Ridicule in Enlightenment Britain
“As intellectual historians have long emphasized, a key question in eighteenth-century philosophy was that of sociability or the extent to which humans were (or could be made) fit for political…
Sweeney Todd and Austin
We all know Austin is weird (just think of the local government response to the ice storm), but I did not realise until this week the fascination held by many…
Apples and Oranges
A man inclines himself towards The idea. He lifts it off the table and raises It to his mouth. His mouth opens and his teeth Are like thirty-two stars in…
Elizabethan English
Anyone who has heard a play by Shakespeare knows what a wonder on the ears it is. Elizabethan English is a delight, but also a challenge to the modern ear.…
Are the Humanities Dying?
It’s a tired topic by now that the humanities are dying. Some people say that this is because the humanities are an ossified way of looking at reality and at…
Poem: The Moon was a Full Moon
The moon was a full moon: heavenly flex. Full of itself and the light of the sun, The marble remains of a magnificent nude, A bare breast in the night…
The Danger of Algorithms
In a CNN interview on January 8, 2023, Ian Bremmer (president of the Eurasia Group, a global political risk research and consulting firm) sounded an alarm bell about algorithms. “At…
Was Homer a Fraud?
You will never appreciate Homer the same way again after reading this book. It deals with alternative readings of the Iliad and the Odyssey, as penned by Sophists some 2,000…
BEST BOOK OF 2022: Magnificent Rebels
This book is so delicious I did not want it to end. Andrea Wulf, who lives in London, has written the best book of 2022: Magnificent Rebels. Wulf is best…
Dictatorial Misrule
As the crimes of the former president become ever more obvious, we are reminded of the words of Shakespeare, who might have been describing the White House from 2017-2021: “Hell…