{"id":7741,"date":"2025-07-18T18:13:41","date_gmt":"2025-07-19T01:13:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=7741"},"modified":"2025-07-18T18:13:41","modified_gmt":"2025-07-19T01:13:41","slug":"things-glen-found-interesting-volume-513-elite-colleges-pathologizing-personality-and-the-fastest-woman-in-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2025\/07\/18\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-513-elite-colleges-pathologizing-personality-and-the-fastest-woman-in-the-world","title":{"rendered":"Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 513: elite colleges, pathologizing personality, and the fastest woman in the&nbsp;world"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" 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 width=\"300\" height=\"300\" 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>\n\n    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<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Things Glen Found Interesting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list simple-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/07\/15\/opinion\/college-admissions-essays.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Elite Colleges Have Found a New Virtue for Applicants to Fake<\/a> (Alex Bronzini-Vender, New York Times): \u201c[There is] a new question: \u2018Tell us about a moment when you engaged in a difficult conversation or encountered someone with an opinion or perspective that was different from your own. How did you find common ground?\u2019 It\u2019s known as the disagreement question, and since the student encampments of spring 2024 and the American right\u2019s attacks on universities, a growing number of elite colleges have added it to their applications. Caroline Koppelman, a private admissions consultant, has called it the \u2018hot new it girl\u2019 of college essays. There\u2019s no evidence that civility mania will improve campus discourse, but it seems poised to widen the inequalities that already plague hyperselective college admissions. The trouble is that the disagreement question \u2014 like much of the application process \u2014 isn\u2019t built for honesty.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefp.com\/p\/nobody-has-a-personality-anymore-culture-internet-society\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.thefp.com\/p\/nobody-has-a-personality-anymore-culture-internet-society\">Nobody Has a Personality Anymore<\/a> (Freya India, The Free Press): \u201cToday, every personality trait is seen as a problem to be solved. Anything too human\u2014every habit, every eccentricity, every feeling that\u2019s too strong\u2014has to be labeled and explained. Therapy-speak has taken over our language. It is ruining how we talk about romance and relationships, narrowing how we think about hurt and suffering, and now, we are losing the words for who we are. Nobody has a personality anymore.\u2026 This is part of a deeper instinct in modern life to explain everything\u2014psychologically, scientifically, evolutionarily. Everything about us is caused, categorized, and can be corrected. We talk in theories, frameworks, systems, structures, drives, motivations, and mechanisms. But in exchange for explanation, we lost mystery, romance, and lately, ourselves.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recommended by a student.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/huckabee-threatens-to-declare-israel-not-welcoming-christians-as-visa-row-blows-open\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Huckabee threatens to declare Israel does not welcome Christians, as visa row blows open<\/a> (Lazar Berman, Times of Israel): \u201cGiven Huckabee\u2019s longstanding support for Israel and close ties with the current government in particular, the rhetoric in his letter represented a shockingly quick deterioration. But the issue at hand \u2014 the ability of Christian groups to tour Israel \u2014 is close to Huckabee\u2019s heart, given that he has led countless such trips as an evangelical pastor over the past half a century.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recommended to me by a student. Quite interesting.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/2025\/07\/16\/palliative-care-and-politics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">My health and my politics walk into a doctor\u2019s office\u2026<\/a> (Kim Fellner, New York Times): \u201cThe vision of a diverse, equitable and inclusive democracy that seems the best of America to me and my community is locked in an existential battle with a MAGA counter-vision that elevates Whiteness and Christian nationalism, and that seems to be colonizing institutions and culture at warp speed. I did not anticipate, however, that the personal and the political would collide in my doctor\u2019s office.\u2026 Over a series of written and in-person conversations, we have been sharing some of the tenets of our respective faiths and the implications for how we navigate the world. She and I have sharply divergent views about when life begins and what happens after we die. She believes that the only true salvation lies in accepting Jesus as one\u2019s savior.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.persuasion.community\/p\/a-stark-reminder-that-sex-differences\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">A Stark Reminder That Sex Differences Matter in Elite Sport<\/a> (James Smoliga, Persuasion): \u201cThe goal was for Kipyegon to become the first woman ever to run a sub\u20114 minute mile. Nike set her up with the very best conditions that any athlete could ever expect. Kipyegon ran a mile in 4:06\u2014a remarkable performance by any measure, and a personal best, but well short of the sub\u20114 minute goal. While Kipyegon wasn\u2019t directly racing her pacers, they were there to pull her to a time that hundreds of male athletes have already achieved. Rather than charging down the final straightaway alone, leaving the best women in her wake, as she so often does, we saw Kipyegon straining to hang on behind a group of male runners who weren\u2019t even near their limit, as they turned around to cheer her on. This race matters because it offered something exceedingly rare: an honest, direct comparison of male and female performance at the highest level.