Phrasal verbs

Rather than being fascinated about "ranking" (i.e. who's the 1st and who's the last). Why can't we divert our focus and think about how to bridge the gap between the top and the bottom? e.g. we can think of ways to lift people out of poverty, make thing more affordable so that some of the "luxury" will no longer be exclusive to those riches.

Source:  http://jezebel.com/5952624/university-of-chicago-professor-very-disappointed-that-female-neuroscientists-arent-sexier

e.g. She said it calmly and firmly in a matter-of-fact voice. e.g. He spoke in a matter-of-fact voice. not targeting specific people Another way of saying this is "on its merits". e.g.  Who   supports   it   doesn't   matter;   we   have   to   consider   the  idea   solely   on   its   merits   ,  or   The   agency   doesn't   care   about   her references   but   wants   to   hire   candidates   according   to   their   merits   .

1.  An intuitive feeling or a premonition:  had a hunch that he would lose.

It seems plausible that only those who live in a country should determine their fate, as Self-determination Theory says. However, if you've heard of the Monkey Experiment, you'll realize it's impossible to achieve so. There's an automatic mechanism that prevent each individual to go against the whole. The experiment: Each time a monkey tries to climb the ladder, all the monkeys are sprayed with ice water, ...

Ever wonder why America is providing military assistance to many countries (Japan, Taiwan, Germany, etc.). I remembered a theory from economics: comparative advantage. Today's America has the world strongest military, so it makes sense for it to provide this so those countries can focus their resources on industries such as technology.