Category: Education

Why Do They Hate Education?

For decades the GOP has had a hard on for education….they cannot stand that people are educated and feel they must stop any trend in that direction.

So what makes them hate education?

DEI, antisemitism, and transgender athletics are not the real reasons for these attacks on higher education. They’re excuses to give the Trump regime power over America’s colleges and universities.

These are excuses for this moronic attack on education especially higher education.

How Donny is going about this destruction is a simple plan and his hero Orban of Hungary had the idea….

They’re following Hungarian President Viktor Orban’s playbook for creating an “illiberal democracy” — an authoritarian state masquerading as a democracy. The playbook goes like this:

First, take over military and intelligence operations by purging career officers and substituting ones personally loyal to you. Check.

Next, intimidate legislators by warning that if they don’t bend to your wishes, you’ll run loyalists against them. (Make sure they also worry about what your violent supporters could do to them and their families.) Check.

Next, subdue the courts by ignoring or threatening to ignore court rulings you disagree with. Check or in process.

Then focus on independent sources of information. Sue media that publish critical stories and block their access to news conferences and interviews. Check.

Then go after the universities.

Crapping on higher education is also good politics, as demonstrated by former Rep. Elise Stefanik (Harvard ‘06) who browbeat the presidents of Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, and MIT over their responses to student protests against Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, leading to several of them being fired.

It’s good politics because most of the 60 percent of adult Americans who lack college degrees are stuck in lousy jobs. Many resent the college-educated, who lord it over them economically and culturally.

Behind this cultural populism lies a deeper anti-intellectual, anti-Enlightenment ideology closer to fascism than authoritarianism.

…

So what’s the real, underlying reason for the Trump regime’s attack on education?

Why? Because the greatest obstacle to dictatorship is an educated populace. Ignorance is the handmaiden of tyranny.

That’s why slave owners prohibited enslaved people from learning to read, fascists burn books, and tyrants close universities.

In their quest to destroy democracy, Trump, Vance, and their cronies are intent on shutting the American mind.

(znetwork.org)

There is your answers and no amount of justification can change the facts.

‘A mind is a terrible thing to waste’ and just look at those in charge….what a waste.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Would Your Child Like To Go To A Great School?

Just a little FYI for those considering a higher education for their children.

My granddaughter will be attending Univ of New Orleans this fall….and it will be a tough nut for my daughter to crack and that got me to thinking about ways that kids could lessen the costs.

We all want what is best for our children and that includes to go to a good college….but thanks to many factors that is becoming only a dream….if you are middle class then the best you can hope for is a local community college and hope something breaks so they can move on.

But did you know that there are 15 great universities that offer free tuition to middle class families?

No?

Well here they are….

With the shocking cost of college tuition these days, many hoping to earn a degree are wondering if it’s worth it, or even fiscally possible.

Fortunately, more elite colleges have been adjusting their policies to cover tuition for middle-class students, making college possible for more Americans (and creating a way to keep more cash in your wallet while attending).

Here are 15 highly respected schools that offer free degrees for middle-class students.

Brandeis University

Starting in the 2025-2026 school year, students whose families make less than $75,000 annually will receive total grants and scholarships that cover the cost of full tuition at Brandeis University in Massachusetts.

Students whose families earn less than $200,000 will receive grants and scholarships to cover 50% of their tuition.

Brown University

At the famed New England Ivy, Brown University students whose families earn less than $125,000 annually can expect to have their full tuition covered.

Students whose families earn less than $60,000 annually will have their tuition, plus room, board, and other expenses, covered through scholarships.

Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Mellon’s CMU Pathway Program, which will go into effect for the 2025-2026 school year, will fully cover tuition for students whose families earn $75,000 or less annually.

Columbia University

Students who land an acceptance letter from prestigious Columbia University in New York City will also be able to secure free tuition if their family earns less than $150,000 annually.

Dartmouth College

Students whose families make less than $125,000 annually will receive a financial aid package at Dartmouth that requires no parent contribution.

Students may be expected to contribute to tuition based on jobs they hold during the summer or school year, but full needs will be met without the students having to take out loans.

Duke University

In the fall of 2023, Duke began covering full tuition for undergraduate students from North and South Carolina whose family incomes were $150,000 or less annually.

For admitted students from the Carolinas whose families earn less than $65,000, the school will cover tuition through grants, as well as financial assistance without student loans for housing, meals, and other college expenses.

