Academics, I need your help in designing a new course (and please retweet so I get more fdbk). Many of our undergraduates seem unable or unwilling to discuss difficult topics. They seem to lack tools for understanding what counts as evidence and how to reason effectively in these real world contexts. It seems like they often mistake their feelings for reasons and evidence or simply don’t want to have to discuss or defend their views at all. As universities, countering this should be one of our primary missions so that we are producing a citizenry unafraid to engage on these topics and also willing to listen to and learn from those they disagree with. While it is often forgotten, this is the actual benefit of diverse perspectives. So I’m considering creating a course that not only teaches these skills but requires students to put them into practice, rather than just to learn them academically. Have any of you created a course like this or do you have a course like this at your university? If so, would you be able to share your syllabus?

The hits keep coming. UCLA is hiring in computational neuroscience. recruit.apo.ucla.edu/JPF0974… From the ad: The UCLA Department of Psychology invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track or tenured faculty position at the rank of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Professor specializing in computational neuroscience and the use of advanced mathematical methods and theoretical approaches to understand behavior and brain processes recruit.apo.ucla.edu/JPF0974…

Saved the best for last. The UCLA SAN area is searching for a new Affective Neuroscientist to join Carolyn Parkinson, Jaime Castrellon, Jen Silvers, Adriana Galvan, Naomi Eisenberger, and myself. Please retweet and spread the word. recruit.apo.ucla.edu/JPF0973…