Category Archives: Articles of Note

Blowing things up for a living

Posted on March 26, 2013 by thuudung

Cai Guo-Qiang wants to open “a dialogue with the universe.” This is not hyperbole. The Chinese artist is courting an audience of extraterrestrials… more»

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An A from Nabokov

Posted on March 25, 2013 by thuudung

Professor Nabokov had one rule for students in his Lit 311 course at Cornell University: No one could leave, not even to use the bathroom… more»

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An interview with Jaron Lanier

Posted on March 23, 2013 by thuudung

Ego and algorithm. Jaron Lanier looks at fellow techies and sees great talent and great smugness. “Hacker superiority complex,” he calls it… more»

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Calvin Trillin at Time magazine

Posted on March 22, 2013 by thuudung

Tears, booze, sexual tension, idiosyncratic prose. Academic conference? No, Time magazine in the 60s… more»

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Americans are weird

Posted on March 21, 2013 by thuudung

The weirdness of the American mind. An attempt to reverse-engineer psychological research gives the lie to universalism. Culture shapes cognition… more»

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Jacques Barzun, my editor

Posted on March 20, 2013 by thuudung

Writing a book is a fraught, frenzied undertaking. Doubly so for a first book. So what’s it like to have Jacques Barzun as your editor? Better and worse… more»

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Thomas Nagel, the heretic

Posted on March 19, 2013 by thuudung

Philosophers used to have the confidence to question scientists. Today it’s a rare trait. Thomas Nagel is the exception, and he’s ostracized for it… more»

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Lunch with Noam Chomsky

Posted on March 18, 2013 by thuudung

A dissident’s life. You’re a prominent intellectual. What do you do all day? Noam Chomsky spends seven hours answering e-mail… more»

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Mo Yan and his critics

Posted on March 16, 2013 by thuudung

“There is no contradiction with my political opinion when I criticize party officials,” says Mo Yan. “I am writing on behalf of the people, not the party”… more»… more»

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Dictionaries in the digital era

Posted on March 15, 2013 by thuudung

Our dictionary, ourselves. Digitally redefined, reference works now respond to our own interests. “Dictionaries have found their ideal medium”… more»

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