Web reads: A weekly list of interesting internet finds

Marriage talk. Do college students want to talk about marriage? A professor at the University of St. Thomassays they want to and need to: “They imagine that worldly success is readily attainable, and hope to be lucky in love. They must be brought to understand that committed love can be chosen and cultivated even in difficult circumstances, while worldly success depends much more heavily on the winds of fortune.”

Real life pro-life. “Donnie is 20. He can’t walk or talk, eat or drink, sit up or even turn over. She calls him her perfect boy.” What does it mean to be pro-life? This touching article from the Tampa Bay Times— about a son with Trisomy 18 and the mother who cares for him—exemplifies the reporter’s mantra: show, don’t tell.

Turing tests. Economist Bryan Caplan ponders whether liberals or conservatives are better able to pass ideological Turing tests—“to state opposing views as clearly and persuasively as their proponents.”

Popularizing proficiency. Are 10,000 hours enough to make us proficient at something—an idea popularized by Malcolm Gladwell—or does it take something more?

Loving literary fiction. As we think about the Common Core State Standards’ requirement of more non-fiction reading in schools, along comes a study touting the social and emotional benefits of literary fiction.