Conor Clarke, writing for the Atlantic, argues that the United States should end the tradition of summer vacation. He makes three compelling points: First, the United States ranks near the lowest # of school-days per year. Japan–243 days South Korea–220 days Israel–216 days Compared to those countries, the United States’ school year of 180 days seems […]

Recent research shows that sleep really does help you solve complex, creative problems. If true, then it gives a strong argument for multitasking. Define project #1 and give yourself a framework. Shift to other projects for the rest of the day. Sleep on problem #1 with good REM sleep Return to problem #1. The amount […]

t’s been a tough economy, and recently the unemployment level topped six percent. We typically think about unemployment in its short-term consequences, but there are also long-term impacts on individuals and their connection to the community. There’s new long-term research that shows a layoff early in your career makes you more less likely to become […]

Here’s an interesting question. Let’s say you use an instant messanger at least once-a-month. How far are you removed from any other person who sent an IM across the network that month? Leskovec and Horvitz, two researchers at Microsoft, conducted a planetary-wide study of MSN Messenger traffic for a single month (over 180 million users). […]