thoughts in and out of season
The merest straw in the wind, but interesting nonetheless: Religious people have superior visual perception. It seems that Dutch Calvinist university students recognize embedded visual patterns faster than their atheist classmates.
The study reminds me of one Christopher Alexander reports in his Nature of Order that showed that children were generally very good at … More ...
My book has been picked up by Conservative Book Club. That means you can get it for $1 as part of their introductory package of three books. They also carry The Tyranny of Nice by Kathy Shaidle and Pete Vere, and The Tyranny of Tolerance by Judge Robert H. Dierker, Jr., so you can … More ...
A friend is guest-editing a special issue of some publication that will deal with problems of gifted and talented education. For some reason he asked me to contribute an article, and here’s an initial sketch that I plan to expand a great deal. Any comments at this point would be nonetheless welcome.
… More ...Gifted and Talented
I expanded the lecture I gave last summer at Gardone into a series of three essays that can be found in the October, November, and December issues of The Angelus. You can also read a Google docs version of the series as a single document.
The election of a black man as president is supposed to be a wonderful thing. Doesn’t that depend on how it came about? If it shows the growth of human respect and a widening scheme of cooperation then it’s a good thing. If it shows that a social order that took particular histories and connections … More ...
I just finished reading Robert Nisbet’s The Quest for Community: A Study in the Ethics of Order and Freedom. I had never read it before, I suppose because the name made it sound a bit platitudinous. In fact, though, it’s a frighteningly acute study of the close relation among (i) the modern absolute state, … More ...
My book, The Tyranny of Liberalism: Understanding and Overcoming Administered Freedom, Inquisitorial Tolerance, and Equality by Command, is now available in paperback at Amazon. I suppose the hardcover version should be available soon as well. I’ve seen an advance copy of the Booklist review, and it’s very positive and even gives the … More ...
I’ve got another piece out on Christopher Alexander, this one at Takimag. It ended up following the general approach of the University Bookman review, which was mostly taken from old blog entries, but with a few different angles, examples, and turns of phrase. Also, the editor included some nice pictures.
I recently had an email exchange with a black man who’s generally sympathetic with what I say but has some concerns. Here’s the exchange, which I’ve edited somewhat in the interests of coherence, concision, and clarity.
… More ...Black Trad: I have been reading many of your articles online and tend to agree with you about most
I have a review of the first volume of Christopher Alexander’s The Nature of Order in The University Bookman.