Words of Wisdom — December 6, 2013

Noam Chomsky on the Freedom of Expression

“If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.”-Noam Chomsky (born on this date in 1928)

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“If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.”
-Noam Chomsky (born on this date in 1928)

The most surprising and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every week, for free.

A grayscale photo of a man is on the left page of an open book, while the right page features an illustration of a white dove with red accents on a yellow background, symbolizing freedom.

The Present

Timothy Snyder on what Americans get wrong about freedom

Historian Timothy Snyder talks with Big Think about how true liberty requires both negative and positive freedoms.

13.8

COVID vaccine: Where does freedom end and civic duty begin?

Instead of insisting that we remain “free from” government control, we should view taking vaccines and wearing masks as a “freedom to” be a moral citizen who protects the lives of others.

The Present

Growth is killing us: An interview with Jason Hickel

The British economic anthropologist Jason Hickel proposes “degrowth” in the face of recession.

The Present

The previous experience of every US president since Theodore Roosevelt

What qualifies someone for the top position in American government?

Health

In praise of nudity: The nudist beaches of Central and Eastern Europe

“Nothing but naked people: fat ones, thin ones, old, young…”

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Ray Kurzweil and the Brains Behind the Google Brain

Google is looking to build an artificial brain, a fact that “some may consider thrilling and others deeply unsettling. Or both.”