Should young children watch television?

Here's an interview with journalist Lisa Guernsey, the author of a new book on this multi-faceted topic of television and young children.  Her book is titled Into the Minds of Babes: How Screen Time Affects Children from Birth to Age Five. Guernsey was asked about Baby Einstein (I previously discussed this product at…

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More on cognitive dissonance: interview with Carol Tavris

In an earlier post, I summarized an Elliot Aronson interview on the topic of cognitive dissonance.  Because I find this to be such a critically compelling topic, I took the time to listen to a recent Point of Inquiry podcast featuring Dr. Carol Tavris, Aronson's co-author regarding Mistakes Were Made…

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Conservative Conscience Redux

According to this article, Barry Goldwater’s book, The Conscience of a Conservative, is being reissued. Timely reading? Depends on what audience at which this is aimed. I seriously doubt conservatives of the Rove/Norquist stripe will have much sympathy with Goldwater, who now seems admirable and even iconic compared to the…

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Reading In America

In a recent poll, reading in America is revealed to be, well, less than appreciated by large swaths of the population. This ought come as no surprise. We live in a time of stupendous ignorance, which allows for the expression of epic stupidity. The Founding Fathers were suspicious of democracy…

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