Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the only federal holiday designated by Congress as a National Day of Service. The humanitarian response to the Los Angeles wildfires has shown us yet again the meaningful impact of service, so we urge you to channel the spirit of the late reverend today and take some time to serve your community. “The greatest birthday gift my husband could receive is if people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds celebrated the holiday by performing individual acts of kindness through service to others,” Coretta Scott King once said. That could mean volunteering for a local organization, picking up litter from a nearby park, or helping a neighbor bring in their groceries — every little bit counts.
Must Reads
A star-studded musical lineup, including Billie Eilish and Stevie Nicks, will perform at a Los Angeles FireAid benefit concert next Thursday
Hope Is Not the Same as Optimism, a Psychologist Explains — Just Look At MLK’s Example
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
This article was written by Kendra Thomas, an associate professor of psychology at Hope College, for The Conversation. On April 3, 1968, standing before a crowded church, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. painted his vision for justice. “I’ve seen the Promised Land,” he said. “I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land.” Twenty-two hours later, he was assassinated. King’s prophetic words express the virtue of hope amid hardship. He was not optimistic that he would reach the “Promised Land,” yet he was hopeful about the ultimate goal. In conversation, “hope” and “optimism” can often be used as synonyms. But there’s an important gap between them, as psychology research suggests. Read more.
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America’s growing divisions are hard to ignore — and we have all felt the deeply personal rifts, especially when politics enters the conversation at the family dinner table. But what if there was a news source that everyone, from progressives to conservatives and everyone in between, could read without all that partisan spin? Introducing Tangle: a free, independent newsletter that covers one major news story per day from all perspectives. In just 10 minutes, you get a fact-based summary and seven different points of view, so you can form your own opinion. In a world of extreme divides, Tangle helps dial down the heat.
Scientists Make Breakthrough in Achieving Sense of Touch for Brain-Controlled Bionic Limbs
University of Chicago
A team of scientists has made major advances in helping people with spinal cord injuries experience a realistic sense of touch when using brain-controlled bionic limbs. In a study published last week, the team outlined a first-of-its-kind method that involves sending “tactile messages” to electrodes in patients’ brains. “Most people don’t realize how often they rely on touch instead of vision — typing, walking, picking up a flimsy cup of water,” co-author Charles Greenspon said in a statement. “If you can’t feel, you have to constantly watch your hand while doing anything, and you still risk spilling, crushing, or dropping objects.” The “messages” the researchers used prompted complex sensations, allowing participants to feel the edge of an object and the direction of its motion along the fingertips of a bionic hand, per a press release from Sweden’s Chalmers University of Technology. “We are in another level of artificial touch now,” said lead author Giacomo Valle. “We think this richness is crucial for achieving the level of dexterity, manipulation, and a highly dimensional tactile experience typical of the human hand.”
Culture
Now Seeking: “Citizen Archivists” Who Can Read Cursive
Andrew Burton/Getty Images
Reading and writing in cursive is becoming somewhat of a lost art, a trend that began with the introduction of the typewriter. Today, some states are reintroducing cursive into public school curricula, but the skill is now considered a “superpower,” at least according to Suzanne Isaacs with the National Archives. The Washington, D.C., agency is currently seeking “citizen archivists” who can read cursive, and thus help decipher archival documents ranging from Revolutionary War records to 19th-century immigration papers and the 1950 census. “There’s no application,” Isaacs told USA Today. “You just pick a record that hasn’t been done and read the instructions. It’s easy to do for a half hour a day or a week.” Beyond keeping their cursive skills sharp and giving the National Archives a helping hand, many volunteers find the undertaking personally enriching. “I wake up in the morning and have my breakfast with my husband, then he goes off to go fishing and I come in my work room, I have my computer and I put on my radio station with oldies and I just start transcribing,” said 70-year-old Christine Ritter, who is working on Revolutionary War files for a project honoring the 250th anniversary of American independence. “I just love it so much.”
In Other News
As of Jan. 1, Massachusetts has banned circus performances from elephants, lions, tigers, and more animals (read more)
The NCAA will now pay women’s college basketball teams for competing in March Madness (read more)
A Rhode Island family donated 67 acres of land for a new wildlife refuge (read more)
In an effort to bring some levity to LA amid the wildfires, a local theater put on a puppet show for kids(read more)
Scientists found a fossil of an extinct cat species that was so small it could fit in the palm of your hand(read more)
Inspiring Story
“What is more essential than daily bread?”
At Bakery by Textbook in Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy neighborhood, patrons can name their own price for loaves of bread — really. “We want people to feel comfortable coming in and paying what they can,” said baker Tony Yarema. “In America, especially in a place like New York, which is such a mecca of money, people feel like they’re doing something wrong. And it’s not supposed to be like that. We want this scheme to be used.”
Photo of the Day
Indian Space Research Organization/ X
Last week, India successfully completed an unmanned docking in space, becoming the fourth country to do so (joining the U.S., Russia, and China). Watch a video from the Indian Space Research Organization recapping the “historic moment.”
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