I read a paper in one of my early psych methods classes that really stuck with me: The Relative Potency of the Nursery School and the Statistical Laboratory in Boosting the IQ by F. L. Goodenough and K. M. Maurer (1940 Journal of Ed Psyc paper reproduced in J.J. Jenkins and D.G. Paterson's (1961) Studies in Individual Differences.)

The basic story is that another group published a paper showing how effective their instructional system was at raising the IQ of low ability... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 7:12 PM on September 22, 2008

Great suggestions so far. I marked a few good ones, but please post if you have more! Just to recap, though, the goal is (1) appropriate for school and (2) cheap. Thanks everyone!
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 6:04 PM on September 15, 2008

I'm a little late to this party, but since you didn't get many responses, I figured I would add on.

If I may toot my own horn, I blew the Psych exam out of the water. I didn't really prep all that much, though. The biggest thing I had going for me was unusual course taking. Like Rebel_rebel says, the test is divided up into Experimental and more Clinical/Social areas. My program was all about experimental, so I (at the time) knew the parts of the brain, the names of... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 6:59 PM on September 14, 2008 marked best answer

We used to make playdough at home, either for class projects or just to play with (lasts pretty well if kept in air-tight containers). Here's a recipe I found online, feel free to substitute food dye instead of the natural stuff. We did!

Nature's Playdough

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 cup water
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons cream of tartar
beet, spinach, and carrot... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 8:21 AM on September 1, 2008

Another thought on reducing supply use-- be absolutely scary about wasting construction paper and other resources. It worked on me in 5th grade, but I don't know about 2nd grade. We did class projects with construction paper and you were strongly encouraged to look and think about where to place every template BEFORE marking and cutting the paper. Anyone who cut the first piece right out of the center was made an example of. I still can't waste paper, I was scarred for life.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 8:53 AM on September 1, 2008

I feel your pain. I call it my faux-morning sickness, because I've had it for going on five years now. My experience is similar to yours-- general stomach unease that sometimes gets really bad (early morning for me). I had a whole slew of tests (stomach dump, endoscopy, gallbladder squeeze) and the doctors never found anything (they never even felt like GERD or IBS was the answer).

Nevertheless, treating it as acid reflux has helped me alleviate a lot of the trouble (by... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 8:19 PM on July 31, 2008

Another data point: My public school in Alabama did not offer any.

Rationale: Separation of Church and State is a big deal here, so if you did teach one kind of religion class you probably have to offer all of them for equal coverage. A comparative religion class would be a political-correctness nightmare here. Plus, we tend to leave those kinds of specific courses for college where you have more choice of classes and more elective credits.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 12:57 PM on July 19, 2008

To me learning about religion is a part of a basic education about who we are

This is exactly the problem. "Who we are" with respect to religion is an incredibly divisive topic here. At least in my part of the country ("the Bible Belt"), Protestant Christian religion is very essential to people's sense of self, and if you tried to teach someone's kid about Buddhism or even Judaism (heaven forbid you teach Islam!!) they would be... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 1:39 PM on July 19, 2008

Cyrano's Bistrot is cozy and very French. The food was yummy. I was with my sister, but we agreed that with other company, it would be very romantic. We made it out under $60 with no wine, so I think it meets the price requirement. We made reservations through OpenTable.

+1 for Quartino for good food and atmosphere, but I wouldn't call it strictly romantic. It felt just like a European bistro, so I guess that in itself is romantic for most, but it was kind of noisy and... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 6:53 PM on July 16, 2008

I think both psychology and computer science offer more opportunities than you'd think. Surely you have already figured out that clinicial psychology is just a tiny part of the field of psychology (and also that real psych jobs require advanced degrees). For sheer job-obtaining power, go with CS. My boyfriend is "just" a programmer, and he works in bioinformatics where he has to know as much about genetics as he does about programming. It's not all tedium.

If... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 7:53 PM on July 3, 2008

I study tests, I don't work in HR, but I can speak to a couple of the biggies.

1. Myers-Briggs : you can buy the book to take and score the test. It classifies you along four dimensions of personality. It's not specifically focused on work personality, just general personality. I liked it because the questions ask about real activities (e.g., "when the phone rings, do you rush to be the first to answer it?") The results helped me think about my usual style and... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 5:34 AM on June 25, 2008 marked best answer

Does it have to be fiction? If you like some Phillipa Gregory, you'll probably like Alison Weir's biographies. Her series on Henry VIII's wives and children are really engaging and read like fiction. I'm halfway through Antonia Fraser's Marie Antoinette, and it seems pretty good, but without the same knack for suspense that Weir has.

