Posts by John Koenigs
The History of Ponzi Schemes Goes Deeper Than the Man Who Gave Them His Name (advanced)

In the century since his arrest on Aug. 12, 1920, Charles Ponzi’s name has been linked to the scam that led to his eventual conviction and imprisonment. At its essence, a Ponzi scheme involves a phony investment in which early investors are paid with the investments of later investors making the enterprise appear legitimate. But Ponzi was neither the first nor the last, by far, to perpetrate this type of fraud.

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John KoenigsComment
Effects Of Screen Time On Adult Sleep (Beginner)

Screen time at night keeps adults from falling asleep and sleeping well. Your brain’s electrical activity increases and it prevents you from calming down into a peaceful state of mind for sleep. In addition, responding to an email, text, or video increases the tension in your body which results in stress. Your body then produces the stress hormone, cortisol.

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Don’t Start Smoking (Beginner)

Say no to tobacco. Falling into peer pressure can be the worst thing to do. Society can talk you into doing it without even saying a word. That’s why I’m here to persuade you not to start smoking. Many people do smoke, but that doesn’t make it the right choice. You shouldn’t start smoking because it can cause lung cancer, it causes others around you to be in danger, and it can cost an outrageous amount of money.

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Greek yogurt, a spoonful of nutrition (Beginner)

Greek yogurt didn't receive much attention until a local cable TV program talked about its nutritional benefits. The yogurt is known to be healthy, and a great diet food due to its low calories. It contains double to triple the amount of protein and calcium than that of ordinary yogurt and higher amount of lactic acid bacteria thus strengthening the immune system and helping digestion.

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Occam’s Razor and the Case for a Simple Life (Intermediate)

Occam’s Razor states that among competing hypotheses, the one with the fewest assumptions should be selected. That is to say, All things being equal, the simpler explanation is generally better than a more complex one. William of Ockham, an English Franciscan friar, came up with this brilliant revelation way back between 1287 and 1347 (the years he was alive).

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Saving Endangered Bonobos Teaches A Lesson In Empathy (Intermediate)

At an animal sanctuary in the Congo, several dozen Congolese schoolchildren are getting a crash course in bonobos. These gentle, endangered apes, who resemble chimpanzees, are "our closest cousins," educator Blaise Mbwaki tells the students in French. "They have a human character, and they are Congolese." "So if you eat a bonobo," Mbwaki says, "you are eating your cousin. It is cannibalism."

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What’s the Secret Ingredient to Great Mentorship? (Advanced)

“Find a mentor.” It’s a piece of career advice so commonplace many of us have never given it a second thought. But does it hold up to scrutiny? What does the evidence tell us about the perks of mentorship? Until recently, nothing conclusive. Some scholars even suggested that mentorship had troublesome side effects, including favoritism and “cloning,” mentors’ tendency to push protégés toward career paths exactly like their own.

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