Sixteen Small Stones - Recommended Links

Polling 101: Navigating the Polls in an Election Year

jmaxwilson — Mon, 21 May 2012 22:04:08 +0000

It's important to understand how political polls work in order to be able to be a good consumer of political news, especially in a major election year. Here is a good overview: http://goo.gl/kyGrB Often media headlines are sensational and manipulative and end up being a misrepresentation of what...

How Animals See the World [Infographic]

jmaxwilson — Mon, 21 May 2012 22:01:28 +0000

I've often been fascinated with the way different creatures see differently than we do. Here's a cool info-graphic about it: http://infographicjournal.com/how-animals-see-the-world/ I remember once watching a film where they showed that some flowers that look quite plain to us in the human...

Women's Education Level, Maternal Health Facilities, Abortion Legislation and Maternal Deaths: A Natural Experiment in Chile from 1957 to 2007

jmaxwilson — Tue, 08 May 2012 17:01:09 +0000

Chile, where I served as a missionary, is one of the few modern countries that has changed from legal abortion to illegal abortion. "Therapeutic Abortion" was legal from 1931 to 1989, but has been banned since 1989. Chile provides a real-world example of how illegalizing abortion really affects...

Chrome Web Store - Language Immersion for Chrome

jmaxwilson — Thu, 03 May 2012 21:38:44 +0000

If you use the Google Chrome Browser and you are interested in learning new languages, check out this interesting plugin: Language Immersion for Chrome http://goo.gl/esDS2 Basically, it changes your browser into a Diglot Reader. You select the language you are trying to learn and it begins to...

June 5th and 6th Venus will pass across the face of the Sun

jmaxwilson — Thu, 03 May 2012 21:21:49 +0000

On June 5th and 6th, Venus will pass across the face of the Sun. Will not happen again until 2117. http://goo.gl/aD6bt

Thinking in foreign language makes decisions more rational

jmaxwilson — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 20:07:47 +0000

Perhaps an additional advantage to being bilingual or a polyglot: Considering decisions in a non-native language may help people make more deliberate, rational choices. http://goo.gl/49MSE

A guide to logical fallacies

jmaxwilson — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 17:56:30 +0000

A guide to logical fallacies: http://goo.gl/mDZPX (pdf)

Video: Attack Ads, Circa 1800

jmaxwilson — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 18:12:59 +0000

For years now people have been claiming that the current political discourse is the least civil, most vile and contentious we've ever had. And I have repeatedly pointed out that the claim is nonsense. Really? More contentious than 1860? Less civil than 1800? Watch the...

The Downside of Cohabiting Before Marriage

jmaxwilson — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 23:45:58 +0000

Cohabitation = The Credit Card Scam of Relationships Trying each other out before getting married often leads to more divorce instead of less. http://goo.gl/PVZBh

Scriptural Insights from a Gay Mormon: It Does in Fact Get Better, and with God it Gets Best (Ether 12:4)

jmaxwilson — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 21:14:00 +0000

"God wants life to get better for us, and knows it can and will. He promises that hope of things getting better if we trust Him, offering our belief, our faith, and the steadfastness of our good works. That's the simple formula. It has worked wonders for me."