{"id":7420,"date":"2024-04-12T17:37:47","date_gmt":"2024-04-13T00:37:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=7420"},"modified":"2024-04-12T17:42:51","modified_gmt":"2024-04-13T00:42:51","slug":"things-glen-found-interesting-volume-448","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2024\/04\/12\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-448","title":{"rendered":"Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 448"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-4396\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=300%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=1200%2C1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?w=2048&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?w=1680&amp;ssl=1 1680w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 85vw, 300px\"><\/a>     On Fridays I share articles\/resources about broad cultural, societal and theological issues. Be sure to see the explanation and disclaimers at the bottom. I welcome your suggestions. If you read something fascinating please pass it my&nbsp;way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is volume 448, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Untouchable_number\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Untouchable_number\">an untouchable number<\/a>. Which is an absolutely cool designation for a number to&nbsp;have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Things Glen Found Interesting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"simple-list wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/stanforddaily.com\/2024\/04\/12\/gossip-is-good-stanford-scientists-say\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Gossip is good, Stanford scientist suggests<\/a> (Sarayu Pai, Stanford Daily): \u201cAlthough gossiping is typically cast in a negative light, a study conducted by researchers from Stanford and the University of Maryland found that gossiping may be a beneficial practice, as long as information remains \u2018reliable.\u2019 Study co-author Michele Gelfand, who is a professor at the Graduate School of Business, estimates that people gossip an hour a day on average \u2014 defined as the \u2018exchange [of] personal information about absent third parties.\u2019&nbsp;\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recommended to me by a student, who said \u201cthese people need a dose of the Kingdom principle of the week : gossip is corrosive!\u201d [Glen\u2019s note \u2014 the Kingdom principle of the week is a thing we do in our Chi Alpha, and \u201cgossip is corrosive\u201d is one of&nbsp;them]<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Indeed they do, and this is useful launching point for a brief discourse on gossip. In this study, gossip is defined as \u201cexchange [of] personal information about absent third parties.\u201d But that\u2019s not what we\u2019re condemning when we condemn gossip! If someone tells you, \u201cwow \u2014 that Caleb guy is super charming and handsome\u201d and you reply, \u201cYou know he\u2019s married, right?\u201d then you\u2019ve done nothing wrong \u2014 that\u2019s not the sin of gossip. But if you spread a false negative rumor about Caleb \u201cyou know he does drugs, right?\u201d, that is the sin of gossip. This study conflates those two very different conversations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The sin of gossip can be described as <strong>bearing bad news behind someone\u2019s back with a bad heart<\/strong>. The bad news can be bad in the sense of being untrue or it can be bad in the sense of unnecessary and unhelpful. For more on this helpful framing, check out <a href=\"https:\/\/www.desiringgod.org\/articles\/what-is-gossip\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">What Is Gossip? Exposing a Common and Dangerous Sin <\/a>(Matt Mitchell, Desiring God).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This is a recurring pattern, by the way: some researcher wants to study something interesting but needs to operationalize a variable in some unorthodox way to make the research feasible. Then they do their research and find something that would be counterintuitive relative to the original meaning of the word they\u2019re using (although maybe not that surprising given their operationalization of the variable), and then the media repeats it as a commentary on the actual thing \u2014 a thing which the scientists never studied. In this case, the study didn\u2019t actually analyze the sin of gossip, but nonetheless near the end of the article we learn that \u201csome students with previously negative views of gossip report seeing it differently in light of this&nbsp;study.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mereorthodoxy.com\/why-we-fast\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Why We Fast<\/a> (Ross Byrd, Mere Orthodoxy): \u201cFasting is no magic fix. In fact, it\u2019s almost the exact opposite of a magic fix. It takes time, patience, and discipline\u2014dare I say, suffering\u2014to see its fruit. But the fruit is no less than the ability to see more of God. Here are three ways to understand Christian fasting: <em>1. Fasting makes space for God. 2. Fasting interrupts and reorients our unconscious patterns. 3. Fasting gives us eyes to see the unseen.\u201d<\/em>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Emphasis in original. Lots of good insights in this&nbsp;one.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/04\/opinion\/little-women-grammar-rules.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u2018Little Women\u2019 and the Art of Breaking Grammatical Rules <\/a>(John McWhorter, New York Times): \u201cCurzan notes, for example, that the use of \u2018literally\u2019 to exaggerate is no recent anomaly but rather goes back to, for example, our \u2018Little Women,\u2019 in which Louisa May Alcott has it that at a gathering \u2018the land literally flowed with milk and honey.