Commonplace of a Magpie: June 2015

The Daubert/Kumho Implications of Observer Effects in Forensic Science: Hidden Problems of Expectation and Suggestion by D. Michael Risinger, et al

Should Government Bail Out Big Banks? by Nicole Gelinas

Should Government Bail Out Big Banks? by Nicole Gelinas

Falsifiability and Consistency by Don Boudreaux

Falsifiability and Consistency by Don Boudreaux

Krugman is human, just like me by Russ Roberts

Krugman is human, just like me by Russ Roberts

Picking the Right Words to Ban From Campus by Cass R. Sunstein

Picking the Right Words to Ban From Campus by Cass R. Sunstein

Pathways to Upward Mobility by Robert Schwartz and Nancy Hoffman

Pathways to Upward Mobility by Robert Schwartz and Nancy Hoffman

Does This Cow Really Exist? by Josh Bloom

Does This Cow Really Exist? by Josh Bloom

Another ObamaCare Dream Goes Bust by Grace-Marie Turner and Thomas P. Miller

Another ObamaCare Dream Goes Bust by Grace-Marie Turner and Thomas P. Miller

Step Aside, Reverend Al: The Next Generation of Race-Baiters Has Arrived by Ian Tuttle

Step Aside, Reverend Al: The Next Generation of Race-Baiters Has Arrived by Ian Tuttle

What Charleston Tells Us About Race Relations by Jason L. Riley

What Charleston Tells Us About Race Relations by Jason L. Riley

The Myth of Universal Beauty by David Robson

The Myth of Universal Beauty by David Robson

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Could Your Library Answer 1 Million Reference Questions A Year? by Brian Mathews

Could Your Library Answer 1 Million Reference Questions A Year? by Brian Mathews

The Material Well-Being of the Poor and the Middle Class Since 1980 by Bruce D. Meyer and James X. Sullivan

The Material Well-Being of the Poor and the Middle Class Since 1980 by Bruce D. Meyer and James X. Sullivan

Empirical And Ideological Skepticism by Adam Ozimek

Empirical And Ideological Skepticism by Adam Ozimek

The Distribution of Household Income, Federal Taxes, and Government Spending by Kevin Perese

The Distribution of Household Income, Federal Taxes, and Government Spending by Kevin Perese

Female Managers Do Not Reduce the Gender Wage Gap, Study Finds by Sameer Srivastava

Female Managers Do Not Reduce the Gender Wage Gap, Study Finds by Sameer Srivastava

Can Islam Come Back to the Light of Science? by Ross Pomeroy

Can Islam Come Back to the Light of Science? by Ross Pomeroy

A disaster foretold — and ignored by Craig Timberg

A disaster foretold — and ignored by Craig Timberg

Dear Democrats: Populism Will Not Save You by John B. Judis

Dear Democrats: Populism Will Not Save You by John B. Judis

Spike It! When the Media Kill a Story for Political Reasons by Charles Lipson

Spike It! When the Media Kill a Story for Political Reasons by Charles Lipson

America: One Nation, Indivisible by Victor Davis Hanson

America: One Nation, Indivisible by Victor Davis Hanson

Monday, June 22, 2015

In Favor of Niceness, Community, and Civilization by Scott Alexander

In Favor of Niceness, Community, and Civilization by Scott Alexander

ISIS = the Charleston Shooter? by Jane the Actuary

ISIS = the Charleston Shooter? by Jane the Actuary

What If Authors Were Paid Every Time Someone Turned a Page? by Peter Wayner

What If Authors Were Paid Every Time Someone Turned a Page? by Peter Wayner

The Supreme Court Is About to Decide the Fate of Housing Segregation by Alana Semuels

The Supreme Court Is About to Decide the Fate of Housing Segregation by Alana Semuels

The mad war to house the poor in US suburbs by Betsy McCaughey

The mad war to house the poor in US suburbs by Betsy McCaughey

How Liberals Manipulate Data About the Minimum Wage by James Sherk

How Liberals Manipulate Data About the Minimum Wage by James Sherk

Jenner Is a Woman and Dolezal Is Black: Self-Fashioning in the 21st Century by Ronald Bailey

Jenner Is a Woman and Dolezal Is Black: Self-Fashioning in the 21st Century by Ronald Bailey

