Monthly Archives: October 2011
On government, humanism, and Tony Bennett
Reason #5,167 why government matters: because Tony Bennett is absolutely sublime*… …and he wouldn’t be who he is if the G.I. Bill didn’t play a big part in his musical education. From an interview on NPR: I had very good … Continue reading
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“Decisions are made by those who show up.”
Calls to action, from fiction (The West Wing): …and from the real world: Yes. (h/t FlickFilosopher)
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True patriotism
Andrew Sullivan links to this video of NBA legend Maurice Cheeks, who, with a supportive crowd, comes to the aid of a young girl who falters while singing the national anthem: Sullivan sees this as the American spirit at its … Continue reading
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Why libraries matter, cont’d: “Information is liberation”
The blog of The People’s Library at the Occupy Wall Street protest site fiercely and eloquently lays out its raison d’être: To reimagine who we are, to understand who have become, is a group activity. It requires public truth-telling and personal … Continue reading
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Why government matters, cont’d: Advancing the frontier
A very lively exchange of ideas (and arguments) about the future of human spaceflight and exploration, from last summer’s The Amazing Meeting. Panelists are Bill Nye, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Pamela Gay, and Lawrence Krauss, moderated by Phil Plait of Bad … Continue reading
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Still vanishing
Oh, god: [...] 56 exotic creatures — a fierce menagerie that included wolves, monkeys and 18 Bengal tigers, an endangered species whose numbers total less than 3,000 in the wild — [...] had fled their cages on a 73-acre private … Continue reading
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“For learning, against usefulness”: The Phantom Tollbooth and the purpose of education
My mind has been on education a lot these days, as we take our fifth-grade daughter to visit middle school after middle school, analyzing and comparing notes, trying to decide which ones to apply to next year. It’s funny — … Continue reading
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Poetic atheism, cont’d: “I can live with doubt and uncertainty and not knowing. I think it’s much more interesting.”
Richard Feynman beautifully explains his take on the universe: Check out the rest of The Feynman Series (companion to the also-excellent Sagan Series) here. More on poetic atheism here. And my thoughts on how science thrives on open questions here. … Continue reading
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The case for optimism, cont’d: The need for vision, and letting visionaries soar
Echoing Philip Reeve, Neal Stephenson calls on science fiction writers to once again imagine a bold future — “an over-arching narrative” that provides “a shared vision” — that can inspire scientists to make it real: Good SF supplies a plausible, … Continue reading
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