\u2019 The March girls, also, would have said \u2018sneaked\u2019 where, since just the 1970s, as Curzan charts, we have been increasingly likely to say \u2018snuck.\u2019 Are you a little irked by the youngs saying \u2018based off of\u2019 rather than \u2018based on\u2019? That one threw me when I started hearing my students saying it about 15 years ago; Curzan calms us down and demonstrates how ordinary and even logical it is. Curzan is also good on the use of \u2018hopefully\u2019 to mean \u2018it is hoped.\u2019 This became a punching bag only in the 1960s \u2014 until then, not even grammar scolds cared, too busy complaining that, for example, the \u2018proper\u2019 meaning of obnoxious is \u2018subject to harm.\u2019\u201d Recommended by a student.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Some more Israel\/Hamas commentary&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/ct\/2024\/april\/israel-hamas-war-palestinian-peace-reconciliation-musalaha.html?share=1e2sziSP3UgqgOwqxeGMDPuEzNbiX5Pp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fractured Are the Peacemakers<\/a> (Sophia Lee, Christianity Today): \u201cI spent a week in Israel and the West Bank meeting Palestinian Christians and Messianic Jews who are pastors, youth leaders, YMCA leaders, tour guides, lawyers, and students. Many of them aren\u2019t professional peace activists, but all of them, from what I could tell, take seriously Jesus\u2019 Sermon on the Mount and strive to embody his proclamation that \u2018blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God\u2019 (Matt. 5:9). The problem is, I spoke to about two dozen individuals about what peacemaking means and got almost two dozen different answers.\u201d Unlocked.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/israel-has-created-new-standard-urban-warfare-why-will-no-one-admit-it-opinion-1883286\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Israel Has Created a New Standard for Urban Warfare. Why Will No One Admit It<\/a>? (John Spencer, Newsweek): \u201cIn my long career studying and advising on urban warfare for the U.S. military, I\u2019ve never known an army to take such measures to attend to the enemy\u2019s civilian population, especially while simultaneously combating the enemy in the very same buildings. In fact, by my analysis, Israel has implemented more precautions to prevent civilian harm than any military in history\u2014above and beyond what international law requires and more than the U.S. did in its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The author is the chair of urban war studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point. Recommended by a student.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.acton.org\/religion-liberty\/volume-34-number-2\/there-shall-be-none-make-him-afraid-american-liberty-and-jews\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">There Shall Be None to Make Him Afraid: American Liberty and the Jews<\/a> (Mike Cosper, Acton Institute): \u201cHistorically speaking, the emergence of anti-Semitism is always a sign of something poisonous taking root in a society. It doesn\u2019t just spell danger for Jews; it spells danger for everyone. As Bari Weiss has put it, \u2018What starts with the Jews never ends with the Jews.\u2019 The rise of anti-Semitism in Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, and half a dozen Middle Eastern states was quickly followed by other forms of violence, tyranny, and authoritarianism.\u201d This is a long and solid article that covers much more than anti-Semitism (although that is at its&nbsp;heart).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/schools-are-using-research-to-try-to-improve-childrens-learning-but-its-not-working-226348\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Schools are using research to try to improve children\u2019s learning \u2013 but it\u2019s not working<\/a> (Sally Riordan, The Conversation): \u201cA series of randomised controlled trials, including one looking at how to improve literacy through evidence, have suggested that schools that use methods based on research are not performing better than schools that do&nbsp;not.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>British context, hence the spelling.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.firstthings.com\/web-exclusives\/2024\/04\/the-anti-fragile-brendan-eich\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Anti-Fragile Brendan Eich<\/a> (Andrew Beck, First Things): \u201cI am not here to complain about cancel culture. Brendan Eich does not. He is too busy. He refuses to be defined by the evil done to him, or by the purported heterodoxy of his beliefs, but by the work he does and by his character, as known by those closest to him. Rather than taking to the airwaves and leaning into the role of martyr, as have so many others who have endured similar abuse, Eich never speaks publicly about the wrong done to him\u2014not once even in private to me. Instead, he diligently pursues his vocation.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/11\/opinion\/pro-life-alabama-trump.html?ugrp=u&amp;unlocked_article_code=1.j00.M8tI.FGXXsB2qilZU&amp;smid=url-share\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Great Hypocrisy of the Pro-Life Movement<\/a> (David French, New York Times): \u201cThe older I get, the more I\u2019m convinced that we simply don\u2019t know who we are \u2014 or what we truly believe \u2014 until our values carry a cost. For more than 40 years, the Republican Party has made the case that life begins at conception. Alabama\u2019s Supreme Court agreed. Yet the Republican Party can\u2019t live with its own philosophy. There is no truly pro-life party in the United States.