What makes good writing good? I suppose it depends on the purpose of the writing. Language is used mostly to communicate ideas and information. But that’s not all it’s used for. In the case of poetry, for example, language is the medium of an art, so it is conveying much more than ideas and information. … More Good Writing
“Contrary to what many anti-intellectuals maintain, science is by nature a much more humble enterprise than any religion or other ideology. This must be so given the self-correcting mechanisms that are incorporated into the scientific process, regardless of the occasional failures of individual scientists.”—Massimo Pigliucci http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/10-03-10/
Acupuncture: An alternative medical technique involving the shallow insertion of needles through the skin at particular points on the body (called acupoints) that is widely believed, without a shred of scientific evidence, to be effective in the treatment of all sorts of ailments. Alternative medicine: A cluster of treatments and potions that are often, but … More Glossary of Important Terms
“Irrationality is the square root of all evil.”–Douglas Hofstadter
Choose the correct word: The concoction was prepared by Dr. Jekyll and (me/I/myself). Why anybody would want to be (he/him) is beyond me. If you could be someone else, (who/whom) would you like to be? The President’s wife is more intelligent than (he/him), but who isn’t? Was it (we/us) they were talking about? Let (I/me) … More Pronoun Case Exercise
“…no serious historian of nations and nationalism can be a committed political nationalist, except in the sense in which believers in the literal truth of the Scriptures, while unable to make contributions to evolutionary theory, are not precluded from making contributions to archaeology and Semitic philology. Nationalism requires too much belief in what is patently … More Quote of the Day
“The United States is the wealthiest nation in the history of the world, yet its inhabitants are strikingly unhappy. Accordingly, we present to the rest of mankind, on a planet rife with suffering and tragedy, the spectacle of a clown civilization. Sustained on a clown diet rich in sugar and fat, we have developed a … More Quote of the Day
What if Donald Trump is playing an elaborate joke on the country and especially on the Republican Party? Until a few years ago, he was a pro-choice liberal Democrat. Then he went Birther. Trump claimed he never accepted the evidence that Obama was born in the U.S. If Obama was born in Kenya, his presidency … More Trump: What If It’s All an Elaborate Joke?
In the 1950s Erv owned a hole-in-the-wall take-out pizzeria a few blocks from our house in West Denver. He had owned a small bakery in an Italian neighborhood and learned to make pizza from Mrs. Caruso, who lived above the bakery. He opened Erv’s Pizza—not a very Italian sounding name—before pizza had really taken off … More Remembering Erv
“You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt
No Harm Spilt 