“So why this blossoming interest in intellectualism? According to philosopher and School of Life co-founder Mark Vernon: “We live in a period when we’ve never been materially richer, but we appear to be over-consuming ourselves and the planet.Out of the sense of impending crisis comes the desire to ask again what it is to be human, and how we might live.”
Category: ideas
Is There Really More Lying In Politics Today Than Before?
“It takes two things to make a political lie work: a powerful person or institution willing to utter it, and another set of powerful institutions to amplify it. The former has always been with us: Kings, corporate executives, politicians, and ideologues … So why does it seem as if we’re living in a time of overwhelmingly brazen deception? What’s changed?”
How Lurid, Media-Fueled Crime Stories Change History
“America’s law books are overflowing with laws passed in direct response to popular and sensational crimes, from Megan’s Law to the Lindbergh Laws; sensational crime stories have changed the ways in which police departments are organized and newspapers are run.”
How Genius Works: A Dozen Geniuses Explain
“Great art begins with an idea. Sometimes a vague or even bad one. How does that spark of creativity find its way to the canvas, the page, the dinner plate, or the movie screen? How is inspiration refined into the forms that delight or provoke us?” Frank Gehry, T.C. Boyle, Paul Simon, Sarah Ruhl, Chuck Close, and Tim Burton (among others) toss around the question.
How Urban Planning Utterly Lost Its Mojo
There’s “a swelling perception, especially among young scholars and practitioners, that planning is a diffuse and ineffective field, and that it has been largely unsuccessful over the last half century at its own game: bringing about more just, sustainable, healthful, efficient and beautiful cities and regions.” (Is it all Jane Jacobs’s fault?)
Accent Chameleons
“Tourists who visit other countries find themselves mimicking the local rhythm or a few sounds, and when they see they’re doing it, get embarrassed. (It’s so common that they really shouldn’t be.) And I’ve noticed people who have moved far from home lapse back into a more home-inflected accent when they talk to family.”
How America Became The Land Of Obama Birthers And 9/11 Truthers
“There are basically two reasons for this, and they’re entwined. The media … is more fragmented than ever. Information is easier to come across, and bogus information has a way of jumping to the top of Google’s search pages. … [And] mistrust in institutions – which aren’t doing the best job of running things right now – is driving a wave of conspiracy-mongering.”
The Land Of Too Much Information
“We have become surrounded by information technology; our furniture includes iPods and plasma displays, and our skills include texting and Googling. But our capacity to understand the role of information has been sorely taxed. “TMI,” we say. Stand back, however, and the past does come back into focus.”
Why We’re Psychologically Hooked To Teams
“It may seem bizarre to argue that a team can strengthen its bond with the people who feel invested in its success by getting its butt kicked. But the link between losing and loyalty is less puzzling to experts in the growing field of fan studies, a burgeoning effort in the academy whose practitioners are interested in how sports fans think and why they feel as intensely as they do about their favorite teams.”
Why Battles Over The Bible’s Accuracy Are Beside The Point
“Bible debunkers and Bible defenders are kindred spirits. They agree that the Bible is on trial. They agree on the terms of the debate, and what’s at stake, namely the Bible’s credibility as God’s infallible book. … But you can’t fail at something you’re not trying to do. To ask whether the Bible fails to give consistent answers or be of one voice with itself presumes that it was built to do so.”