I’d like to expand the discussion on taking on the burden of someone else’s sin that was taking place in one of the foolish virgins threads. The example I’m using is the major spoiler from Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, so if you haven’t read it, don’t already know, and don’t want to, I’m sorry to say you should skip the post. (That’s what you get for not going to the midnight release). Spoilers ahoy! Ok, so everyone... Read more
I finally made time to get a flu shot at a local CVS and so now you all get treated to a public health PSA (but it’s got an ethics/duty angle, so it’s totally technically within the scope of this blog). I could just make a pitch from self-interest: get a shot so you won’t get sick. After all, even without insurance, the cost of the shot (~$30 at CVS) is affordable for a lot of people, and, once you’re... Read more
UPDATE: there are Harry Potter spoilers in the comments section. If this is a problem for you, don’t read my reply to Christian H or anything that follows. Thanks a lot to everyone who weighed in with exegesis of the parable of the ten virgins. More perpectives and references are quite welcome. Several people said it was impossible (physically and metaphorically) for the wise virgins to save the foolhardy ones; no mortal can fully redeem another person. A number of... Read more
I’m always disappointed when a Mass reading has a perplexing or counterintuitive section, and the priest chooses to focus his sermon on the more obvious moral. Luckily, I’ve got you commenters to turn to for exegesis, so maybe you’d like to take a crack at Matthew 25:1-13. For the Gospel selection at Sunday’s Mass, the priest read Jesus’s parable of the wise and foolish virgins. In the story, ten virgins go out waiting for the bridegroom but only five were wise enough to... Read more
While travelling this weekend, I finally got around to reading Freud’s Last Session – a play that imagines a dialogue between Sigmund Freud (shortly before his death) and C.S. Lewis (not long after his conversion). The show played recently off-Broadway, but I still haven’t seen it. I have to say, I wasn’t that impressed by the script. The arguments Lewis presents are a lot more complex and compelling in the books he’s written (and I assume the same goes for... Read more
— 1 — This will be a lightning-quick Quick Takes since I found myself unexpectedly travelling for work this week and am now both exhausted and in the tackiest city on earth. (Well, maybe second tackiest after Dollywood). Once I’m back on the East Coast, I’m looking forward to responding to some of the comments on “The Matriarchy Trap” and “How do you pick a teacher?” For now, a whirlwind tour of links. — 2 — The image above is... Read more
The Dunning-Kruger effect is a term for people who are too ignorant to recognize that they are mistaken. If you work in politics or public health, it’s easy to feel as though these people are everywhere, but it is possible for most of us to spot people or systems which are better at making certain judgements than we are. And if we find one, it’s rational to defer to its decisions. This is essentially the kind of system G.K. Chesterton... Read more
Kate Bolick’s cover story for The Atlantic on living with the poor marriage prospects for women (“All the Single Ladies“) prompted a lot of comment, but I thought Lea Halim had the most thought-provoking response in National Review (“Why Not Matriarchy?“). I’m going to summarize and quote to be able to comment, but do yourself a favor and read her piece in full. Now, here’s the pull-quote: In a caricature patriarchal society, men have all the earning power, determine the structure... Read more
I really do shut down almost everything when Halloween comes around. This is the first season in a while that I didn’t pull a costuming all nighter (though most of my nights were 2am nights this week). I’m a little zonked, so you’ll get content-y posts tomorrow, but today you’ll just get the photos that are brought to you by sleep deprivation and an entire rewatched season of Battlestar Galactica. Voila! Confused about what I’m dressed as? Perhaps this paragraph I had... Read more
— 1 — Sorry for a delay in posting and responding to comments. Halloween fast approaches, and I’ve been spending pretty much all my spare time with my sewing machine, trying to finish a costume in time. It’s cyberpunk themed, and I’ll tell you I got two of the patterns I’m using from here and here. It turns out I’m not even the only one of my friends doing a neo-victorian take on cyberpunk, since one friend of mine is... Read more
Unequally Yoked
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