Look into The Eight by Katherine Neville as well. Though not quite as engaging as The Historian in terms of historical details, it is also... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 8:54 AM on June 15, 2008

Several posters have gotten it right-- everyone feels like you. The vast majority of people coming in are also leaving friends behind (or at best, coming with friends they will grow to hate freshman year).
I really benefited from being in the marching band freshman year. From day one, I had things to do and my section members to talk to. None of them were lasting friends, but that camaraderie kept me calm for the month or so it took for the girls in my dorm hall to become friends.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 7:22 AM on May 31, 2008

I agree whole-heartedly with the responses that came before. However, for the sake of looking at both sides, there is another way to look at blind approaches to regression. The actuarial approach is that anything that predicts matters, so you do throw everything in (I assume all at once) and use whatever variables fall out to predict. This is not model or theory- testing though, it’s what insurance companies do to minimize risk. They don’t care WHY drivers under 25 have more accidents, they just... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 8:56 AM on May 10, 2008

It looks very much like the cemeteries in New Orleans ("cities of the dead"). I looked through the cemeteries that come up on google maps and couldn't find a positive ID, but I would bet anything it was a cemetery made up of mausoleums. I'm sure N.O. didn't invent that style of burial, so it could be a different place that also has a problem with flooding.
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 8:26 PM on May 3, 2008

Ever seen the movie Gaslight? The mystery is whether she is mentally ill or whether her husband is playing with her mind. It's not a Hitchcock movie, but it feels like one and stars Ingrid Bergman. It's a nice thriller that gets under your skin.
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 5:46 AM on May 2, 2008

I can throw a little science in here. There is a lot of evidence that fluid intelligence skills peak in the early 20's and decline from there (Psych of Aging is a totally depressing field, btw). I don't know (yet) whether you should notice it by your 30's, but it's definitely going on. Fluid intelligence skills impact your ability to put new things together, do mental math, remember series of items (phone numbers, new people's names), etc.
I haven't seen any good evidence that... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 7:09 AM on April 26, 2008

PS- yes, stress can cause greater declines in mental acuity, though I think I've read it's reversible if you start managing the stress or get past the tough times.
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 7:12 AM on April 26, 2008

In addition to pompomtom's logic, part of it is because the bigger US cities have multiple airports. ATL only has the one big one. Plus, the deep south isn't flush with airports like New England, for example, so a lot of southerners go to ATL to start their journey (I'm from east AL), or take short flights there to catch the big jets.
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 9:08 PM on April 14, 2008

I'm also an advanced PhD student, and I also agonized over getting biz cards for my recent conference. I ended up only using a dozen or so (still working on that networking thing), but it made life much easier when I wanted to give someone my email address. I'm also certain that many of the other grad students had them as well. I think I would stay away from moo cards both for the borderline professionalism but also because you often can't write details on there (e.g., the person you met wants... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 7:16 PM on April 14, 2008

Seconding caddis on the Beartooth Hwy. Our path was across SD, partway through WY, then up to Billings, MT. If you're going to drive that far you might as well head up to MT and do the Yellowstone arrival right (the east entrance was all construction and ugly two years ago). It was a really nice drive from Billings along the Hwy and then to Cooke City for lunch before we entered the park. There are several funky cafes/dives in Cooke City. It was a great way to start our week in Yellowstone.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 2:16 PM on April 6, 2008

I can speak to Iowa City.
I don't see what the big deal about Prairie Lights is. Yeah, nice bookstore, but whatever its cultural value, it just looks like a bookstore. If you like bookstores, knock yourself out! While you're downtown, though, you can try out what counts as the cool shopping and restaurants in IC.
- Java House is the typical local coffee shop on Washington St
- There are several cool shops in the ped mall and downtown region (Akar, Soap Opera,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 7:04 PM on February 29, 2008 marked best answer

mosk-- thanks for your help. I understand your logic, the problem with it is something I forgot to mention earlier. The database is going on the web so other people can upload their own files. Can I automate the process you're talking about so that when someone else imports the datafile, it will automatically be converted to one row?
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 1:02 PM on December 19, 2007

Nth-ing Vanity Fair and Middlemarch -- IF you like that kind of thing. Both felt like literary soap operas to me. I definitely was lost in those worlds for a while.

They aren't fiction and each one clocks in under 700 pages, but if you read Alison Weir's Six Wives of Henry VIII and then The Children of Henry VIII (and even tack on The Life of Elizabeth I), you'll get submerged in that world for a while. They are nonfiction, but they're well-plotted and perhaps a bit... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 8:12 AM on December 18, 2007

I can't really make inroads in your overall stats problem, but I did find one questionable practice: "Some tests of some participants had very high non-response rates, but most tests had very low non-response rates. There was no middle ground - either very high non-response, or very low."

