Novelist and vlogger John Green very succinctly raises the point that humans are often pretty good at dealing with emergencies but often a lot less good at dealing with long-term problems. (But see below.) Link: https://youtu.be/bpyhMMqwX8U Of course, John Green … Continue reading
Category Archives: History
This was highlighted yesterday on NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day blog. It’s a one-minute animation of where we came from starting at the Big Bang and continuing to the present. Details can be found in the YouTube description at … Continue reading
In parallel with the recent debate over Confederate statues and other memorials in the U.S., South Africa has its own debate about memorials to the colonial and Apartheid eras. This 9-minute segment from PBS Newshour (broadcast November 10) presents multiple … Continue reading
Depending on whether you observe it on a weekday (as government offices do) or on the traditional November 11, today or yesterday is Veterans Day. It started as Armistice Day, commemorating the armistice that ended the fighting in World War … Continue reading
As you’re probably aware, the partially autonomous Spanish region of Catalonia has voted in favor of independence and the Spanish central government has intervened to block it. I don’t know enough to have a strong opinion either way. On principle … Continue reading
Here’s yet another excellent segment from HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, this one about Confederate monuments and their connection to history. As usual he makes interesting points, and he does so very entertainingly. If you don’t want to … Continue reading
While overall crime in the United States has continued to fall, violent crime, notably murder, rose in the last two calendar years after a long period of decline. That increase turns out to have been entirely in metropolitan areas, especially … Continue reading
In the video below Hank Green does a good job of addressing one of my hobbyhorses, namely the popular misunderstanding of life expectancy. Current U.S. life expectancy at birth is about 76.5 for men and 81.2 for women, but if … Continue reading
I highly recommend “How Bullwinkle Taught Kids Sophisticated Political Satire,” an article by Beth Daniels posted September 7 at Smithsonian.com. It begins, “Mr. Chairman, I am against all foreign aid, especially to places like Hawaii and Alaska,” says Senator Fussmussen … Continue reading
Today, 2017 September 3, is Julian day 2,458,000. The last three digits just rolled over to all zeros. Granted, it’s not as dramatic as rolling over to Julian day 3,000,000 (which won’t happen for nearly 15 centuries), but it’s something. … Continue reading