"The Lord knows our human thoughts; how like a puff of wind they are." (Psalm 94:11)
Seems to me that the sort of people who sneer at “old books” are the same sort of people who might find it a reasonable idea to use artificial intelligence to “understand reality.” “Nothing anyone is saying is necessarily wrong; it’s just not interesting.” (Adam Kotsko on moralism in cultural criticism) Finished reading Howards End … Read more
So now I’m thinking about reading Eric Ambler, because he fits right in with the mild enthusiasm I’ve developed in middle age for 20th century thriller writers. Not only the sublime, like Graham Greene, who I’ve been slowly reading over the last five or six years, but the completely forgotten, like Helen MacInnes, several of … Read more
Yesterday’s Old Testament reading turned out to be the Sacrifice of Isaac, and hearing it read aloud in church for the first time since my experience with Fear & Trembling earlier this year made me realize how much of an impact SK’s book had on me. Murderer, I thought. Six episodes, about fifteen minutes each … Read more
I didn’t find the Harrison Ford digital facelift as creepy as the New York Times reviewer; they did a better job with the CGI than I expected. But “generally silly,” “not entirely charmless” – sure. It was a fun, dumb night at the movies. But, my God – so long! Movies do not need to … Read more
As William Deresiewicz writes, spitting contempt at “unfuckable hate nerds” isn’t going to change them for the better. Unfortunately, contempt is cathartic, and hatred is fun. I’m starting to think that the very idea of grace must be some kind of proof for the truth of religion, because surely humans didn’t come up with it … Read more
At Marginal Revolution, Alex Tabarrok makes some valid and interesting points as to why the modern “leisure class” feels so “harried.” But I think it’s okay to acknowledge that something has produced both good and bad effects, and to seek to find ways to mitigate the bad. This post sounds like the only response is … Read more