--- description: Containing Ebola, using apprenticeship to make jobs in the U.S., videorecording police officers, and admitting your brain can't multitask. title: These Are the Best Ideas of the Day image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Innovation](/tag/innovation/) ## Innovation Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Five Best Ideas of the Day: August 18 by [The Aspen Institute](/author/the-aspen-institute/) ## The Aspen Institute Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 18, 2014 4:04 PM CUT by [The Aspen Institute](/author/the-aspen-institute/) ## The Aspen Institute Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 18, 2014 4:04 PM CUT **1\.** [**Providing shoes to barefoot walkers may be a basic first step to containing Ebola.**](http://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/2014/08/15/could-shoes-help-contain-the-ebola-epidemic/ideas/nexus/ "undefined") By Stephen T. Fomba in Zócalo Public Square **2\.** [**Your brain isn’t built to multitask. Give it a break.**](http://www.salon.com/2014/08/17/war%5Fand%5Fpeace%5Ftortured%5Fme%5Ffacebook%5Femail%5Fand%5Fthe%5Fneuroscience%5Fof%5Falways%5Fbeing%5Fdistracted/ "undefined") By Michael Harris in Salon **3\.** [**U.S. intervention, while a key pillar, cannot solve the identity crisis in the Middle East.**](http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/washington-cant-solve-the-identity-crisis-in-middle-east-nations/2014/08/15/c72fc7e4-2254-11e4-8593-da634b334390%5Fstory.html "undefined") By Steven Cook in the Washington Post **4\.** [**This arrest may be monitored: The best way to protect citizens from abuse of power is videorecording everything.**](http://www.slate.com/articles/news%5Fand%5Fpolitics/politics/2014/08/ferguson%5Fpolice%5Fofficers%5Fshould%5Fbe%5Fforced%5Fto%5Fvideotape%5Fthemselves%5Ffor%5Four.html "undefined") By Reihan Salam in Slate **5\.** [**To connect more people to jobs, we must build a true and equitable apprenticeship system in the United States.**](http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-apprenticeships-20140814,0,1710983.story "undefined") By Robert Giloth and Maureen Conway in the Baltimore Sun  [_The Aspen Institute_](http://www.aspeninstitute.org/ "undefined") _is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3136513/five-best-ideas-of-the-day-august-18/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3136513/five-best-ideas-of-the-day-august-18/"},"headline":"Five Best Ideas of the Day: August 18","datePublished":"2014-08-18T16:04:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:43:05.772Z","description":"Containing Ebola, using apprenticeship to make jobs in the U.S., videorecording police officers, and admitting your brain can't multitask.","url":"https://time.com/3136513/five-best-ideas-of-the-day-august-18/","keywords":["Innovation","police","shooting","Middle East","ebola","Nationalism","shoes","Neuroscience","internships","Ferguson topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"The Aspen Institute","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/the-aspen-institute/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/innovation/","name":"Innovation"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3136513/five-best-ideas-of-the-day-august-18/","name":"Five Best Ideas of the Day: August 18"}}]}] ```