Back to topics

Why do complaints about young people keep coming back?

Complaints about younger people can feel familiar even when the world has changed. Research on adults’ judgments of children offers one way to investigate that feeling: compare what people remember about their own youth with the evidence they use to judge the present.

3–7 min

Questions you could explore

  • How might someone’s current strengths shape their judgments of younger people?
  • What evidence would distinguish a change in behavior from a change in memory?

Start reading

Ready to try your ideas aloud?

Your topic carries over. Record up to 2½ minutes, depending on your plan.

Why does a radiocarbon date need a second kind of clock?

History4–5 minA radiocarbon measurement does not translate directly into one calendar year. The amount of radiocarbon in the atmosphere has varied, so dating relies on comparison with material whose age is already known.

History

Reading a buried timeline

A deep object is not necessarily the oldest thing at an archaeological site. A later pit can cut through earlier ground, leaving a sequence that has to be reconstructed from relationships between layers.

12–15 min

Reading a buried timeline

History12–15 minA deep object is not necessarily the oldest thing at an archaeological site. A later pit can cut through earlier ground, leaving a sequence that has to be reconstructed from relationships between layers.

History

When Britain’s railways needed a shared clock

A timetable becomes awkward when the clocks at its two ends disagree. In nineteenth-century Britain, railway journeys helped turn local time into a shared coordination problem, while the telegraph helped distribute an answer.

8–10 min

When Britain’s railways needed a shared clock

History8–10 minA timetable becomes awkward when the clocks at its two ends disagree. In nineteenth-century Britain, railway journeys helped turn local time into a shared coordination problem, while the telegraph helped distribute an answer.

Why do complaints about young people keep coming back? | Speech Topic | speaking.app