language + rhetoric
Still No Need to Panic About Radiation Leaks at Fukushima? | Japan Probe
Lost in translation! Well done, Japan Probe. The original article includes a list of useful, informative links. Check it out. The comments are fun, too. As time goes by, there hasn’t been much of a decline in the international panic and fear over the situation at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Reports about leaks localized within [...]
Why I don’t read newspapers (2)
There has been a bigger-than-usual amount of scare-mongering and panic-fostering amongst the news media over the Japanese disasters recently. Here is an example from today. This is a good example of why I refuse to read newspapers. First the headline: Fukushima workers exposed to illegal radiation levels. (this is a cached page: the Guardian has since [...]
How not to talk to young people
Speaking of hope, or more particularly of how important it is to give people legitimate hope, here’s a good example of how not to do it. This is an exchange between Milton Friedman and a supposedly young Michael Moore. I say “supposedly” because I don’t see any resemblance, not because I don’t think he’s really [...]
Hope is a Theological virtue?
In the chapter on Hope, in Book Three of Mere Christianity, Christian apologist C.S. Lewis wrote, “Hope is one of the Theological virtues.” And that put me off right there. Don’t get me wrong. I admire C.S. Lewis in many ways, especially his erudition and the conversational style in which he writes (he writes as [...]
The art of persuasion
Ever since Aristotle’s “Rhetoric”, people have been interested in the power of persuasion. Today, I came across an unusual but possibly very effective way that neatly sidesteps arguments: to place a bet. Economic Optimism? Yes, I’ll take that bet. As the leader of the Cornucopians, the optimists who believed there would always be abundant supplies [...]
Scientism
Scientism is the idea that natural science is the most authoritative worldview or aspect of human education, and that it is superior to all other interpretations of life.[1] The term is used by social scientists such as Friedrich Hayek,[2] or philosophers of science such as Karl Popper, to describe what they see as the underlying [...]
Re-learning to write: my 30-day challenge
I’m 53. I need to learn how to write. Are you a teacher? Have you spent so much time reading and writing academic articles and essays that you now find it difficult to change your writing style? Do you keep a “Dear Diary”-type journal? Do you want to develop a side-business, but are stumped by [...]
Film-maker predicts hyperinflation; an economist disagrees. Which to believe?
Cover via Amazon On a forum I visit daily, a member had posted a link to an article describing a hyperinflation scenario in the U.S. I visited it. Later in the day, the website owner, economist and historian (and music buff) Gary North responded (members only): I am writing this in response to a site [...]
Why I no longer read John Derbyshire
Image via Wikipedia Update: Derbyshire’s homepage at Taki magazine includes links to some of my favourite libertarians/Austrian economists, such as Tom Woods, Karen de Coste, Peter Schiff, Justin Raimondo and Paul Gottfried (OK, I’m not sure Gottfried is a libertarian and he’s probably not an Austrian economist, but I like what he writes update: but [...]
A good speaker tells stories
Lawrence W. Reed, founder of the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE), here gives a talk on his seven principles of public policy. Sounds (yawn) fascinating. It’s actually a good example of how to give an interesting talk. Reed tells stories, and these stories elucidate, educate, enlighten. First off, there’s his funny story about the property [...]
