{"id":7777,"date":"2025-08-22T17:46:40","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T00:46:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=7777"},"modified":"2025-08-22T17:46:40","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T00:46:40","slug":"things-glen-found-interesting-volume-518","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2025\/08\/22\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-518","title":{"rendered":"Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 518"},"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.thefp.com\/p\/im-30-the-sexual-revolution-shackled\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">I\u2019m 30. The Sexual Revolution Shackled My Generation.<\/a> (Louise Perry, The Free Press): \u201cWe need to re-erect the social guard rails that have been torn down. To do that, we have to start by stating the obvious: Sex must be taken seriously. Men and women are different. Some desires are bad. Consent is not enough. Violence is not love. Loveless sex is not empowering. People are not products. Marriage is&nbsp;good.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>FYI: the cover image is risque.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/21\/opinion\/mobile-phones-college-classrooms.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Here\u2019s What Happened When I Made My College Students Put Away Their Phones<\/a> (Ezekiel J. Emanuel, New York Times): \u201cTo help sell this policy, I presented in the first lecture of the course a study showing that students who were required to take class notes by hand retained significantly more information than students who used computers. The reason is that with computers, students can type as fast as I speak and strive for verbatim transcripts, but there is almost no mental processing of the class\u2019s content. Conversely, virtually no one can hand write 125 words per minute for 90 minutes. Thus, handwritten notes require simultaneous mental processing to determine the important points that need recording. This processing encodes the material in the brain differently and facilitates longer-term retention. The data on the distracting effect of mobile phones \u2014 even when they are face down and turned off \u2014 are strong.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The author is a med school prof at&nbsp;Penn.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/news.stanford.edu\/stories\/2025\/08\/moderate-alcohol-consumption-drinking-health-benefits-impacts-research\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Is moderate drinking actually healthy? Scientists say the idea is outdated.<\/a> (Stanford News): \u201cWe have bought into a storyline about alcohol that, when you really look at the facts, is not there,\u201d Stafford said. \u201cThere is a mythology about alcohol having positive benefits as well as alcohol being neutral for human health.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/20\/us\/trump-visa-vetting-international-students.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Trump\u2019s Tactics Mean Many International Students Won\u2019t Make It to Campus<\/a> (Anemona Hartocollis, New York Times): \u201cIn China and India, there have been few visa appointments available for students in recent months, and sometimes none at all, according to the Association of International Educators, also known as NAFSA, a professional organization. If visa problems persist, new international student enrollment in American colleges could drop by 30 to 40 percent overall this fall, a loss of 150,000 students, according to the group\u2019s analysis.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/what-happens-when-an-entire-scientific-field-changes-its-mind\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">What Happens When an Entire Scientific Field Changes Its Mind<\/a> (Charles Mann, Scientific American): \u201c[There is] a popular notion of scientific progress as a series of upheavals in which mavericks throw out the entrenched views of the past.\u2026 But that\u2019s not how science works. Or, more precisely, it\u2019s not how science works except in two specific, relatively unusual circumstances. The first is when research disciplines are young, thinly populated and just developing instruments of sufficient power to test their initial beliefs, as was the case with the Michelson-Morley experiment and Pasteur\u2019s fermentation. The second, possibly more consequential situation is when scientific findings lead to so much public interest that they become of concern to political authorities.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A two-parter about China from a political scientist at Johns Hopkins:&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/yaschamounk.substack.com\/p\/the-case-for-chinas-strength\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Case for China\u2019s Strength<\/a> (Yascha Mounk, Substack): \u201cIn the United States, the College Board has recently announced that it will drastically reduce the length of reading passages; rather than giving students who are taking the SATs texts that are about 600 words in length, and asking them a few questions about each, they will henceforth be given texts that are about 150 words in length, and only have to answer a single question about each. This means that Chinese high school students taking their English exam now likely face a more challenging test in a foreign language than Americans taking the SAT do in their native tongue. Don\u2019t believe me? Take a look at this page from last year\u2019s exam.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/yaschamounk.substack.com\/p\/the-case-for-chinas-weakness\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Cracks in China\u2019s Rise<\/a> (Yascha Mounk, Substack): \u201cThe country\u2019s high modernist ethic allowed it to build tens of thousands of miles of high-speed railway tracks in the course of a couple of decades; but it is also the reason why one year\u2019s favored industrial sectors reliably seem to turn into next year\u2019s sources of waste and overproduction. The country\u2019s extent of centralization creates a giant market increasingly united by shared norms and a common language; but the extent to which local cultures and languages are being flattened also contributes to a growing sense of alienation. None of this should be surprising. When countries are in their first spurt of growth, the advantages of the model are often evident, and its shortcomings invisible. It is when they mature, and the problems they need to solve become increasingly complex, that the drawbacks come into&nbsp;view.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.graphsaboutreligion.com\/p\/the-many-jobs-of-a-religious-leader\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Many Jobs of a Religious Leader<\/a> (Ryan Burge, Substack): \u201cThe one really significant finding for me is that very few members of the clergy report that they went straight into ministry as a young person. In fact, 66% of the folks in the sample of religious leaders said that they had a career outside religion before they became a member of the clergy. I\u2019m not sure if the average person knows that \u2014 most pastors you see didn\u2019t go straight from Bible College to Divinity School to full-time ministry.\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=\"wp-block-list simple-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/Qee-BZ6aLOU?si=Adfobg3LRlj4kll9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Understanding Taylor Swift Fans<\/a> (Josh Johnson, YouTube): two and a half minutes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/mens-bible-study-derailed-by-mention-of-nephilim\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Men\u2019s Bible Study Once Again Derailed By Mention Of Nephilim<\/a> (Babylon Bee)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/mans-self-esteem-yet-to-recover-from-time-7-years-ago-online-quiz-put-him-in-hufflepuff\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Man\u2019s Self Esteem Yet To Recover From Time 7 Years Ago Online Quiz Put Him In Hufflepuff<\/a> (Babylon Bee)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/xkcd.com\/3132\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Coastline Similarity<\/a> (xkcd)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/xkcd.com\/3127\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Where Babies Come From<\/a> (xkcd)<\/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\/08\/22\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-518\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> \u201cThings Glen Found Interesting, Volume 518\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":[143,125,332,176,163,260,214],"class_list":["post-7777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links","tag-alcohol","tag-china","tag-international-students","tag-science","tag-sex","tag-social-media","tag-technology"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-21r","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7777","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=7777"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7777\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7779,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7777\/revisions\/7779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}