Harvard University

Starting in the 2025-2026 school year, students accepted to Harvard can attend for free if their families earn $200,000 or less annually. These students qualify for “Free Tuition Plus,” which covers tuition and may offer additional financial aid for things like fees and housing based on individual needs.

Students whose families earn less than $100,000 qualify for free tuition, fees, food, housing, and more.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

MIT will begin allowing students with family incomes less than $200,000 to attend for free beginning in the 2025-2026 school year. The cost of tuition will be covered by grants and scholarships.

New York University

Starting in the 2024-2025 school year, The NYU Promise program ensured that all undergraduate students who started as first-year students on the New York campus would have their tuition covered if their families earned less than $100,000 annually.

Princeton University

Back in the fall of 2023, Princeton upgraded its financial aid program to cover the full tuition, room, and board through grants for students whose families earn less than $100,000 annually.

It was the first university in the U.S. to eliminate loans from its aid packages, and in the most recent school year, all families with annual incomes up to $180,000 qualified for some sort of aid.

Stanford University

At Stanford, accepted students whose families earn less than $150,000 annually qualify to have their full tuition covered. If a student’s family earns less than $100,000, the school covers room and board as well.

University of Chicago

The University of Chicago takes it one step further, offering free tuition to students whose families earn less than $125,000 per year and those who are the first in their families to attend college.

If a student’s family earns less than $60,000 annually, they can expect tuition, fees, housing, and meals to be covered.

University of Michigan

Students who qualify for in-state tuition and have a family income of $125,000 or less will qualify to have their tuition and university fees covered at the University of Michigan starting in fall 2025. Housing, meals, and other expenses are not covered under the new program.

University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania is another top-notch school moving to make Ivy League education accessible to students in the 2025-2026 school year.

Starting in the fall, the school will offer full tuition scholarships to students whose families make $200,000 or less per year. They also removed a home equity evaluation from the financial aid assessment process.

University of Texas

In late 2024, schools in the University of Texas system agreed to cover the full tuition and fees for in-state undergraduate students whose families earn $100,000 or less.

The rules will go into effect in the fall 2025 semester, and students whose families earn $125,000 or less may qualify for tuition support as well.

Please if interested check out the schools…..I am sure there will be a criteria for this program so check closely……and that does not mean the entire education will be free….so far just the tuition.

Good luck.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

He’s Coming For Your Kids

Anyone that has enough intelligence to watch the news knows just how much Donny loathes education along with his silly cronies in the GOP….he, Donny, proves how much he hates educated kids almost daily….

Since President Donald Trump went back to the White House in January, his administration has been on a frenzied and haphazard tour gutting existing government agencies, flouting norms and attempting to force conservative values across the government. Much of this effort has, ostensibly, been laser-focused on ending or curtailing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

So it may seem discordant that the administration also has announced investigations into several school systems for allegedly violating federal laws surrounding student civil rights, threatening to pull their federal funding if they don’t comply.

Until, that is, you realize the schools are mostly in blue states. And the allegations all have to do with questionable claims about transgender kids.

“They’re using schools and education as a big battleground for their culture wars,” Will Ragland, a researcher at the left-leaning think tank Center for American Progress, told HuffPost.

Throughout his campaign and the early days of his second term, the president has claimed that American schools are failing because the Department of Education is pushing so-called radical left-wing ideas such as teaching about the history of racism in the U.S. or reading books with LGBTQ+ themes. It’s a common talking point in conservative circles, despite the fact that the agency does not set curriculum.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-education-punish-blue-states_n_67e6db87e4b043ff63a71782

Then there is those dolts in the GOP they have a hard-on for education since about 1980 and it just keeps getting worse with every election.

Red states suffer the mist from a lackluster education……like red state Mississippi which is the least educated state….

50th Place – Mississippi

Once again, the Magnolia State finds itself at the tail end of the American educational race. This isn’t a new view for it, as it’s often seen the back of the pack when it comes to schooling systems. But wait, there’s more! This educational rollercoaster doesn’t seem to have an end in sight, with the state’s academic woes continuing to pile up.

The Magnolia State, Mississippi, has sadly earned the dubious distinction of being the nation’s least educated state, according to WalletHub. Other reports echo this sentiment, with Education Week giving it a disheartening ‘F’ for academic achievement and a ‘D’ for student success. But can you guess which state is nipping at Mississippi’s heels, vying for second-to-last place?

If you would like to see where your state falls on the least to most stat….

https://parentinfluence.com/educated-states-in-the-us-is/2/

Red states keep making laws that have nothing  to do with educating children and more about insane fears of problem that do not exist…..Voters in red states are idiots and the stats show why.

Education of our children is too important to be sidetracked with bullshit.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

A ‘Patriotic Education’

I keep returning to the days of Obama, the 2010-2012 time frame…..we were warned about Americans being sent to indoctrination camps for those that did not see the country as the Dems did…..and yet the GOP and Herr trump seem to making that dire prediction come true on several levels.

We now have the Trump goons throwing up and attacking education…..this time they want a ‘patriotic education’ for America’s children.

In executive orders signed Wednesday, President Trump mandated changes for American schools that include replacing what he calls radical ideologies with a curriculum of “patriotic education.” One of them calls for cutting federal funding for schools that teach certain topics related to race, sex, gender, or politics, ABC News reports. It’s the first time the federal government has tried to exert such control over curriculum, one expert said. Another directs agencies to use funding to expand school choice through voucher programs. “Too many children do not thrive in their assigned, government-run K-12 school,” the order says, per the New York Times.

  • Teaching: This order gives the secretary of education 90 days to come up with a strategy to end “indoctrination” in K-12 schools, subject to Trump’s approval. There is no education secretary at the moment; confirmation hearings have not been scheduled for the nominee, Linda McMahon, per NPR. The order says it “prohibits federal funding of the indoctrination of children which includes radical gender ideology and critical race theory in the classroom,” per the Hill. It’s not clear what criteria would be used by the Department of Education to identify schools teaching critical race theory. Trump has said American history classes should be rooted in “patriotic education.” The order, which does not say “critical race theory,” says without citing evidence that teachers have been “demanding acquiescence” to concepts of “white privilege” or “unconscious bias.” That has promoted racism, it says, per Reuters.
  • Response: “Whether the federal government can influence curriculum in this way is a completely open question,” said Jonathan Zimmerman, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. “If they were actually able to compel school districts to alter their curriculum, that would be the first time the federal government had done that. Ever.” Such restrictions imposed at the state level around the country have led to lawsuits.
  • School choice: This order directs the secretaries of education and defense to decide how discretionary grant programs can promote school choice, a goal the president calls “education freedom.” Education Savings Accounts let families to divert per-student public school funding to instead pay expenses involving private schools, micro-schools, or homeschooling. Agencies are to give guidance on how funds can go toward “educational alternatives, including private and faith-based options,” per ABC.
  • Response: Opponents argue that such efforts damage public schools while propping up schools that don’t have to meet state standards for student performance. “Instead of stealing taxpayer money to fund private schools, we should focus on public schools,” said Rebecca Pringle, president of the National Education Association. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, called the plan “likely illegal.”

Indoctrination?

Is that what we now call a well-rounded education?

If the children is ignorant the choice of school will not improve that condition.

The hate of education by some is a pathetic turn of events.

This is just another way to turn Americans into subservient tools….will do nothing to prepare them for the world they must live in later.

Hopefully lawsuits will be forthcoming and possibly a change of direction.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Trump On Education

The continuing series on what we Americans can expect from our new president……

Trump is NO friend to education but does that mean that it will become an elective for life?

Donald Trump will be serving a second presidential term, and with both chambers of Congress likely under Republican leadership—though the House is still to be decided— the future of education in the U.S. could starkly change. 

Trump has pledged to dismantle the Department of Education, cut federal funding for schools teaching critical race theory, and bar transgender female athletes from participating in school sports.

“The American people re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail. He will deliver,” Trump-Vance Transition Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told TIME in a statement. 

Trump’s transition team did not respond to specific questions regarding which of his policies will take priority come January. 

Here’s what to know.

Dismantling the Department of Education

On the campaign trail, the President-elect vowed to eliminate the Department of Education, which has been a cabinet-level agency since 1980. The Department takes on numerous functions: designating federal aid through Title I, which gives state and local funding for schools serving low-income families, handing out Pell Grants, and regulating student loan relief through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program or income-based repayment plans. 

There more….please read on….

https://time.com/7174651/what-trump-winning-means-for-education/

With that said a closer look at the possibility with the elimination of the Dept of Ed…..the link below is from a conserv paper….

President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to cut the Department of Education and move its responsibilities back “to the states.” The change would be an unprecedented move as no Cabinet department has ever been dissolved without being reorganized in some way.

