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
There’s been so much in the news about anti-aging remedies from anti-wrinkle cream to human growth hormone that I just wanted to speak for the pro-aging side. What’s wrong with aging? I see the faces of elderly people who have decided to deny their aging with chin lifts, botox injections, and facial implants, and I...Read More
A report presented at the American Heart Association’s 8th Annual Conference on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology suggests that college students who drink heavily may be setting themselves up for heart problems later on in life. The research measured levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) in college students who had different drinking patterns (CRP is a...Read More
When I was doing research for my book The Human Odyssey, I was surprised at how few organizations there were out there actively working to meet the developmental needs of adolescents. With all the problems of adolescence — gang violence, eating disorders, unwanted pregnancies, STDs, depression and suicide, school drop-out, and substance abuse among others...Read More
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