We don’t know for certain if Voltaire actually said, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” Nonetheless, it’s a sentiment that has been a cornerstone of Western culture since the Enlightenment, and free speech is a right enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. But
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As we mark look back on World War I, it is not particularly difficult to see its great political aftershocks: the emergence of the United States as a global power, the Russian Revolution, the modern state of Israel, the still controversial borders of the Middle East, and of course: the second world war and the
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If you’ve been following Intellectual Takeout for some time, you’ve probably discovered that we’re big fans of reading. Part of our encouragement for reading stems from the fact that nearly one in three Americans didn’t read a book in 2015. That’s a problem, particularly since reading expands our thoughts and equips us to make informed
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A new study conducted in the U.K. produced a surprising finding: teaching elementary age children chess doesn’t improve math scores on standardized tests. This finding made waves as many previous studies have shown that learning chess brings significant boosts in math and science scores, particularly for older students. But in fixating on this negative
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A marvelous feature of the digital age is that we have opportunities to see films that were nearly impossible to view even decades ago. In some cases, the films were banned. This was the case with the 1935 Nazi propaganda film “Triumph of the Will.” Despite its palpable evil, it was one of the great
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Earlier this week, news came out that a group of U.S. students had won the 2016 International Math Olympiad. As the Washington Post noted, such news is surprising, particularly since the U.S. team was the reigning champion from 2015, a title they finally snagged after losing for 21 years. I was encouraged reading about the
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