Is it possible that non-response is really a response on those tests? If I don't know or didn't hear the /l/ sound, would I get a no-response score? That would be a serious... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 1:46 PM on December 17, 2007

Tuscaloosa, AL=Tuscaloser
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 11:55 AM on December 17, 2007

RHAS = Raise Hell All Summer
Junior high through high school (1993-1999)
(almost a jinx with thivia)
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 6:42 PM on December 13, 2007

I saw two amazing museums while in Berlin in 2001. First was the Pergamon Museum which is basically a celebration of all the architectural stuff you can steal if you have an army. It's amazing and the audio tour was good.

The second awesome museum was the Berggruen Museum which houses tons of Picasso pieces (especially early stuff which I love), a lot of Paul Klee stuff, and some Matisse. I think this also had a nice audio tour with a lot of biographical info. Across... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 4:14 PM on December 13, 2007

How accurately did you create the example data you gave? If you have only two data points per time period (one x value and one y), like in your example, then correlating those two variables will tell you how closely those two variables stick together over time. A scatterplot of this data should fall on a diagonal line if they are perfectly correlated. If you want to know if the data are steadily increasing or decreasing, you could use seanyboy's suggestion of different sized dots. Then you'd... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 5:43 AM on December 11, 2007

My mom always used to make "hot buttery o's" which sounds really weird, but it's like chex mix using cheerios. You just melt some butter in a pan (maybe 1T or so) and when it's liquid, mix in a cup or so of cheerios (add enough so the butter just coats most of them lightly). When the cheerios start to brown (try one and makes sure they've passed soggy and become crunchy), add salt and chow down. Not the most healthy snack, but good.

Do you want sweet or savory?... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 5:13 AM on December 4, 2007

Front Page News on Crescent Ave was (as of 4 years ago) a nice N.O. style place. I'm not sure if they do the full Cajun menu, but they made a nice muffuletta. On further research, their website has a menu and I see red beans and rice with andouille sausage on there. I would recommend it if the other place is gone. (I have no recollection of A Taste of New Orleans. I lived in that area, but I may have forgotten it.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 7:49 PM on November 29, 2007

Front Page News is only three blocks from the address intermod gave for ToNO. I'd say it's also "close" to the Cheetah. It's also across the street from a club that looks a bit like a strip club.

I'm guessing proximity to a strip club was not part of the original restaurant's appeal, though... so that's not the selling point. haha. Front Page News has a nice patio if you're there in good weather. I think I went with a NO-native once and he liked it, so there's... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 8:35 PM on November 29, 2007

Re: wyzewoman--The very reason we came to suspect there was a general intelligence is because we can’t create tests of intelligence (or tests of any kind of cognitive capacity) that don’t correlate with each other. There’s something about our physical make-up where if we’re good at one cognitive activity, we tend to be good at another (the correlations can be very low, but they are never zero). Most respected researchers in the field accept that there is a general intelligence. The exact nature... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 7:14 PM on November 14, 2007 marked best answer

Anotherpanacea-- I don’t find the section you mention in wyzewoman's link compelling. Yes, there could be 2,000 independent abilities, but given our observations of the way the brain works, it seems just as possible that there are 2,000 dependent abilities. That is a big assumption of that individual, and one that is not parsimonious. Why should there be 2,000 independent abilities and not 100 dependent abilities (all influenced by the infrastructure of the brain)? Scientists are supposed to... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 4:47 PM on November 15, 2007 marked best answer

Gmail just rolled out a new version that was incompatible with my "better Gmail" addon. I fixed it by going back to the old version. Have you tried just clicking the "older version" link on the top right menu and gone back to the old system?
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 4:57 AM on November 12, 2007

Update--
When my coworker came in, it turned out the new kid had emailed him (at 9:20, so this time the notification was timely). It’s a little weird he didn’t call since we know he has the number. Anyway, he is really sick again. He did look really sick when he came in before (during a lunch hour when he had an appointment immediately following the lunch hour).

