Amanda Smith is a freelance journalist and writer. She reports on culture, society, human interest and technology. Her stories hold a mirror to society, reflecting both its malaise and its beauty.

All opinions, columns and letters reflect the views of the individual writer and not necessarily those of the IDS or its staffers. Whether your New Year’s resolution was to lock in this semester, ...

In my high-school English classes, I often tell my students that they write their papers backwards: They devise a thesis and then look for evidence to support it. They’ll find what they want to see, I ...

Happiness is an electrifying and elusive state. Philosophers, theologians, psychologists, and even economists have long sought to define it. And since the 1990s, a whole branch of psychology—positive ...

Alexandra Twin has 15+ years of experience as an editor and writer, covering financial news for public and private companies. Capital recovery is the process of regaining the initial investment in a ...