Feeding Mind, Pursuing Truth
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Did Alexander Hamilton Have a Love Affair With John Laurens?2
- Culture
- October 13, 2016
In April 1779, as the American Colonies struggled to gain their independence from England, a 24-year-old Alexander Hamilton sent this letter to John Laurens, a 23-year-old South Carolinian: Cold in my professions, warm in my friendships, I wish, my Dear Laurens, it might be in my power, by action rather than words, to convince you that I love
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Blind Astrophysicist Discovers Way to Listen to Stars0
- Science
- October 13, 2016
As a person who regularly gazes up into the darkness of night, musing over the millions of tiny, bright stars that flicker in the sky, losing my eyesight would easily be one of the most tragic things to happen to me. A Puerto Rican astrophysicist named Wanda Diaz Merced grew up dreaming about traveling to
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Why There Are No Kids’ Menus in Italy0
- Culture
- October 12, 2016
We’ve all been there at some point in time. The family goes out to enjoy a nice dinner at a restaurant. The menus come, the waitress takes orders… and your youngest child orders a grilled cheese sandwich. Off the kids’ menu. At a ridiculously high price considering it’s just bread, cheese, and a few pickles.
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Why Fairy Tales Are So Dangerous1
- Literature
- October 12, 2016
Dear Mr. Dawkins, You’ve said lately that fairy tales are quite harmful. Your reason for thinking this is simple, and true: you told attendees at the Cheltenham Science Festival, “I think it’s rather pernicious to inculcate into a child a view of the world which includes supernaturalism … Even fairy tales, the ones we all
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The Genius of Byzantium: Reflections on a Forgotten Empire1
- History
- October 12, 2016
“Le grand absent—c’est l’Empire” C. Dufour, Constantinople Imaginaire Everywhere Western man longs for Constantinople and nowhere has he any idea how to find her. To do so is to reclaim, at last, the meaning of an empire that once defined a hierarchy of imagination long ago abandoned by our civilization; of an eleven-century political, religious and
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Princeton Prof: Why it’s Dangerous to Overlook the Past1
- History
- October 12, 2016
Not long ago, my colleague Daniel Lattier suggested that a new logical fallacy has been lurking around town. This fallacy, he wrote, could be labeled “ad nostalgiam.” A person commits this fallacy when she reflexively accuses someone of nostalgia for pointing out some particular thing was once better or superior. Revered Princeton professor, theologian, and
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More Walls Being Built Than at Any Time in Modern History0
- Culture
- October 12, 2016
The Washington Post led off its Wednesday coverage with an interesting interactive story that carried this admission: nations around the world are walling off at an unprecedented rate. The numbers are clear: In 2015, work started on more new barriers around the world than at any other point in modern history. There are now 63
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Can Apes Read Your Mind?0
- Science
- October 12, 2016
One of the things that defines humans most is our ability to read others’ minds – that is, to make inferences about what others are thinking. To build or maintain relationships, we offer gifts and services – not arbitrarily, but with the recipient’s desires in mind. When we communicate, we do our best to take
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Benjamin Franklin on the 4 Virtues Learned in Chess0
- October 12, 2016
I have a bit of a confession to make. I have never played chess, nor have I really ever had the desire to do so. (Sorry, chess fans.) However, I may be changing my mind on this issue, particularly after reading a piece by Benjamin Franklin entitled, “The Morals of Chess.” Franklin begins by saying,
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