The phrase “con artist” developed from the phrase “confidence man” which later became shortened to “con man.” The original focus in the term “con” was not on the swindling of the victim per se, therefore, but on the means of doing so: gaining the victim’s confidence, often through the perpetrator speaking with confidence and in other ways acting to gain the person’s trust, even though trust placed in them would be misplaced. This was the first thing that came to... Read more
Someone shared the first cartoon below on Facebook, which led me to the Shoebox blog and a bunch of cartoons all centered on how technology is changing our lives. Bonus points if you read all the way through the first panel… R2-D2 gets passed over for a smartphone. But why didn’t they just put the Death Star plans in the cloud anyway? Don’t forget to like this cartoon on Facebook! That last one shows why it is worth clicking the... Read more
For those interested in theology, I encourage you to reflect on this perspective on humanity’s distinctiveness among the primates on this planet. That which distinguishes us as human beings is responsible for most things that are wrong on this planet – and most of what we consider to make life worth living. I think this offers a nice perspective that complements one possible understanding of the Eden myth – human “fallenness” is not a condition that we could have avoided.... Read more
This blog post will meander a bit. It starts with the memory of an album of a local Brooklyn artist that my father had when I was young. The singer was Patricia Costa (shortened from Costagliola) and the album I remember was called “Give Your Love Away.” I actually remember distinctly only one of the songs on the album, which I particularly liked. The song’s title was “And The People Cry Justice” and if I remember correctly, the lyrics of... Read more
I bought my son a wooden model kit of the Second Temple from the bookstore and gift shop at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Today he finished work on the construction, and so I thought I’d share photos of the result! Read more
BibleWorks has announced the winners of its birthday contest. Click through to see the winning entries, and some of the others, some of which are among my favorites. Mike Bird has posted some of his favorites over on his blog. In related news, I’ll be offering a detailed blog review of BibleWorks 9 here at Exploring Our Matrix very soon! Read more
HT Mark Goodacre for this wonderful parody of the iPad from Horrible Histories. Read more
Skepticism ought to be about critical thinking. But it often ends up being something else, which is illustrated nicely in the latest cartoon by David Hayward: It is a bit like the point made in Richard Beck’s recent blog post about scapegoating. Going against the flow, once looked down upon, is now highly appreciated in certain circles – so much so, that those who value skepticism may assume that they are being appropriately skeptical when they are not, or may... Read more
Today’s Non Sequitur, via The Panda’s Thumb Read more
Some people do in just about every category imaginable. But in only two categories in a recent survey (and those categories overlap to a degree that continues to bewilder me) did a majority think that professors are unfriendly towards religion. Can you guess which ones before checking the chart below (which was shared by Jerry Coyne on his blog)? Any thoughts on the data presented above? I wonder whether the results would be similar if a poll were done... Read more
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