- I recently got selected as one of the M&G’s 200 Young South Africans for 2013 (*happy dance*). You can find the write-up (of which I am very fond!) here. The picture above (from the M&G site) was taken in Kalk Bay and has absolutely nothing to do with education or research…moving swiftly along….
- Cool blog: FarnamStreetBlog (via ClintClark) – Similar to BrainPickings (which you MUST follow if you don’t already).
- The best websites in the world – information overload (not for those of the FOMO persuasion).
- The Bishop of Salisbury weighs in on the legalization of same-sex marriage in the UK. Sensible.
- US views on same-sex marriage summarized in four neat graphs – basically the issue is generational and religious (no shit Sherlock).
- Long but interesting (and informed) Politicsweb article about education in South Africa. Sean Muller (UCT) needs to be brought into the education fold me thinks…
- Some awesome quotes (via GMVP, who refuses to have an online presence – whatevs): “There is no reason to be absolutist about either aggregated data or novelistic narrative as research methods. The tension between qualitative and quantitative methods reflects the contradiction between the impersonal and personal faces of democracy, the moral need to both respect and transcend our finitude.” (213 – 214)
- “Stories compress characters and events, and statistics reveal patterns we would have missed otherwise. Their key difference lies at another level: in the approach to death. Stories teach us to mourn, and statistics teach us to see impersonal order. (…) Stories teach the ethic of caring, statistics the ethic of not caring. Statistical thinking is a methodological Buddhism.” (214)
- Quote of the week by JFK: “Our gross national product counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and the jails for those who break them. Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages; the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials… it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile.” (can I get an Amen!?)
Nic Spaull 
Hi Nic
Congratulations on the Top 200 nomination. It was nice to put a face to a name. Keep up the good work!
Have a good weekend,
Michelle