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Less Serious Things Which Also Interested\/Amused Glen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"simple-list wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/i-dont-want-to-go-to-church-its-full-of-hypocrites-says-hypocrite\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u2018I Don\u2019t Want To Go To Church, It\u2019s Full Of Hypocrites,\u2019 Says Hypocrite<\/a> (Babylon Bee)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/pastors-popularity-skyrockets-after-church-installs-skip-intro-option\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pastor\u2019s Popularity Skyrockets After Church Installs \u2018Skip Intro\u2019 Option<\/a> (Babylon Bee)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencealert.com\/scientists-accidentally-made-a-mouse-grow-legs-in-place-of-genitals\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Scientists Accidentally Made a Mouse Grow Legs in Place of Genitals<\/a> (Tessa Koumoundouros, Science Alert): \u201cI didn\u2019t choose the project, the project chose me,\u201d Mallo told Sara Reardon at Nature News.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/zQANxTnLFUg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">10 Things I Secretly Love About The North<\/a> (Matt Mitchell, YouTube): four minutes amusing for a Southerner like&nbsp;me<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/gAfWL8rTTxU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">World Champion Markobi<\/a> (Penn &amp; Teller Fool Us, YouTube): nine minutes, mind blowing at points<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/M6M6a4W1ZPc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ben Jackson \u2014 Magic with Yarn Balls<\/a> (Penn &amp; Teller Fool Us, YouTube): ten minutes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/which-places-earth-see-most-solar-eclipses\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Which places on Earth witness the most solar eclipses?<\/a> (Robert Lea, Space.com): \u201cEclipses aren\u2019t actually that rare, with total solar eclipses happening somewhere on the globe around every 16 months and partial solar eclipses happening even more frequently, once every five months or so.\u2026 The team\u2019s results suggest that a random city on Earth would experience a total solar eclipse, on average, around once every 374 years. The same city would experience an annular or \u2018ring of fire\u2019 eclipse around once every 226 years and a partial solar eclipse around every 2.6&nbsp;years.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Why Do You Send This&nbsp;Email?<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In the time of King David, the tribe of Issachar produced shrewd warriors \u201cwho understood the times and knew what Israel should do\u201d (1 Chron 12:32). In a similar way, we need to become wise people whose faith interacts with the world. I pray this email gives you greater insight, so that you may continue the tradition of Issachar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Disclaimer<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Chi Alpha is not a partisan organization. To paraphrase another minister: we are not about the donkey\u2019s agenda and we are not about the elephant\u2019s agenda \u2014 we are about the Lamb\u2019s agenda. Having said that, I read widely (in part because I believe we should aspire to pass <a href=\"http:\/\/econlog.econlib.org\/archives\/2011\/06\/the_ideological.html\">the ideological Turing test<\/a> and in part because I do not believe I can fairly say \u201cI agree\u201d or \u201cI disagree\u201d until I can say \u201cI understand\u201d) and may at times share articles that have a strong partisan bias simply because I find the article stimulating. The upshot: you should not assume I agree with everything an author says in an article I mention, much less things the author has said in other articles (although if I strongly disagree with something in the article I\u2019ll usually mention it). And to the extent you can discern my opinions, please understand that they are my own and not necessarily those of Chi Alpha or any other organization I may be perceived to represent.\n\nAlso, remember that I\u2019m not reporting news \u2014 I\u2019m giving you a selection of things I found interesting. There\u2019s a lot happening in the world that\u2019s not making an appearance here because I haven\u2019t found stimulating articles written about it.\n\nIf this was forwarded to you and you want to receive future emails, sign up <a href=\"https:\/\/theglendavis.substack.com\/\">here<\/a>. You can also <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/category\/links\">view the archives<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Fridays I share articles\/resources about broad cultural, societal and theological issues. Be sure to see the explanation and disclaimers at the bottom. I welcome your suggestions. If you read something fascinating please pass it my&nbsp;way. This is volume 448, an untouchable number. Which is an absolutely cool designation for a number to&nbsp;have. Things Glen \u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2024\/04\/12\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-448\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> \u201cThings Glen Found Interesting, Volume 448\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Lots of links with longer than normal commentary from me on what's wrong with gossip (along with some comments on what's wrong with popular understanding of scientific research)","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[16],"tags":[121,182,120,248,148,135],"class_list":["post-7420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links","tag-abortion","tag-education","tag-famous-christians","tag-fasting","tag-israel","tag-stanford"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-1VG","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7420"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7420\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7424,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7420\/revisions\/7424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}