Why are American schools slowing down so many bright children? by Jay Mathews

Why are American schools slowing down so many bright children? by Jay Mathews

Sunday, June 21, 2015

The End of the Road to Serfdom by James Bruce

The End of the Road to Serfdom by James Bruce

Eco’s “How to Write a Thesis” in 15 Maxims by Christian

Eco’s “How to Write a Thesis” in 15 Maxims by Christian

On the problem of normative sociology by Joseph Heath

On the problem of normative sociology by Joseph Heath

2014 Edelman Trust Barometer by Richard Edelman

2014 Edelman Trust Barometer by Richard Edelman

Kamikaze survivors debunk stereotype in stories of sacrifice by Yuri Kageyama

Kamikaze survivors debunk stereotype in stories of sacrifice by Yuri Kageyama

The Ninja Economist takes on your attacks over the (lack of a) gender gap in tech salaries by Cynthia Than

The Ninja Economist takes on your attacks over the (lack of a) gender gap in tech salaries by Cynthia Than

In Baltimore Arrests are Down and Crime is Way Up by Alex Tabarrok

In Baltimore Arrests are Down and Crime is Way Up by Alex Tabarrok

Children Reading Nonfiction by Ann Althouse

Children Reading Nonfiction by Ann Althouse

‘Screen Time’ For Kids Is Probably Fine by Emily Oster

‘Screen Time’ For Kids Is Probably Fine by Emily Oster

Tracking Global Trends Through Big Data-based English Analysis by Paul JJ Payack

Tracking Global Trends Through Big Data-based English Analysis by Paul JJ Payack

Clear Storytelling Boosts Value of Analytics by Tom Davenport

Clear Storytelling Boosts Value of Analytics by Tom Davenport

It's Not Just Another Data Breach. It's Outrageous. by Megan McArdle

It's Not Just Another Data Breach. It's Outrageous. by Megan McArdle

Gun-free zones an easy target for killers by John R. Lott

Gun-free zones an easy target for killers by John R. Lott

It’s Past Time for a Pivot to Europe by Walter Russell Mead

It’s Past Time for a Pivot to Europe by Walter Russell Mead

A Sea Change in Treating Heart Attacks by Gina Kolata

A Sea Change in Treating Heart Attacks by Gina Kolata

How Obama Opened His Heart to the ‘Muslim World’ by Michael Oren

How Obama Opened His Heart to the ‘Muslim World’ by Michael Oren

Do We Need Shakespeare? by Megan McArdle

Do We Need Shakespeare? by Megan McArdle

Seen That Job Listing for a While? It’s No Coincidence by Josh Zumbrun

Seen That Job Listing for a While? It’s No Coincidence by Josh Zumbrun

The production of information in the attention economy by Giovanni Luca Ciampaglia, Alessandro Flammini & Filippo Menczer

The production of information in the attention economy by Giovanni Luca Ciampaglia, Alessandro Flammini & Filippo Menczer

Fact-Checking With Wikipedia by Nathan Collins

Fact-Checking With Wikipedia by Nathan Collins

Why Economics Falls Down in the Face of Fatherhood by Justin Wolfers

Why Economics Falls Down in the Face of Fatherhood by Justin Wolfers

Black Americans Are Killed At 12 Times The Rate Of People In Other Developed Countries by Nate Silver

Black Americans Are Killed At 12 Times The Rate Of People In Other Developed Countries by Nate Silver

Early Education Gaps by Social Class and Race Start U.S. Children Out on Unequal Footing by Emma García and Elaine Weiss

Early Education Gaps by Social Class and Race Start U.S. Children Out on Unequal Footing by Emma García and Elaine Weiss

Educators Differ on Why Boys Lag in Reading by Valerie Strauss

Educators Differ on Why Boys Lag in Reading by Valerie Strauss

Boys to men: Fathers, family, and opportunity by Richard V. Reeves

Boys to men: Fathers, family, and opportunity by Richard V. Reeves

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Another problem with that WaPo campus sexual assault poll by Ashe Schow

Another problem with that WaPo campus sexual assault poll by Ashe Schow

More College Rape Hype — This Time from the Washington Post by K.C. Johnson and Stuart Taylor, Jr.

More College Rape Hype — This Time from the Washington Post by K.C. Johnson and Stuart Taylor, Jr.

