I was interviewed for the “Conversations with Marsha” series, part of The Great Connections program. Our theme is The Liberal Arts, What They Are and Why You Need Them. Video is below, and a rough transcription is coming soon.
Real Liberal Education: interviewed by Marsha Enright Read More »
On December 5, I’ll be in Mexico to speak at La Cuidad de Las Ideas. “La Ciudad de las Ideas is an International Festival of Brilliant Minds, a celebration of creativity and curiosity. With the participation of over 60 speakers, from scientists to opinion leaders, the festival takes place from the 4th to the 6th
Idea Festival 2020: Cuidad de las Ideas (Mexico) Read More »
Eton teacher Will Knowland was fired for this online discussion of sex and gender: (I’m quoted on free speech at the 2:15-minute mark. Thanks to Marian Tupy for the link.) While Knowland’s discussion takes up whether Patriarchy is natural/artificial and good/bad — the implicit lesson of his firing seems to be Thou shalt not challenge
Eton teacher Knowland fired for Patriarchy discussion Read More »
We’re now posting serially at thinkspot the transcripts of my Open College podcasts. Here’s the fifteenth: We’ve all run into teachers who think like this: There is One Truth and I am in possession of it. So important is it that students must believe it and it alone. Alternative ideas are a waste of time
Why Postmoderns Train—Not Educate—Activists [Open College transcript] Read More »
My heart sank a little when I saw the trio come down the aisle of the airplane. A mother with two young children, and the three seats in front of me were open in a mostly filled airplane. The boy, approximately five years old, arrived first and slid his way over to the window seat.
Anecdote: How Cry-bullies and Snow-fakes Are Made Read More »
We’re now posting serially at thinkspot the transcripts of my Open College podcasts. Here’s the fourteenth: Steve Jobs’s conflictual school experiences raise a question: Did Steve Jobs fail to adapt himself to the system, or did the school system fail to fit Steve Jobs? Audio versions of the podcast are available free at my website,
Educating Entrepreneurs, Or Why Steve Jobs Hated School [Open College transcript] Read More »
Old-time racists and sexists said: “Clear thinking — it’s not for woman, minorities, and gays.” Social-Justice Wokists today say: “Exactly!!” Rigorous thinking, according to some, is a virtue that leads to safe high-voltage electrical systems, pharmaceutical doses that are precisely calibrated, and bridges that stay up. Not so, says engineering Professor Donna Riley. Rather it
“Can women and minorities think rigorously?” The SJW say “No” Read More »
At James Lindsay’s New Discourses site, check out Calum Anderson’s “A Postmodern Inquisition: Faculties of (Re)-Education?” Today, teacher training programs have embraced a secular orthodoxy in postmodernism, an ideology which exalts activism and social justice to the detriment of discourse and critical thinking. Ironically, today’s activists closely resemble Galileo’s inquisitors. While dissenting voices may not
Faculties of (Re-)Education: Training the Teachers Read More »