Ah! The list we read in PADM 753!

http://www.openculture.com/2016/04/carl-sagan-presents-his-baloney-detection-kit-8-tools-for-skeptical-thinking.html

http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2016/04/07/hubble_image_of_galaxies_in_sculptor_implies_100_billion_galaxies_in_the.html

Look back at the image taken by Hubble. Look at it closely. The Universe is so vast it may be impossible for us to grasp its size and scale; yet by studying it, by embracing it, we see that our being a part of it is special.

If there is one most amazing thing that astronomy, that science, has shown us, I believe it is that.

http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/04/07/libraries-and-learning/

Most Americans believe libraries do a decent job of serving the education and learning needs of their communities and their own families. A new survey by Pew Research Center shows that 76% of adults say libraries serve the learning and educational needs of their communities either “very well” (37%) or “pretty well” (39%). Further, 71% say libraries serve their own personal needs and the needs of their families “very well” or “pretty well.”

As a rule, libraries’ performance in learning arenas gets better marks from women, blacks, Hispanics, those in lower-income households, and those ages 30 and older.

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0327-santos-polling-problems-20160327-story.html

We should consider the source before trusting a poll, much like we do stock market tips or sports picks. Polling organizations that are members of American Assn. for Public Opinion Research’s Transparency Initiative provide a standard level of technical disclosure about their methods for anyone who is interested in getting into the weeds. Regardless, while pollsters scramble to build a better mouse trap, we should be cognizant that election forecasts can and will continue to fall short. We should avoid using them to pick among candidates. And, of course, we should all get out and vote.

Amusing stuff!

http://chronicle.com/article/Inside-the-Elaborate-Web/235982

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/04/save-netflix

Netflix is in terrible danger. In fact, these might be its last days.

Oh, not today’s Netflix. The Netflix you’re using today is fine. It made it—got to do something daring and edgy, prove out its model, and become part of the establishment.

But the next Netflix—the company so cool it makes Netflix look like Blockbuster.

http://www.govexec.com/management/2016/04/defense-department-begins-enrolling-civilians-new-personnel-system/127186/

The Pentagon began evaluating thousands of employees’ job performance on a new system Friday, the first step in a massive overhaul of performance management across the Defense Department.

Defense rolled out to about 14,000 employees the first phase of its New Beginnings system, which will eventually change the appraisal process for virtually all of the department’s 750,000 civilians. The initial group will serve as a pilot for a program six years in the making, and comes after some pushback from labor groups.

http://www.governing.com/topics/mgmt/gov-local-government-march-jobs-report.html

The latest jobs data suggests local government hiring has picked up so far this year.

New U.S. Department of Labor estimates published Friday indicate that local governments added 19,000 jobs last month and 48,000 positions so far this year.

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/03/31/10-demographic-trends-that-are-shaping-the-u-s-and-the-world/

At its core, demography is the act of counting people. But it’s also important to study the forces that are driving population change, and measure how these changes have an impact on people’s lives. For example, how does immigration affect U.S. population growth? Do Americans feel that children are better off with a parent at home, in an era when most women work? How is the rise of the young-adult Millennial generation contributing to the rise of Americans with no stated religion? For this year’s Population Association of America (PAA) annual meeting, here is a roundup of some of Pew Research Center’s recent demography-related findings that tell us how America and the world are changing.

http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/03/22/lifelong-learning-and-technology/#those-with-more-education-and-higher-incomes-are-more-likely-to-engage-in-lifelong-learning

A new Pew Research Center survey shows the extent to which America is a nation of ongoing learners:

73% of adults consider themselves lifelong learners.
74% of adults are what we call personal learners – that is, they have participated in at least one of a number of possible activities in the past 12 months to advance their knowledge about something that personally interests them. These activities include reading, taking courses or attending meetings or events tied to learning more about their personal interests.

63% of those who are working (or 36% of all adults) are what we call professional learners – that is, they have taken a course or gotten additional training in the past 12 months to improve their job skills or expertise connected to career advancement.