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

The Door in the Wall by H.G. Wells

The Door in the Wall by H.G. Wells

Friday, June 12, 2015

Lessons From L.A.'s Failed Fast-Food Ban by Mike Maciag

Lessons From L.A.'s Failed Fast-Food Ban by Mike Maciag

Five Social Disadvantages That Depress Student Performance: Why Schools Alone Can’t Close Achievement Gaps by Leila Morsy and Richard Rothstein

Five Social Disadvantages That Depress Student Performance: Why Schools Alone Can’t Close Achievement Gaps by Leila Morsy and Richard Rothstein

Researchers: Five ignored factors affect outcomes for poor children by Lyndsey Layton

Researchers: Five ignored factors affect outcomes for poor children by Lyndsey Layton

Upshot sells Wilcox, but I’m not buying by Philip N. Cohen

Upshot sells Wilcox, but I’m not buying by Philip N. Cohen

Red State Families: Better Than We Knew by W. Bradford Wilcox and Nicholas Zill

Red State Families: Better Than We Knew by W. Bradford Wilcox and Nicholas Zill

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Nazi is not a term you throw around lightly by R.K. Modena

Nazi is not a term you throw around lightly by R.K. Modena

Science publication is hopelessly compromised, say journal editors from American Council on Science and Health

Science publication is hopelessly compromised, say journal editors from American Council on Science and Health

The North-South Divide on Two-Parent Families by David Leonhardt

The North-South Divide on Two-Parent Families by David Leonhardt

Does Mortality Differ Between Public and Private Sector Workers? by Alicia H. Munnell, Jean-Pierre Aubry, and Geoffrey T. Sanzenbacher

Does Mortality Differ Between Public and Private Sector Workers? by Alicia H. Munnell, Jean-Pierre Aubry, and Geoffrey T. Sanzenbacher

Inequality of opportunity: Useful policy construct or will o’ the wisp? by Ravi Kanbur and Adam Wagstaff

Inequality of opportunity: Useful policy construct or will o’ the wisp? by Ravi Kanbur and Adam Wagstaff

How New Orleans Made Charter Schools Work by David Osborne

How New Orleans Made Charter Schools Work by David Osborne

The New York Times Should Apologize for the Awful Op-Ed It Just Ran on Student Loans by Jordan Weissmann

The New York Times Should Apologize for the Awful Op-Ed It Just Ran on Student Loans by Jordan Weissmann

Why Do Feminists Cook Up Stories About 'Misogyny" When They Lose Debates? by Milo Yiannopoulos

Why Do Feminists Cook Up Stories About 'Misogyny" When They Lose Debates? by Milo Yiannopoulos

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton says it's hard to hire black cops because too many have criminal histories by Tine Moore, Rocco Parascandola and Ginger Adams Otis

NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton says it's hard to hire black cops because too many have criminal histories by Tina Moore, Rocco Parascandola and Ginger Adams Otis

Wealth and Generations by Phillip Longman

Wealth and Generations by Phillip Longman

Evolution Is Unpredictable and Irreversible, Penn Biologists Show by Katherine Unger Baillie

Evolution Is Unpredictable and Irreversible, Penn Biologists Show by Katherine Unger Baillie

Adopted Kids Have Higher IQs than Their Non-Adopted Siblings by Bo Christensen

Adopted Kids Have Higher IQs than Their Non-Adopted Siblings by Bo Christensen

Why Everything We 'Know' About Diet and Nutrition Is Wrong by Ross Pomeroy

Why Everything We 'Know' About Diet and Nutrition Is Wrong by Ross Pomeroy

How much does TV affect children? Not much by Cameron English

How much does TV affect children? Not much by Cameron English

Blame Genetics, Not Video Games, For Violent Teenagers by Cameron English

Blame Genetics, Not Video Games, For Violent Teenagers by Cameron English

Personality similarity in twins reared apart and together. by Auke Tellegen, et al

Personality similarity in twins reared apart and together. by Auke Tellegen, et al

Social Science: an (unintentional) outlet for progressive politics by Cameron English

Social Science: an (unintentional) outlet for progressive politics by Cameron English

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Why Does Ursula K. Le Guin Hate Amazon? by Alex Tabarrok

Why Does Ursula K. Le Guin Hate Amazon? by Alex Tabarrok

The Tenured vs. Debut Author Report from Author Earnings

The Tenured vs. Debut Author Report from Author Earnings

January 2015 Author Earnings Report from Author Earnings

January 2015 Author Earnings Report from Author Earnings

Social Justice Bullies: The Authoritarianism of Millennial Social Justice by Aristotelis Orginos

Social Justice Bullies: The Authoritarianism of Millennial Social Justice by Aristotelis Orginos

India’s International Yoga Day was supposed to promote peace and harmony – but it didn’t turn out that way. by Annie Gowen

