Learning Strategies

Recent Posts - page 4

• “Spending a Day at the Lottery Fair”

  By ljd42 on August 20, 2025

  This 1983 story by Frederik Pohl was clearly influenced by Shirley Jackson’s famous story “The Lottery,” which had been published 35 years earlier. Probably some good high-school English papers were written in the ’80s comparing and contrasting the two stories…. Read More ›

• A former student’s PhD defense

  By ljd42 on August 15, 2025

  

  The highlight of my week was a talk at MIT yesterday by a former Weston student of mine, Akiva Gordon. You may think that I must not get out much if a lecture at MIT was the highlight of my… Read More ›

• Barnaby has discovered the kitty couch.

  By ljd42 on August 13, 2025

  

  And apparently it’s even better than the box!

• Sherlock Holmes and the Telegram from Hell

  By ljd42 on August 12, 2025

  

  Even though it’s a Sherlock Holmes tale, this book was not written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. (You can see that in the cover image below.) Nor was it written in the 19th Century, as the cover contains a color… Read More ›

• They say that Welsh is impossible to pronounce — but is that really true?

  By ljd42 on August 9, 2025

  Admittedly, Welsh does look impossible to pronounce, at least for Americans. But that’s mostly because of the frightening spelling, with words like ffrwyth, cynysgaeddir, and ymddwyn. (And don’t forget, of course, the famous town in Wales, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. That name is… Read More ›

• Petard

  By ljd42 on August 6, 2025

  

  Is this really what MIT is like? Or, rather, what it will be like in ten years or so? I’m talking about Cory Doctorow’s science fiction story, “Petard: A Tale of Just Deserts.” Perhaps, like the author of an otherwise… Read More ›

• Concordia Language Villages

  By ljd42 on August 3, 2025

  

  If only these language villages had existed when I was a teen! Actually, a few of them already existed — but unfortunately I hadn’t heard about them at the time. Such is life. Where, you ask, are they located? Well,… Read More ›

• “To tell you the truth… everybody lies.”

  By ljd42 on July 31, 2025

  

  Says who? Well, the quotations above consists of the title plus subtitle of a new novel by Gilly Macmillan, all squished into one short sentence. This novel is supposedly “an unsettling and atmospheric thriller that’s almost impossible to put down,”… Read More ›

• Breaking Silence: a truly outstanding documentary!

  By ljd42 on July 29, 2025

  

  Maybe it’s especially resonant if you’re a baby boomer. Or maybe if you’re from New Jersey. Maybe if you’re a long-time folkie. Maybe if you were a teacher or a student at Lincoln-Sudbury. Maybe if you’re Jewish. Actually, I don’t… Read More ›

• RIP Tom Lehrer, 1928–2025

  By ljd42 on July 27, 2025

  

  https://www.universalhub.com/2025/tom-lehrer-legendary-satirist-cambridge-dies-97

• How to sleep comfortably

  By ljd42 on July 27, 2025

  

  Why does Cassie have to sleep with one leg resting on her brother’s head? (For some reason it doesn’t seem to bother him.)

• Ceci n’est pas une statue.

  By ljd42 on July 26, 2025

  

  Cassie is looking statuesque.

• Totto Ramen

  By ljd42 on July 23, 2025

  

  Lovely light lunch yesterday at Totto Ramen, at the corner of the South Bay mall in Dorchester. Char Siu Bao (for Barbara) and Miso Ramen (for me). These left enough room for a stop at JP Licks on the way… Read More ›

• Switcheroo

  By ljd42 on July 19, 2025

  

  The third and newest in E.J. Copperman’s Fran & Ken Stein series of mysteries, Switcheroo is both amusing and serious. The amusing parts evince Copperman’s trademark style. He is one of my favorite mystery authors, and if you type Copperman… Read More ›

• Singing in Mandarin? How is that even possible?

  By ljd42 on July 17, 2025

  Your first reaction might well be one of puzzlement: Why shouldn’t it be possible to sing in Mandarin? What’s the issue here? The issue, of course, is tones. As you probably know, Chinese in general — and Mandarin in particular… Read More ›

• The metric system has gotten an update!

  By ljd42 on July 14, 2025

  

  What are they doing to the metric system, a.k.a. SI? I thought we all knew the standard prefixes, like kilo- for 10^3, mega- for 10^6, and so forth. So who or what is ronna-? Well, I just learned about it… Read More ›

• Rare Tongues

  By ljd42 on July 13, 2025

  

  “When a language disappears, a unique way of understanding the world vanishes with it.” If I had to pick a single sentence from Lorna Gibb’s Rare Tongues, that sentence (164 pages into the text) might be my choice. But the… Read More ›

• The kittens keep inventing new poses for taking their nap. Now just close your eyes…

  By ljd42 on July 11, 2025

  

• Please listen to our next president. (We can hope.)

  By ljd42 on July 10, 2025

  

  Please listen.            

• As Tom Lehrer says, that’s mathematics!

  By ljd42 on July 9, 2025

  Tom Lehrer is 97 years old! (Actually, I missed his birthday, which was three months ago.) Needless to say, he isn’t performing anymore. But still, his longevity might be attributable to his music, since so many musicians seem to live… Read More ›

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