“Babies haven’t any hair. Old men’s heads are just as bare Between the cradle and the grave Lies a haircut and a shave.” ——- Samuel Hoffenstein “The first half of life consists of the capacity to enjoy without the chance; the last half consists of the chance without the capacity.” ——- Mark Twain “It is...Read More
When Albert Einstein was four, his father gave him a simple magnetic compass for his birthday. Later on, in adulthood, Einstein wrote that this simple toy served to unlock his feelings of curiosity and wonder about the world He said that from that time on he was filled with a desire to ferret out the...Read More
A report in the journal Neuropsychology suggests that hypertension (high blood pressure) contributes to age-related declines in the brain and cognition. They looked at two groups of adults: one group remained healthy for 5 years; the other group either had hypertension at the start of the study, or developed it sometime during the 5 year...Read More
In ancient times (and still today in many parts of the world) people consulted fortune tellers or astrologers to predict their future. In the modern scientific era, however, people have stopped consulting the stars in the heavens, and instead are beginning to consult the genes in their bodies as a way of predicting their future...Read More
Reflecting upon his scientific achievements, Albert Einstein once noted: “I sometimes ask myself . . . how did it come that I was the one to develop the theory of relativity? The reason, I think, is that a normal adult never stops to think about problems of space and time. These are things which he...Read More
Researchers at UCLA have completed a study that suggests performing tai chi on a regular basis may help ward off shingles – a viral infection that causes a painful rash that can lead to complications. Shingles is caused by the virus herpes zoster, which is the virus that causes chicken pox. Adults who have had...Read More
I fly a lot, and when I travel I see a lot of people carrying teddy bears in the airport; not just children; adults too. Everytime I see somebody carrying one onto a plane, I think of the idea of the “transitional object.” This term was coined in 1951 by the psychoanalyst D.W. Winnicott. It’s...Read More
I’ve written a book for educators called The Best Schools: How Human Development Research Should Inform Educational Practice (publisher: The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, December, 2006). In this book I suggest that our educational climate has become totally overwhelmed by what I call an “academic achievement discourse.” This discourse concentrates on accountability, rubrics,...Read More
The River of Life by Thomas Campbell (1777-1824) The more we live, more brief appear Our life’s succeeding stages; A day to childhood seems a year, And years like passing ages. The gladsome current of our youth, Ere passion yet disorders, Steals lingering like a river smooth Along its grassy borders. But as the careworn...Read More
Follow Me On: