Yes, your kids are spending more time on screens. Stop feeling guilty about it.

By Sara DeWitt

My kindergartner’s(ˈkindərˌɡärtnər, ˈkindərˌɡärdənər) class had to go all virtual Friday. My third-grader(ˈɡrādər) had an asynchronous(āˈsiNGkrənəs) day. And I was making a big Zoom presentation(ˌprezənˈtāSH(ə)n). Minutes before I logged on, I handed the boys snacks(snak), water, a TV remote and my iPad. When I reemerged(ˌrēəˈmərj), they reported that they had watched five straight(strāt) episodes(ˈepəˌsōd) of “Arthur,” while simultaneously(ˌsīməlˈtānēəslē) building a giant(ˈjīənt) tower in Minecraft.

This is when I’m supposed to tell you how guilty I feel. But I don’t, and neither should you.

A year into the pandemic, we all know that kids’ screen time has gone up.

…

But while the circumstances in which children are using screens have changed, media coverage of screen time continues to treat any increase in screen time with alarm(əˈlärm) and anxiety. No one wanted kids to be out of school for a year and barred(bärd) from their neighborhood playgrounds; no one expected to have their children with them while they worked every day for a year. Of course screen time has gone up! Why are we shaming(SHām) parents about it? And why aren’t we curious about whether that screen time itself is different?

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/03/29/yes-your-kids-are-spending-more-time-screens-stop-feeling-guilty-about-it/

The Guilt(ɡilt) of Not Working More When We’re Done for the Day

By Leo Babauta

At the end of a day of work, there can be a simple practice of wrapping things up and shutting down for the day.

But so many of us feel guilty at simply stopping, and this feeling that we should be doing more … it drives some of us to keep going as long as we can.

This can lead to overwork, burnout, tiredness, and never letting ourselves enjoy a moment of rest.

Do you relate(rəˈlāt) to this guilt of simply stopping and resting?

The thing about this guilt is that it doesn’t have to be rational(ˈraSH(ə)n(ə)l) — it’s simply fear, that we’re not doing enough, that we’re not on top of things, that we’re not going to be OK if we don’t get everything done.

I know this fear well. I still have it, on a daily basis. It’s not rational, but then fear never is.

This fear will control us if we don’t bring a kind awareness to it, and start to work with it. It will own us, and we’ll always be checking our phones, replying(rəˈplī) to messages, stuck in perpetual(pərˈpeCH(o͞o)əl) motion. Rest becomes difficult, joy becomes mostly inaccessible(ˌinakˈsesəb(ə)l).

Here’s how I work with this guilt and fear:

1. Recognize it when it’s happening.
   …
2. Breathe, and feel it.
   …
3. Remind yourself of a bigger truth.
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4. Then take the rest.
   …

How would you like to practice with this for yourself?

https://zenhabits.net/guilt/

Review of “The Wizard(ˈwizərd) of Oz”

By Roger Ebert

As a child I simply did not notice whether a movie was in color or not. The movies themselves were such an overwhelming mystery(ˈmist(ə)rē) that if they wanted to be in black and white, that was their business. It was not until I saw “The Wizard of Oz” for the first time that I consciously(ˈkänSHəslē) noticed B&W versus color, as Dorothy was blown(blōn) out of Kansas(ˈkanzəs) and into Oz. What did I think? It made good sense to me.

…

We study all of these details, I think, because “The Wizard of Oz” fills such a large space in our imagination. It somehow seems real and important in a way most movies don’t. Is that because we see it first when we’re young? Or simply because it is a wonderful movie? Or because it sounds some buried(ˈberēd) universal note, some archetype(ˈärkəˌtīp) or deeply felt myth(miTH)?

I lean toward the third possibility, that the elements in “The Wizard of Oz” powerfully fill a void that exists inside many children. For kids of a certain age, home is everything, the center of the world. But over the rainbow, dimly(ˈdimlē) guessed at, is the wide earth, fascinating(ˈfasəˌnādiNG) and terrifying(ˈterəfīiNG). There is a deep fundamental fear that events might conspire(kənˈspī(ə)r) to transport the child from the safety of home and strand(strand) him far away in a strange land. And what would he hope to find there? Why, new friends, to advise and protect him. And Toto, of course, because children have such a strong symbiotic(ˌsimbīˈädik) relationship with their pets(pet) that they assume(əˈso͞om) they would get lost together.

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https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-wizard-of-oz-1939

Warren Buffett’s “Long Bet”

Over a ten-year period commencing(kəˈmens) on January 1, 2008, and ending on December 31, 2017, the S&P 500 will outperform a portfolio(pôrtˈfōlēˌō) of funds of hedge(hej) funds, when performance is measured(ˈmeZHərd) on a basis(ˈbāsəs) net of fees, costs and expenses.

A lot of very smart people set out to do better than average in securities markets. Call them active investors.

Their opposites, passive investors, will by definition do about average. In aggregate(ˈaɡriɡət) their positions will more or less approximate(əˈpräksəmət) those of an index fund. Therefore, the balance of the universe—the active investors—must do about average as well. However, these investors will incur(inˈkər) far greater costs. So, on balance, their aggregate results after these costs will be worse than those of the passive investors.

Costs skyrocket(ˈskīˌräkət) when large annual(ˈany(o͞o)əl) fees, large performance fees, and active trading(ˈtrādiNG) costs are all added to the active investor’s equation(əˈkwāZHən). Funds of hedge funds accentuate(əkˈsen(t)SHəˌwāt) this cost problem because their fees are superimposed(ˌso͞opərimˈpōzd) on the large fees charged by the hedge funds in which the funds of funds are invested.

A number of smart people are involved in running hedge funds. But to a great extent their efforts are self-neutralizing(ˈn(y)o͞otrəˌlīz), and their IQ will not overcome the costs they impose on investors. Investors, on average and over time, will do better with a low-cost index fund than with a group of funds of funds.

https://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/2016ltr.pdf

Why procrastination can help fuel(ˈfyo͞o(ə)l) creativity

There’s strong evidence that creative insights need time to percolate(ˈpərkəˌlāt) – and that the right amount of distraction(dəˈstrakSH(ə)n) may be key to innovation(ˌinəˈvāSH(ə)n).

By Loizos Heracleous and David Robson

If the history of creativity teaches us anything, it is that great ideas often come when we’re least(lēst) expecting them. Consider Wolfgang Amadeus(əm) Mozart(ˈmōˌtsärt), who described how new melodies(ˈmelədē) would arrive while he was eating in a restaurant, walking after a meal or getting ready for sleep at night. “Those that please me, I retain(rəˈtān), and even hum(həm); at least, so others have told me,” he wrote. “It seems to me impossible to say whence((h)wens) they come to me and how they arrive; what is certain is that I cannot make them come when I wish.”

It’s not just Mozart who experienced this phenomenon(fəˈnäməˌnän); the French(fren(t)SH) mathematician(ˌmaTH(ə)məˈtiSHən) Poincare described how his breakthroughs(ˈbrākˌTHro͞o) occurred while travelling on the bus or walking by the seaside, while Agatha(egə) Christie(ˈkristē) reported that ideas for her crime(krīm) stories often came while washing up or having a bath. “I don’t think necessity(nəˈsesədē) is the mother of invention,” she wrote in her autobiography(ˌôdəbīˈäɡrəfē). “Invention, in my opinion(əˈpinyən), arises(əˈrīz) directly from idleness, possibly also from laziness(ˈlāzēnəs).”

…
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210319-why-procrastination-can-help-fuel-creativity

Career(kəˈrir) and Commitment

By Steve Pavlina

How committed are you to having a career you absolutely love?

Your level of commitment plays a key role in the process of creating a fulfilling career. When people are undercommitted to their careers, they tend to get lousy(ˈlouzē) results. When they get clear about what they want and commit themselves to creating it, however long it takes, they usually get there in some fashion.

Action reveals(rəˈvēl) commitment

How do you know how committed you are? You can tell by your actions… by what you consider important enough to carve(kärv) out time for.

For example, if your career seems to be in the dumps right now, but you somehow manage to keep up on all your favorite TV shows, what does that say about your level of commitment? Doesn’t it say you’re more committed to idle(ˈīdl) entertainment(ˌen(t)ərˈtānmənt) than to spending each day doing work you love? Procrastination is a tempting short-term choice, but in the long run, it will only keep you trapped. If a great career really matters to you, your actions will show it.

Incubation(ˌiNGkyəˈbāSH(ə)n) vs. delay(dəˈlā)

What about waiting for inspiration? Incubation time. There’s a big difference between actively seeking inspiration through activities such as introspection(ˌintrəˈspekSH(ə)n), journaling, meditation, and purposeful(ˈpərpəsfəl) reading vs. idle delay. As a rule of thumb(THəm), if you aren’t sure whether you’re incubating your greatness or just delaying, you’re delaying.

…
https://stevepavlina.com/blog/2007/11/career-and-commitment/

Beezus and Ramona(ō)

By Beverly(ˈbevərlē) Cleary

1
BEEZUS AND HER LITTLE SISTER

Beatrice(bēətrīs) Quimby’s biggest problem was her little sister Ramona. Beatrice, or Beezus (as everyone called her, because that was what Ramona had called her when she first learned to talk), knew other nine-year-old girls who had little sisters who went to nursery(ˈnərs(ə)rē) school, but she did not know anyone with a little sister like Ramona.

Beezus felt that the biggest trouble with four-year-old Ramona was that she was just plain(plān) exasperating(iɡˈzaspəˌrādiNG). If Ramona drank(draNGk) lemonade(ˌleməˈnād) through a straw(strô), she blew into the straw as hard as she could to see what would happen. If she played with her finger paints in the front yard, she wiped(wīp) her hands on the neighbors’ cat. That was the exasperating sort of thing Ramona did. And then there was the way she behaved about her favorite book.

It all began one afternoon after school when Beezus was sitting in her father’s big chair embroidering(əmˈbroidər) a laughing teakettle(ˈtēˌkedl) on a pot holder for one of her aunts(ant) for Christmas. She was trying to embroider this one neatly(ˈnētlē), because she planned to give it to Aunt Beatrice, who was Mother’s younger sister and Beezus’s most special aunt.

With gray(ɡrā) thread Beezus carefully outlined the steam coming from the teakettle’s spout and thought about her pretty young aunt, who was always so gay(ɡā) and so understanding. No wonder she was Mother’s favorite sister. Beezus hoped to be exactly like Aunt Beatrice when she grew up. She wanted to be a fourth-grade teacher and drive a yellow convertible(kənˈvərdəb(ə)l) and live in an apartment house with an elevator(ˈeləˌvādər) and a buzzer(ˈbəzər) that opened the front door. Because she was named after Aunt Beatrice, Beezus felt she might be like her in other ways, too.

https://www.amazon.cn/dp/B0016P2FD8

Bad News Bias(ˈbīəs)

The U.S. media is offering a different picture of Covid-19 from science journals or the international media, a study finds.

By David(ā) Leonhardt

Bruce Sacerdote(ˌsasərˈdōt), an economics(ˌekəˈnämiks) professor at Dartmouth College, noticed something last year about the Covid-19 television coverage(ˈkəv(ə)rij) that he was watching on CNN and PBS. It almost always seemed negative, regardless of what was he seeing in the data or hearing from scientists he knew.

When Covid cases were rising in the U.S., the news coverage emphasized(ˈemfəˌsīz) the increase. When cases were falling, the coverage instead focused on those places where cases were rising. And when vaccine(vakˈsēn) research began showing positive results, the coverage downplayed it, as far as Sacerdote could tell.

But he was not sure whether his perception(pərˈsepSH(ə)n) was correct. To check, he began working with two other researchers, building a database of Covid coverage from every major network, CNN, Fox News, Politico, The New York Times and hundreds of other sources, in the U.S. and overseas. The researchers then analyzed it with a social-science technique that classifies language as positive, neutral(ˈn(y)o͞otrəl) or negative.

