The mission and meanderings of learning: thoughts on the purpose of education 2000 years ago. You have been wishing to know my views with regard to liberal studies. My answer is this: I respect no study, and deem no study good, which results in money-making. Such studies are profit-bringing occupations, useful only in so far [...]
Gnomic genomics of happiness: is happiness in our genes, and can our euphoria alter the way our genes express themselves? From the article: The study indicated that people high in eudaemonic happiness were more likely to show the opposite gene profile of those suffering from social isolation: inflammation was down, while antiviral response was up. Since [...]
Identity and Difference: can we become part of another society without losing ourselves? A man who gives himself to be a possession of aliens leads a Yahoo life, having bartered his soul to a brute-master. He is not of them. He may stand against them, persuade himself of a mission, batter and twist them into something which [...]
Thought, language, and knowledge: does our use of language shape our view of things, and rationality? What could be more obvious than that people carry over the way they comprehend things through statements onto the structure of things themselves? Yet this opinion, seemingly critical but in reality rash, has first to explain how the carry-over of the [...]
Natural empathy and artificial intelligence: the CEO of Microsoft calls for a greater appreciation of the human condition as computational technology becomes more sophisticated. From the editorial: At a developer conference earlier this year, I shared our approach to A.I. First, we want to build intelligence that augments human abilities and experiences. Ultimately, it’s not going [...]
Against Reading: why life is better spent doing other things. Ferreus. Hi, Procopius. What are you up to? Procopius. Hello, Ferreus. I’m just catching up on my reading. Ferreus. What magazine is that? Procopius. The Economist. It’s a bit stilted, but it helps me understand world affairs. Ferreus. I looked at it once. It was [...]
Liberal arts needed in the tech world: why having a facility for languages, of all sorts, enhances the richness of software development. From the editorial: Most liberal arts degrees encourage a well-rounded curriculum that can give students exposure to programming alongside the humanities. Philosophy, literature, art, history and language give students a thorough understanding of how [...]
Of books to books: Geoffrey Crayon speaks to volumes in the library of Westminster Abbey, and ponders the ways time and technology transform our knowledge. “Language gradually varies, and with it fade away the writings of authors who flourished their allotted time…. Formerly there were some restraints on this excessive multiplication. Works had to be transcribed by [...]
4Humanities interviews Humanities Watch. Ashley Champagne asks about the origins and mission of Humanities Watch, and the humanities' place in society. From the exchange: The point of my website is to demonstrate how the humanities are also in constant conversation with these practical and present interests: science, technology, healthcare, and business. As a matter of fact – [...]
Has the age of the encyclopedic excellence passed us by, or can (or should) it be revived? The author praises the eleventh edition of the Encyclopedia Brittanica (1910-11) as "the last great encyclopedia." From the editorial: Its greatness derived not alone from its contributors or its organization but from the spirit infusing it. This spirit [...]
