online archive
12:00PM
JUL 16 2007
Science, morality and academia
Joseph Raz (Oxford): Reasoning with Rules. A review of Reasons and the Good by Roger Crisp. A review of Reasoning in Biological Discoveries: Essays on Mechanisms, Interfield Relations, and Anomaly Resolution by Lindley Darden. Arresting developments: Computer science and biological science have a lot to teach each other. Rights and Wrongs: William Saletan on liberals, progressives, and biotechnology. An interview with David Pearce, author of The Hedonistic Imperative, on suffering, happiness and paradise engineering. From Accelerating Future, a look at the top 10 transhumanist technologies, and why the word “Singularity” has lost all meaning. Why care about artificial intelligence? Kaj Sotala investigates.
From Wired Science, here's a brief history of the Superorganism (and part 2); and Ants, Altruism and the Future of Humanity: Has altruism increased with social complexity and sophistication? Might it actually be driving us towards a kindler, gentler and altogether more successful civilization? And can we engineer our own development as a species? More on the early science of altruism and the future science of altruism. Free Choice + Punishment = Cooperation: In a computer simulation of a multi-player game, cheaters didn't prosper when other participants could choose not to play. When it comes to putting yourself in the shoes of others, cultures that emphasise interdependence over individualism may have the upper hand. A review of Character Strengths and Virtues by Martin Seligman and Christopher Peterson.
From Discover, a look at the 7 most exciting moments in science (Hint: Newton and Archimedes didn't make it). No @#&!, Sherlock: For every cry of "Eureka! I've found it!" there are a hundred studies that elicit no more reaction than a simple, "Well, no duh". In the half century since Explorer 1, discoveries in space science have radically changed our view of the universe we live in. A review of Faust in Copenhagen: A Struggle for the Soul of Physics by Gino Segre and Uncertainty: Einstein, Heisenberg, Bohr, and the Struggle for the Soul of Science by David Lindley. Dumber in English: Biophysicist and author Stefan Klein wants to ensure the future of German as a language of science. Our academic language is on the verge of atrophy, he says.
From American, the SAT got him into Harvard from a small Iowa town. But now, Charles Murray wants to abolish the test. It’s unnecessary and, worse, a negative force in American life. A review of The Power of Privilege: Yale and America’s Elite Colleges by Joseph A. Soares. John McWhorter on the ugly side of racial diversity in the academy. What's the matter with college? Rick Perlstein wants to know. Halls of Ivy—and crumbling plaster: Amid a building boom, colleges scramble for funds to keep up aging facilities. Comforts on campus: Universities and private companies across the UK are building top-notch student housing, some with free broadband internet, gyms, pools and cinemas. How big money seduces Oxford's brains: Champagne parties? £800 a week for a summer job? These are the kind of lures the banks are throwing out to ensure they get the cream of Britain's brightest students.
12:00PM
JUL 16 2007
The war on terror, American history, religion and atheism
From Wired, an article on the evolutionary brain glitch that makes terrorism fail. A special report on a world wide web of terror: Al-Qaeda's most famous web propagandist is jailed, but the internet remains its best friend. The myth of al-Qaida's omnipotence: In reality, the terrorist network has no useful answers to the complex questions of modern Islamic societies. In time, it will wither away; and don't flatter terrorists with po-faced hush. Mock them: Taking the mickey out of these criminals is a serious necessity - by laughing at them we deny them all dignity. A review of The Utility of Force: The Art of War in the Modern World by Rupert Smith. Planet Pentagon: How the Pentagon came to own the earth, seas, and skies.
From Common-place, an article on Private Wealth, Public Influence: The Jeffersonian tradition and American philanthropy; a review of Rape & Sexual Power in Early America by Sharon Block; a review of A Well-Regulated Militia: The Founding Fathers and the Origins of Gun Control in America by Saul Cornell; and The Architect of Colonial Desires: Did the tragic consequences of colonialism spring from the original intent of Europeans or were they largely unexpected? The US state of Oklahoma almost entered the Union as two states – Oklahoma and Sequoyah. The latter is the name of a failed attempt in the early 20th century by Native Americans to constitute a state of their own. A review of A Nation Among Nations: America's Place in World History by Thomas Bender.
From The New Humanist, a review of Have a Nice Doomsday: Why Millions of Americans Are Looking Forward to the End of the World by Nicholas Guyatt, and a review of The Threat to Reason: How the Enlightenment was hijacked and how we can reclaim it by Dan Hind. In Europe, God Is (Not) Dead: Christian groups are growing, faith is more public. Is supply-side economics the explanation? Some liken capitalism to a religion. The comparison goes too far, yet unquestionably some religious faiths and ethnic groups seem to have a particular affinity for free enterprise. From Commonweal, between theology & exegesis: A review of Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration by Pope Benedict. A review of Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why by Bart D. Ehrman. A review of Jesus for the Non-Religious by John Shelby Spong.
From Monsters and Critics, an interview with Daniel Dennett, author of Breaking the Spell. What is God? Unfortunately, most of us do not think for ourselves. Michael Gerson on what atheists can't answer, and a response by Christopher Hitchens. More and more on God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens. Joe Sobran on The Atheist Renaissance. A force for evil? AC Grayling on why religion is the lunatic fringe of human thought - scores are murdered daily in the name of faith, and riled religious respondents should study epistemology and the disappearance of fairy beliefs, and also apply some sound ethics.
