In a previous discussion I mentioned the important part narrative building plays in human cognition. As it turns out, I am not the only person to reach this conclusion. This week’s “intriguing passage” comes from the pen of Azar Gat, excerpted from his awesome War in Human Civilization. It excellently illuminates the human need to […]
National holidays are moments of celebration. Independence Day is perhaps the greatest of these, an unparalleled opportunity to celebrate what has made America great. The American experiment deserves more than celebration, however. Each fourth that passes allows us the chance to reflect on and remember what has made this all possible. Along this line of […]
Recently I wrote a post where I attempted to define “tyranny” as the word is used here on the Stage. I have given the matter some thought since then, and would like to add few points to this earlier effort. I concluded the post with the following operative definition of “tyranny”: Tyranny can be found […]
I am happy to announce that my antilibrary is one book shorter. Earlier this week I finally beat my way through Vaclav Smil’s encyclopedic Energy and Nature in Society: General Energetics of Complex Systems. The book was a fascinating one and I imagine that before July comes I will write a post or two on […]
Of late this corner of the blogosphere has been quite keen on the ideas of Ibn Khaldun. For the most part those discussing these ideas learned of them not in their work of origin, The Muqaddimah, but through well written intermediaries.* While I find no fault in this (I am far too guilty of this […]
War and Peace and War: The Life Cycles of Imperial Nations, Peter Turchin’s sweeping application of cliodynamics to the rise and fall of great powers, has been making the rounds recently. Both the Committee of Public Safety and Sublime Oblivion have posted responses to the book. As my past posts on cultural cohesion might suggest, […]
…copying all the notes I have taken over the last few months in a dinky little green spiral notebook and placing them into an electronic format. Consequently, I ask the readership not to expect too much from me over the next few days. I imagine patience here might have its rewards – these notes have […]
Recently I have been able to re-read some of the poems of one of my favorite authors, Rudyard Kipling. The mark of any good piece of literature, it is said, is its continued relevance years after it has been written. On that count, one particular poem of Kipling’s, “Arithmetic on the Frontier”, has struck me […]
