Stanford neuroscientist Lera Boroditsky has an interesting article on how the languages we speak shape the way we think . She notes that the consensus in her field is that “people who speak different languages do indeed think differently and that even flukes of grammar can profoundly affect how . . . . Continue Reading »
Further thoughts on liberalism, libertinism, and Lawlerism: an interview at The University Bookman . One thing I could have explicitly affirmed is that individuals are wholes, not holes — but that would have been a substantial (and stylistic) ripoff . . . . . Continue Reading »
First Things readers in the greater Chicagoland area may be interested in an upcoming conference on Global Bioethics sponsored by the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity . It will be held July 16-18, 2009 on the campus of Trinity International University in Deerfield, Illinois. Among . . . . Continue Reading »
Not much, if at all, argues Jim Manzi at The American Scene : The total net expected benefits of the best-imaginable program to combat global warming are about $3.4 trillion. This is about 0.17% of the expected present value of total global income. Compare the current Waxman-Markey bill to “an . . . . Continue Reading »
Patriotism is the political form of love. It comes from the Latin (and Greek) for father, signaling the deep bond of loyalty to clan, the primitive sense that we owe our existence to a place, a people. As Jody points out when recalling an old post of mine that drew appreciative attention to some . . . . Continue Reading »
“All we ask is that decisions be based upon reason.” The speaker was a political scientist, addressing other political scientists. The subject was the role of the American judicial branch. But the frustrated assertion of the authority of simple reason is a familiar one in contemporary . . . . Continue Reading »
The brave Ron Rosenbaum points out what everybody actually knows but has been afraid to say: Michael Jackson just wasn’t much good after age 16 or so. His entire adult career was an exercise in publicity rather than performance. . . . . Continue Reading »
I have just said yes to Father’s generous offer of an opportunity to teach the First Communion class, and I’m not a little tied up in knots. First of all, when Father asked me, I looked around to see whom else he might have been addressing: I haven’t been Catholic all that long, . . . . Continue Reading »
My friend Michael Linton just sent me this video clip of his lovely “Third Marian Carol,” and with the mercury climbing outside, and my little kids fighting over whose turn it is to hurl him- or herself headlong down the Slip’N’Slide, I thought I’d share it with all of . . . . Continue Reading »
If you haven’t already, check out The Atlantic ‘s continuing interview with James Poulos of Postmodern Conservative at FT. Also: David P. Goldman fears art , and Sally Thomas offers some frightful and funny examples . . . . . Continue Reading »
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