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How does the "smashed avo" hook shape this discussion? Look at how statistics are used in this report to inform the debate and critique a narrow perspective. There's no doubt there are differences between the experiences and opportunities of young people compared to their parents. But when you enter the smashed avocado debate of baby boomers versus millennials, you overlook the inequality between members of the same generation. This also misses other ways inequality is perpetuated, such as through the intergenerational transfer of wealth. It's uncomfortable for many to admit but Australia is a hugely unequal society, both in terms of incomes and wealth. Australian households in the top 20% account for half of the income stream, that's about 12 times more than the bottom 20%. At the far ends of the distribution, the average weekly after tax income of the top 5% is 13 times that of the bottom 5%. But this isn't just an artefact of wealth in different generations. There are multiple ways we can glean this, most notably in relation to poverty.

Last Week Tonight clip: John Oliver hosts a mathematically representative climate change debate, with the help of special guest Bill Nye the Science Guy, of course. Using performence & comedy to communicate a scientific point

There's a huge debate going on in social science right now. The question is simple, and strikes near the heart of all research: What counts as solid evidence? The answer matters because many disciplines are currently in the midst of a "replication crisis" where even textbook studies aren't holding up against rigorous retesting. ...

The argument is simple, and goes a bit like this. Science does not work by appeal to authority, but rather by the acquisition of experimentally verifiable evidence. Appeals to scientific bodies are appeals to authority, so should be rejected. ...If legitimate authorities are not to be consulted, presumably there is no point in having scientists around at all, as each person would need to verify any claim on their own terms and with their own resources. That would mean a speedy decline into very dark times indeed.

A list of non-academic readings related to different aspects of the "fake news" debate, covering the impact of advertising, its role in the US election, the growing awareness of disinformation campaigns aimed at upcoming European elections, and some of the psychological theories that help explain why our brains can be so easily fooled.

In what feels like an increasingly polarised world, trying to convince the "other side" to see things differently often feels futile. Psychology has done a great job outlining some of the reasons why, including showing that, regardless of political leanings, most people are highly motivated to protect their existing views."Our results show why debates about controversial issues often seem so futile," the researchers said. "Our values can blind us to acknowledging the same logic in our opponent's arguments if the values underlying these arguments offend our own."

The benefits and harms of medical marijuana can be debated, but more states are legalizing pot, even for recreational use. A new evaluation of marijuana's risks is overdue. Last year, the National Academies of Sciences, Medicine and Engineering released a comprehensive report on cannabis use. At almost 400 pages long, it reviewed both potential benefits and harms. Let's focus on the harms.

Machines are besting humans in more and more tasks; thanks to technology, fewer Americans make more stuff in less time. But today economists debate not whether machines are changing the workplace and making us more efficient - they certainly are - but whether the result is a net loss of jobs. The figures above may look dire. But compare the number of manufacturing jobs and total jobs in the chart below. Since 1990, the total non-farm workforce has grown 33 percent, more than accounting for the manufacturing jobs lost.

When we launched Beyond the blade earlier this year, we wanted to know how many young people and children were being killed by knives in the UK. Who are these young people being killed?, Where are they dying? Is the scale of the issue changing, and if so how? We spoke to experts about the number of children and teenagers affected in Britain and Northern Ireland. We checked with the Office for National Statistics, the Home Office, politicians, academics and thinktanks. But the answer to how many young people are dying every year, it seemed, was that nobody knows. So we started trying to find out. Until now, there has been no publicly available information about the demographic profiles of those who have died from knife attacks in the UK

Interesting links to different sources discussing data on teacher pay, and what it shows in relation to different things that stakeholders might care about. educator pay varies significantly across states, from an average of $44,921 in Oklahoma to $77,957 in New York. Why should school administrators and government leaders care about teacher pay - beyond wanting their employees to be able to afford their living expenses? Below, we present research that examines this issue. What scholars have found is that teacher salaries are linked to employee retention and that better pay seems to draw smarter people to the field and into the classroom. It's not clear, however, whether higher salaries result in higher student achievement.