“Most people’s hatred of Skyler had little to do with me and a lot to do with their own perception of women and wives. Because Skyler didn’t conform to a comfortable ideal of the archetypical female, she had become a kind of Rorschach test for society.”
Category: issues
Does Watching Violence Lead To Committing Violence?
Even though a lot of us think that’s ridiculous (does watching Twilight make you a vampire?), the evidence says maybe.
False Choice? (Health Care Versus Art)
“Suppose you have a choice between visiting the art museum, including its new wing, or going to see the museum without visiting the new wing. Naturally, you would prefer to see it with the new wing. But now imagine that an evil demon declares that out of every 100 people who see the new wing, he will choose one, at random, and inflict 15 years of blindness on that person. Would you still visit the new wing? You’d have to be nuts.”
Grantmakers’ Janet Brown Responds To NYT Op-Ed On Charitable Giving
I was appalled by Mr. Singer’s use of a museum as an example of “bad charity.”
New York’s Museum Of African Art To Become Asia Society-Style Institute
“The institution’s plan to reinvent itself as the New Africa Center – with a museum, policy institute and members’ club for business executives, cultural leaders and policy makers interested in Africa – comes after the departure of the museum’s longtime president, Elsie McCabe Thompson, in October.”
Building A “Buddhist Mecca” In Nepal
The town of Lumbini, the Buddha’s birthplace, long had little more than a small temple to serve the many visiting pilgrims. For decades there have been plans existed for a grander complex with architecture from throughout the Buddhist world; progress is finally being made on realizing those plans, with major help from a foundation in China.
Plea: Let’s Have A More Comprehensive Debate About The Humanities
“As the liquidation of philosophy, theater, and foreign-language departments makes clear, the humanities face immediate existential peril. But the sciences must confront moral and philosophical risks.”
How Do You Rebrand A Country?
Building on the cultural capital acquired through everything from anime and manga to sushi bars, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is developing a campaign – along the lines of the recent “Incredible India” – around the tagline “Cool Japan”. Could a slogan mitigate the effects of Fukushima or the dolphin killings on Japan’s image?
Even Stone-Age Cooks Spiced Their Food: Researchers
“A bubbling broth of oysters and fresh cod, seasoned with a little garlic-mustard seed, sounds like a mouth-watering meal worthy of any modern kitchen. But this repast was being enjoyed in Northern Europe some 6,000 years ago, according to research that offers the earliest direct evidence that Neolithic people in the region added spices to their food.”
Time To Rethink America’s Charitable Tax Deduction?
“Scholars are divided on the charitable deduction. Writing in The New York Times, Richard Thaler of the University of Chicago has said it needs to be rethought. He notes the unfairness of giving a large tax reward to the wealthy while giving nothing to those with modest incomes.”