by Howard Gardner Until recently, only those “in the know” had heard of the corporation named Palantir. But of late, it has come into the spotlight. For investors, on October 1, 2020, Palantir had an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange—book value in the neighborhood of twenty billion dollars. For newspaper readers, on […]

The Intelligences of Making Music: A Personal Exploration
From an early age, music has been very important in my life. After picking out tunes on a neighbor’s piano, I began to study piano formally when I was barely seven years old; and by the time that I was 12, I was already quite accomplished. At that point, I had to decide whether to […]

The Costs of Meritocracy: Two Destructive Forms of Being “Smart”
by Howard Gardner (with comment by Michael Sandel) Michael Sandel, highly esteemed political philosopher at Harvard, has written The Tyranny of Meritocracy—a powerful indictment of contemporary society—especially the versions in the United States and England. In this provocative book , Sandel reflects at length about the importance nowadays of being ‘smart’. As one who has […]

John F. Kennedy and the Rings of Responsibility
by Howard Gardner For those of us over the age of 70, the name “John F. Kennedy” brings back vivid memories: his youthful energy, meteoric rise to the presidency, apparently storybook marriage, event-filled 1000 days in his office—and of course, his tragic assassination and the ill luck that plagued and has continued to plague the […]

The Liberal Arts By Any Other Name… American Higher Education and Ideas about the Liberal Arts and Sciences
In September 2018, we posted a blog about our impressions of the different ways in which participants understand the term “liberal arts and sciences.” Since then, we have completed a full analysis of these differences. In the following blog, we highlight our major findings. by Christina Smiraglia What does the term ‘liberal arts” mean to […]