Is it diversity or is it self-serving special pleading, Dershowitz asks.… Read the rest

Story, fiction, narrative; fact, evidence, truth; and patrolling the border between them.… Read the rest

Passive-aggressive avowals of philistinism, mandarin prose and postmodern hermeneutics combined with barbarian thrusting at the gates, and other odd combinations.… Read the rest

School leaving age should be tied to needs of economy, boffin says. But what of education as a good in itself?… Read the rest

An experiment shows that, contrary to neoclassical market theory, efficiency can depend on experience.… Read the rest

Because scientists often disagree, therefore we might as well believe whatever we like? Scientific American says No.… Read the rest

Is natural science a better model for historians than social science?… Read the rest

A mix of fanciful evolutionary psychology, teasing and polemic for weekend reading.… Read the rest

Archaeologists have investigated the crash site of either a weather balloon or an alien ship. If they find it was the former, will the alien story go away?… Read the rest

An anthology of the best of Lingua Franca, and its ‘mingling of intellectual excitement with human folly and intrigue peculiar to academia.’… Read the rest

Gravity is the great equalizer, it makes the rich fall down with the poor.… Read the rest

What is history, what is theory, is biography a branch of history or is it creative writing (let’s hope not!), is theory as important as research, do readers want narrative, and more questions.… Read the rest

James Traub on the conflict between research and ideology in US education, where a priori beliefs have ‘tremendous force’ in shaping judgments of effectiveness.… Read the rest

The philosopher answers questions on the Guardian’s Discussion Board, including one from Butterflies and Wheels.… Read the rest

Frederick Crews updates his perplexed Pooh with lashings of jargon, obscurantism, and pretention.… Read the rest

Surely adult education is the best weapon against woolly thinking. It would be nice if it could be well funded.… Read the rest

Or are there other explanations. ‘Maybe instructors used to be too stingy with their marks and have become more reasonable.’ Hmm.… Read the rest

A French court has ordered an encyclopaedia publisher to remove a passge from the next edition that questions the numbers killed at Auschwitz.… Read the rest

‘Economists had long assumed that beliefs and decisions conformed to logical rules.’ What a strange thing to assume. But Kahneman and Tversky did the studies that corrected the mistake.… Read the rest

Are the stars reversing course? If evolutionary psychology is accepted in The Nation, perhaps the protracted attempt at denial finally is ending.… Read the rest