The Washington Examiner spoke to three leading education policy experts, who explained how cutting the Education Department would work, if it is realistic, and what the effects would be.

“I think it’d be fine,” Frederick M. Hess, senior fellow and director of education policy studies for American Enterprise Institute said. “The Department of Education is extraordinarily bureaucratic. It creates extraordinary amounts of red tape for the nation’s schools, especially relative to the money it actually provides.”

Hess said that under the Obama and Biden administrations, the department became “a political entity frequently engaged in promoting particular ideological nostrums” which he called “massively problematic.” He added that the two Democratic presidents “make the best possible case for abolishing the department. So, yeah, I think downsizing the department, or even abolishing it, is certainly wholly sensible.”

How Trump’s promise to abolish the Department of Education would work

In my opinion every word of that report is bullshit!

Then there is a view from the other side of the political spectrum….

The consequences of President-elect Donald Trump fulfilling his promise to abolish the Department of Education could be widespread, CNN reports.

“I say it all the time, I’m dying to get back to do this. We will ultimately eliminate the federal Department of Education,” Trump said during a September rally in Wisconsin.

“We will drain the government education swamp and stop the abuse of your taxpayer dollars to indoctrinate America’s youth with all sorts of things that you don’t want to have our youth hearing,” he added.

The establishment of the Department of Education as a Cabinent-level agency goes back to 1979 when former President Jimmy Carter signed it into legislation. Before Carter, federal education programs were housed in other agencies. It’s unclear how Trump would handle shutting the department down, but the move would have reverberating effects on K-12 schools and higher education.

One of the Department of Education’s biggest tasks is administering federal funding to K-12 and managing the federal student loan and financial aid programs. Funding programs under the federal agency for K-12 schools include the Title I program, an aid to low-income families, and the IDEA program, which helps provide money to meet the needs of children with disabilities. Programs like these could be in danger with the abolishment of the Department of Education.

The agency also doles out roughly $30 billion annually to low-income college students through the Pell grant program and manages about $1.6 trillion of student loans.

https://www.binnews.com/content/2024-11-12-heres-what-could-happen-if-trump-shuts-down-department-of-education/

My feeling is that education is a vital part of life and any attempt to eliminate or lessen its impact is a disaster waiting to happen.
Will Trump make good on his promise to eliminate the Department of Education or will he decide on something less?

Texas is trying a template for the rest of the nation on education…..

A new Texas public school curriculum criticized for focusing too much on Christianity passed a preliminary Texas State Board of Education vote on Tuesday. A measure to reject the state-produced Bluebonnet Learning curriculum was defeated in an 8-7 vote, with three Republicans siding with the board’s four Democrats, the New York Times reports. It is up to schools whether they adopt the curriculum—but those who do so can get an extra $40 per student per year. A final vote on the curriculum is expected Friday.

  • The K-5 curriculum incorporates lessons from the Bible as early as kindergarten, with a “Golden Rule” kindergarten lesson focusing heavily on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and making only brief mentions of other religions. A first grade “Sharing Stories” unit includes the Parable of the Prodigal Son from the New Testament, reports CNN. Critics say the Christian stories and ideas are presented without being introduced as religious beliefs.
  • In a press release days before the vote, Texas AFT, one of the state’s largest teachers’ unions, said it “believes that not only do these materials violate the separation of church and state and the academic freedom of our classroom, but also the sanctity of the teaching profession.
  • Critics say the curriculum has other problems, including the downplaying of the role of racism and slavery in American history, the San Antonio Express-News reports. A kindergarten lesson instructs teachers to tell children that Founding Fathers including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson “realized that slavery was wrong and founded the country so that Americans could be free,” ignoring the fact that both men were slaveowners, reports the Texas Tribune.
  • Supporters say the Bible plays a big part in American history, the Times reports. The curriculum will “allow our students to better understand the connection of history, art, community, literature, and religion on pivotal events like the signing of the US Constitution, the Civil Rights Movement and the American Revolution,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement.
  • “Of course, the Bible is an important part of history and American society. And of course, students should learn about the Bible as literature and history in the context of a secular curriculum,” Charles Haynes, a senior fellow for religious liberty at the Freedom Forum, tells CNN. “But inserting faith-based lessons into public school classrooms, which sounds like what is intended here, is not the study of history or literature. It is religious indoctrination.”
  • The Times notes that as conservative Christians push to expand the role of religion in public schools, similar lessons may be adopted by other states, and the Texas curriculum “may also offer a playbook for the White House” after Donald Trump returns to the presidency.

