The Conversation - The pandemic's drain on creativity

+ Was Jesus really born in Bethlehem? ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Thanks to the pandemic, coffee shops around the country have closed, reduced their hours or restricted indoor seating. This means more than lost wages for the employees and extra miles on your drip coffee maker. Three architecture and design scholars from the University at Buffalo explain how it also represents the loss of a space that encourages random encounters that are important incubators for ideas and inspiration.

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Nick Lehr

Arts + Culture Editor

By encouraging random encounters and free-flowing conversation, coffee shops are engines of innovation. Hulton Archive/Stringer via Getty Images

Why being stuck at home – and unable to hang out in cafes and bars – drains our creativity

Korydon Smith, University at Buffalo; Kelly Hayes McAlonie, University at Buffalo; Rebecca Rotundo, University at Buffalo

By missing out on chance encounters and observations that jolt 'a-ha' moments, new ideas, big and small, go undiscovered.

Politics/Election '20
The reality of Black men’s love lives and marriages is very different than what’s usually shown on TV – I spent years actually talking to them Armon Perry, University of Louisville The image of Black men in the US is distorted by the media and selective academic studies, says a scholar who has studied Black men's romantic lives. 'Black love matters' is his counter to that image.

Education

K-12 schools need to take cyberattacks more seriously

Nir Kshetri, University of North Carolina – Greensboro

America's public schools often lack the adequate security to protect their students' most sensitive data from being linked on the web.
COVID-19 means a lot more work for families of children with disabilities, but schools can help

Sandra M. Chafouleas, University of Connecticut; Emily A. Iovino, University of Connecticut

Some parents of kids with disabilities are doubling as specialized teachers, occupational therapists, speech therapists and psychologists during the pandemic.

Economy + Business

Americans aren’t getting enough to eat during the coronavirus pandemic – here’s what’s happening in Los Angeles County

Kayla de la Haye, University of Southern California

Not having enough to eat is a major public health concern, not only because it causes hunger and distress, but also because it’s linked to poor nutrition and unstable diet patterns.
Companies accused of crimes get more digital privacy rights than people under new Trump policy

Sarah Esther Lageson, Rutgers University - Newark ; Elizabeth Chiarello, Saint Louis University

A recent Labor Department memo urges agencies to avoid releasing press releases accusing companies of violating laws over fears of causing repetitional damage. People are denied the same protections.

Health + Medicine
Will going out in the cold give you a cold? Libby Richards, Purdue University Going out in the cold won't necessarily lead to you getting a cold. But cold weather in general is more hospitable to viruses, so it's wise to take steps to keep your immune system strong.

Ethics + Religion
Was Jesus really born in Bethlehem? Why the Gospels disagree over the circumstances of Christ’s birth Rodolfo Galvan Estrada III, Fuller Theological Seminary The differences in the Gospels are hard to reconcile. That's because, says a scholar, they offer an important insight into the Greco-Roman views of ethnic identity.

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Scientists suggest US embassies were hit with high-power microwaves – here’s how the weapons work

Edl Schamiloglu, University of New Mexico

High-power microwave weapons are useful for disabling electronics. They might also be behind the ailments suffered by US diplomats and CIA agents in Cuba and China.
Oregon just decriminalized all drugs – here’s why voters passed this groundbreaking reform

Scott Akins, Oregon State University; Clayton Mosher, Washington State University

Possessing heroin, cocaine, meth and other drugs for personal use is no longer a criminal offense in Oregon. The idea is to get people with problem drug use help, not punishment.
The iconic American inventor is still a white male – and that’s an obstacle to race and gender inclusion

Anjali Vats, Boston College

The story of invention in America typically features larger-than-life caricatures of white men like Thomas Edison while largely ignoring the contributions of women and people of color.

The Conversation - The pandemic's drain on creativity

Why being stuck at home – and unable to hang out in cafes and bars – drains our creativity

Politics/Election '20

The reality of Black men’s love lives and marriages is very different than what’s usually shown on TV – I spent years actually talking to them

Education

K-12 schools need to take cyberattacks more seriously

COVID-19 means a lot more work for families of children with disabilities, but schools can help

Economy + Business

Americans aren’t getting enough to eat during the coronavirus pandemic – here’s what’s happening in Los Angeles County

Companies accused of crimes get more digital privacy rights than people under new Trump policy

Health + Medicine

Will going out in the cold give you a cold?

Ethics + Religion

Was Jesus really born in Bethlehem? Why the Gospels disagree over the circumstances of Christ’s birth

Most read on site

Scientists suggest US embassies were hit with high-power microwaves – here’s how the weapons work

Oregon just decriminalized all drugs – here’s why voters passed this groundbreaking reform

The iconic American inventor is still a white male – and that’s an obstacle to race and gender inclusion

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