From THES, in social situations, topologists and biophysicists alike find that their enthusiasm for their discipline is not always infectious; beyond the league of gentlemen: Reisz charts learned societies' evolution from a world of armchairs and empire to inclusive, forward-thinking advocates for their disciplines; and it's right posh in t'common room, innit? Academia's worst snobberies may be dying out, but an accent on class still lingers. A review of From Nature to Experience: The American Search for Cultural Authority by Roger Lundin. A review of books on Samuel Johnson. From PopMatters, an excerpted on The Beastie Boys and The Talking Heads from Rebels Wit Attitude: Subversive Rock Humorists by Iain Ellis; will black pop artists still see themselves as outsiders now that a black person is President?; and the guys selling their hip-hop CD-Rs on the street know exactly where to find their prey: outside the independent record store, in and around shows of like-minded artists — what makes them so hard to resist? When psychology went online: A review of Psychological Aspects of Cyberspace: Theory, Research Applications. More and more and more on The Man Who Owns the News by Michael Wolff (and more by Conrad Black). From News Weekly, an article on the realisable goal of property for all. Perverted politics: Deviance for its own sake is reactionary, not rebellious.
