Archive for January, 2010
We all heard the terms “psychopath” or “sociopath”. These are the old names for a patient with the Antisocial Personality Disorder (AsPD). It is hard to distinguish narcissists from psychopaths. The latter may simply be a less inhibited and less grandiose form of the former. Indeed, the DSM V Committee is considering to abolish this distinction altogether.
Still, there are some important nuances setting the two disorders apart:
As opposed to most narcissists, psychopaths are either unable or unwilling to control their impulses or to delay gratification. They use their rage to control people and manipulate them into submission.
Psychopaths, like narcissists, lack empathy but many of them are also sadistic: they take pleasure in inflicting pain on their victims or in deceiving them. They even find it funny!
Psychopaths are far less able to form interpersonal relationships, even the twisted and tragic relationships that are the staple of the narcissist.
One of the most effective ways to learn Spanish is through what is known as immersion, where the language student not only spends a portion of their time in a classroom environment, but also lives within a Spanish speaking community for a period of time. Whether you visit Madrid or Mexico, living and breathing the Spanish culture and language will help you reach fluency faster.
Spanish immersion programs have been popular for many years for one simple reason – they work. And the logic behind this success is simple. Studying in the classroom necessarily lasts a couple of hours at most, for reasons as wide ranging as teacher availability to the duration of student concentration. Learning Spanish through an immersion program, however, takes learning out of the confines of the classroom and releases into the realm of real life.
There is so much to be learned in life, sometimes I find myself overwhelmed with all that I do not know. I’ve heard it said, however, that the smartest people are the ones that know that they do not know much. I like that. I like it because I am acutely aware that there is so much that I have yet to discover and understand. I am committed, however, to the process of constantly learning more. My latest subject of fascination has been wondering and learning about earth science.
I haven’t honestly thought that much about earth science since I took a class in it in junior high school. At that time I hated everything to do with science and so I didn’t give much thought one way or another to earth science. I dreadfully made it through that class learning only the basics enough to get by (not the least of which I can remember now).
“The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science.”
Albert Einstein, The World as I See It, 1931
The debate between realism and anti-realism is, at least, a century old. Does Science describe the real world – or are its theories true only within a certain conceptual framework? Is science only instrumental or empirically adequate or is there more to it than that?
The current – mythological – image of scientific enquiry is as follows:
Without resorting to reality, one can, given infinite time and resources, produce all conceivable theories. One of these theories is bound to be the “truth”. To decide among them, scientists conduct experiments and compare their results to predictions yielded by the theories. A theory is falsified when one or more of its predictions fails. No amount of positive results – i.e., outcomes that confirm the theory’s predictions – can “prove right” a theory. Theories can only be proven false by that great arbiter, reality.
There is nothing worse than seeing garbage blowing down the street of your neighborhood, or finding broken shards of glass at the local swimming hole where children play. Wildlife is just as vulnerable to garbage and many have lost their lives after becoming tangled in waste or mistaking garbage for food. It is up to each of us to make an effort to minimize this unsightly, and sometimes hazardous, problem.
Animals, wind and traffic breezes put legs to loose garbage and are able to distribute it great distances from the original source. The first thing that we can do to prevent this is to ensure trashcan and dumpster lids are secure. Metal and plastic trashcans are more preventative than bags – leaving a bag out over night or even for several hours, is an enticing invitation for stray animals to wreak havoc. When taking a load to the dump, be sure that it is securely covered by tightly tying a tarp over the load with some rope or bungee cords.
“And once earned, a college degree is forever, as the payoff from higher education can never be erased, broken, or laid off.”
It was estimated by the US Census Bureau that a bachelor degree holder earns approximately $2.1 million over 40 years of his working life. The drastic truth is that a college graduator can expect to earn nearly a million dollar more than his school-educated neighbor does. This sizeable stretch and notable disparity of lifetime earnings raised demand, boosted popularity, and consolidated American firm faith in the value and significance of higher education.
According to the survey conducted for the Chronicle of Higher Education the American nation continues to have a confidence in the value of a college degree, with more than the half of respondents saying “it is essential for success.”
Many parents make the decision to homeschool their children, and in doing so are privy to some clear benefits. Homeschooling allows you to tailor a specific education to your child’s individual needs, something that is often lacking in the public or private school systems. Homeschooling also allows you and your child to learn together, creating not only a valuable learning experience but strengthening family bonds. Add to this the fact that it is often prohibitively expensive to send multiple children to private schools, and we can see why homeschooling has become increasingly popular.
One of the most important aspects of homeschooling your child is coming up with a clear plan and set of goals. One of the greatest aspects of homeschooling – its complete flexibility – can also be one of the most difficult if it is not approached directly. Without a clear plan, you run the risk of creating a scattershot education that puts your child out of place with his or her peers.