India’s International Yoga Day was supposed to promote peace and harmony – but it didn’t turn out that way. by Annie Gowen

Honoring Marriage After Loss by Ashley McGuire

Honoring Marriage After Loss by Ashley McGuire

Have You Ever Been Wrong? by Peter Wehner

Have You Ever Been Wrong? by Peter Wehner

Malls Washed Up? Not Quite Yet by Joel Kotkin

Malls Washed Up? Not Quite Yet by Joel Kotkin

'Primates of Park Avenue,' Stranger Than Nonfiction by Megan McArdle

'Primates of Park Avenue,' Stranger Than Nonfiction by Megan McArdle

U.S. Can't Import the Scandinavian Model by Megan McArdle

U.S. Can't Import the Scandinavian Model by Megan McArdle

Choosing your own capitalism in a globalised world? by Daron Acemoglu, James A Robinson, Thierry Verdier

Choosing your own capitalism in a globalised world? by Daron Acemoglu, James A Robinson, Thierry Verdier

Here’s What’s Driving Inequality by Scott Sumner & Kevin Erdmann

Here’s What’s Driving Inequality by Scott Sumner & Kevin Erdmann

The Truth About Race and Father Involvement by Robert VerBruggen

The Truth About Race and Father Involvement by Robert VerBruggen

Over 95 percent of the world's population has health problems -- with over a third having more than 5 ailments from The Lancet

Over 95 percent of the world's population has health problems -- with over a third having more than 5 ailments from The Lancet

Why Good People Do Bad Things: Anticipating Temptation May Improve Ethical Behavior Study Finds by Susan Guibert

Monday, June 8, 2015

Against Tulip Subsidies by Scott Alexander

Against Tulip Subsidies by Scott Alexander

Public ignorance about economic inequality by Ilya Somin

Public ignorance about economic inequality by Ilya Somin

‘Ordinary People’ Ignorant About Inequality? Perhaps Not So Much by Josh Zumbrun

‘Ordinary People’ Ignorant About Inequality? Perhaps Not So Much by Josh Zumbrun

Angry About Income Inequality? Don't Blame the Rich. by James Q. Wilson

Angry About Income Inequality? Don't Blame the Rich. by James Q. Wilson

Marry Your Like: Assortative Mating and Income Inequality by Jeremy Greenwood, Nezih Guner, Georgi Kocharkov, Cezar Santos

Marry Your Like: Assortative Mating and Income Inequality by Jeremy Greenwood, Nezih Guner, Georgi Kocharkov, Cezar Santos

Adam Smith, Theorist by David Warsh

Adam Smith, Theorist by David Warsh

Career Advice for Recent Graduates by Ben Horowitz

Career Advice for Recent Graduates by Ben Horowitz

'New York Times' shows its 'gotcha' colors by Glenn Reynolds

'New York Times' shows its 'gotcha' colors by Glenn Reynolds

Picking your college major could mean big money by Adam Tamburin

Picking your college major could mean big money by Adam Tamburin

Sunday, June 7, 2015

Letter to a Young (White, Male) Poet: A portrait of the artist as a perversion of Privilege Theory by Conor Friedersdorf

Letter to a Young (White, Male) Poet: A portrait of the artist as a perversion of Privilege Theory by Conor Friedersdorf

Why I Defaulted on My Student Loans by Lee Siegel

Why I Defaulted on My Student Loans by Lee Siegel

Need a high school diploma to work full-time? Natives, yes. Immigrants, no. by Brad Hershbein and Elisa Jácome

Need a high school diploma to work full-time? Natives, yes. Immigrants, no. by Brad Hershbein and Elisa Jácome

Twitter's Cofounder On Creating Opportunities by Biz Stone

Twitter's Cofounder On Creating Opportunities by Biz Stone

Are Evangelicals Winning the World? by Peter Berger

Are Evangelicals Winning the World? by Peter Berger

Is CBT for depression losing its efficacy? by T. Johnsen & O. Friborg

Is CBT for depression losing its efficacy? by T. Johnsen & O. Friborg

Millionaires Who Are Frugal When They Don’t Have to Be by Paul Sullivan

Millionaires Who Are Frugal When They Don’t Have to Be by Paul Sullivan

Friday, June 5, 2015

Who Cares What Colour Philosophers Are? by Joanna Williams

Who Cares What Colour Philosophers Are? by Joanna Williams

The Anti-Poverty Experiment by Jason Zweig

The Anti-Poverty Experiment by Jason Zweig

The silent minority: America’s largest ethnic group has assimilated so well that people barely notice it from The Economist

