Leon Atkinson - Page 12 - There is no duty that is not accepted.

Free Lessons from the James Randi Educational Foundation

Post author By Leon
Post date February 3, 2014

These look to be great resources for fellow homeschoolers.

New “JREF in The Classroom” Lessons!

The James Randi Educational Foundation is pleased to announce the release of four new additions to our JREF in the Classroom offerings:

Pareidolia: Do You See What You Think You See?

Illusions: Our Visual System

Cognition: Are You Rational?

Power Balance: Sports Enhancement, or Placebo?

These are downloadable lesson plans for use in high school and junior high school science and psychology classes that use topics in pseudoscience and the paranormal to teach critical thinking, skepticism, and scientific inquiry. Each lesson is designed to expose students to concepts identified in the National Science Content Standards and AAAS science literacy benchmarks.

News

Pettibon Interviewed by The Guardian

Post author By Leon
Post date February 2, 2014

Some truths are only safely speakable as art.

Raymond Pettibon: punk with a pencil | Art and design | The Guardian

His artwork for Black Flag and Sonic Youth helped define the punk aesthetic. Now he’s taking aim at the US government

News

Neuroscientist’s Life as a Nonviolent Psychopath

Post author By Leon
Post date February 1, 2014

The evidence mounts for an epigenetic path that connects violence experienced in childhood with violence perpetrated as an adult. This is the the main conclusion of Molyneux’s Bomb in the Brain series. Want to feel like a hero who saves the world? Practice peace towards all children.

Life as a Nonviolent Psychopath – Judith Ohikuare – The Atlantic

Neuroscientist James Fallon discovered through his work that he has the brain of a psychopath, and subsequently learned a lot about the role of genes in personality and how his brain affects his life.

News

Meditation Effective Treatment for Depression

Post author By Leon
Post date January 31, 2014

Here’s a good summary of a study in JAMA about the usefulness of mediation. Remember how I pointed to the release from Sam Harris of some guided meditations? Since then, my family has been spotty about practicing, but we’ll keep at it because I really want my kids to learn this essential life skill.

Meditation is an Effective Treatment for Depression, Anxiety and Pain | PsyBlog – Understand Your Mind

Data from 47 different clinical trials finds meditation is as effective as antidepressants.

News Philosophy Politics

Unregulated dinner parties

Post author By Leon
Post date October 31, 2013

This happened to me just tonight! My wife prepared dinner for the family, and although she has taken cooking classes in the past, I don’t think any government official ever issued her a license. Help! Help! Does anyone have a license for determining if I might suffer adverse health effects? I’d do it myself, but I’ve let my thinking license expire. Oh, man, I hope I’m not breaking some law by just asking for help.

New York City Overwhelmed by Scourge of Illegal, Underground Dinner Parties

Folks in the Big Apple are illegally eating things! The CBS affiliate in New York City today uncovered the scary, secret world of illegal, underground dinner parties.

No, this is not a joke or a parody, though it will really feel like one for the first few seconds of the clip. The news casters treat this situation with the same slightly amazed and shocked tone that they use when they cover the “underground world of raves.” You know which story I’m talking about. Every local news affiliate runs one every sweeps period.