What is gained by translating familiar terms into exotic abstract language?… Read the rest
Welcome to our archive of news stories relevant to the project of fighting fashionable nonsense. The stories are drawn from the electronic pages of the world’s media. On this page, you’ll find links to those stories that have been featured on Butterflies and Wheels during the current year. At the bottom of the page, you’ll find links to separate archives of stories from previous years.
We’re always pleased to hear about news stories that you think should be featured on Butterflies and Wheels. Just send an email here, if you want to point one out to us.
A note about links
Inevitably links go out of date. We suggest, therefore, that you make hard-copies of the stories that particularly interest you.
New Poets Can be Wrinkly 
Jun 5th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
One can start writing poetry at any age.… Read the rest
Twenty Best New Poets
Jun 5th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Next Gens can expect a rough ride from the postmodernist hardliners…’… Read the rest
MMR Does Not Cause Autism
Jun 4th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
US National Academy of Sciences report says there is no connection.… Read the rest
Ian Hacking Reviews Antonio Damasio
Jun 4th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Is the mind an organ in the brain?… Read the rest
Buffy Conference in Nashville
Jun 4th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Physicists, philosophers, theologians spoke on Buffy’s themes of redemption, mortality, evil.… Read the rest
Nietzsche in the Movies on ‘Front Row’
Jun 3rd, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
B&W columnist talks about eternal recurrence and A Fish Called Wanda.… Read the rest
A Boffin is an Engineer
Jun 3rd, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
People who are fascinated by the possibility of making something happen.… Read the rest
South Africa, Zimbabwe, Human Rights
Jun 3rd, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Mbeki governent could do more to pressure Mugabe, critics say.… Read the rest
Tolkien Studies: Pop Culture or Scholarship?
Jun 2nd, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Tolkien himself was a scholar, but his fans are more like Trekkies.… Read the rest
Novel Without Verbs, Review Ditto
Jun 2nd, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Scott McLemee in satiric vein, boneless chickens, queasy sensation.… Read the rest
How Language Can Shape Thought
Jun 2nd, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Philip Stott on the metalanguage of ecology.… Read the rest
Eve Garrard on Amnesty International
Jun 2nd, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Are violations of human rights by liberal democracies worse than greater ones elsewhere?… Read the rest
Do Animals Think? How Much? What About?
Jun 1st, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Stan Persky reviews Clive D.L. Wynne’s Do Animals Think?… Read the rest
What About Apes, Do They Think?
Jun 1st, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Nathan Emery reviews Intelligence of Apes and Other Rational Beings.… Read the rest
Twelve Ways to be a Philosopher
Jun 1st, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Puns, promissory notes, ethical conundrums about Nazis, personal jargon.… Read the rest
Frans de Waal on Animal Cognition
Jun 1st, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Do animals have a theory of mind?… Read the rest
Sontag and Kael
May 31st, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Trash, frivolity, seriousness, moral pleasure, respectability.… Read the rest
John Gray on Richard Wolin on Postmodernism
May 31st, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘just another shot fired in the unending American culture wars.’… Read the rest
Liberalism is 10,000 Years Old
May 31st, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It’s about learning to live and to trade with strangers.… Read the rest