The silent minority: America’s largest ethnic group has assimilated so well that people barely notice it from The Economist

German Child Care Workers’ Strike Brings Debate on Priorities by Melissa Eddy

German Child Care Workers’ Strike Brings Debate on Priorities by Melissa Eddy

The Play Deficit by Peter Gray

The Play Deficit by Peter Gray

Divergent Thinking as an Indicator of Creative Potential by Mark A. Runco and Selcuk Acar

Divergent Thinking as an Indicator of Creative Potential by Mark A. Runco and Selcuk Acar

Let’s have a year of publishing only women – a provocation by Kamila Shamsie

Let’s have a year of publishing only women – a provocation by Kamila Shamsie

Music Insights website from YouTube

Music Insights website from YouTube

Meet the least powerful people in the academy by Daniel W. Drezner

Meet the least powerful people in the academy by Daniel W. Drezner

Researchers Put Hierarchies Through the Himalayan Test by Robert M. Sapolsky

Researchers Put Hierarchies Through the Himalayan Test by Robert M. Sapolsky

GOP rivals see opportunity in Hillary weakness by Byron York

GOP rivals see opportunity in Hillary weakness by Byron York

Let's consider alternatives to the dysfunctional TSA by John R. Schindler

Let's consider alternatives to the dysfunctional TSA by John R. Schindler

What We Don't Know About False Claims of Rape by Megan McArdle

What We Don't Know About False Claims of Rape by Megan McArdle

Increasing Social Mobility Is Hard. Here's Why That's Not Changing Any Time Soon. by Stephanie Slade

Increasing Social Mobility Is Hard. Here's Why That's Not Changing Any Time Soon. by Stephanie Slade

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Democratic vs. Republican occupations from Verdant Labs

Democratic vs. Republican occupations from Verdant Labs

“Incontrovertible” Science and the #WarOnWomen by Leslie Eastman

“Incontrovertible” Science and the #WarOnWomen by Leslie Eastman

National hiring experiments reveal 2:1 faculty preference for women on STEM tenure track by Wendy M. Williams and Stephen J. Ceci

National hiring experiments reveal 2:1 faculty preference for women on STEM tenure track by Wendy M. Williams and Stephen J. Ceci

Describing Applicants in Gendered Language Might Influence Academic Science Hiring by Wendy M. Williams and Stephen J. Ceci

Describing Applicants in Gendered Language Might Influence Academic Science Hiring by Wendy M. Williams and Stephen J. Ceci

Fatal police shootings in 2015 approaching 400 nationwide by Julie Tate, Jennifer Jenkins, Steven Rich, Keith L. Alexander and Wesley Lowery

Fatal police shootings in 2015 approaching 400 nationwide by Julie Tate, Jennifer Jenkins, Steven Rich, Keith L. Alexander and Wesley Lowery

Data on police killings bucks media narrative by Andrew Branca

Data on police killings bucks media narrative by Andrew Branca

Young black men face daunting odds in life. These programs can help by Emily Badger

Young black men face daunting odds in life. These programs can help by Emily Badger

Vox’s 2,500-Word Explainer on False Rape Claims Doesn’t Cover the Biggest Problem with Them by Jason Richwine

Vox’s 2,500-Word Explainer on False Rape Claims Doesn’t Cover the Biggest Problem with Them by Jason Richwine

Beyond Automation by Thomas H. Davenport and Julia Kirby

Beyond Automation by Thomas H. Davenport and Julia Kirby

I'm a liberal professor, and my liberal students terrify me by Edward Schlosser

I'm a liberal professor, and my liberal students terrify me by Edward Schlosser

Librarians Embroiled in Lawsuit Alleging Sexual Harassment by Lisa Peet

Librarians Embroiled in Lawsuit Alleging Sexual Harassment by Lisa Peet

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

How to Sell a Pseudoscience by Anthony R. Pratkanis

How to Sell a Pseudoscience by Anthony R. Pratkanis

Guess Who Doesn’t Fit In at Work by Lauren A. Rivera

Guess Who Doesn’t Fit In at Work by Lauren A. Rivera

How Do We Get More People to Have Good Lives? by Thomas B. Edsall

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/03/opinion/how-do-we-get-more-people-to-have-good-lives.html?mabReward=CTM&action=click&pgtype=Homepage®ion=CColumn&module=Recommendation&src=rechp&WT.nav=RecEngineby Thomas B. Edsall