NEW! "HOW DID GOD GET STARTED?"
Here's a link to my newest article, which appears in the Fall 2010 issue of
Arion, Boston University's journal of humanities and the classics. In it I ask a few leading questions about the pedigree of You-Know-Who.
"WHAT DARWIN GOT WRONG"
Here's a link to a letter I wrote that was recently published in
The New York Review of Books that defends the role of narrative explanation in science and other areas of inquiry. It elicited a response from Richard Lewontin himself, who's a great hero of mine (though I don't always agree with him), and whose
NYRB article denouncing some scientists' "idle speculation" I was critiquing. Apparently, he preferred other letters to mine, but mine was the one the editors chose to publish. Go figure.
"THE MYSTERY
OF SOCRATES' LAST WORDS"
The death of Socrates is a cultural icon that lies at the heart of Western civilization. But his mysterious last words have kept us from fully understanding its meaning. My explanation of them is simple, even obvious, and has been hiding in plain sight for 2,400 years. It was published recently in
Arion, Boston University's journal of classics and the humanities.
"JOSEPH NEEDHAM'S BIG QUESTION"
NYRB (12/18/08) Here's a link to an earlier letter of mine that was published in
The New York Review of Books on the question "Why Didn't Science Rise in China?"
OPINIONS:
"IMPEACHMENT IS NOT ABOUT IRAQ"
Here's an opinion piece I wrote for my local paper,
The Plattsburgh Press-Republican, calling for the impeachment of President Bush. All elected officials swear an oath to support the Constitution, and the president has systematically attacked the Constitution. I argue here that any public official who
does not support impeachment has failed to
honor his or her oath of office.
A NICKEL TOUR OF BYZANTIUM
A layperson's overview of Byzantium and Byzantine history for those who enjoyed my book,
Sailing from Byzantium.
INTRODUCTION: BEGINNINGS & ENDINGS
CHAPTER I: TRANSITION
I'll be posting the next three chapters (
Dark Age, Recovery, and
Defeat) on this site in the future.
SOME OF MY FAVORITE SITES:
Terra Daily http://www.terradaily.com
Terra Daily offers a wide range of informed and well written stories on breaking news in science, especially earth and environmental sciences, but also biology, physics, cosmology, and everything else.
Open Democracy http://www.opendemocracy.net/home/index.jsp
Offers original articles of mostly high quality on a wide range of subjects in international politics and culture. Especially good on women's issues in the developing world. Plus, Fred Halliday, a professor of international relations at the London School of Economics and perhaps the sanest person writing about the Middle East, has a regular column here.
Arts and Literature Daily http://www.aldaily.com
A valuable selection of articles from leading papers and journals in the English-speaking world.
signsandsights.com http://www.signandsight.com
Collects articles on the European and American press and intellectual scene. Check out the idiotic controversy over Ian Buruma's and Timothy Garton Ash's spot-on critiques of Ayaan Hirsi Ali (click on "the multicultural issue").
Truthdig.com http://www.truthdig.com
Veteran journalist Robert Scheer edits this excellent political site.
Max Tegmark's website http://space.mit.edu/home/tegmark/index.html
For science buffs. This brilliant physicist will blow your mind with parallel universes and other quantum cosmological paradoxes.