Forced indoctrination.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–11Apr24

My next door neighbor, I live in Mississippi, is trying to criminalize librarians….Alabama has a law in consideration that would do just that…..

The Alabama Library Association and other critics on Wednesday called out the state’s Republican policymakers for pushing a new bill that opponents warn will unfairly jail librarians and have a chilling impact on collections.

House Bill 385, introduced Tuesday by state Rep. Arnold Mooney (R-43) and 30 other legislators, says that “under existing law, certain obscenity laws do not apply to public libraries, public school libraries, college libraries, or university libraries, or the employees or agents of any such libraries.”

“This bill would provide that these criminal obscenity laws do not apply to college or university libraries or their employees or agents, but do apply to public libraries, public school libraries, and their employees or agents,” the legislation continues.

H.B. 385 would also add the following language to the definition of sexual conduct: “Any sexual or gender-oriented material that knowingly exposes minors to persons who are dressed in sexually revealing, exaggerated, or provocative clothing or costumes, or are stripping, or engaged in lewd or lascivious dancing, presentations, or activities in K-12 public schools, public libraries, and other public places where minors are expected and are known to be present without parental consent.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/alabama-library

So sad that politicians are turning schools and libraries into political battlefields….when they should be more concerned with educating their citizens and not hindering the teachers and librarians.

It is a pathetic day when the destruction of schools take the lead in state politics.

Turn The Page!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Ignorant Takeover Of Education

As someone who cherish the education that I have been able to get I am appalled at the lack of concern by our Congress and president for the sad condition of the educational system in this country.

I received a public school education and it was a good one that prepared me to face life and especially my college.

I hate to see what my state (run by GOP lackeys) are doing to the system in Mississippi and then there is the national GOP that hates education altogether

The GOP is trying to loot public education to weaken it….the Repubs favor a voucher system and in some states are looting the public arena to fund these voucher schemes….

In North Carolina, the Republican legislature passed a voucher program with no income limit, no accountability and no requirement that children can’t already go to a private school. This radical plan will cost the state $4 billion over the next 10 years, money that could be going to fully fund our public schools. In Kentucky, legislators are trying to amend our constitution to enshrine their efforts to take taxpayer money from public schools and use it for private schools.

Our public schools serve all children. They provide transportation and meals and educate students with disabilities. And they’re accountable to taxpayers with public assessments showing how students and schools are doing and where they need to improve.

But private schools that get this taxpayer money have little to no accountability. They aren’t even required to hire licensed teachers, provide meals, transportation or services for disabled students. They don’t even have to tell the taxpayers what they teach or how their students perform. North Carolina’s voucher system has been described as “the least regulated private school voucher program in the country.”

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2024/02/26/republicans-cut-public-schools-for-private-kentucky-north-carolina/72670677007/

This is happening in most Red States and it should be stopped and stopped now!

I am a staunch supporter of public schools….matter of fact I think K-12 should be mandatory and home schooling does not equate.

I have no agreement with my public school education and I think a new standard should be brought forth.

Why do we let the ignorant among us educate our children?

Just asking?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

History Of The “F” Word

It is a Sunday and what better day than that to throw some FYI in your direction and a little history all in one post.

Warning– this post uses some harsh words and may offend those readers that have sensitivities to the use of the “F” word.

If you are one of those people then please pass this post by as I would not want to offend.

I was watching the tube the other night and every channel that I turned to someone was using the “F” word….as adjective, expletive, adverb, verb and so on and that got my brain fired up to do what I like best….research.

Just where did the “F” word originate?

Who first used the F-word?

Etymologists have been debating it for years, with every new discovery inspiring a flurry of news coverage. (Note: If you read Vox articles aloud to your children, be warned — this piece has some particularly rude language.) Last year, there was a flurry of attention when we learned that the word made an early appearance in English in 1528, when a disgruntled monk wrote, “O D fuckin abbot.”

Now there’s a new contender for oldest known use: Historian Paul Booth of Keele University claims that a court case in 1310 may have featured the earliest recorded use of the word “fuck,” embedded in the astonishing name of a defendant: Roger Fuckebythenavele. (Yes, that was his name.)

