Monthly Archives: September 2005

Charles Halton

Teaching–It’s Not about Information

by

I am passionate about teaching. I love it. I love research, writing reviews and essays, and presenting at conferences, but teaching really gets me excited. That’s why I’ve devoted an entire category to teaching. In this category we will discuss teaching philosophy and methodology in new, innovative, and applicable ways.

Teaching isn’t like it used to be. Before the information overload that is the internet, mass media, and the proliferation of publishing houses, teachers used to be the gate keepers of information. If someone wanted to learn a subject, they had to seek out an individual who would orally relay information to them. Those days are over. If I want information I go to Google, Amazon, or the library–and more importantly, so will everyone else who has been raised with a computer in their home and a control pad in their hands.

So, what’s the use of teachers anymore? Plenty. But, conveying information is only a tiny part of the role of the modern teacher. We hope to start an ongoing discussion of the other 98% of teaching.

Charles Halton

Summary: “Neo-Babylonian ‘Interest-Free’ Promissory Notes,” Laurence Shiff, Journal of Cuneiform Studies 40/2 (1988): 187-194.

by

The term hubuttatatum does not mean interest free loan. Instead it indicates a loan that includes the interest payment in the “principle” amount to be paid back. Further charges of interest are prohibited. “The prohibition of interest that is inherent in the hubuttu promissory notes from the Neo-Babylonian period enjoins the creditor only from attempting to impose a second interest charge. It does not prevent him from increasing to a profitable level the original amount that is the focus of the preliminary negotiations carried out prior to the composition of the extant promissory note. Consequently, ‘interest-free’ does not necessarily mean ‘profit-free’” (194).