Is getting an MFA worth the debt?

Allen Cochran of Cincinnati sent me an email the other day in which he asked an interesting question. Here’s what he wrote:“I applied to and was accepted to the The Ohio State University’s graduate school for Visual Communication and Design Development. I have worked as a freelance graphic designer since I was 15 but have […]

The problem with problems

A quick thought about the disconnect between how we prepare kids for work and how work actually operates:In school, problems almost always are clearly defined, confined to a single discipline, and have one right answer.But in the workplace, they’re practically the opposite. Problems are usually poorly defined, multi-disciplinary, and have several possible answers, none of […]

Who becomes self-employed?

Chad Moutray of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy examined that question by following the fates of the college class of 1993. Some of Moutray’s more intriguing findings:

“The self-employed tend to have slightly lower grade point averages (GPAs) than their wage-and-salary peers.” The students with the best grades were more likely to seek work in the […]

Work$ and play$ well with others

The core argument of AWNM is that left-brain abilities remain absolutely necessary — but that in a world of Asia, automation, and abundance, they’re no longer sufficient.  The current BusinessWeek cites new research that offers another factual brick in this wall: “A new study concludes that social skills can be a better predictor of future earnings than […]

Visual thinking

Several people have told me recently about Visual Thinking Strategies, a non-profit that “uses art to foster kids’ capacities to observe, think, listen and communicate.” In fact, VTS was behind the Harvard Medical School art museum program I wrote about awhile back.  It sounds like they’re doing great work. Find out more about their research and principles here.

Quote (and art project) of the day

“RISD is MIT for the right brain.”– John Maeda, incoming president of the Rhode Island School of DesignThe quote is from a great WSJ profile of the super-innovative Maeda. Check out the WSJ writer’s description of what Maeda is doing for his presidential inauguration:“On the day I visit, an assistant in his office is folding hundreds of 15-inch squares […]

Take two Matisses and call me in the morning

American medical schools, those bastions of left-brain muscle-flexing, continue their march toward whole-mindedness. Yesterday’s Boston Globe reports that Harvard Medical School has followed the lead of places like Mount Sinai Medical College and begun taking its students to art museums. The goal: To improve young physicians’ observation and diagnostic skills.This isn’t about the artsy-fartsy or touchy-feely. It’s about dollars […]

A whole new reason to hit the keyboard

I may be the least musical person you’ve ever encountered.  And that’s something I’ve long regretted.  Now comes evidence deepening that regret, but offering a way for my kids to become more whole-minded than their dad.
ScienceNow reports that Harvard’s Gottfried Schlaug and Boston College’s Ellen Winner and Marie Forgeard have used brain scans to produce the best […]

Not on the test

Folk songs protesting government policy haven’t been in vogue since I was a toddler.  But Tom Chapin, who performs in the video below, might just have singlehandedly revived the tradition.

(Major Hat Tip to Mike Sporer for hipping me to this song)