What does the red pill really show you?
Neo's superhuman powers were only inside of The Matrix. The outside world offered a different reality.
27 May, 2020
Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images
- The "red pill" came into prominence as a way to break free of mental slavery in the 1999 movie, "The Matrix."
- In a new essay, Julian Walker points out Neo's powers only worked inside of the simulation—reality is a different story.
- The red vs blue pill question is a pop culture phenomenon, often used in questionable circumstances.
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American education: It’s colleges, not college students, that are failing
Who is to blame for the U.S.'s dismal college graduation rate? "Radical" educator Dennis Littky has a hunch.
21 May, 2020
Image: educationdata.org
- COVID-19 has magnified the challenges that underserved communities face with regard to higher education, such as widening social inequality and sky-high tuition.
- At College Unbound, where I am president, we get to know students individually to understand what motivates them, so they can build a curriculum based on goals they want to achieve.
- My teaching mantra: Everything is permitted during COVID-19. Everything is permitted during COVID-19. Everything is permitted during COVID-19.
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Higher ed wasn’t built for today’s student. Let’s not go back to business as usual.
If a crisis like this only comes once in a hundred years, so does this opportunity.
20 May, 2020
Image: Courtesy of PelotonU
- Across the US, only half of those who start college ever graduate—and that's before you disaggregate for race or class. That means 45 million Americans adults have tried college and not yet earned a degree.
- The reason is simple: College wasn't built for today's student, a majority of whom are over the age of 24, are working 30+ hours per week, or have children.
- PelotonU, a hybrid college in Austin, TX, has redesigned the college experience to ensure it works for all of today's students, especially in a pandemic. Its co-founder, Sarah Saxton-Frump, is urging other colleges not to go back to business as usual post-COVID-19.
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Large companies are incentivized to ignore worker safety, study finds
A study of over 100,000 businesses in Oregon uncovered some unsettling news about worker conditions.
19 May, 2020
Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
- A study of over 100,000 Oregon-based businesses found companies are incentivized to ignore worker safety.
- As states begin to reopen, 17 states are seeing increased numbers of coronavirus cases.
- The biggest outbreaks are occurring at cramped and unsanitary meatpacking plants.
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The thin line between conspiracy theories and cult worship is dissolving
An information war is being waged.
18 May, 2020
Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images
- Fans of the conspiracy video, "Plandemic," are exhibiting patterns similar to cult worshippers.
- Conspiracy theories increase during times of social uncertainty and trauma.
- One researcher says conspiracists are more likely to assess nonsensical statements as "profound."
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