Human intelligence is universal - plentiful outside of educated Western societies. A New York Times report tells of Abdisamad Adan, who grew up with 17 brothers and sisters in primitive Somaliland, a backward region in East Africa, with no electricity or indoor plumbing. Most of his siblings are illiterate. But the youth studied by candlelight and was accepted by an experimental school started by a U.S. billionaire. Now Adan is a freshman at Harvard. Another gifted Somali student from the billionaire's school - a youth who herded camels, goats and sheep - now studies engineering at MIT.
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Why are outsiders Donald Trump and Ben Carson far ahead in the GOP presidential race? Because standard Republican Party leaders have become unappetizing, even to registered Republicans, according to a Washington Post analysis. Commentator Chris Cillizza wrote: "The GOP establishment is on the run, and there are few signs that its members have any sort of coherent strategy to deal with the massive uprising within its ranks."
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An old Marshall University building bears this lovely inscription: "Science is Truth and Truth is Beauty." Many scientists think patterns of nature and mathematics exhibit wonderful grace. Now physicist Frank Wilczek, who won a Nobel Prize for his discoveries about the strong force that hold atomic nuclei together, has written a book about it, titled "A Beautiful Question."
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Bearing arms in West Virginia: Jennifer Evans, 27, of near Hurricane, was killed by a bullet in the head. State highways worker Philip David Casto was caught in Massachusetts and charged with her murder.
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The world has 4,300 different religious categories, according to Adherents.com. It lists these as largest: Christian 2.1 billion, Muslim 1.1 billion, nonreligious 1.1 billion, Hindu 900 million, animist spirit groups 400 million, Chinese traditional 394 million, Buddhist 376 million - followed by thousands of smaller sects.
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Footnote from The West Virginia Encyclopedia: On June 11, 1782, frontiersman William Crawford was burned at the stake by Delaware Indians "who mistakenly blamed him for the treacherous murder of about 100 Moravian Christian Indians."