From the monthly archives:

December 2007

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What Happened To New York: A History Of The 00’s So Far [The Decade In Review]

What Happened To New York: A History Of The 00’s So Far [The Decade In Review]

All those people—such as myself!—who complain about what New …

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Judt also denounces the balkanization created by interdisciplinary ethnic studies programs. Multiculturalism “created lots and lots of microconstituencies, which universities didn’t have the courage to oppose,” he said. “It’s much more like a supermarket — kids can take pretty much any courses they like: Jewish kids take Jewish studies, gay students gay studies, black students African-American studies. You no longer have a university, but a series of identity constituencies all studying themselves.” Some say this kind of identity-based thinking is at odds with the true purpose of education — something canon traditionalists can misunderstand as badly as their multiculturalist opponents. “What Americans yearn for in literature is self-recognition,” said Mark Lilla, a professor of political philosophy and religion who just left the University of Chicago for Columbia. “That’s where the conservatives went wrong. The case for the canon itself isn’t a case for book camp and becoming a citizen in the West.” Wrestling with difficult, often inaccessible works is “the most alienating experience possible,” he continued. “When you read Toni Morrison, there’s no alienation. It affirms your Americanism.

Judt also denounces the balkanization created by interdisciplinary ethnic studies programs. Multiculturalism “created lots and lots of microconstituencies, which universities didn’t have the courage to …

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Ayres is simply too optimistic about the impact data analysis is having.

Ayres is simply too optimistic about the impact data analysis is having.
Super Crunchers – Ian Ayres – Books – Review – New York Times…

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What’s surprising is the degree to which we’ve all become sophisticates, engaging in our own Packard-like critiques of consumer culture without changing our habits. We know we buy irrationally; we just don’t care. We imagine that the “manipulators” at J. Walter Thompson or BBDO play only on the fears and hopes of desperate consumers who aren’t as “conscious” as we are (in which case it’s hard not to admire the ingenuity of the advertisers), while we ourselves are smart enough to decide when to give in. On the last page of “The Hidden Persuaders,” Packard had to acknowledge the paradox: “When irrational acts are committed knowingly they become a sort of delicious luxury.” We seem to enjoy both knowing that ads are hustling us and choosing to be hustled.

What’s surprising is the degree to which we’ve all become sophisticates, engaging in our own Packard-like critiques of consumer culture without changing our habits. We …

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IT’S a pickle of a paradox: As our knowledge and expertise increase, our creativity and ability to innovate tend to taper off. Why? Because the walls of the proverbial box in which we think are thickening along with our experience.

IT’S a pickle of a paradox: As our knowledge and expertise increase, our creativity and ability to innovate tend to taper off. Why? Because the …

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Hugh Massingberd, Laureate for the Departed, Dies

Hugh Massingberd, Laureate for the Departed, Dies
Mr. Massingberd was a celebrated former obituaries editor of The Telegraph of London who made a once-dreary page …

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Hugh Massingberd, Laureate for the Departed, Dies

Hugh Massingberd, Laureate for the Departed, Dies
Mr. Massingberd was a celebrated former obituaries editor of The Telegraph of London who made a once-dreary page …

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Linkblog

Internet Famous – Featured on BuzzFeed

Internet Famous – Featured on BuzzFeed…

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