If you are interested in a voice from what remains of the materialist left, Guy Rundle's articles on the rise of the knowledge class are worth reading: https://www.crikey.com.au/author/guyrundle/
Tim Stanley was pro-Tugendhat as well. I find it baffling. All I know about him is the Scruton Misjudgement and the time he tried to expel the Russians. He looks like you could have a good conversation with him about where Lost went wrong as a series, and whether that failure affected production of The Wire, but that's not what I'm looking for in a PM.
Another topic that somewhat touches on the Yawn observation is that an overlapping demographic also seems to seek to make themselves as ugly as possible. Who, in their right mind, would think that septum piercings are attractive? And we can also talk about the explosion of tattoos, and how it went from discreet to having multiple large tattoos, often of the oddest things, all over the body. And certain fashion styles and hair cuts. And it's always among the same demographics.
We did have the goth generation, but there's something distinctly ideological about a subset of the woke progressives that seem to seek to be as unattractive as possible, as if they are rejecting beauty as an oppressive social norm or ideal? It would certainly fit in with the larger picture that they reject any standards.
Good morning from a pleasant summer day in Maryland. The next few days are going to be an oddity, London is hotter than Maryland! In July! But I do remember stifling hot London days too, where no one has air conditioning and the narrow terraces can't breathe in the way the open American houses can, and there isn't the shady canopy of large trees blanketing every neighborhood outside the most dense urban core. All make a significant difference. You have my sympathy. But I can also tell in a few days you'll plunge right back to the 70s while we are sweltering as usual.
If looking for a good voice on the socialist life, I can recommend Freddie de Boer. Has a hugely popular substack. A confirmed socialist, but a pragmatic one too, and clearly recognizes the woke left as a problem. I don't always agree with him but I respect his views and he's written a number of good articles about the glorification of mental problems and how it's actually hurting people (with an implications for certain protected groups in today's word)
I found the uproar over the Canadian institutional schools lacking perspective (are we surprised? And should we also be surprised as more information trickled out that the situation wasn't quite what it was alleged to be at the onset, in short, that most of the "mass graves" were hypothetical). Nonetheless, residential schools were very common in the 19th century and not just for the Native Americans, but orphanages were everywhere, schools for the deaf/blind were everywhere, and of course, military academies and boarding schools for well-off children. In those days, influenza or other sicknesses could easily sweep through a dormitory. But death was also a fact of life. Even in the relatively more modern 1920s, the son of President Coolidge died from a blood infection from scraping his knee while playing on the White House tennis court.
But it also tells us how we have become much harsher and judgmental in understanding history, while at the same time also being very selective in what we get upset about. History is now less about the glorification of civilization, but the judging of civilization. Any great advancements made by a culture is not as important as the moral failures of that culture. Oh well.
Hi Ed, on the promotional note, are you endeavouring to appear in more online shows? I've only seen you on Triggernometry recently.
Apparently, all the cool kids spread themselves about online now... I mean, look at Douglas Murray. He's fast becoming second only to pornography for online ubiquity...
New topics? Well, following on from your references to grandmotherly commonsense, rooted in a lifetime's experience of human nature, and the nature of things at large, may I suggest an article giving us an historical perspective on why sexual behavior between males has commonly been sanctioned amongst different cultures and across different eras. With the monkey pox following on from HIV this could be timely, if a little risky for the author.
I’ve seen this a great deal, the ‘why would you even care about that?’
I once hear Douglas Murray and Sam Harris say almost those exact words when discussing IQ and race. Douglas, who I like a lot, seemed to think there was something nasty about even reading such material. My own thoughts were that if there really are racial differences in IQ then perhaps they, rather than racism, might be why all races don't end up in the same place. It would also suggests that the expensive programs that are set up to close the race gap are doomed to fail. Surely this is a good reason to care about it?
“The Convivial Society is a newsletter exploring the relationship between technology and society. It’s grounded in the history and philosophy of technology, with more than a sprinkling of media ecology. No hot takes, only shamelessly deliberate considerations of the meaning of technology for human experience.”
If you’ve heard of me it is likely from my work with the non-profit I co-founded, Ex-Muslims of North America, a profile of me or an interview I gave, or more embarrassingly, my Twitter presence.
Hold That Thought is where I think out loud in an attempt to understand the various points of confusion and conflict in our never-ending culture wars. More broadly, it is a study of human thought and behavior, from the perspective of someone who actively attempts to persuade people into changing theirs.
This newsletter is part culture commentary and part extremely amateur sociology (the best kind!) - but the topics will be fairly varied from week to week. I am curious, fairly disagreeable, very honest, and nerdy…and I strive to be as rational and compassionate as possible. I hope you will see those qualities reflected in what you find here”
Small point but I think the book review wasn’t actually by Scott but as part of the competition he is running on his blog. And I’m thinking of trying to do a podcast with the writer (maybe I should ask the reviewer??) but it’s very daunting!
If you are interested in a voice from what remains of the materialist left, Guy Rundle's articles on the rise of the knowledge class are worth reading: https://www.crikey.com.au/author/guyrundle/
Tim Stanley was pro-Tugendhat as well. I find it baffling. All I know about him is the Scruton Misjudgement and the time he tried to expel the Russians. He looks like you could have a good conversation with him about where Lost went wrong as a series, and whether that failure affected production of The Wire, but that's not what I'm looking for in a PM.
