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In their lively and entertaining weekly discussion of issues related to higher education, KUT’s Jennifer Stayton and Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger explore the topics of higher education, lifelong learning, and exercising the brain. Ed and Jennifer practice what they preach, too, by introducing math puzzlers and brain teasers to keep listeners on their toes.

Higher Ed: Synthesized Thought vs. Original Thought

Eureka! You know that moment when you feel like you've come up with something completely original? Well, consider this: Is it actually possible to come up with totally new thinking, given all the information that influences our thought? In this episode of KUT's podcast "Higher Ed," Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger and KUT's Jennifer Stayton respond to a listener's request to compare and contrast synthesized thinking and original thought.

In a previous "Higher Ed" episode, Ed and Jennifer talked about creating new ideas. In this episode, Ed and Jennifer follow up with a more in-depth discussion, prompted by a listener who was curious about the intersection of education, creativity, original thought and synthesized thought. Click here to listen to Ed and Jennifer navigate that intersection and to get the solution to the puzzler about cigarette butts. It's a little more complicated than it sounded at first!

This episode was recorded May 16, 2016.

For all of the Higher Ed episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here!

Jennifer Stayton is the local host for NPR's "Morning Edition" on KUT. Got a tip? Email her at jstayton@kut.org. Follow her on X @jenstayton.