Only whites get to write about whatever interests them.… Read the rest
All entries by this author
How the Humanists (Not the Irish) Saved Western Civilization
Nov 15th, 2003 | By Christopher OrletIt is a story worthy of a great Romantic pen, how a few Celtic monks, cloistered on remote, wind-blown islands with only their prayer beads and a few nervous sheep for company saved Western Civilization. It was nothing less than a miracle that as the darkness descended upon Europe, Greek and Latin manuscripts were being first introduced to the Emerald Isle where generations of monks would dedicate their lives to copying and preserving the ancient texts. Later, descendents of these selfsame clerics would carry their precious cargo to European monasteries where the Italian, the German and the Frenchman waited to be enlightened.
A pretty idea, as I say, but about as genuine as the jackalope. A truer picture would show … Read the rest
Fishy Requisites
Nov 14th, 2003 5:09 pm | By Ophelia BensonOh good, another one. Another nice barrel full of docile, torpid fish.
Why is it that every article bashing “theory” comes from someone who doesn’t know what they are talking about?
Hmm. Why is it that the defenders of ‘theory’ (at least on this site at this time) can’t do better? One, does every article ‘bashing’ (that is to say, criticising) ‘theory’ come from someone who knows nothing of the subject? As a matter of fact, no. I’ve read several articles and indeed books by people who know a lot about it, including some by people who were once keen on ‘theory’ themselves. There is William Kerrigan’s essay in Wild Orchids and Trotsky, for example. And two, why is … Read the rest
Ray Monk on Hitler’s Scientists 
Nov 14th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Poison gas and atom bombs, Bohr and Heisenberg, science and ethics.… Read the rest
Scientists Must Educate the Public
Nov 14th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
If they don’t help journalists do a better job, then the better job won’t get done.… Read the rest
Dawkins to Give Tanner Lectures
Nov 14th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A passionate Darwinian as a scientist and anti-Darwinian in politics and human affairs.… Read the rest
Leave The Bones Alone
Nov 14th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Vital scientific research could be at risk if museums are forced to repatriate human remains.… Read the rest
Why Are We Still Talking About IQ And Race?
Nov 14th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Gavin Evans argues that the concept of race makes no genetic sense.… Read the rest
Why Subsidise Farmers but not Miners?
Nov 13th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Romantic views of agriculture leave out too many inconvenient facts.… Read the rest
The People Is Always Right. Right?
Nov 13th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
No, which is why government by plebiscite or initiative is an alarming idea.… Read the rest
Maybe It’s About To Get A Bit Chilly
Nov 13th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Could global warming bring about a new ice age?… Read the rest
Favourite Science Hoaxes
Nov 13th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The top ten science hoaxes courtesy of the Guardian.… Read the rest
Like Seizing Sweetmeats from an Infant
Nov 13th, 2003 1:11 am | By Ophelia BensonWell this is going to be fun. Thanks to the link at Arts and Letters Daily, we’re getting letters about the ‘Bad Writing’ In Focus – agreeing on the whole, but with some dissenters too. Perhaps it’s dirty pool for me to answer them here…?
Nah. Most people who visit the site never even find Notes and Comment, and besides – the question of the way Bad Writers defend Bad Writing is in fact part of the issue. It’s part of what the article was about, and part of what’s wrong with the whole field. So talking about it is part of our (admittedly self-appointed) brief.
… Read the restThis awful article trots out very familiar objections to “theory” in a way which
Does Science Still Matter?
Nov 12th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Why is there so much hostility to science and reason?… Read the rest
Astonishment, Fluidity and Changefulness
Nov 12th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Montaigne put ‘a consciousness astonished at itself at the core of human existence.’… Read the rest
Five Thousand
Nov 11th, 2003 8:08 pm | By Ophelia BensonI’ve been re-reading Philip Gourevitch’s We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families, about the Rwanda genocide and what the US, the UN, Belgium didn’t do to stop it, and what France did to help it along. Or perhaps really I should include the US along with France, since we not only didn’t send troops ourselves, we urged other countries not to send troops either. It’s all, really, exceedingly uncomfortable reading.
And relevant to not one but two subjects we were discussing here yesterday: the inadequacy of blanket pacifism in the face of genocidal tyrannical regimes, and the inadequacy of blanket free-speechism in the face of genocidal regimes or movements that use speech, … Read the rest
Richard Wollheim
Nov 11th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
San Francisco Chronicle obituary.… Read the rest
Whither (or Wither?) Scholarship?
Nov 11th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Are scholars all dead from the waist down? Is it all a waste?… Read the rest
Hindu Students Petition Against Book
Nov 11th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
An academic study of Ganesha is ‘offensive’ to Hindus; author must apologize.… Read the rest
