Monthly Archives: September 2012

The Argument You Don’t Hear About Birth Control in Schools

Posted on 09/26/2012 by

This is my TIME.com column today on the furor over Plan B in the New York City Schools.  (But before I even begin, I just have to remind everyone that Plan B is not, and never has been, an abortifacient!): … Continue reading →

Posted in Children/Teens/Young Adults, Erika @ TIME.com, Public Policy, Women-related | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

The Cain Effect

Posted on 09/23/2012 by

  Remember the study that showed that the smart and well prepared students actually felt less confident about their test results than the dim bulbs who thought they’d aced the test? Well, it’s called the Dunning-Kruger effect and, to quote my … Continue reading →

Posted in Public Policy | Tagged | 1 Comment

Dummkopf Chronicles

Posted on 09/22/2012 by

A trip down nostalgia lane: One summer when  I was about ten, my parents rented a house for us on the ocean in Annisquam MA. Every day for a month, my older sister and I watched our little brothers and … Continue reading →

Posted in My story, Women-related | Tagged | 5 Comments

Unnerving Comparison of the Day

Posted on 09/15/2012 by

I try to avoid making comparisons to others; I just end up feeling bad about myself a lot of the time, and it’s so rarely a rewarding enterprise. To wit: this newly discovered monkey seems a lot more thoughtful and … Continue reading →

Posted in My story | 1 Comment

Reports of the End of Men Are Greatly Exaggerated

Posted on 09/11/2012 by

Here’s today’s TIME.com column I co-authored with my husband, Nicholas Christakis. Is It Really the End of Men? There are downsides to pitting the sexes in a constant, one-up, one-down battle for supremacy. It’s a story as old as Aristophanes’ Lysistrata, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Erika @ TIME.com, Women-related | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The Unfathomable ‘Why’ of Suicide

Posted on 09/09/2012 by

I have been struggling all weekend to understand what unknowable forces compel a young person so full of vitality and joy – and I do believe it is a compulsion – to take his own life. I know about immature … Continue reading →

Posted in Children/Teens/Young Adults, Harvard-related, My story | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments

In Memory of a Young Friend

Posted on 09/07/2012 by

The greatest tribute to the dead is not grief but gratitude. -Thornton Wilder I am grateful for the life of Cote Laramie: kind and gentle friend, talented musician and scholar, an aspiring healer, all around beautiful soul. I wish he … Continue reading →

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Being Honest About Lying (At Harvard and Everywhere Else)

Posted on 09/04/2012 by

My TIME.com column today on Harvard’s cheating investigation. Co-authored with my husband, Nicholas Christakis: Harvard‘s announcement last week of an investigation into a case of widespread cheating offered a little thrill of schadenfreude for some: confirmation, perhaps, that a venerable … Continue reading →

Posted in Children/Teens/Young Adults, Erika @ TIME.com, Harvard-related | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Misplaced Gender Sensitivity

Posted on 09/03/2012 by

                      Apparently, these are real Amazon reviews. Enjoy! 1. Via: amazon.co.uk 2. Via: amazon.co.uk 3. Via: amazon.co.uk 4. Via: amazon.co.uk 5. Via: amazon.co.uk 6. Via: amazon.co.uk 7. Via: amazon.co.uk 8. Via: amazon.co.uk 9. Via: amazon.co.uk 10. Via: amazon.co.uk 11.

Posted in Women-related | Tagged , | 1 Comment