Interviews, paranoia, clothes, panels no one attends – life at an academic convention.… Read the rest
All entries by this author
The ‘Little People’
Jan 4th, 2004 | Filed by Ophelia BensonIt’s fashionable to turn down a gong, but what does that say to unfashionable recipients?… Read the rest
What’s Wrong With US Schools?
Jan 4th, 2004 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThree new books examine the problems.… Read the rest
Postmodernism, Hindu Nationalism and ‘Vedic Science’
Jan 4th, 2004 | By Meera NandaThe Vedas as books of science
In 1996, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) of the United Kingdom (U.K.) produced a slick looking book, with many well-produced pictures of colourfully dressed men and women performing Hindu ceremonies, accompanied with warm, fuzzy and completely sanitised description of the faith. The book, Explaining Hindu Dharma: A Guide for Teachers, offers “teaching suggestions for introducing Hindu ideas and topics in the classroom” at the middle to high school level in the British schools system. The authors and editors are all card-carrying members of the VHP. The book is now in its second edition and, going by the glowing reviews on the back-cover, it seems to have established itself as a much-used educational resource in … Read the rest
Why Did Bam’s Houses Fall Down?
Jan 3rd, 2004 | Filed by Ophelia Benson‘Iran is still being ruled by a useless, incompetent semi-theocracy…’… Read the rest
BBC on Bam Earthquake
Jan 3rd, 2004 | Filed by Ophelia BensonAuthorities blame builders, Iranians blame authorities.… Read the rest
Meera Nanda in Frontline Part II
Jan 3rd, 2004 | Filed by Ophelia BensonPostmodernism, Hindu nationalism and `Vedic science’ get together.… Read the rest
Washington, Jefferson and Slavery
Jan 3rd, 2004 | Filed by Ophelia BensonGordon Wood reviews Gore Vidal, Garry Wills and others.… Read the rest
What Problem?
Jan 2nd, 2004 6:59 pm | By Ophelia BensonThe nonsense continues. So there’s no point in ceasing to talk about it, not yet at least. (And I daresay we can be pretty confident that the nonsense won’t stop, it never does.)
There is this string of absurdities for example.
… Read the restIn a departure from past practice, a Dec. 27 Dean campaign event opened with a prayer from a minister. That same day, Dean told voters, “I think religion is important and spiritual values are very important, which is what this election is really about.” The faith-friendly tone follows a December cover story, “Howard Dean’s Religion Problem,” in The New Republic magazine. The article called Dean “one of the most secular candidates to run for president in modern history.” It
A Brief Journey
Jan 2nd, 2004 4:52 pm | By Ophelia BensonWell, that was exciting! In a terrifying sort of way. I get on the computer only to find B&W not there. Missing. Gone. Not responding to my summons. I hate it when that happens.
But as you can see, all is well. The Webmaster got it back. So let that be a lesson to you, not to take the Webmaster for granted. He may be a bit on the quiet side at times (thanks to his many occupations), but there wouldn’t be any B&W without him (on account of how I don’t know the smallest thing about programming). Actually he probably staged the whole thing just to teach me not to take him for granted. Show-off.… Read the rest
Elaborated Code Revisited
Jan 2nd, 2004 | Filed by Ophelia BensonPolly Toynbee on a study of class and language.… Read the rest
The Hidden Imam Will Protect You – Not
Jan 2nd, 2004 | Filed by Ophelia BensonMullahs ruled it okay to build new houses in Bam despite seismologists’ warnings.… Read the rest
Argument Works Better Than Outbursts of Spleen
Jan 2nd, 2004 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThere’s a difference between inquiry and mere sounding off.… Read the rest
Cross as Two Sticks
Jan 1st, 2004 8:48 pm | By Ophelia BensonI’ve been re-reading Bertram Wyatt-Brown’s Southern Honor and W.J. Cash’s The Mind of the South. Wyatt-Brown wrote the introduction to a new edition of Cash’s book in 1991 – and a very good introduction it is. I particularly like this comment (p. xxxvi):
… Read the restWe need to appreciate how the malady from which he suffered [depression] contributed to his special vision of the South…and provided the seemingly necessary sense of alienation and distance that the subject required. We must also ask ourselves this question: ‘If he had been less angry with himself and his surroundings, if he had lived the ordinary life of a newspaper reporter, how likely was it that he could have broken away, as he did, from
Best Books
Jan 1st, 2004 | Filed by Ophelia BensonScott McLemee, Claire Dederer and others choose their favorites.… Read the rest
The Uses of Scientific Literacy
Jan 1st, 2004 | Filed by Ophelia BensonIt promotes critical thinking and undermines superstition, for a start.… Read the rest
Moral Imperative to Fund GM Foods
Jan 1st, 2004 | Filed by Ophelia BensonScientific ethics group says crops suitable for poor countries need more funding.… Read the rest
Strong Reciprocity Explains Altruism
Jan 1st, 2004 | Filed by Ophelia BensonGame theory looks at strategies to promote kindness and punish cheating.… Read the rest
What Right?
Jan 1st, 2004 12:29 am | By Ophelia BensonI meant to say something about this article in the Guardian last week, but then that Soapy Joe business came along and pre-empted other ideas. The article discusses a book about Prince Charles and what academics think of his publicly expressed opinions on a range of important subjects.
The heir to the throne has used his position to sound off on architecture, the environment, agriculture and science in a curious blend of the vaguely alternative, the home counties nimbyist and the off-the-wall.
Here is what David Lorimer, the book’s author, has to say:
… Read the rest“He combines a spiritual world view with practical applications. He starts from the basic premise that nature is not a collection of accidents, but has an intrinsic
Most Overrated and Underrated Ideas of 2003
Dec 31st, 2003 | Filed by Ophelia BensonMary Lefkowitz says monotheism is overrated; B&W agrees.… Read the rest