Archive for 2018

OPEN THREAD: So don’t wait.

THIS SOUNDS LIKE A JOB FOR . . . THE SPACE FORCE!!! “The French defence minister says a Russian spy satellite got close to a Franco-Italian satellite last year and tried to intercept its transmissions. . . . The US said a Luch had come close to two US Intelsat satellites in 2015. The US space command contacted Russia about the Luch satellite’s unusual manoeuvres.”

DISPATCHES FROM THE EDUCATION APOCALYPSE: Study Claims Gifted Math Classes Promote ‘Academic Apartheid.’

A math education professor is arguing that gifted math classes cause “academic apartheid” among students, claiming that the practice is rooted in “capitalist exploitations and settler colonialism.”

The study, “Understanding Issues Associated With Tracking Students in Mathematics Education,” was published in the new issue of the the Columbia University journal Mathematics Education by Cacey Wells, a professor at the University of Oklahoma.

The tuition and fees for the University of Oklahoma is $11,762.50; for non-resident students, it’s $27,143.50. Parents and students, choose wisely.

WELL, GOOD: Study: Trips to ERs down, urgent care centers up for minor ills. Last year I tripped over a root while running on a trail in a local park and wound up with gravel embedded in my knee. I cleaned it and put antibiotic cream on it, and a few years ago that would have been all. But given all the weird infections you see these days — and given that half the dogs in Knoxville crap along that trail — I went to the urgent care and let them repeat the treatment and give me a tetanus booster. Wasn’t worth an ER visit, but better safe than sorry. My worry with the ER, especially in flu season, is that you might catch something worse than what you already have. . . .

CLAUDIA ROSETT: A MODEST PROPOSAL FOR “ANONYMOUS.”

If the New York Times wishes to publish any more Op-eds by anonymous government officials, then in the genuine interest of defending free minds, free markets and free people, I’d suggest there’s a far better use to be made of “Anonymous” — and the knock-on disruptive effects of this brand of publishing. Don’t offer anonymity to Americans who already enjoy the vast benefits of free speech, democracy and protection of law. Look outside America, to unfree countries where senior officials serve in governments that are not endowed with the legitimacy of genuine elections; governments that would do far worse than merely fire an official for expressing discontent, or celebrating efforts at subversion.

It’s a nice thought, but those are the sorts of countries that Timespeople view as how-to guides for good government.