Comments for sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/7-quick-takes-friday-5

Comment #2643

2011-11-05T14:47:14Z

non-verbal doesn't mean unintelligent

I knew that when we went to the zoo when Noah was not quite three, and he mostly ignored the animals in favor of close examination of everything mechanical. :)

your quick takes take me a long time.

Me, too, actually, especially when they generate comments that take a while to answer. There's really no reason why most of them couldn't be made into separate, short posts, but I like the format. I also like Janet's Seven Quick Thanks Friday—I'll have to figure out some way to do that, too, but Friday's already pretty overwhelming....

Comment #2642

2011-11-05T14:40:38Z

Let's see if I can get this straight (I asked my Favorite Economist.) Credit card companies sometimes send out promotional offers, such as "Zero percent interest for six months on balance transfers." The trick is that the 0% applies only to the balance transferred (from another credit card), not existing balances or future charges. And any payment you make is applied first to the "promotional balance" (that covered by the 0%), so if you don't pay it all, you'll be accruing interest charges mostly at the higher rate.

It's bad—but there are so many new rules affecting the fees banks can charge that they have to find other ways to keep afloat. Banks are considered "bad guys" these days, and with some reason, but credit card fraud is a huge problem, and the banks have to absorb the losses because consumers are protected, so they have to find some way to stay profitable. This is one of them. That's not to say we have to fall for it....

Comment #2641

2011-11-05T14:39:36Z

your quick takes take me a long time. (:

Comment #2640

2011-11-05T14:21:55Z

I usually find it's not worth my time to look up when a baby is "supposed" to do something or other. But I did note when Joy showed that she had object permanence and it seemed "early". I think it's neat that they're finding this out and hopefully it will help open up more understanding that non-verbal doesn't mean unintelligent.

Comment #2639

2011-11-05T13:00:39Z

What is a promotional balance?

Comment #2638

2011-11-05T11:03:05Z

Yes, Kathy! And it may be more prevalent now, but I'd say it's not new, at least on the elementary school level. I saw so many apparently random innovations and was all but certain I could tie each one of them to some educator's recent PhD thesis.

Comment #2637

2011-11-05T10:47:12Z

One aspect of the push for innovation is hurting our schools - good teaching is increasing defined as doing innovative things in the classroom. A tried-and-true method that works is scorned. An untested gimmick is great teaching.