Reading
How stupid are we?
Caleb Crain reports in the 24-Dec-2007 New Yorker that only 13% of Americans are proficient in reading to the degree that they can “compar[e] viewpoints in two editorials” (p. 134).
(And I fear that the percent of Americans who can compare two viewpoints at all to be nearly as low.)
What is a democracy when only 13% […]
Weak claims
danah boyd’s blog is subtitled “making connections where none previously existed,” but a much better title would be: “making connections where none exist.”
Recently boyd mentions a Pew study (link seems to be bad now; hope it comes back) reporting that 60% of adults are not worried about how much information is available about them online, […]
Mallon and Leithauser
How come no one has outed Thomas Mallon and Brad Leithauser as right-wingers? Mallon wrote for the American Spectator, and Leithauser for the New Criterion — UGH! When these guys get published in mainstream journals, they never mention this in their bios. Wikipedia is pretty quiet on this as well.
Those publishing bastards
That’s it, I am never, ever going to buy a book by a UK author on an American imprint.
I read in the newest Atlantic Monthly that certain key lines (having to do with adolescent sexuality) were removed from Pullman’s series The Golden Compass. Now, first of all, I totally respect those novels, if only for […]