The copycat effects of media violence, similar to those previously attributed to westerns, radio serials and comic books, are easy to exaggerate.

Although we love the idea of choice - our culture almost worships it - we seek refuge in the familiar and the comfortable.

Nothing is perfect. Life is messy. Relationships are complex. Outcomes are uncertain. People are irrational.

No one welcomes chaos, but why crave stability and predictability?

Yet in our enthusiasm for the idea that everyone should be able to read and write fluently, we may be missing a crucial point: in today's culture, finely honed literacy skills are simply not as important as they once were.

Parents should be encouraged to read to their children, and teachers should be equipped with all available techniques for teaching literacy, so the varying needs and capacities of individual kids can be taken into account.

But the rule seems to be that the bigger and more life-changing the decision, the less it will seem like a decision at all.