Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Music and Success

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/13/opinion/sunday/is-music-the-key-to-success.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&
Music and success --


October 12, 2013
Is Music the Key to Success?
By JOANNE LIPMAN

CONDOLEEZZA RICE trained to be a concert pianist. Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, was a professional clarinet and saxophone player. The hedge fund billionaire Bruce Kovner is a pianist who took classes at Juilliard.

Multiple studies link music study to academic achievement. But what is it about serious music training that seems to correlate with outsize success in other fields?

The connection isn’t a coincidence. I know because I asked. I put the question to top-flight professionals in industries from tech to finance to media, all of whom had serious (if often little-known) past lives as musicians. Almost all made a connection between their music training and their professional achievements.

The phenomenon extends beyond the math-music association. Strikingly, many high achievers told me music opened up the pathways to creative thinking. And their experiences suggest that music training sharpens other qualities: Collaboration. The ability to listen. A way of thinking that weaves together disparate ideas. The power to focus on the present and the future simultaneously.

Sunday, October 13, 2013

pants on fire !?

http://www.politifact.com/virginia/statements/2013/aug/19/eric-cantor/cantor-says-obamacare-gives-irs-access-personal-he/

Cantor said that under Obamacare, "the IRS will have access to the American people’s protected health care information." But he offers no hard proof, just speculation on a blog.

The IRS will play a major role in Obamacare by collecting a variety of taxes that will help support the program. But contrary to Cantor’s claim, IRS officials have repeatedly testified before Congress that they will not have access to the intimate details of anyone’s health records.

Cantor’s unfounded statement does nothing more than amp up public fear for his ongoing fight to repeal Obamacare. We rate it Pants on Fire.

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Then http://mediamatters.org/research/2013/10/01/15-myths-the-media-should-ignore-during-obamaca/196181 
Myth #11: With Full Access To Medical Records, The IRS Will Discriminate Against Conservatives

The New Republic: Idea That Obamacare Gives IRS Control Over Individuals' Health Care Is "Beyond Laughable." In a May 17 New Republic article, Jonathan Cohn called the idea that the Affordable Care Act would "meaningfully" expand the power of the IRS "beyond laughable." He highlighted the minor role that the agency would play in implementing the law and contrasted it with the agency's existing power.
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Read the whole article for the story.