We know it’s his first real job, so I am inclined to follow the advice of making it obvious that... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 10:59 AM on November 9, 2007

Like Infinite Jest, I got a few date requests just from being a DJ on my college station (they liked to call, not email, though). My tactic was to put the kibosh on anything remotely personal, keep the calls as short as possible, and make myself a little more cold every time they called (I got more freaked out every time, so the chill was natural). If they asked me out (or invited me to get free booze from their wine store because I was still 20...) I just said that I wasn't interested and/or... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 4:19 PM on November 8, 2007

To get the bulleting system you had, here's what I did:
Select the "Format" menu, then "bullets and numbering". Then click on one of the bulleting systems and click the button that says "customize". You can then select what shapes you want for each level of bulleting by selecting each one left to right (under bullet character) and clicking the button "character" to find the one you want.
Does that make sense? It's really pretty... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 8:49 PM on September 27, 2007

Of course-- immediately after posting-- I read more carefully. You can't get the tabbing to work, but I can't help you there off the top of my head. Sorry.
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 8:51 PM on September 27, 2007

Aptitude tests do measure more long-term learning and are less sensitive to training than achievement tests (for example). It's usually just not worth the trouble of studying for them, because the effect is so small. However, if your friend was only 1 point away from passing, I'm guessing that a little positive measurement error and some training would put her over the cut score. Some training on content and especially relaxation techniques as Pecinpah suggests if she gets nervous could help.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 9:47 AM on September 18, 2007

The article you read hit on my biggest pet peeve-- don't drone on about your job or life. Just be sure your comments in class are similar to those of the smart undergrads-- share your life experience only when absolutely relevant and when everyone tends to do so (and never ever share something that takes more than 1 minute to explain).

I'm also shy, btw. The only way I made friends in grad school was to go to social events for the department and to jump into other... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 9:56 PM on September 16, 2007

For the love of god, NOT the House on the Rocks!!! Not unless you love to activate your mold allergies and can't get enough shag carpet. I particularly would not take an international visitor there, as the celebration of "American materialism gone wrong" probably would not go over well. I don't think she would appreciate it.

That said, if you're headed that way, the valley is really pretty and quintessential rolling farmland. Spring Green is a cute little... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 9:39 AM on September 14, 2007

For psychometrics and educational measurement, it's Anastasi and Urbina's Psychological Testing. It gives a brief but insightful overview of nearly every testing topic I've ever wanted to look up.
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 7:54 AM on September 9, 2007

The cell phone advice seems sketchy (though maybe as a decoy it would be ok). There have been over a dozen assaults (mostly fought off) in my college town in the last year and almost all of the women were on cell phones. Now that might be because all Iowa students are on their phones 100% of the time (plausible), but my instinct is that they were distracted or appeared distracted to the bastard(s).

More than carrying a deterrent, she would be better off not walking... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 12:48 PM on September 3, 2007

YoBananaBoy and Rokusan - NO NO NO. Fear of being alone is a ridiculous reason to stay! Things happen all the time, and people end up alone even after they cling to relationships.

Anon-- I felt exactly the same when I was 20. The guy was so nice, his family was perfect (every time I was with them, it felt like my own family). I just knew I had to marry this guy and I was afraid I would never find another one like him. He was stable, motivated, completely marriageable if... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 6:17 AM on September 1, 2007

Growing up, I loved the fall festival my hometown holds every year. Here are some of my favorite activities, though they may be bigger/more involved that you want to do:

duck pond - This is a great game for young kids. The kids fish out ducks from a pool and get prizes depending on the symbol on the underside of the duck. Requires some materials, but our set has been in use for 20 years or so. Get a baby pool and 2-3 dozen floating ducks. A fish net/scoop is optional.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 9:43 PM on August 14, 2007

I had a craft idea. I don't know if you are trying to avoid any Halloween associations, but you could decorate masks. Just buy some cheap plastic masks, feathers, sequins, stickers, markers, etc., etc. and let them go to town. I think boys and girls would like it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 9:48 PM on August 14, 2007

I'm agreed with the later posters-- surprise kisses and confessions are absolutely not the way to go. Even if I liked someone, I'd probably knee him in the nether-regions if he tried to lay one on me all of a sudden.

I've been asked out by guy friends a few times, and I usually knew what was coming (increased attention, non-accidental run ins, seeking me out at parties, etc.), and all he had to say was "do you want to go on a date sometime?" and that was that.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 9:31 AM on August 8, 2007

Be careful of glasses also. My dad's homemade photo was initially rejected because of his glasses. I can't remember if no glasses were allowed or if his self-tinting glasses were too dark or reflective. Carefully read the instructions if that may apply. My photo went through just fine sans glasses.
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 2:26 PM on August 5, 2007 marked best answer

I'm with uaudio. Sometimes my thank-you notes seem weird because I want more than one sentence. Also, compliments (and criticisms) are more effective when they are specific rather than general. I think the writer was trying to give a specific compliment rather than "thanks, good meeting." and maybe he/she just wasn't very creative.

I would be mortified if one of my clumsy, quick thank-yous was posted to internet to be hyper-analyzed. This was obviously an... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by parkerjackson at 12:52 PM on July 20, 2007 marked best answer