Rising through the socioeconomic ladder too quickly was almost a death sentence in pre-modern Germany; being deemed excessively greedy would have you accused of using witchcraft, or being in league with the devil. Because pre-modern Germans believed in “limited goods”, one’s gain was everybody else’s loss. Resources were limited, so those with excess wealth were deemed to have been friends with dragon demons that stole milk and bread from their neighbors, and must be punished. Read full article here
Education
Overcoming Bias
Kai Cheng’s professor had a brilliant scheme. In his first lecture, he promised that each lecture would feature a “Lie of the Day”. But why? It made his students more attentive and analytical, poring over every detail of his lecture and making sense of why things were true. It was such a powerful teaching method that his students digested his most technical lectures quite easily because they tried so hard to catch his lie. The kicker? There was no lie in that first lecture; he had lied about that too! Read full article here
Merv
August 17, 2022