12:00PM
JUL 16 2007
Global issues, Europe and American government and politics
From IHT, a review of The Secret History of the American Empire: Economic Hit Men, Jackals, and the Truth About Global Corruption by John Perkins. From FT, a review of Connected: 24 Hours in the Global Economy by Daniel Altman. Tyler Cowen on a way for resource-rich countries to audit their way out of corruption. A Treaty That Lifts All Boats: Our national security interests alone should be sufficient to persuade the Senate to ratify the international treaty Convention of the Law of the Sea. Pastoralism is under threat – from climate change, shifting global markets and increased competition for land and other natural resources. Can pastoralism survive? Should it?
Dreaming a continent: The European project will wither and die if it does not place culture and the arts at the heart of its identity, writes the legendary film-maker Wim Wenders. A review of The Last Days of Europe: Epitaph for an Old Continent by Walter Laqueur (and more). A review of Can Germany Be Saved? The Malaise of the World's First Welfare State by Hans-Werner Sinn. In a place far from the geographic heart of German culture, on the lower reaches of the Volga River in the southern part of European Russia, there once existed a separate republic for Russia’s Germans. The story of how these Wolgadeutsche or Russlanddeutsche came to live in Russia and later leave it again, is a now largely forgotten part of European history. Thirty-six years after it was founded, the "Free State of Christiania" is now being forced to comply with Copenhagen's local ordinances. Those who wish to remain are being asked to buy their homes — at prices close to the market value. Will gentrification kill the idyllic hippie settlement?
Andrew B. Whitford (Georgia) and Holona L. Ochs (Kansas): The Political Roots of Executive Clemency. Tough talk about impeachment: Bill Moyers interviews Bruce Fein and John Nichols, author of The Genius of Impeachment: The Founders' Cure for Royalism. Is Cheney evil or just a weasel? Cheney has done some scary things, but likening to him to He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, we confirm his power rather than undermine it. After a myriad of stories about people being excluded from events where the President is speaking, now we know that the White House had a policy manual on just how to do so, called the "Presidential Advance Manual".
An Election Runs Through It: A look at the 1974 and 1976 Senate elections shows us that even though the current environment seems poor for Republicans, the party still could surprise in 2008. Research suggests Democrats may be hurt by antiwar divisions in 2008 (and the paper). There is something that separates Al Gore from the Democratic field worth underscoring. Specifically, Al Gore is a situationist. Hillary is from Mars, Obama is from Venus: In the Democratic presidential pack, the leading man is a woman and the leading woman is a man. From The Hill, for anyone eager to watch a real woman navigate the shark-infested waters of congressional politics, listen to Connie Schultz. Or, as she grudgingly became known on the campaign trail, Mrs. Sherrod Brown.
12:00PM
JUL 16 2007
Books, food, visual arts and journalism
When James Murray, the founding editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, issued his famous “Appeal to the English-speaking public to read books” in 1879, asking readers to send word-evidence from those books to help him make his dictionary, he couldn’t have envisioned reality TV getting involved. But it has. Punctuation is no place for zero tolerance: Lynne Truss and others demand a rigidly standard English, but our language has fewer unbreakable rules than they want. A small margin for success: Ian McMillan enters the world of the fringe publishers – who survive with only ingenuity and innovative writing to help. Curse of the Mommy: John Sutherland on the best way to sell books in the US. Harry Potter and the Death of Reading: Why America's literary obsession is bad news for books.
From PopMatters, We Are What We Think About What We Eat: Why is literature about food — read in a state of inner solitude, much like the experience of dining alone — so alluring?; Elitist Dumpster Divers: Freegans might seem like environmental crusaders, but they parasitically glean the leavings of those they deride, the people who have actually struggled to make a difficult peace with an imperfect economic system; and an interview with Steve Ettlinger, author of Twinkie, Deconstructed: My Journey to Discover How the Ingredients in Processed Foods are Grown, Mined (Yes, Mined), and Manipulated Into What America Eats. A review of Otherwise Normal People: Inside the Thorny World of Competitive Rose Gardening by Aurelia C. Scott.
From Commentary, At Home with The Sopranos: Benjamin A. Plotinsky on a fictional New Jersey mobster and us. Where Funny Goes To Die: The long, sad decline of Robin Williams: a timeline. With the debut of Comedy By the Numbers: The 169 Secrets of Humor and Popularity by Eric Hoffman and Gary Rudoren, we can all enjoy both the prickly irritation and gut-busting guffaws of hanging out with funny people as they talk shop.
From PopMatters, an article on film portrayals of journalists. Rupert Murdoch's $5bn move for the Wall Street Journal provoked outrage and a desperate rearguard action, but the daily hymn-sheet of the free market was hardly in a strong position to complain. In this increasingly celebrity-obsessed world has the "gossip-isation" of the news rendered the columns redundant? Two new long-form investigative series, in the Boston Globe and the Washington Post, demonstrate the value of this news format. Believing is "seeing": A picture may be worth 1,000 words, but without words, pictures can be ambiguous. The famous Robert Capa photo from the Spanish Civil War: a man caught at the instant he is shot, or slipping in a training exercise? Only the caption can tell - if it is honest. Usually the story that accompanies the picture is more important than the picture.
