errantember

After several weeks of research, I just ordered a new microscope. I'm going to use it for biological specimens related to Permaculture, like soil testing, insect identification, compost testing, and to gain a better understanding of my own health and body. I'm also very interesting in teaching kids about Permaculture, and I think the microscope would be a great way to get them excited about it.

The microscope has magnification from 40X-2000X, powerful enough to see anything from ants to bacteria, binocular eyepieces for better viewing, and a camera port to allow me to take digital pictures and show the subject on a projection screen or television without having to stop looking or refocus. It's also expandabe to add features like darkfield and phase-contrast to be added further down the road.
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No Contest raises eyebrows of even those already pre-disposed to believe competition in American society is out of control. Alfie Kohn works through and offers evidence toward disproving nearly every pro-competition argument in American society's copious play book while systematically destroying much of the bad science and outdated beliefs surrounding his subject. In most situations where competition is thought to be inevitable, it's really artificially created. Cooperation is far more common than competition in nature. Particularly in American society, it reduces productivity, destroys relationships, and undermines self esteem for both winner and loser alike. It not only makes play less fun, but, by definition, makes play impossible. Children prefer cooperative to competitive games when given examples of both and a choice, and children and adults alike consistently perform better when cooperating. Even strenuous defenders of competition admit that it leads to an endless, painful quest for an unattainable goal with drug-like addiction characteristics. It leads directly to mindsets that destroy friendships, waste resources, oppress women, and greatly increase aggression by fostering cheating and an Us-vs. Them mindset. In short, there is very little evidence to support the idea that mutually exclusive goal attainment is ever better than the alternative, while in most instances substantial evidence suggests precisely the opposite. Very few will emerge from this book unscathed.