They Say / I Blog

Enough to live on: Will Perkins on the minimum wage

It’s a pretty simple proposition—a full-time worker ought to be able to live on the pay received for that job. Still, there is plenty of debate about the issue, with words flying around in every direction. Reporter Will Perkins states his position in this September 2017 essay in the Richmond Register of Kentucky.

Read it here: Perkins, “Millennial thoughts: Minimum wage and my take”

Give us a twirl: Sendhil Mullainathan on sexism in sports journalism

If you follow professional tennis closely, you may get an impression that the men on the circuit are covered very differently from the women. It’s more than just an impression, though; there is empirical evidence to show just how large the disparity is. Harvard University economics professor Sendhil Mullainathan wrote this examination of the topic for The Upshot, a New York Times blog, in September 2017.

Read it here: Mullainathan, “Sexism and shopping: Female players get most of the odd questions at the U.S. Open"

 

Polynomials and apple pie: Andrew Hacker on obligatory algebra

When was the last time you used the quadratic equation in your real life? Yeah, we didn’t think so. Still, agility with mathematical concepts and operations is important. Does math education need a makeover? Emeritus political science professor Andrew Hacker assesses the situation in this July 2012 New York Times editorial.

Read it here: Hacker, “Is algebra necessary?"