Featured Book Improbable Scholars The Rebirth of a Great American School System and a Strategy for America’s Schools David L. KirpPaperback edition 2015 How do we determine if our schools are preparing students for a meaningful future in our society? How can we improve schools that are not living up to those standards? David Kirp …
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3-year-old Selam could walk and climb trees. The young Australopithecus couldn’t speak, but her brain was still growing at the time she died — which means she was part of a social group that cared for their immature young over a much longer period than ever before. About 6.5 million to 5 million years ago, …
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Four out of five people over the age of 65 have one or more chronic conditions. Chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, and chronic lung disease account for 90% of all illness, 80% of all deaths, and 70% of all healthcare dollars. By David Sobel, MD, MPHContributing Writer Patients can learn from other …
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Education is not static; it evolves with societal changes. An awareness of the forces that have shaped public education historically, together with an understanding of the multiple factors that influence education today, are needed to empower all stakeholders to continue to adapt and improve our educational systems. By Kathleen Mazor, EdD, MSContributing Writer There is …
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Morality and ethical behavior is foundational to human cooperation and success. But moral action can be distorted by misinformation, emotions, and the influence of others. Robert Ornstein, PhD; David Sobel, MD, MPH; and Sally MallamContributing Writers The content of this section, unless indicated, represents Robert Ornstein’s award-winning Psychology of Evolution Trilogy and Multimind. It is reproduced here by kind …
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The lateral specialization of our brain’s two hemispheres not only enabled higher cognitive capacities for abstract thought, self-reflection and creativity; it also gave rise to a higher but embryonic cognitive ability, that we can consciously develop. Robert Ornstein, PhD; David Sobel, MD, MPH; and Sally MallamContributing Writers The content of this section, unless indicated, represents Robert …
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Recursive thinking, the ability to embed ideas within other ideas is the underpinnings of human communication. Understanding more about how this ability evolved may help us unlock the complex challenges we face today. All humans are born with the ability to speak and think recursively. But our individual languages are unique, adaptive tools, each one …
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Siddattha Gotama—the “Awakened One”—advised pupils not to accept anything simply because it is traditional or comes from sacred text or charismatic teacher. He emphasized the need to check one’s views, test ideas, and guard against the possibility of bias. He emphasized the quality of mindfulness—awareness without judgment of mind, body, and environment. He taught that …
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Honoring the Gods involved all aspects of the Panhellenic Games. The agon, or contest, was at the center of life for the Greeks in their striving towards individual excellence, and, at the same time, prepared them both physically and mentally for conflict. By Sally MallamContributing Writer The Olympic Games, held every four years in honor …
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Featured Book Numbers and the Making of Us:Counting and the Course of Human Cultures Caleb EverettHardcover edition 2017 There are predictable numbers in nature, but we humans have an innate, “exact” number sense for numbers only up to three. Beyond three, we can tell when groups of objects are more than or less than one …
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While we tend to think of medical professionals as the providers of health care, in reality the vast majority of all care is provided by people for themselves and their families. Increasing our competence for and confidence in self-care may well be the most important function of any healthcare system. By David Sobel, MD, MPHContributing …
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Contrary to belief, we don’t possess a unified mind with a single coherent purpose. We have many minds: ‘multiminds’. These small minds, which the psychologist Robert Ornstein often calls, slightly jokingly, “simpletons”, all have minds and agendas of their own. Robert Ornstein, PhD; David Sobel, MD, MPH; and Sally MallamContributing Writers The content of this section, …
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