The results showed that Sacerdote’s instinct had been right — and not just because the pandemic has been mostly a grim(ɡrim) story.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/24/briefing/boulder-shooting-george-segal-astrazeneca.html

Why April Fools’ day is utter(ˈədər) crap

Admit it: April Fools’ day, a day when everyone supposedly(səˈpōzədlē) gets to have a laugh, is crap. There are many reasons for this

By Dean Burnett

It’s April Fools’ Day! Joy of joys! What could be more fun than all of society coming up with their best jokes en-masse and showing them to the world? Nothing! Apart from, maybe, pouring(pôr) lemon(ˈlemən) juice on a vicious(ˈviSHəs) paper cut.

In case that last sentence was too subtle(ˈsədl), I’m not a fan of April Fools’ day. This might surprise regular readers, given that this blog regularly features the most frivolous(ˈfrivələs) and ridiculous of non-stories (in the science(ˈsīəns) section, no less). So surely I approve of April Fools’? But no. I can’t stand it, it grates(ɡrāt) on my nerves (and I’m a neuroscientist(ˈn(y)o͝orōˌsīəntəst), so I don’t use that phrase(frāz) lightly). And, judging by most of the online reactions I’ve seen thus far, I’m far from alone in this.

Why? Why would an occasion(əˈkāZHən) which, whatever its confusing origins(ˈôrəjən), is ostensibly(äˈstensiblē) about having a laugh, be so infuriating(inˈfyo͞orēˌādiNG)? Well, there are several reasons, both social and psychological(ˌsīkəˈläjək(ə)l).

It’s too familiar
…
It’s too predictable(prəˈdiktəb(ə)l)
…

Officially sanctioned(ˈsaNG(k)SH(ə)n) fun is an oxymoron(ˌäksəˈmôrˌän)
…
It’s patronising(ˈpātrənīziNG)
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It’s worse if you work in comedy(ˈkämədē) in any capacity(kəˈpasədē)
…

https://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2016/apr/01/why-april-fools-day-is-utter-crap

HARPERCOLLINS(ˈhärpər ˈkälənz) MOURNS(môrn) THE LOSS OF BELOVED CHILDREN’S BOOK AUTHOR BEVERLY(ˈbevərlē) CLEARY

Beloved Children’s book author Beverly Cleary died on March 25, 2021, in Carmel(kärˈmel), California, where she’d lived since the 1960s. She was 104 years old.

Beverly Cleary’s first book, Henry(ˈhenrē) Huggins, was published in 1950, immediately setting a standard for realistic(ˌrēəˈlistik) children’s fiction(ˈfikSH(ə)n). More than forty published books later, Beverly Cleary has become beloved by generations of children. Mrs. Cleary has also inspired authors, including Judy(ˈjo͞odē) Blume(blo͞om), to deal with the real issues in young readers’ lives. As the author and reviewer Ilene Cooper said in ALA Booklist, “When it comes to writing books kids love, nobody does it better.”

Suzanne Murphy(ˈmərfē), President and Publisher, HarperCollins Children’s Books shared: “We are saddened by the passing of Beverly Cleary, one of the most beloved children’s authors of all time. Looking back, she’d often say, ‘I’ve had a lucky life,’ and generations of children count themselves lucky too—lucky to have the very real characters Beverly Cleary created, including Henry Huggins, Ramona(rəmōnə) and Beezus Quimby(kwənbē), and Ralph(ralf) S. Mouse, as true friends who helped shape their growing-up years. We at HarperCollins also feel extremely(ikˈstrēmlē) lucky to have worked with Beverly Cleary and to have enjoyed her sparkling(ˈspärkəliNG) wit. Her timeless books are an affirmation(ˌafərˈmāSH(ə)n) of her everlasting(ˌevərˈlastiNG) connection to the pleasures, challenges, and triumphs(ˈtrīəmf) that are part of every childhood.”

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https://www.harpercollins.com/blogs/press-releases/harpercollins-mourns-the-loss-of-beloved-children-s-book-author-beverly-cleary