Ben Pate
36 Added | 1 Magazine | 3 Likes | 3 Following | 6 Followers | @BenPate2014 | Keep up with Ben Pate on Flipboard, a place to see the stories, photos, and updates that matter to you. Flipboard creates a personalized magazine full of everything, from world news to life’s great moments. Download Flipboard for free and search for “Ben Pate”
Can You Translate This Smutty Middle English Poem?
Elke Wakefield. Writer and translator. Fond of Borges and bicycles. @elke_wakefield.It features an act of “involuntary cunnilingus” and more toilet …
LinguisticsIs MSNBC going conservative? Supposedly liberal news network loves #NeverTrumpers more than leftists
Loading up on semi-repentant conservatives and ignoring the activist left, MSNBC is doing the nation a disservice<p>In the wake of Donald Trump’s election in 2016, MSNBC had at least two clear options: It could respond to a swelling progressive viewer base by moving left, or it could keep playing the …
Middle-classA Parkland teacher was arrested after leaving a loaded gun in a public bathroom
A homeless man found the gun and fired it.<p>A chemistry teacher at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the site of a shooting in February that left 17 dead, was arrested this week after he accidentally left a loaded gun in a public bathroom. A drunk, homeless man eventually found the gun and fired …
GunsAn Iraq War vet makes the case against shallow patriotism
“I think a lot of people have a third-grade understanding of what patriotism is.”<p>If you’re looking for a rose-colored view of the military, Marine and Iraq War veteran Matt Young’s new memoir <i>Eat</i> <i>t</i><i>he Apple</i>isn’t for you.<p>But if you want a glimpse of the regret and shame and confused pride that consumes …
U.S. MarinesAmazon didn't kill Toys R Us, greedy Wall Street profiteers did it
Private equity obscures its role in the ruin of retail by hiding behind e-commerce. But Amazon didn't kill Toys R Us. Greedy Wall Street profiteers did it.<p>The brilliant New Jersey entrepreneur Charles Lazarus died March 22 at age 94. His passing came one week after the company he founded, Toys R …
Wall StreetThe Great Lie of Conservatism
The philosophical foundation of conservatism is a template for exploitation, argues Drew Magary, and it's time to stop treating it as half our country's guiding principles.<p>They’re all dead now. All the unofficial fathers of modern conservatism: William F. Buckley, Russell Kirk, Milton Friedman, …
Political Science13 grammar myths you should stop believing
Myth 1 — Never start a sentence with 'and,' 'but' or 'so'<p>According to the grammar experts at the 'Chicago Manual of Style,' you don't have to do mental gymnastics to avoid starting a sentence with a conjunction. "There is a widespread belief — one with no historical or grammatical foundation — that …
Language135 Amazing Facts for People Who Like Amazing Facts
Store these away for future trivia nights.<p>1. Mister Rogers always mentioned out loud that he was feeding his fish because a young blind viewer once …
Mary MagdaleneThese key psychological differences can determine whether you're liberal or conservative
Politically, Americans are highly divided.<p>When it comes to issues of race, immigration, national security, and environmental protection, they disagree about how the government should handle things like never before.<p>Relative to polls in the 1990s, Republicans are now much more likely to say poor …
PsychologyAtheists are more intelligent than religious people, finds study
Religious people are, on average, less intelligent than atheists, researchers claim.<p>With the number of people with a religious belief on the rise – …
The scientific reason collective narcissists are so dangerous
In 2007, a British school teacher in Sudan received a jail sentence under Sharia law because she allowed her pupils to name a classroom teddy-bear ‘Muhammad’. The day after the sentence was announced, more than 10,000 people took to the streets of Khartoum demanding the teacher’s execution for …
PsychologyScience Says These 23 Words are the Oldest in the World | Inc.com
Not a lot of things last over a thousand years; even fewer last over 10,000.<p>Yet a British research team has put together a list of what they called "ultraconserved words," or words that have remained basically unchanged for a stunning 15,000 years.<p>The researchers say this is because they all …
LinguisticsFascism Runs in My American Family
The diehard Trump supporters aren't being fooled. The Moore voters aren't pinching their noses. A large portion of Americans actually agree with the …
Donald TrumpSesame Street's Parody of Stranger Things Is Better Than the Original
<i>Sesame Street</i>’s parodies have always been delightful, but the show’s riff on <i>Stranger Things</i> is honestly some next-level awesomeness.<p>It’s damn near …
The alt-right is creating its own dialect. Here’s the dictionary
