I have always found it fascinating to learn about how scientific “discoveries” are made. Scientists have the power of observing the ordinary and seeing the extraordinary. One of my favorite cases comes from an episode I watched some years ago on the Discovery Channel where a Physics professor from the University of Chicago, Sidney Nagel, one morning, as he was pouring … [Lee más...] about The “Coffee-Stain Puzzle”
Latin America
Sneak Preview
Over the course of the last five years, I have been working on a project to measure child development outcomes in four countries in Latin America. This may not sound like that big of a deal, or even that necessary. But it is. On both accounts. … [Lee más...] about Sneak Preview
A Shift toward Quality
* By Anouk Ewald One, a woman from the Northern colds of developed Europe. The other, a man from the warmth of the sunny but developing Caribbean. What can they possibly have in common? What are they talking about? That’s what we wondered while seeing the two of them sitting together, engaged in an animated discussion as if they were old friends, but surprisingly they had only … [Lee más...] about A Shift toward Quality
More “Lego” Girls
* By Catalina Covacevich In January 2014, 7 year-old Charlotte Benjamin wrote to the Lego corporation, disappointed by the role of female characters in the company’s playsets. In her letter, she said that although she loves playing with Legos, she doesn’t like that there are more “Lego boys” than there are “Lego girls”. She also pointed out that “Lego girls” are always sitting … [Lee más...] about More “Lego” Girls
Is preschool education the secret to a more prosperous region?
* By Svante Persson Investing in preschool is actually more profitable than investing in the stock market. The estimated return (per dollar of cost) for high quality early childhood education is in excess of 10% (see link). In comparison, over the last 20 years the stock market’s S&P 500 index had an average annual return of less than 7.8% per year (see link). … [Lee más...] about Is preschool education the secret to a more prosperous region?