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A conservative take on the world
I thought I'd offer some random observations... First off, I agree with my fellow BIG THINKER Kris that it's most unreasonable to fear terrorist retaliation. That's not only because the odds are overwhelming that almost all of us will die some other way, but because our government has done a ...
A questionable (but honest and penetrating) part of HIGHER EDUCATION? by Hacker and Dreifus is its assertive case against TENURE for professors. I have little doubt that tenure is toast. Its disappearance will be chronciled as part of the movement from DEFINED BENEFITS to DEFINED CONTRIBUTION ...
Yuval Levin, the most astute and imaginative of the Republican public intellectuals, has noticed that Democrats have stopped being progressive. That means, from one view, they no longer believe that History (with a capital H) is on their side. It also means, of course, they're starting to figure ...
Another fine feature of REAL EDUCATION by Hacker and Dreifus is its sensitive and altogether unideological treatment of professors who become legends. Among the legends they mention, one is still alive and teaching (Michael Sandel of Harvard). The others are Allan Bloom (during his heyday at ...
So the third suggestion of Hacker and Dreifus in HIGHER EDUCATION concerns avoiding PLAGIARISM. Plagiarism is easier than ever these days--thanks to the abundant resources on the web. And the ingenuity of the plagiarist is typically a step or more ahead of the development of the software designed ...
So the most honest and penetrating book I've read about American higher education in a long time is HIGHER EDUCATION: HOW COLLEGES ARE WASTING OUR MONEY AND FAILING OUR KIDS--AND WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT by Andrew Hacker and Claudia Dreifus. They're not even conservatives! There's a lot to say ...
A (Gallup) study shows that only 35% of our independents now approve of the work our president is doing. There are a variety of reasons for that. But here's the one that might be most troubling from Obama's view: Something like STAGFLATION is kicking in. Rapidly rising gas and fuel prices have ...
These days, it seems like the reasonable promise of biotechnology has become INDEFINITE LONGEVITY. Actually, that goal was first articulated by the French enlightenment thinker Condorcet. In order for our pursuit of happiness to be turned into real happiness and for our longings to be ...
So I've taken a break from blogging for a while for several reasons. I was at Mercer University in Macon, GA for a great conference on Alexis de Tocqueville. I gave the opening lecture. Then we had our second big and hugely successful STUCK WITH VIRTUE conference at Berry College. And my ...
So I've taken a break from blogging for a while for several reasons. I was at Mercer University at Macon for a great conference on Alexis de Tocqueville. I gave the opening lecture. Then we had our second big and hugely successful STUCK WITH VIRTUE conference at Berry College. And my wife ...
Maybe the most provocative speaker (although not so much, maybe, to BIG THINK readers) at our conference at Berry next Friday and Saturday will be RONALD BAILEY--the libertarian proponent of liberation biology. Here's a fascinating interview with Mr. Bailey. A taste: On the possibility of ...
I don't know if this is such an appropriate post for Sunday morning. A study from Northwestern shows that people who regularly attend religious services are 50% more likely to become obese. Several years ago I read an interesting book by a French literary figure on his recent travels through ...
So, yes, I watch American Idol--not obsessively or religiously, but whenever I can. It's a conservative show. It promotes a meritocracy based on singing excellence, and that excellence is not reduced to what's required for commercial success. Singing very well before a huge number of people is ...
This expert explains why in a very detailed and most plausible way. Here's one taste: Is the United States more prone to higher levels of anxiety than other nations? Put simply, we are. Perhaps the most puzzling statistics are the ones that reveal that we're significantly more anxious ...
It’s no secret that most of our colleges that give lip service to “liberal education” don’t deliver it, and what they do teach exaggerates—not moderates—the undignified confusion of our time. They certainly don’t give students the impression that there’s much—if any—moral or humanistic “content ...