Politics Turn Your Brain to Mush

New studies show that when people have been misinformed, offering the correct facts makes them only more obstinate; social media causes a lot of misinformation when it comes to reporting; and why did ESPN pull the plug on an investigation into head trauma? These discoveries and more below.

On a regular basis, Truthdig brings you the news items and odds and ends that have found their way to Larry Gross, director of the USC Annenberg School for Communication. A specialist in media and culture, art and communication, visual communication and media portrayals of minorities, Gross helped found the field of gay and lesbian studies.

The Most Depressing Discovery About the Brain, Ever Yale law school professor Dan Kahan’s new research paper is called “Motivated Numeracy and Enlightened Self-Government,” but for a better title could be the headline on science writer Chris Mooney’s piece about it in Grist: “Science Confirms: Politics Wrecks Your Ability to Do Math.”

When News Breaks, Scanners and Social Media Can Create a Cloud of Errors for News Outlets So much was misreported in the first few hours after the shooting rampage at Washington’s Navy Yard.

Vice Provost of Experimentation Harvard University on Monday became the latest elite institution that will seek to organize its online education offerings with the creation of a high-ranking administrative position.

Brain Injury Study Tracks Football’s Youngest Players Researchers are using smart helmets and imaging to study brain injury risk in young football players over a season.

Russell Brand and the GQ awards: ‘It’s Amazing How Absurd It Seems’ The comedian on his evening at the GQ awards, from which he was ejected after cracking a joke about sponsor Hugo Boss.

Time to Tame the NSA Behemoth Trampling Our Rights From leaks and Fisa court papers, it’s clear the NSA is a bloated spying bureaucracy out of control.

No More Debt!: The New Plan to Destroy Tuition and Loans If states are the laboratories of democracy, then what’s happening in Oregon’s lab seems destined to become one of the most controversial higher education experiments of all.

Chicken is Killing the Planet Earlier this month, while you were busy sneaking out of your empty office, hoping nobody would notice your starting the holiday weekend early, the USDA was also doing something it was hoping nobody would notice.

Pro-Football’s Unsportsmanlike Conduct Why did ESPN pull out of an investigation on brain trauma?