Unintended Consequences
These messages provide a perspective on how good intentions can go wrong.
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The Perils of Simple Solutions
It was 1930 and the U.S. economy had just entered the Great Depression in 1929, along with other countries. The stock market crash of 1929 was the start of the Great Depression, leading to high unemployment and business failures. The solution seemed obvious: restrict...
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The Origin of Sensationalism and the End of Truth
Mickey Dugan was called The Yellow Kid for the oversize yellow nightshirt he wore. Created by Richard Outcault, The Yellow Kid was one of the first comic strips in America. The Yellow Kid character had a shaved head, protruding ears, and buck teeth. He lived in a slum...
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Intelligence Failures
Alfredo Binetti (better known as Alfred Binet) was born in 1857 in what is now France. While he received a degree in law, he never practiced as a lawyer. He studied Physiology at the Sorbonne and was self-educated in Psychology. It was the birth of his two daughters...
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The Human Tragedy of Quick Fixes
Jacinta and her two children struggled. Jacinta had a job, but her earnings were insufficient for her family’s needs. While her children qualified for the free lunch program, they came to school hungry. The children struggled in school due in part because of a lack of...
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The Over Quantification of Society
Alfred Binet was born in 1857 in what is now France. He finished law school when he was 21 but he also studied Physiology. His career focused more on psychology than law or physiology. He became interested in the development of intelligence in children. When France...
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First, Do No Harm
Jonas Salk was born in New York City of parents with limited formal education. When he was 15, he entered a high school for gifted children of immigrants. He completed high school in three years and enrolled in the City College of New York (CCNY) to pursue a degree...
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Identifying Unintended Consequences
From 250,000-300,000 children go blind each year in Africa and Southeast Asia due to a Vitamin A deficiency. About half of those children will die within a year of going blind. White corn, the primary food source, is many of these countries is lacking in Vitamin A....
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Freedom of Exploration
It’s well known that trees capture CO2 in the atmosphere. As we look for strategies to reduce carbon(1), the idea of planting more trees is very attractive. In fact, some states have a carbon offset program that allows carbon polluters to offset their emissions by...
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An Instinct for the Regrettable
Thomas Midgley, Jr. was born into a family of inventors. Carrying on the family tradition, Midgley studied mechanical engineering at Cornell University. When he graduated from Cornell, he started his career at General Motors. Five years into his career, Midgley...
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Unintended Consequences
In 1984, the U.S. Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act. States were required to raise the drinking age to 21 or lose 10% of their federal highway funds. All 50 states eventually raised their drinking age. The main rationale for raising the drinking...
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