But even that might not be the end of the story. Pinning down a word’s origins turns out to be surprisingly tricky — not least because it’s difficult to know if medieval people were using the word the way we use it today. I spoke to Kate Wiles, a medieval researcher and contributing editor at History Today, who expanded on the history of “fuck” and explained why finding the first instance is trickier than it seems.

Historians have found plenty of examples of the word “fuck” in old medieval manuscripts. Wiles recommends Jesse Sheidlower’s history of the word, The F Word, and she also wrote her own summary in 2014. The kestrel was probably called a “windfucker” in 1599, and before that, all the way back in 1373, we have records of a place named Fockynggroue, which probably referenced “the act.” Other place names, like Ric Wyndfuk and Ric Wyndfuck de Wodehous, date to 1287, though their meaning is uncertain.

https://www.vox.com/2015/9/15/9329813/f-word-origins

I could not go to sleep as long as I had this nagging question in my brain.

Now I know and so do you…..

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Meet John/Jane Doe

I try to give my readers some interesting information that might expand their knowledge just a bit…..an FYI if you will….

As you watch the boob tube and the crime show you will hear the inevitable for unidentified dead people as John and Jane Doe…..

Ever wonder where that all began?

From the courts to the morgue, if the government doesn’t know a person’s name, or wants to withhold it for some reason, they generally use the name John Doe or Jane Doe as a placeholder. But why?

The John Doe custom was born out of a strange and long since vanished British legal process called an action of ejectment. Under old English common law, the actions landowners could take against squatters or defaulting tenants in court were often too technical and difficult to be of any use. So landlords would instead bring an action of ejectment on behalf of a fictitious tenant against another fictitious person who had allegedly evicted or ousted him. In order to figure out what rights to the property the made-up persons had, the courts first had to establish that the landlord really was the owner of the property, which settled their real reason for action without the landlord having to jump through too many legal hoops.

Frequently, landlords named the fictitious parties in their actions John Doe (the plaintiff) and Richard Roe (the defendant), though no one has been able to find the case where these names were first used or figure out why they were picked. The names don’t appear to have any particular relevance, and it might be that the first names were chosen because they were among the most common at the time. The surnames, meanwhile, both reference deer—a doe being a female deer and roe being a specific deer species (Capreolus capreolus) common in Britain. They might also have been the actual names of real people that a particular landlord knew and decided to use. Unfortunately, we just don’t know.

Whatever their ultimate origin, the names eventually became standard placeholders for unidentified, anonymous, or hypothetical parties to a court case. Most U.S. jurisdictions continue to use John Doe and his female counterpart, Jane Doe, as placeholder names, and will bring in Roe if two anonymous or unknown parties are involved in the same case. The Feds use these placeholders, too, perhaps most famously in Roe v. Wade. The Jane Roe in that case was actually Norma Leah McCorvey, who revealed herself soon after the Supreme Court decision.

(mentalfloss.com)

Now you know where this terminology began….aren’t glad I am here to expand your mind and so far I am a legal substance.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

World’s Shortest IQ Test

What is life without whimsy?

Another Sunday and I would like to change things up a bit….no the blog will not change just the post on this day.

I got this idea after the news that our local schools would be testing the kids next week

Awhile back I saw this article and took the test (I enjoy tests….always have)…..for those interested the test is below….are you a ‘stable genius’?

If you’ve ever wanted to test your intelligence, but can’t be bothered to sit through a lengthy IQ test, we may have the perfect solution for you. The world’s shortest IQ test is made up of just three maths questions and shouldn’t take too long to complete. But be warned – it’s pretty tough!

Called the Cognitive Reflection Test, the quiz isn’t new, but was originally part of a research paper published in 2005 by MIT professor Shane Frederick. This paper has recently resurfaced online, leaving many keen to give it a go. As part of his research, Professor Frederick had more than 3,000 participants from a range of educational backgrounds complete the test – and even those attending top American universities such as Yale and Harvard struggled to work out all the answers. Of all those who took part only 17 percent managed to score three out of three on the test, meaning 83 percent of people failed – how will you fare?

1. A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?

2. If it takes five machines five minutes to make five widgets, how long would it take 100 machines to make 100 widgets?

3. In a lake, there is a patch of lily pads. Every day, the patch doubles in size. If it takes 48 days for the patch to cover the entire lake, how long would it take for the patch to cover half of the lake?

If you take the test leave your answers in the comments and I will give the answers later in the week.

Good luck.

Have a safe and enjoyable Sunday and we will return to our normal posting come Monday.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”