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Category Archives: Society
How Easily We Are Stampeded
Today, we lurch drunkenly from one moral panic to another. Last month, it was Covid Cooties. This month, it’s Killer Kops. Next month, it might be something else, just as alliterative and just as loosely connected to reality: whatever will … Continue reading
Posted in Political Science, Psychology, Society
Tagged Democracy, Elites, Meritocracy, Moral panic, Propaganda, Public opinion
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Peter Strzok on Racial Protest
Disgraced former FBI agent Peter Strzok is despised by most people who live between the gilded coasts, though possibly not as much as he despises them. However, knowing “who hates whom” tells us little about the merits of almost any … Continue reading
Posted in Political Science, Society
Tagged Black Lives Matter, Plutocracy, Race riots, Racial protests, Strzok, White House protest
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The Costs of Forbidden Thoughts
“Truth has nothing to fear from open discussion and debate: in fact, they are its closest allies.” Continue reading
Lockdown Imitates Art as “They Live”
“We are living in an artificially-induced state of consciousness … They have created a repressive society, and we are their unwitting accomplices.” — Scientist in “They Live” As countries around the world struggle to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, and … Continue reading
Posted in Political Science, Psychology, Society
Tagged COVID-19, Fear, Freedom, Learned helplessness, Lockdown, Public policy, Risk, SARS-CoV-2, The American Spectator, They Live
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Free Yourself and Live
“You have at least nine months. Perhaps as much as eighteen.” “The first doctor gave me from one to two years.” “I hope he’s right. What are you going to do?” “Well, I have no family. I haven’t taken a … Continue reading
Posted in Life, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Science, Society
Tagged COVID-19, Fear, Freedom, Golden Age of Radio, Golden Age of Television, Lockdown, Overcoming fear, SARS-CoV-2
8 Comments
The Wisdom of James Bond
“You only live twice: Once when you are born, And once when you look death in the face.” — James Bond “James Bond” is now a movie franchise, just like “Star Wars” was. But it started out as a … Continue reading
Posted in Life, Philosophy, Psychology, Society
Tagged Fiction, Haiku, Ian Fleming, James Bond, Risk, Safety, Tradeoffs
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Why I Don’t Hug My Chinese Tutor
As regular readers know, I’ve been studying the Chinese language since last spring. I had previously taken a semester of Chinese in college, but it utterly defeated me. So I wanted payback. This time, I would beat it. I was … Continue reading
If We Can Learn, We Can Do Better
The world is scary right now. But it won’t stay that way. Things will get better. The pandemic will subside. We will mourn our dead, be they many or few. We will go on. But if we can learn, then … Continue reading
The Weather Report on Coronavirus
A lot of media people are sounding the alarm about a new strain of coronavirus, a pneumonia-like illness. They’re warning everyone to stock up on groceries, buy face masks, and avoid going outside. To me, it seems like an over-reaction. … Continue reading
Posted in Life, Psychology, Science, Society
Tagged CDC, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Infectious disease, Wuhan
2 Comments
Somehow, We’ve Survived
For a couple thousand years, people have been trying to prove that God exists. None of those proofs are much good. They can only convince people who already want to believe in their conclusion. But maybe the best proof of … Continue reading
Posted in Life, Political Science, Psychology, Society
Tagged Cults, Dogmas, Humanity, Insanity, Madness of crowds, Proof of God, Theodicy
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The Thousand-Year View 