simple yet evocative, "Take out more loans!" Read More
Ed Observers
Happy holidays, you filthy animals
Christmas tree pretzels. I love them, you love them, and they’re a longstanding UR tradition that we can all get and stay behind. Well, if you haven’t been to the Common Market recently, I regret to inform you that the Christmas tree pretzels are no more. Instead, there are just regular-shaped pretzels with a white-candy […]
Ed Observers
Some advice for CS majors
Computer science is a difficult subject. It involves the breakdown of abstract problems into formal, model-based solutions that can be worked through step-by-step. For many, this is a long process — one that requires years of study at an institution. In fact, this study takes so long to accomplish, that one might mistake the time […]
Ed Observers
We must be feminists
“God, not another one,” I thought. “What a shame.” That’s how I reacted when I learned about the allegations (since confirmed) against Louis C.K. “Not another one.” About half an hour later, I saw a headline on my phone to the effect of, “McConnell, GOP leaders call on Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore to step […]
Ed Observers
What is triggering, really?
Michael Haneke made the movie “Funny Games” twice, once in Austria, and then again in America. The latter is a shot-for-shot remake of the former, and it still holds the same terrifying power. Two white, upper-middle-class young men who are dressed for the golf course (white polos, white gloves, and white shoes) subject a young […]
Ed Observers
There’s a storm coming
Weather has always been a central part of my life. It terrified me at age four, amazed me at age 10, and got me into college at age 17. (Yes, the topic of my Common App essay was me and weather.) I’m not going to go into my admiration and love for weather, since this […]
Ed Observers
Puerto rico deserves better
Just three months ago, I was living in a beautiful, vibrant little coastal town called Punta Santiago, commuting by boat to work every morning before 7 a.m. with brilliant minds from around the world. I was conducting cognitive experiments with a population of around 1,500 free-ranging rhesus macaques on the famed “monkey island” — Cayo […]
Ed Observers
Are you angry?
Anger can be a powerful force. It drives people to action, giving rise to movements and solidifying ideologies. But anger can also hinder. It can cloud judgements and create unnecessary frustration. In activism, we’re told to “get angry,” to be full of rage, but a lot of the times this only produces reactionary action. Believe […]
Ed Observers
Trigger warning
My problem lies with more subtle disagreement, which people on Leftbook prefer to leave out of the discussion. Read More
