DO FACTS MATTER ANY MORE?

TOP OF THE NEWS:

- Trump understands what many miss: people don’t make decisions based on facts (Vox) "But Trump was actually just trading on something psychologists and political scientists have known for years: that people don’t necessarily make decisions based on facts. Instead, we are often guided by our emotions and deeply held biases. Humans are also very adept at ignoring facts so that we can continue to see the world in a way that conforms to our preconceived notions. And simply stating factual information that contradicts those deeply held beliefs is often not enough to combat the spread of misinformation." and Donald Trump didn’t ‘hoodwink’ his voters, says professor who has spent nearly a decade researching them (WaPo)

BUSINESS:

- Republicans are suddenly realizing the economy is actually in good shape (Vox) "One of the great paradoxes of the 2016 presidential election is that whatever you make of the generation-long course of the American economy, it was the best year of the 21st century in basic pocketbook terms by almost any measure. Data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta shows that wages are growing at their fastest pace in eight years. Nobody noticed in the heat of the October campaign, but data released last month also showed that American wages reached an all-time high point. A little less than a year from now, we are due for a census report that will show that median household income is at an all-time high."

- Saving money isn’t the only thing you need to do to prepare for retirement (Quartz) "Researchers found that older people more than made up for their diminished fluid intelligence if they had gained experience and expertise in financial matters (that is, subject-specific crystallized intelligence). The riskiest thing you can do is not to pay attention to financial matters until late in life. Long before you retire, then, it is not enough simply to save; it’s important to gain financial literacy as well."

HEALTH:

- Landmark report by Surgeon General calls drug crisis ‘a moral test for America’ (WaPo) "Regardless of persistent beliefs, addiction is a brain disease, not a moral failing, Murthy said. Part of the reason for the report is to change attitudes about addiction and the stigma that users feel, he explained. 'I’m calling for a culture change in how we think about addiction,' he said. 'Unless we eradicate the negative [stereotypes] . . . we won’t create an environment where people feel comfortable coming forward and asking for help.'"

NEWS:

- Anti-Trump demonstrators say nationwide protests are ‘just a taste of things to come’ (WaPo) "Instead of voting for Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, dozens of protesters in cities from Philadelphia to Portland, Ore., said in interviews this week that they had cast ballots for Green Party candidate Jill Stein, wrote in Sen. Bernie Sanders or, in some cases, failed to vote at all. The NBC affiliate in Portland found that of more than 100 protesters arrested there last week, more than half did not vote in the state. So rather than protesting Clinton’s loss, people have cited more varied reasons for joining the protests. In addition to voicing opposition to Trump, they say they are expressing anger with the entire political system and their desire to force dramatic change on a host of social and economic fronts."

- ‘Political correctness’ has become a codeword for hate (WaPo) and Opinion Journal: Voters Reject the PC Police (WSJ)

- Republican lawmakers are scrambling to find an alternative to Obamacare (Economist)

- Networks Slam Stephen K. Bannon, Ignore Democrat Keith Ellison’s Radicalism (Breitbart)

TECHNOLOGY:

- Social Media’s Globe-Shaking Power (NYT) "They [social media sites] have undone traditional political advantages like fund-raising and access to advertising. And they are destabilizing and replacing old-line institutions and established ways of doing things, including political parties, transnational organizations and longstanding, unspoken social prohibitions against blatant expressions of racism and xenophobia."

- Female Programmers Make Nearly 30% Less Than Their Male Counterparts (Fortune) "One potential explanation for the wide disparity in pay in these particular fields is that they are dominated by men. 'Fields where the proportion [of employees] is tilted towards men see wider gaps,' Chamberlain says. 'The process of pay setting and promotion tends to be more biased.' In 1984, 37% of computer science majors in the U.S. were women. Today, that figure is just 18%. If things continue at the current rate, women will hold only one in five computing jobs in the U.S. by 2025, according to research by Accenture and Girls Who Code."

- Protecting Your Digital Life in 7 Easy Steps (NYT)

BOTTOM OF THE NEWS:

- 5 Most Absurd Ways the Left Has Responded to the 2016 Election (Breitbart)

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