Stephan: I began to go into wilderness when I was 11, and when I look back across my life I am surprised at how many important experiences happened to me during backpacks, or canoe trips, time on boats, or scuba dives. I completely agree with this, and add that one of the most important things you can do for your children is get them into nature.
I’ve been an avid hiker my whole life. From the time I first strapped on a backpack and headed into the Sierra Nevada Mountains, I was hooked on the experience, loving the way being in nature cleared my mind and helped me to feel more grounded and peaceful.
But, even though I’ve always believed that hiking in nature had many psychological benefits, I’ve never had much science to back me up … until now, that is. Scientists are beginning to find evidence that being in nature has a profound impact on our brains and our behavior, helping us to reduce anxiety, brooding, and stress, and to increase our attention capacity, creativity, and ability to connect with other people.
“People have been discussing their profound experiences in nature for the last several hundred years—from Thoreau to John Muir to many other writers,” says researcher David Strayer, of the University of Utah. “Now we are seeing changes in the brain and changes in the body that suggest we are physically and mentally more healthy when we are interacting with nature.”
While he and other scientists may believe nature benefits our well-being, we live in a society where people spend more and more […]
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Stephan: I have been thinking a lot over the past months about the role of the media in this election. What got me started was the obvious corporate decision to not cover Bernie Sanders -- it was so blatant one had to be pretty dim not to notice it.
In the same vein we are all experiencing the outrageous over-coverage of Donald Trump. That led me to think about the parallel universes that have grown up in the country, the Republicans and everyone else, and the differences in their very separate medias, one more or less fact based and the other essentially a kind of a reality show in a fanstasy world. This is not a partisan statement. On the basis of data Republican media is less factual and as a result those who consume it are notably ignorant or misinformed.
This report discusses some of these issues.
Conservative pseudo-journalists
Two data points from early in the week: President Obama currently enjoys some of the highest approval ratings of his second term, while the conservative media shit show surrounding Donald Trump descends into a Hunger Games-like round of final elimination.
And yes, there’s something deeply poetic about that contrast.
It’s ironic because when Obama was first elected, the conservative media, including key outposts such as Breitbart, hoped they were going to check his every move. They were going to break his presidency. Instead, the only thing broken these days is the spirit of most of the conservative press as Trump stands poised to run away with the Republican nomination and conservative commentators form a circular firing squad lamenting the party’s future, as well as Trump’s potential November loss.
The recent breakdown at Breitbart News is just the latest dumpster fire drawing attention. The site continues to implode in public view after feverishly pro-Trump editors failed to adequately defend reporter Michelle Fields when she was reportedly grabbed by Trump’s campaign manager […]
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Stephan: Here is the follow up on the story I ran concerning Alabama textbooks and evolution. For this update I specifically chose a story written by an Alabama writer for an Alabama publication. This is how willful ignorance is created, and why the U.S. is no longer the leader in a large and growing number of technologies. We don't believe as a country that it is in the common interest to have a highly educated next generation. The words are mouthed but the data screams it is a lie.
Credit: boingboing.net
Certain science textbooks used in Alabama public schools will continue to include a disclaimer regarding the theory of evolution.
The state board of education unanimously voted last week to continue installing the one-page disclaimer in appropriate biology textbooks.
BIOLOGY TEXTBOOK INSERT A MESSAGE FROM THE ALABAMA STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
The word “theory” has many meanings. Theories are defined as systematically organized knowledge, abstract reasoning, a speculative idea or plan, or a systematic statement of principles. Scientific theories are based on both observations of the natural world and assumptions about the natural world. They are always subject to change in view of new and confirmed observations. Many scientific theories have been developed over time. The value of scientific work is not only the development of theories but also what is learned from the development process. The Alabama Course of Study: Science includes many theories and studies of scientists’ work. The work of Copernicus, Newton, and Einstein, to name a few, has provided a basis of our knowledge of the world today. […]
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