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Blog 3 Columns

  • Academic Writing is Becoming a Caricature of Itself

    Academic Writing is Becoming a Caricature of Itself0

    Much of modern postsecondary intellectual discourse emblematizes a regressive displacement of phraseology toward loquacious amalgamations intended to subvert intelligibility. Which is academic-speak for “Most academic writing these days is crap.” We’ve written on this subject before. In no other time in history have so many professors written so much that is unintelligible to the public,

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  • Yet Another Reason to Study History

    Yet Another Reason to Study History0

    The British author Hilaire Belloc once noted that “men are always powerfully affected by the immediate past—one might say that they are blinded by it.” When confronted with change, most people evaluate it based upon a very limited understanding of what’s considered normal. Our modern age, obsessed with diagnosis, has apparently come up with a

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  • Plato’s Very Relevant Warning about Politicians

    Plato’s Very Relevant Warning about Politicians0

    It’s amazing how relevant ancient works can be to modern life. Such is the case with Plato’s dialogue Gorgias?, which contains a very applicable warning about politicians. The Gorgias is a polemic against rhetoric—the art of speaking well and persuading others. Plato was not completely against rhetoric; he was okay with it if used “with

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  • Let’s be honest about the Cologne assaults

    Let’s be honest about the Cologne assaults0

    Awful things took place in Cologne and other German cities over New Years. In Cologne alone, 1,000 men assaulted women to varying degrees, including rape. As the BBC reports: “City police chief Wolfgang Albers called it ‘a completely new dimension of crime’. The men were of Arab or North African appearance, he said.” Ah, yes,

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  • Doctor: Overstimulation May Be Causing ADHD

    Doctor: Overstimulation May Be Causing ADHD0

    It’s not hard to find a child these days who has been diagnosed with ADHD. According to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, the number of children labeled with the condition had risen to 11% by 2011.   But a new medical article by Dr. Dimitri Christakis raises the question: are American adults

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  • Could Students Today Pass the 1919 SAT Exam?

    Could Students Today Pass the 1919 SAT Exam?0

    With the holidays over and graduation fast approaching, many students are preparing for a final crack at the SAT.  In light of this test preparation, it’s interesting to consider whether or not today’s students would be able to take one of the earliest SAT exams. Judging from the 1919 English Literature test from the College

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  • A source of our anxiety?

    A source of our anxiety?0

    Market Watch recently reported that while employment is up, the number of people who can go any length of time without a paycheck is abysmally low. “Approximately 63% of Americans have no emergency savings for things such as a $1,000 emergency room visit or a $500 car repair, according to a survey released Wednesday of

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  • 1st Century Historian: Education is “The One and Essential Thing”

    1st Century Historian: Education is “The One and Essential Thing”0

    The ancient Greek thinker Plutarch (46-120 A.D.) is best known for his historical work Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans and his collection of essays entitled Moralia.   This latter collection begins with a wonderful essay (or, at least, it’s attributed to him) on “The Education of Children.” I’ll discuss the rest of the essay

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  • Waking Up During the Night Used to Be Normal

    Waking Up During the Night Used to Be Normal0

    For many people today, waking up in the middle of the night is incredibly frustrating, stressful, and is often labeled as insomnia. But apparently, for people in the past, it was part of their normal routine. As Business Insider reports (using excerpts from Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep), Virginia Tech historian Roger Ekrich

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