Not Saussure reminds us that statistics have a habit of turning around and biting those who wield them.
Category: Society
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Attacking The Enlightenment
Johann Hari points out that the real message that Pope Benedict was attempting to deliver last week amounted to an attack on the Enlightenment. Not surprising, really. I expect nothing less from Ratzinger. He has the chutzpah to claim that "the free pursuit of reason will lead all people to a rational belief in the Christian God described in the Bible". Um, no, I don’t think so. Quite the opposite, in fact.(hat tip to Ophelia over at ButterfliesAndWheels for the link) -
Camp Coffee
I grew up with foodstuffs such as Robertson’s Jams (with their golliwog labels) and Camp Coffee. And I never gave a thought to the semiotics. Nowadays, of course, we must agonise over the possible offence that we may be guilty of giving. Sepia Mutiny has a wonderful post about the evolution of the Camp Coffee label, an evolution that has been driven by political correctness. And what I really liked about the story was the totally from the left field bit about the Major General Sir Hector MacDonald. We are everywhere and everywhen… -
Knowledge Dropped…
I mentioned the roundtable of Dropping Knowledge a while back, and mentioned my misgivings that it would be nothing more than a media event.Well, I went back to the web site, and guess what? It was a media event. I love the chutzpah of calling this a global dialog. What I saw was 112 monologues. No dialogue was entered into. Colour me cynical. -
What’s The Number?
British telephone directories dating back to 1880 are being put online. The service is being run by Ancestry.co.uk, whose managing director, Josh Hanna, gushes:”They contain very particular details about the lives of the famous, and the infamous, including the likes of Sir Winston Churchill and Bram Stoker.”
Erm, aren’t those "very particular details" simply the address and telephone number of subscribers, Josh? Hardly earth-shattering revelations, although not without a certain interest, I do concede. Stuart Jeffries, in today’s Guardian, has a humorous take on the news.
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Over The Top
Usually I have a lot of time for Sam Harris. But in his opinion piece in today’s LA Times, he does really seem to have made a mountain out of a molehill. Luckily, Steven Poole brings it back to a more manageable chunk. -
Drinking With The Inbetween People In The Last Chance Saloon
An excellent article by Timothy Garton Ash looking at Europe through the eyes of Ian Buruma and Ayaan Hirsi Ali. I have Hirsi Ali’s book on my bookshelves, I await that of Buruma with anticipation. -
God Moves In Mysterious Ways
If that’s a "gift from God", then I’m rather thankful that I’m an atheist. -
Dance, Monkey, Dance
This video is a small voice of sanity in an insane world. Go and watch it, now. -
Two Fathers
Typical, I live in the Netherlands, but I discover this video of a boy singing about his home life via a blogger in America. Thanks, Terrance, and the song’s not bad either. -
Like Fish In A Barrel
The wonderful duo of Penn & Teller on religious icons. Never underestimate the gullibility of humans. And, we have a worthy successor to Dr. Pierre Barbet. Step forward, Fred Zugibe! Your sterling work to prove the authenticity of the Turin Shroud will not go unremarked. -
Maupin Interviewed
There’s a nice interview of Armistead Maupin in today’s Guardian. As well of the man himself, you also get a sense of how he was shaped by the city that he lives in: San Francisco. It reminded me of the time (in 1995) when we were there and went on the walking tour of the Castro that was organised by Trevor Hailey. She used the tour to give our little group a fascinating history lesson on the society and characters of the city through the span of a century.
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A Good Place To Be
I’ve often remarked on this blog that I’m happy that I have ended up in The Netherlands, given that the attitudes towards gay people here are more relaxed than in practically any other country.Now, Ingrid Robeyns, over at Crooked Timber, draws my attention to some just published research on societal attitudes towards gay people in The Netherlands. Broadly speaking, the research confirms my gut feelings. There are just two small clouds on the horizon. One being that the growing Muslim community in the Netherlands do not accept gay people (including those in their midst who are gay and Muslim themselves). Secondly, the Justice Minister, Piet Hien Donner, has just aired the view that he can conceive of Sharia law being introduced into The Netherlands. Erm, if that happens, then presumably Martin and I will be stoned to death or hanged… This is not something that either of us would look forward to… -
The Age Of Horrorism
It has a terrible title, but the essay by Martin Amis in today’s Observer is well worth reading. It’s a long essay, too; but in an age where the short attention span is king, this essay, in all sorts of ways, shows that the emperor has no clothes. A brilliant piece of writing that has truth running through it like the words in a piece of seaside rock. -
Memories, Truth, and Propaganda
The media is full of items on a certain anniversary at the moment. And, like the theme of my last entry, the question that comes to my mind is "what’s true and what isn’t?". Or, to put it another way, "what’s true and what’s just propaganda?".Liz Marcs writes an extraordinarily powerful piece on people’s memories of events that shape them. Go and read it. Now.(hat tip to Nicholas Whyte for the link) -
Dropping Knowledge
Tomorrow sees the start of an event: Dropping Knowledge. Billed as112 of the world’s most compelling thinkers, artists, writers, scientists, social entrepreneurs, philosophers and humanitarians from around the world will come together in Berlin, Germany, as guests of dropping knowledge.Seated around the worlds largest table in historic Bebelplatz square, these inspiring individuals, renowned for their lasting creative or social contribution, will engage with 100 questions out of the thousands donated to dropping knowledge by the international public.Hmm. I’m just an old cynic, but this seems to be more of a media event than anything else. The "one minute video" on the home page of the Dropping Knowledge web site crystallises all my misgivings. A slick, oleaginous piece of puffery that makes me want to reach for the sick bucket within 10 seconds. And who on earth came up with that awful name: Dropping Knowledge? Plop. -
Grimm Fairy Tale
Lucy Mangan writes an excellent piece in today’s Guardian on the strange story of Natascha Kampusch. I think she’s right, there is something about the story that makes it feel like a medieval folk tale, an archetype collected and retold by the Brothers Grimm. -
Sign Of The Times
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has a new report on the state of the world’s population out today: A Passage To Hope – about women and international migration. I call it a sign of the times for two reasons. The first is that it is good to see the information spotlight being put on to migrant women, who often seem to be invisible as far as international policymakers are concerned. And second, as well as being available in traditional format, the report is available in a hyperlinked format for easy reading directly via the web.(hat tip to A Fistful of Euros for the link) -
It’s A Boy!
Well, whoopie-doo! But why do I get the feeling that girl babies are still seen as having less worth than boy babies, even in countries that are technologically very advanced. Must be the Nunberg Error again. Echidne has noticed the same thing. Same old, same old… -
Granny Is Gone
A little while back, I came across a blog with the intriguing title of "Granny Gets A Vibrator". Written by Liz, a weightlifting woman in her fifties, now living alone and diagnosed with cancer. She wrote very fluently about her life, and interactions with other people. I was a regular reader. But now, her blog has disappeared, and no longer accessible on the internet.Kerryn Goldsworthy, over at her blog, Pavlov’s Cat, writes more about the background and echoes my feelings about the disappearance of Liz’s blog. Like her, I hope that Liz is OK.
Geoff Coupe's Blog 