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefp.com\/p\/stanford-hamas-lab-investigation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Israeli Researcher Says Stanford Shunned and Sabotaged Him After Hamas Attack<\/a> (Maya Sulkin, The Free Press): \u201c[Former IDF officer] Laps alleges that the research assistant in the Danny Chou Lab told Laps during their first interaction on his first day never to speak to her. She allegedly delayed his orders for lab equipment, made him sit elsewhere at lunch, and reassigned her custodial duties to him. Colleagues followed her lead, ostracizing him from the lab community, the suit claims. The most explosive allegation is that the same research assistant, Terra Lin, tampered with Laps\u2019s research.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The lawsuit has not been adjudicated, and likely some claims will be substantiated and others not. Sharing because of the Stanford connection.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The legal complaint is here: <a href=\"https:\/\/brandeiscenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Stanford-Complaint.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/brandeiscenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Stanford-Complaint.pdf<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/2025\/07\/what-youtube-cant-teach-students-about-jesus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">What YouTube Can\u2019t Teach Students About Jesus<\/a> (Dylan Musser, Christianity Today): \u201c\u2018Who (or what) has shaped your faith the most?\u2019 As a campus minister, I have asked this question to many college students over the years. Lately, I have noticed a shift in their answers.&nbsp; This past fall, I sat across from Luke\u2014a freshman at Vanderbilt University. We were chatting over tacos when I posed the question. I watched the gears spin in his head. <em>Would it be a church from back home? A great book?<\/em> <em>An older mentor who discipled him? Maybe his parents? <\/em>He leaned back. \u2018Youtube.\u2019 I stared blankly, trying my best not to show my surprise.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The author leads the Navigators at Vanderbilt.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/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=\"wp-block-list simple-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/life\/2025\/07\/cooked-sprite-hot-soda-secret-recipe.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Joy of Cooking Your Sprite<\/a> (Jen\u00e9e Desmond-Harris, Slate): \u201cAfter a day walking around the dusty grounds, riding a giant swing, and dressing up for old-timey photos, we made it back to the car exhausted and thirsty. And in the back seat (I don\u2019t know if it had been purchased as part of post-outing lunch or was just rolling around back there) was a six-pack of Sprite that had been, well, cooking all day. We each cracked one open, and that\u2019s when I realized something important was happening. It was so good! The soda was hot but somehow still refreshing. The sweetness was softened and the bubbles felt bigger and more luxurious\u2014not like the sharp, sneeze-triggering ones you get when it\u2019s cold. We locked eyes and smiled mischievously. It felt rebellious (look, we were very sheltered kids) and wildly innovative. \u2018Cooked Sprite\u2019 was&nbsp;born.\u201d&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/07\/10\/style\/aura-farming-indonesia-boat-kid.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">What Is \u2018Aura Farming\u2019? This Tween Will Show You.<\/a> (Benjamin Hoffman, New York Times): \u201cOn Tuesday, the government in Riau, citing the impact of the video and the fact that he had been \u2018inspiring local kids to embrace and preserve their traditions,\u2019 named Dika as a tourism ambassador for the province, and its governor, Abdul Wahid, awarded him a scholarship for 20 million rupiah (around $1,200) for his education. Dika also performed a rendition of his dance along with Governor Wahid and other officials.\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. Things Glen Found Interesting Less Serious Things Which Also Interested\/Amused Glen Why Do You Send This&nbsp;Email? In the time \u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2025\/07\/18\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-513-elite-colleges-pathologizing-personality-and-the-fastest-woman-in-the-world\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> \u201cThings Glen Found Interesting, Volume 513: elite colleges, pathologizing personality, and the fastest woman in the&nbsp;world\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":"","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":[259,240,195,148,300,183,202,135,247],"class_list":["post-7741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links","tag-antisemitism","tag-elite-colleges","tag-gender","tag-israel","tag-medicine","tag-psychology","tag-sports","tag-stanford","tag-wisdom"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-20R","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7741","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=7741"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7741\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7743,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7741\/revisions\/7743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}