Interesting Links

1.) This was a nice post by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits (also linked in the blog-roll on the right) on unconditional acceptance of one's self:

"Acceptance isn’t stagnation — you will change no matter what. You can’t avoid changing. The question is whether that change comes from a place of acceptance and love, or a place of self-dislike and dissatisfaction. I vote for unconditional love."

The full post can be read here. 

2.) Also, Mr. Money Mustasche published an informative article today on calculating net-worth, spending, and savings rates. It can be read here.

3.) For an interesting view of data on the middle class in America today, this Upshot post is interesting. (I didn't read it, but here is the Times piece from which the data is drawn).

4.) Shirely S. Wang reports on hikikomori in Japan.

[Hikikomori is] a type of social withdrawal that can be so severe, people with it don’t leave their houses for years. It’s also what those who suffer from the condition are called... 

Hikikomori appears to be a condition distinct from other mental illnesses, Japanese experts say. Only about half of those with the condition would be diagnosed with a disorder in the U.S. psychiatric diagnostic manual commonly known as DSM-5, according to one survey of 4,134 Japanese residents published in Psychiatry Research in 2010. But large-scale survey data on hikikomori remains limited.

The full story can be read here.

5.) From The Economist: "The children of the rich and powerful are increasingly well suited to earning wealth and power themselves. That’s a problem."

6.) From MorningStar, a useful discussion on IRAs: "7 Myths That Could Trip Up IRA Contributors"

"Myth 1: If you contribute to an IRA, you won't be able to get your money out unless you have some type of extenuating situation--for example, you're buying a home or going back to school.
Myth 2: A Roth IRA is always the best type.
Myth 3: You can't make a Roth IRA contribution if you earn too much.
Myth 4: You shouldn't fund a backdoor IRA if you have a lot of Traditional IRA assets.
Myth 5: High-income investors can benefit from investing in--and hanging on to--a nondeductible IRA."
Myth 6: You can't contribute to an IRA once you hit age 70 1/2.
Myth 7: You should only hold tax-inefficient investments inside your IRA."

The explanations are nuanced and interesting throughout, particularly since many of the "myths" are in fact only true or false for certain people in certain circumstances. Thanks go to Taylor Larimore on Bogleheads for posting the link. 

7.) Walking classrooms. I like the idea. 

8.) How do kids with autism process play? Interesting study: 

"When participants with ASD were in the MRI scanner and thought they were playing with the child they had just met, their brain activation patterns did not differ from when they thought they were playing with a computer," said Edmiston, who is completing a doctorate in the Vanderbilt Brain Institute Neuroscience Graduate program. "In contrast, typically developing children showed unique activation patterns based on which partner they were playing. This suggests that social agents might not be processed in the brains of people with ASD differently than nonsocial agents."