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Why Identity Politics is Toxic for Everybody 0
- Politics
- February 6, 2018
Speakers invited to Hillsdale College have been hitting home runs lately. Two talks in particular poignantly diagnose the toxic effects of identity politics: one by University of Pennsylvania law professor Amy Wax, who recounts her recent experience of it; the other by political journalist Matthew Continetti, who argues that it’s counterproductive as well as un-American.
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Father-Daughter Dances Are No Longer Politically Correct 0
- Culture
- February 6, 2018
Around Valentine’s Day, it’s not uncommon to see pictures of little girls dressed up, smiling, and excited to go with their dads to a father-daughter dance. Such has long been the case at New York PS 65, a public elementary school on Staten Island. But as CBS News reports, the annual father-daughter dance is being
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Over-Optimistic People Aren’t Just Annoying… They’re Also Illogical 0
- Philosophy
- February 5, 2018
Do you know people like this? If someone offers a critique of the local sports team, they’ll predictably jump in to say that the team is fine and there’s nothing to worry about. If someone expresses frustration with another person, they’ll see it as their duty to speak glowingly of that person and his good
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Why Hiring the ‘Best’ People Produces the Least Creative Results 0
- Economics
- February 5, 2018
While in graduate school in mathematics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I took a logic course from David Griffeath. The class was fun. Griffeath brought a playfulness and openness to problems. Much to my delight, about a decade later, I ran into him at a conference on traffic models. During a presentation on computational models
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Why the World Needs Optimists 0
- Culture
- February 5, 2018
Optimism (noun): hopefulness and confidence about the future or the success of something (synonyms: hopefulness, hope, confidence, good cheer, cheerfulness, positive attitude) — This is a love letter to the optimists of the world; the beautiful souls who are brave enough to choose to work for the best possible outcome despite terrible circumstances, to look
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Be My (Compulsory) Valentine 0
- Culture
- February 5, 2018
My three kids returned home this week each with a list of the names of their classmates and firm instructions from their teachers that, if they chose to participate in the festivities, they must write Valentine’s Day cards to every single kid in the class. Nothing like a little forced goodwill and fake friendships to
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