Recent Posts - page 68
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“Why are more American teenagers than ever suffering from anxiety?”
The cover article in the New York Times Magazine from 10/15 (yes, I’m just now catching up) asks, “Why are more American teenagers than ever suffering from severe anxiety?” The author, Benoit Denizen-Lewis, continues with this observation: “Parents, therapists and schools are… Read More ›
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Y is for Yesterday
So we’re down to Y. Just one more to go. As I’ve previously reviewed some of the other novels in Sue Grafton’s alphabet series, I should write something about this one as well. I listened to the audiobook this time,… Read More ›
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Introverts and group work
I hear that you hate group work (and other collaborative work)? Why? Perhaps it’s because you’re an introvert. Or perhaps not. There are three other reasons why some of my students hate group work; I identify with all three reasons… Read More ›
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Should you take the math course you want to take?
A brief anecdote posted by The Math Curmudgeon and a comment from a reader a couple of days ago raise two different but interlocking issues: how do you take school administrators seriously when they directly contradict themselves, and should students… Read More ›
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Happy Hangul Day!
Happy Hangul Day — five days late. Sorry that I missed it! “What’s Hangul Day?” you ask. You mean you didn’t follow the link in the previous paragraph???? Or perhaps you do know what Hangul is but you don’t know… Read More ›
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It’s Complicated
I almost never write about a book that I didn’t or couldn’t finish, unless there’s just something egregious about it. Some people, of course, feel a sort of moral obligation to finish reading any book they’ve started, but life is… Read More ›
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The Puffin of Death
Puffins? OK, I guess, but I’m not really into birds, though my colleague from Newfoundland probably approves of puffins. Despite the usual connection with Newfoundland, the puffins in this mystery are actually in Iceland. And therein lies most of the… Read More ›
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Caption, anyone?
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The Late Show (no, not that one)
This Late Show is the newest police procedural by Michael Connelly, famous for his intertwined Harry Bosch series and Lincoln Lawyer series. Although they say you can’t tell a book by its cover, this cover clearly reveals that The Late Show is the first… Read More ›
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Couldn’t happen to me!
Or could it?
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Weston in first place!
After Thursday’s meet (first meet of the year), Weston is currently in first place among medium-sized schools in the Massachusetts Math League, even beating Canton! Here are totals for the top five schools so far: 5 Tewksbury 34 4 Lynnfield… Read More ›
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Lexicon Valley (and a bit of Freakonomics)
And now we come to my fourth and last post about linguistics podcasts, which I promised almost two weeks ago. You get two for the price of one here — well, more like 2¼ for the price of one, as we… Read More ›
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Very Bad Words
Now for the third installment of posts about linguistics podcasts: Very Bad Words. Yes, it’s what you’re thinking. But it’s a podcast, not a broadcast, so they can get away with it without being bothered by the FCC. It’s the creation… Read More ›
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The World in Words
As the title suggests, The World in Words is an offshoot of Public Radio International’s The World. It’s a linguistic podcast that focuses on…well…the world. And words. It’s also the subject of this second review of linguistics podcasts, as promised in… Read More ›
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Lingthusiasm
OK, yes, I know that on September 26 I wrote that “My next four posts will deal with four different linguistics podcasts.” But then I was overtaken by events and just had to write a post about the noxious and… Read More ›
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Aren’t we supposed to be promoting STEM?
This is disgusting. A leading member of Congress, Republican Dave Schweikert of Arizona, spent all day yesterday talking about the new Republican tax plan — yikes! numbers! — and had this to say about it on NPR’s All Things Considered this… Read More ›
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Linguistic Podcasts
My next four posts will deal with four different linguistics podcasts — a new medium that has recently come to my attention. I’m sure you’ve been listening to podcasts for years, but I became aware of them only six months… Read More ›
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Camino Island
It’s John Grisham, so I never expected it to be great literature. But I was still disappointed. The beginning was absorbing, and I liked the premise. The novel is all about booksellers and novelists — well, more like a bookseller and a novelist —… Read More ›
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Homework and Causation
As this academic year ramps up, it’s worth recalling a conversation overheard by a colleague a couple of years ago: At the beginning of the third quarter, two sophomores were talking about their second-quarter report cards. “I got a C… Read More ›
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Why “Names of polygons”?
