Confessions of a Conservative Atheist
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Whatever you personally believe about the state of the world or our prospects for the future, humans simply don’t get to choose. You are here and will remain here until you aren’t whether you like it or not. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” Charles Dickens began his immortal A… Continue reading This Labor Day, it isn’t the best of times or the worst of times, it’s simply the only times we have
Though some might claim otherwise, I was there and few would really want to go back to a time when our lives were shorter, far less convenient, far less mobile, and far more of a pain in the ass in almost every measurable way. Over the past several weeks, more than one person has mentioned… Continue reading The quality of life canard and the irresistible appeal of nostalgia
Some of us know the type. Like Bernie Litgo in the movie adapted from David Mamet’s play, they spin wild tales for our amusement, but in academia and publishing, fact is supposed to be far more important than fiction, and processes are said to be in place to ensure only facts get published. In the… Continue reading Academia, the publishing industry, Jason Arday, bullshit artists, and the 80s cult classic About Last Night
If young people today face a problem totally unique to their generation, it’s one of plenty itself. Simply put, they have too many choices about everything and anything in life, but not enough money or time to possibly have or do it all. The 19th century novelist Henry James once claimed his works were centered… Continue reading The problem of plenty, the genius of Henry James, and the sad truth that we’re all Isabel Archer now
Most of us have encountered someone on a regular basis – in class, at work, on the train, on the bus, working at a store, wherever – that brightened our day somehow, prompting us to imagine what they might be like should we ever actually meet, but the pleasure is mostly in the imagining. “Cynthia”… Continue reading Springsteen’s “Cynthia” and those dreams that never come true
Whatever some may claim and why ever they may claim it, the road to prosperity isn’t paved by a single product. It’s paved by people making choices based on what they value most and what they can afford, but really, this shouldn’t be that difficult to explain. Last week, social media erupted once again over… Continue reading The $20 burrito, the woke right, the meaning of value, and the reality that personal choice produces better outcomes than government fiats
While many are shocked at the extent uncovered so far and at least some are expecting more to come, anyone who spent their formative years in the car business in the early 1990s like me is probably not surprised in the least. Though the mainstream media has done their level best to pretend it’s an… Continue reading The hidden or not-so-hidden fraudster in each of us and a few confessions from selling cars
While I applaud the professor for his ingenuity and understand we cannot live in a society that condones cheating, you might not be surprised to learn I had a similar incident in high school way back in 1994 and can sympathize with both sides. Last week, a professor at Alcorn State University in Mississippi, Dr.… Continue reading A professor uses an ingenious means to catch cheating students and a few confessions from a high school cheat
To some of the film’s detractors, casting a black woman as Helen of Troy, a transgender man as Sinon, and updating the story to reflect some aspects of modern values is an assault on the foundations of all they hold dear, but Teddy Roosevelt might disagree. Teddy Roosevelt spent much of his life advancing the… Continue reading Teddy Roosevelt, The Odyssey, and the reality that Western civilization is stronger and more inclusive than defenders seem to believe
While Bruce Springsteen isn’t a scientist or a mathematician and is not likely to develop any grand theories of space or time, he appears to have developed a similar flaw in his thinking late in his career. Sir Isaac Newton was both one of the world’s most brilliant physicists and a devout Christian. When he… Continue reading Springsteen, Einstein, Isaac Newton and the ironic limits of genius
Confessions of a Conservative Atheist 