archive

Life at the epicenter

Gary Dickson (Edinburgh): Charisma, Medieval and Modern. From Popular Mechanics, what makes a supervolcano so super? Trumping any volcanic eruption known to modern humans, the supervolcano could cause rapid climate change and mass extinctions; and life at the epicenter: Kale Thompson on preparing for the mega-quake. Extremism and national character: “Personality differences” between people from different countries may just be a reflection of cultural differences in the use of “extreme” language to describe people. Are you worth more dead than alive? Jason Stanley on speech, lies and apathy: Blatant falsehoods like those of the Romney-Ryan campaign are only possible because Americans no longer expect to hear the truth. From Aggregation Magazine, Matthew Fox on sex and overpopulation. Kevin Drum on Paul Ryan's grim vision for America. Ouiser Boudreaux on when annoying Ayn Rand acolytes invade OkCupid.