The Chess Project: Installment 2: A Chess Puzzle

A famous chess player--I forget which one--once said that even positions that look objectively hopeless often have hidden resources, if only one is persistent enough to find them. That's a nice line; it intimates the beauty and depth of the game, and also why creativity is as important as calculation (unless you're a computer which … Continue reading The Chess Project: Installment 2: A Chess Puzzle →

The Chess Project: Installment 1: Mating with the Queen

This is the first installment in what I hope will become a lengthy series of posts on chess. Each day, give or take--and history suggests more take than give--I'll post something about chess. I'm doing this for three reasons, mainly. First, I've been studying chess for about six months now, and it will impose some … Continue reading The Chess Project: Installment 1: Mating with the Queen →

Plato Project #9: Laches

[Up Next: Lysis] The subject of "Laches" is courage - it begins with two military men - Lysimachus and Melesias - fretting over what to teach their sons. They both confess to having failed to learn what courage is for themselves, and for their sons, they want better. Their sons, we learn, are both named after their … Continue reading Plato Project #9: Laches →

Teaching Students Past Moral Relativism – Some Experiences in a High School English Classroom

“That’s just like, your opinion, man.” Jeffrey (“The Dude”) Lebowski, The Big Lebowski In the Coen Brothers classic, the Dude is called “a lazy man… probably the laziest in Los Angeles County, which puts him in the running for laziest worldwide.” We laugh at the Dude’s outdated 60’s radicalism in lots of other forms. His … Continue reading Teaching Students Past Moral Relativism – Some Experiences in a High School English Classroom →

Plato Project #8: Ion

[Up Next: Laches] In this dialogue, Ion of Ephesus speaks with Socrates. Ion is identified as a "rhapsode," which means he was a professional performer of epic song. He claims to be the best interpreter of Homer alive. Socrates allows him this claim, but is more concerned with the question of the reason for Ion's success, or … Continue reading Plato Project #8: Ion →

Plato Project #7: Hippias Minor

[Up Next: Ion] Who's the greater hero - Achilles or Odysseus? There is a timelessness to that question, since the two well-known Homeric heroes - the one of the Iliad and the of ther of the Odyssey - seem to represent two diametrically opposed ways of being a hero. Achilles is a swift-footed and strong warrior; Odysseus is … Continue reading Plato Project #7: Hippias Minor →

Plato Project #6: Hippias Major

[Up Next: Hippias Minor] Hippias Major considers the question of what is beautiful, though really only reached conclusions about what it is not. It begins with Hippias (I'm guessing he's a sophist) boastfully explaining that he gives the best and most beautiful speeches, because he makes the most money of anyone who gives them. There's a … Continue reading Plato Project #6: Hippias Major →

Inherent Vice? Thomas Pynchon?

I recently saw Inherent Vice - PT Anderson's screen adaptation of Thomas Pynchon's novel of the same name. For the first time in a long time, I found myself sitting in a theater fundamentally confused about both what was going on (who was connected to whom, how and why) and also what, if any, the broader meaning … Continue reading Inherent Vice? Thomas Pynchon? →

Plato Project #5: First Alcibiades

[Up next: Greater Hippias] "Alcibiades" is a byword for a certain kind of decadent and ostentatious public figure, one who is attractive, ambitious, courts scandal, and is self-involved. It was with this archetype that I was most acquainted. I think in our high school Great Books class we read something called "Alcibiades" but I don't think … Continue reading Plato Project #5: First Alcibiades →

We Are All Anti-Vaccinators

(at least if we use Uber, Amazon, Turbotax, cars, or discount supermarkets) As usual, the Onion nails it: the anti-vaccination crowd misuses the language of individual rights and thereby jeopardizes the social well-being of others. But also as usual, the Onion’s joke cuts more deeply - to everyone who uses Uber, Amazon, claims substantial tax … Continue reading We Are All Anti-Vaccinators →