Whenever I go to the WordPress Stats page for this blog, I see that my most popular post (most popular by far) is “Names of Polygons,” which I posted on December 10, 2010! It had 361 views last month, nearly… Read More ›
Featured Categories
Books ›
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A note from Langston Hughes to my dad
January 10, 2026
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Enough is enuf.
January 8, 2026
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Friends with words
January 4, 2026
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Language city: The fight to preserve endangered mother tongues in New York
November 26, 2025
Dorchester/Boston ›
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Milkweed
January 16, 2026
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This year’s traditional Christmas dinner
December 26, 2025
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Thai Oishii
November 16, 2025
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Chinese food in Greater Boston, then and now
November 1, 2025
Food & Restaurants ›
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Dumpling Kitchen
October 11, 2025
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Totto Ramen
July 23, 2025
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Special anniversary dinner at Tavolo
June 25, 2025
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Milkweed in Dot
June 10, 2025
Life ›
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They understand us across the pond.
January 11, 2026
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Where are you dining today?
December 25, 2025
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A Chanukah carol (in Yiddish)
December 21, 2025
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“So you want a model railroad” — a well-known… okay… not-so-well-known Warner Bros. film from 1955
November 22, 2025
Linguistics ›
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Who’s better at understanding written English — you or some random teen in South Korea?
January 22, 2026
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Will the real John McWhorter please stand up? (No, no, that’s not the real one; that’s the AI John McWhorter!)
January 18, 2026
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Is Modern Hebrew a conlang?
January 6, 2026
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Claude predicts the future of English.
December 24, 2025
Math ›
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Very sad news
October 17, 2025
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The metric system has gotten an update!
July 14, 2025
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As Tom Lehrer says, that’s mathematics!
July 9, 2025
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The Plinko Bounce
June 28, 2025
Model Railroading ›
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Three cheers for Jason Jensen — not only a model railroader but also a true American artist!
November 17, 2025
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No need for instructions?
June 4, 2025
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A close-up view of Neighborhood #5, Newtown
March 28, 2025
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A close-up view of Neighborhood #4, Orchard Heights
February 20, 2025
Movies & (occasionally) TV ›
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The new Springsteen bio-pic
November 11, 2025
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Breaking Silence: a truly outstanding documentary!
July 29, 2025
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The Social Network
May 11, 2025
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Dylan
January 8, 2025
Teaching & Learning ›
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Triple threat: Carl Sagan, critical thinking, and an exam
October 13, 2025
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Truly these are oldies but goodies — songs from… wait for it… two millennia ago!
September 28, 2025
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Measles and polio down in the schoolyard
September 8, 2025
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A former student’s PhD defense
August 15, 2025
Technology ›
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Not the other Wes Moore
June 22, 2025
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Bye bye Mark Z.
February 6, 2025
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Posts you may have missed
March 15, 2024
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I’m back!
February 28, 2024
Travel ›
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Written in the South Pacific during World War II
February 17, 2025
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Globle
February 15, 2023
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No pirates. And it’s not in Penzance. But it’s nearby: It’s Death in Cornwall.
August 9, 2022
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Miriam and Alan explore Scotland.
July 6, 2022
Weston ›
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“Dear parents of math geniuses…,” writes Tanya Khovanova
December 6, 2022
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How can girls succeed at the highest level of high-school debate?
November 20, 2022
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Reading Latin and Ancient Greek for fun and profit. For what? Fun? Yes, fun. Really. And the profit was purely intellectual, not financial.
October 19, 2022
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Trust what you read! (On second thought…)
September 2, 2022
