The Strange Tale of Phineas Gage

I find this story fascinating…

The picture above and below, as well as the text below are courtesy of Neatorama.com

A HOLE IN ONE

Phineas Gage considered himself a lucky man. At the age of 25, he had a responsible, well-paid job as construction foreman for Rutland and Burlington Railroad in Vermont. On September 13, 1848, as Gage was packing a load of explosives into the ground, the charge exploded without warning. The iron rod he was using to tamp the explosives into the earth flew into the air with the force and speed of a rocket, hitting Phineas Gage directly in the head. The 3’7″ rod (109 cm), which weighed 13 pounds (6 kg), entered his left cheek, careened straight through his skull and brain, and emerged out of the top of his head like a yard-long bullet.

The Strange Tale of Phineas Gage.

Brief History: The Textbook Wars – TIME

The long tradition of misinformation in school textbooks continues…or gets even worse.

Here’s a snippet from this week’s Time magazine:

…the Texas board of education voted 10-5 in favor of curriculum standards that would promote conservative takes on controversial issues in the pages of the state’s textbooks. The changes, expected to win final approval in May, include an increased emphasis on and sympathetic treatment of such Republican touchstones as the National Rifle Association and the Moral Majority. They also tout the superiority of capitalism and the role of Christianity in the nation’s founding. Even Thomas Jefferson’s profile will be diminished; some board members were less than fond of his ideas about the separation of church and state.

Shouldn’t it be troubling to all of us that Thomas Jefferson is deemed too progressive for the 21st century?

Here’s the whole article:

Brief History: The Textbook Wars – TIME.

The Daily Muse 08.09.08

Don’t be misled by history, or any other unreliable source. — Will Rogers