Learning Strategies

Recent Posts - page 98

• Linguistics, mathematics, and mysteries

  By ljd42 on January 15, 2010

  “I make order out of chaos.” This is how an old friend whom I hadn’t seen in years explains her transition from linguistics to statistics, when people think it’s a complete change of field. It’s how she explains it to… Read More ›

• The King of Lies

  By ljd42 on January 12, 2010

  During the last few months I read two interesting novels by John Hart: The Last Child, which I believe is his newest, and The King of Lies, which is definitely his first. It’s not really clear why I read them… Read More ›

• Yes, teens really can write literate email messages

  By ljd42 on January 10, 2010

  A lot of adults are complaining that teens are “illiterate” in their writing, especially in email messages — you know, “kids these days…” and all that — but that’s not what I’m seeing. The abysmal level of teenage writing is… Read More ›

• Friday cat blogging

  By ljd42 on January 8, 2010

  

  (For those who don’t know what Friday Cat Blogging is all about, see here or here or especially here.) Today’s observation is that chairs are for humans. William doesn’t agree:

• How many applications????

  By ljd42 on January 7, 2010

  I’ve just sent off my final college recommendations — for a couple of schools that have surprisingly late deadlines of January 10 or January 15. My spreadsheet shows that the students who asked me to write recommendations for them this… Read More ›

• Harry Potter at the Museum of Science

  By ljd42 on January 6, 2010

  After spending a totally absorbing 90 minutes at Harry Potter: The Exhibition, I still don’t know why it’s at the Museum of Science of all places — what’s the connection with science? — but I highly recommend it nonetheless. The… Read More ›

• Julie and Julia

  By ljd42 on January 2, 2010

  Julie and Julia has gotten so much publicity that I’m not sure I have much to add. It was a good movie to watch on New Year’s Eve — but watch it anyway if you haven’t seen it yet, New… Read More ›

• Friday cat blogging

  By ljd42 on January 1, 2010

  Vincent likes the riverboat too:

• The Man from Earth

  By ljd42 on December 30, 2009

  The Man from Earth is a quirky movie that you should see if you like talky films that make you think. Skip it if you insist on visual effects, exciting plot, and a clean resolution at the end. Clearly a… Read More ›

• Mathematician’s Lament

  By ljd42 on December 28, 2009

  “Mental acuity of any kind comes from solving problems yourself, not from being told how to solve them.” So says Paul Lockhart, and I couldn’t agree more. It’s great having cooperative students who will correctly follow directions in solving problems… Read More ›

• Lady Killer

  By ljd42 on December 27, 2009

  The setting of Lisa Scottoline’s Lady Killer feels authentic to me, but that judgment certainly doesn’t come from first-hand experience. Unlike my previous review (of My Latest Grievance, where the family, the location, and the social milieu are all familiar… Read More ›

• My Latest Grievance

  By ljd42 on December 26, 2009

  

  The first page of Elinor Lipman’s 2006 novel, My Latest Grievance, grabbed my attention immediately: Of the five main characters, narrator and protagonist Frederica Hatch is a sophomore at Brookline High School. Two of the others — Frederica’s parents — are… Read More ›

• Friday cat blogging

  By ljd42 on December 25, 2009

  

  Vincent is shy and doesn’t like having his picture taken:

• Meeting across the River

  By ljd42 on December 24, 2009

  Meeting across the River has a truly unusual and creative premise for a collection of 20 short stories. Its subtitle, Stories Inspired by the Haunting Bruce Springsteen Song, reveals the premise: every story (each by a different author) was inspired… Read More ›

• The Meaning of Everything

  By ljd42 on December 22, 2009

  Like many other books that I enjoy, Simon Winchester’s non-fiction opus, The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary, won’t appeal to everyone. But if you’re interested in words — and the development of the English language… Read More ›

• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

  By ljd42 on December 20, 2009

  The late Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a quirky and fascinating novel. It is at once a thriller, a character study, and a political exploration — all taking place in Sweden. The lead character, Lisbeth Salander,… Read More ›

• The Bookwoman's Last Fling

  By ljd42 on December 19, 2009

  Here I am, continuing my efforts to catch up on some of the books I read in 2009. I’ll turn my attention now to writing a capsule review of John Dunning’s The Bookwoman’s Last Fling. As a bibliophile, I’ve had… Read More ›

• Friday cat blogging

  By ljd42 on December 18, 2009

  

  Rosie is cold:

• Special Topics in Calamity Physics

  By ljd42 on December 16, 2009

  Yes, this is a bizarre title for a novel. But a novel it is. And it continues one of the themes suggested in yesterday’s post: the extraordinary but still believable teenager. Many readers found Marisha Pessl’s narrator (and hence this… Read More ›

• The Last Child

  By ljd42 on December 15, 2009

  Part mystery and part thriller, John Hart’s absorbing novel, The Last Child, is well worth reading. Actually, more than a mystery or a thriller, it’s a portrait of an extraordinary 13-year-old boy, a mother, and a police detective, all caught… Read More ›

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