“Virtus it was called back then [in ancient Rome]. And I mention it only because it is thought, despite its occasional differences, to be a distant ancestor of the quality we moderns claim to prize most: the ever-changeable, mutating phantoms of righteousness, ethics, and propriety that we shove into a large glittering gift box and call virtue.”
Category: ideas
Charles Darwin Was An Experimental Psychologist
“Darwin conducted one of the first studies on how people recognize emotion in faces, according to new archival research … [His] little-known experiment is a forerunner of modern psychology experiments on people who cannot properly recognize emotion in faces.”
Is Quantum Physics Responsible For Postmodernism?
“Much of the debate between Einstein and Bohr revolved around Einstein’s intuitive rejection of the implication of the Copenhagen interpretation – which is that objective reality, independent of any observer, doesn’t really exist. Bohr, by contrast (and sounding a lot like Wittgenstein), insisted that physics isn’t concerned with what is but solely with what we can say about it “
The Usefulness Of Modern Monarchs
“The tumultuous past two months in world politics have brought a surprise with them: Suddenly, monarchy seems relevant again.” The royals of Sweden and the Netherlands have taken an active role in reducing native-vs.-immigrant tensions; Bhutan’s king brought both elections and modern telecommunications to his tiny nation; Belgium’s King Albert II sometimes seems to be the only thing keeping the country from breaking up.
How To Make Money From Your Ideas
“If you are building a business model that says that people can only copy things with your permission, your business is going to fail because whether or not you like it, people will be able to copy your product without your permission. The question is: what are you going to do about that? Are you going call them thieves or are you going to find a way to make money from them?”
We Should Encourage Deniers Of Science
“Attempts to combat pseudoscience by branding it a secular form of blasphemy are illiberal and intolerant. They are also ineffective, tending not only to reinforce cynicism about science but also to promote a distrust for scientific and medical authority that provides a rallying point for pseudoscience.”
The Art Of Making It Yourself
“Maker Faire — sort of a combination science fair / county fair, with a hefty dose of Burning Man thrown in — has been happening once a year in this suburb on the outskirts of Silicon Valley since 2006. The first Faire drew about 20,000 attendees and 200 exhibits, and both of those figures doubled the following year. Now, with 70,000 attendees expected and exactly 600 exhibits, the Maker Faire is starting to feel a little, well, crowded.”
For Today’s Americans, Self-Respect Trumps Security
“The social values of Americans have changed dramatically over the past three decades, with self-respect surging in importance and a sense of security mattering far less.”
Philosophy For Your iPhone
“What’s the meaning of life? There’s an app for that. AskPhilosophers.org, a Web site that makes philosophers available to answer questions, is going mobile, creating a free downloadable app for mobile devices.”
So, What Is A Philosopher, Anyway?
“There are as many definitions of philosophy as there are philosophers – perhaps there are even more. After three millennia of philosophical activity and disagreement, it is unlikely that we’ll reach consensus … What I’d like to do in the opening column in this new venture – The Stone – is to kick things off by asking a slightly different question: what is a philosopher?”