I never know what entry will attract the most attention, or why the number of readers ebbs and flows. Just before the switch to First Things, I had hit the 50,000 visits a month mark, from about 42,000 visitors. Then, numbers fell, as they usually do in the summer. They have begun to climb again, but the last few days have been startling, with yesteray more than 4700 visits.
A sudden increase in visitors—as opposed to a slow and steady increase over time—usually comes from being linked by other sites. That has happened here. The post that seems to have caused much of the excitement was “Exceptional Humans Did Not Evolve from Apes,” which briefly commented on the latest scientific discovery about our putative ancient ancestors. how we did not evolve directly from apes, and the positive impact of the new discovery for human exceptionalism. Interesting.
Anyway, I hope friends, old and new, will stick around. You are all most welcome.
You have a decision to make: double or nothing.
For this week only, a generous supporter has offered to fully match all new and increased donations to First Things up to $60,000.
In other words, your gift of $50 unlocks $100 for First Things, your gift of $100 unlocks $200, and so on, up to a total of $120,000. But if you don’t give, nothing.
So what will it be, dear reader: double, or nothing?
Make your year-end gift go twice as far for First Things by giving now.