Shame we no longer have a "Wisdom Class"...
Another topic that somewhat touches on the Yawn observation is that an overlapping demographic also seems to seek to make themselves as ugly as possible. Who, in their right mind, would think that septum piercings are attractive? And we can also talk about the explosion of tattoos, and how it went from discreet to having multiple large tattoos, often of the oddest things, all over the body. And certain fashion styles and hair cuts. And it's always among the same demographics.
We did have the goth generation, but there's something distinctly ideological about a subset of the woke progressives that seem to seek to be as unattractive as possible, as if they are rejecting beauty as an oppressive social norm or ideal? It would certainly fit in with the larger picture that they reject any standards.
Good morning from a pleasant summer day in Maryland. The next few days are going to be an oddity, London is hotter than Maryland! In July! But I do remember stifling hot London days too, where no one has air conditioning and the narrow terraces can't breathe in the way the open American houses can, and there isn't the shady canopy of large trees blanketing every neighborhood outside the most dense urban core. All make a significant difference. You have my sympathy. But I can also tell in a few days you'll plunge right back to the 70s while we are sweltering as usual.
If looking for a good voice on the socialist life, I can recommend Freddie de Boer. Has a hugely popular substack. A confirmed socialist, but a pragmatic one too, and clearly recognizes the woke left as a problem. I don't always agree with him but I respect his views and he's written a number of good articles about the glorification of mental problems and how it's actually hurting people (with an implications for certain protected groups in today's word)
I found the uproar over the Canadian institutional schools lacking perspective (are we surprised? And should we also be surprised as more information trickled out that the situation wasn't quite what it was alleged to be at the onset, in short, that most of the "mass graves" were hypothetical). Nonetheless, residential schools were very common in the 19th century and not just for the Native Americans, but orphanages were everywhere, schools for the deaf/blind were everywhere, and of course, military academies and boarding schools for well-off children. In those days, influenza or other sicknesses could easily sweep through a dormitory. But death was also a fact of life. Even in the relatively more modern 1920s, the son of President Coolidge died from a blood infection from scraping his knee while playing on the White House tennis court.
But it also tells us how we have become much harsher and judgmental in understanding history, while at the same time also being very selective in what we get upset about. History is now less about the glorification of civilization, but the judging of civilization. Any great advancements made by a culture is not as important as the moral failures of that culture. Oh well.
Hi Ed, on the promotional note, are you endeavouring to appear in more online shows? I've only seen you on Triggernometry recently.
Apparently, all the cool kids spread themselves about online now... I mean, look at Douglas Murray. He's fast becoming second only to pornography for online ubiquity...
Rabbit Proof Fence a must see. And a must see again for me as I haven't seen it since it came out.
New topics? Well, following on from your references to grandmotherly commonsense, rooted in a lifetime's experience of human nature, and the nature of things at large, may I suggest an article giving us an historical perspective on why sexual behavior between males has commonly been sanctioned amongst different cultures and across different eras. With the monkey pox following on from HIV this could be timely, if a little risky for the author.
I’ve seen this a great deal, the ‘why would you even care about that?’
I once hear Douglas Murray and Sam Harris say almost those exact words when discussing IQ and race. Douglas, who I like a lot, seemed to think there was something nasty about even reading such material. My own thoughts were that if there really are racial differences in IQ then perhaps they, rather than racism, might be why all races don't end up in the same place. It would also suggests that the expensive programs that are set up to close the race gap are doomed to fail. Surely this is a good reason to care about it?
https://theconvivialsociety.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=profile_page
“The Convivial Society is a newsletter exploring the relationship between technology and society. It’s grounded in the history and philosophy of technology, with more than a sprinkling of media ecology. No hot takes, only shamelessly deliberate considerations of the meaning of technology for human experience.”
https://sarahhaider.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=profile_page
https://tedgioia.substack.com/?
utm_source=substack&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=profile_page
“I’m an activist.
If you’ve heard of me it is likely from my work with the non-profit I co-founded, Ex-Muslims of North America, a profile of me or an interview I gave, or more embarrassingly, my Twitter presence.
Hold That Thought is where I think out loud in an attempt to understand the various points of confusion and conflict in our never-ending culture wars. More broadly, it is a study of human thought and behavior, from the perspective of someone who actively attempts to persuade people into changing theirs.
This newsletter is part culture commentary and part extremely amateur sociology (the best kind!) - but the topics will be fairly varied from week to week. I am curious, fairly disagreeable, very honest, and nerdy…and I strive to be as rational and compassionate as possible. I hope you will see those qualities reflected in what you find here”
https://tedgioia.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=profile_page
'I’d be very interested in more from liberal or socialist writers, as I don’t want this to become just an endless stream of Right-wing takes.'
Great to hear!
Small point but I think the book review wasn’t actually by Scott but as part of the competition he is running on his blog. And I’m thinking of trying to do a podcast with the writer (maybe I should ask the reviewer??) but it’s very daunting!