“In all territories of thought which science or philosophy can lay claim to, including those upon which literature has also a proper claim, no one who has something original or important to say will willingly run the risk of being misunderstood; people who write obscurely are either unskilled in writing or up to mischief.”–Peter Medawar
Many years ago I always signed my name Alan D. Rutkowski. Then I read an article, probably in Reader’s Digest, about handwriting analysis that claimed signatures reveal fundamental personality traits. If I signed my name A. Donald Rutkowski, it would indicate that I was pretentious and hungry for recognition. If I signed it A. Rutkowski, … More How Do You Dot the “i” in Pseudoscience?
“Roughly speaking, I think it’s accurate to say that a corporate elite of managers and owners governs the economy and the political system as well, at least in very large measure. The people, so-called, do exercise an occasional choice among those who Marx once called “the rival factions and adventurers of the ruling class.” –Noam … More Quote of the Day
Revise these sentences to make them less wordy and compare your revisions with mine. Sylvia very hurriedly scribbled her name, address, and phone number on the back of a greasy napkin. Susan’s stylish jeans, made of leather, were too warm for our climate. She got red at my words, which were spoken in a moment … More Cutting Words
“The aspect of language use that is most worth changing is the clarity and style of written prose. The human language faculty was not designed for putting esoteric thoughts on paper for the benefit of strangers, and this makes writing a difficult craft that must be mastered through practice, feedback and intensive exposure to good … More Quote of the Day
Of the following sentences, only one is correct. Can you spot the errors in the others? Jadwiga rushed in the house to hide the whiskey before Colbart arrived. Aunt Mable is reticent to speak of her years as a con artist. The cat was laying on the floor next to the empty bird cage. The … More Spot the Errors
“I bet you anything that 10 times out of 10, Nicky, Vinny and Tony will beat the shit out of Todd, Kyle and Tucker.” ― George Carlin
A prevalent stereotype about intellectuals and academics is that while they’re very intelligent in academic matters, they generally lack emotional intelligence (or street smarts, or some other desirable trait). Sure they’re very smart intellectually, but they’re nerdy and can’t relate to people. It’s as though most intellectuals are somewhere on the autism scale, ready to … More The Nerdy Academic Myth
“Some studies claimed to have demonstrated the effectiveness of teaching to learning styles, although they had small sample sizes, selectively reported data or were methodologically flawed. Those that were methodologically sound found no relationship between learning styles and performance on assessments. Willingham and Pashler believe that learning styles is a myth perpetuated merely by sloppy … More Quote of the Day
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/facts-and-arguments/retired-in-victoria-and-the-living-is-slippery/article26825673/ We had long resisted the idea of moving from Edmonton, where we had lived for nearly 40 years, to Victoria, where our son had relocated after graduating. He, our lovely daughter-in-law and wonderful grandson were a big draw, but every time we visited Victoria, I always thought there were just too many flowers. Maybe … More Missing Edmonton
No Harm Spilt 