Vocabulary pop quiz. Define the following words: “hypergamy,” “femoids,” “meeks.” If you got all of those right, you’re on your way to becoming fluent in alt-right.<p>No political movement has created an internet dialect with the speed and scale of the alt-right. Comprised of conspiracy theorists, …
Sniffing your partners’ farts could help ward off disease
Picture this, you’re snuggled in bed on a Saturday morning and your partner lets one rip.<p>The last thing you want to do is smell it, but it turns out …
Medical ResearchMan Shuts Down Anti-Abortion Argument By Asking One Question
Writer laid out the dishonesty of pro-life zealots on Twitter<p>The topic of abortion is one of those issues that, like gun control, or where you stand …
A Yale psychologist's simple thought experiment temporarily turned conservatives into liberals
Social scientists have long known how to turn liberals into conservatives in the lab — all they have to do is scare them.<p>"Research has shown that you can make liberals more conservative by threatening them and making them somewhat afraid," Yale psychology professor John Bargh writes in his new …
PsychologyA Zillionaire’s Solution: Tax the Rich and Save the Economy
The Republican tax plan is a scam that won’t create jobs, contrary to what Trump says.<p>The Republican tax plan is a scam—a massive and destructive financial giveaway masquerading as pro-growth tax reform. Which is why our first response must be to demand not one penny of tax cuts for big …
EconomicsFind Out Which Cognitive Biases Alter Your Perspective
Cognitive biases can change the way you see everything, and often in a bad way. Fortunately, just becoming aware of your biases can help you overcome …
The sociological explanation for why men in America turn to gun violence
In the aftermath of the Las Vegas shooting that killed a staggering 58 people and injured roughly 500 others, the Trump administration has tried to steer Americans away from political debate. “There’s a time and place for political debate, but now is the time to unite as a country,” White House …
10 Things You Didn’t Know Had Names
From the first person you greet in the morning to that earthy smell that permeates the air after it rains, the English language is full of very …
LiteratureWhy Americans won’t give up their guns
The United States needs new gun laws. But first it needs to shed the myths that sustain its reliance on weapons<p>Around 3.30am on 23 November 2013 a stray bullet shattered the window of an apartment in Indianapolis where a couple watched television while their two-month-old baby slept. The man called …
GunsWhy some people are more likely to believe wild conspiracy theories than others
Do you believe the moon landing was faked? Do you suspect the 9/11 attacks were a government cover up?<p>Turns out, if you're an avid conspiracy theorist, you could be doing it for attention.<p>According to new research, published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, some people like believing …
PsychologyThe psychology of why 94 deaths from terrorism are scarier than 301,797 deaths from guns
According to the New America Foundation, jihadists killed 94 people inside the United States between 2005 and 2015. During that same time period, 301,797 people in the US were shot dead, Politifact reports.<p>At first blush, these numbers might seem to indicate that Donald Trump’s temporary ban on …
PsychologyNetflix's Secret Codes Unlock More Movies Than You Can Imagine
Access this hidden list of hyper-specific Netflix genres with our help.<p>How many movies do you think are currently available on Netflix? Well, you’re …
EntertainmentWoman's fart starts fire during surgery, causing serious burns to her body
A patient's flatulence sparked a fire which caused her serious burns to her body, according to a university hospital in Japan.<p>Although the incident …
We are the empire: Military interventions, “Star Wars” and how we’re the real aliens
Only when we’re willing to see our own invasive nature will we become the kind of land we want to be<p><i>This piece originally appeared on TomDispatch.</i><p>Perhaps you’ve heard the expression: “We have met the enemy and he is us.” Cartoonist Walt Kelly’s famed possum, Pogo, first uttered that cry. In light …
U.S. ArmyHow to abandon Android and switch to the iPhone 6s
Apple’s new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus have now been on sale for exactly a week. Incredibly, that means Apple has likely already sold more new …
Can you solve the maths question for Singapore schoolkids that went viral?
Albert, Bernard and Cheryl’s threesome sets the web aflutter<p>How to solve Albert, Bernard and Cheryl’s birthday maths problem<p>Why this problem turned into the maths version of #thatdress<p>Cheryl’s birthday puzzle part two, Denise’s revenge - can you solve it?<p>Singapore usually comes top, or nearly top, …
Mathematics