Category: Theory
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Unobvious concepts that are important, but rarely taught
To understand history, geography, fiction, and a whole lot else besides, it is fairly important that children be taught in considerable depth certain practical yet universal concepts about history that, I think, are […]
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Reply to Nathan Jurgenson on anti-intellectualism
Thanks to Nathan Jurgenson for a thoughtful critique of “Is there a new geek anti-intellectualism?” I wish I had more time to respond, especially since it is so earnestly intellectual itself. The following will […]
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Geek anti-intellectualism: replies
My essay on “geek anti-intellectualism” hit a nerve. I get the sense that a lot of geeks are acting–quite unusually for them–defensively, because I’ve presented them with a sobering truth about themselves that […]
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Is there a new geek anti-intellectualism?
This essay can be read in my 2020 book, Essays on Free Knowledge. Perhaps ironically, it is no longer free. UPDATE: I’ve posted a very long set of replies. UPDATE 2: I’ve decided to […]
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The value of knowledge – the anti-intellectualism problem versus the philosophers’ problem
I need to complain about my fellow philosophers. But maybe I’m confused. Maybe some philosophers out there can set me straight, somehow. In recent years, as my interests have turned away from encyclopedia-building […]
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On Robinson on Education
This very striking video has been circulating, and I’m inspired to reply to it: First, let me say that the video design is very cool. Moreover, Sir Ken Robinson is quite an excellent […]
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25 Replies to Maria Bustillos
In a recent essay, in The Awl (“Wikipedia and the Death of the Expert“), Maria Bustillos commits a whole series of fallacies or plain mistakes and, unsurprisingly, comes to some quite wrong conclusions. […]
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Looong interview with me by Dan Schneider in Cosmoetica
Off and on, for the last 2.5 years, I have been answering questions from poet and critic Dan Schneider, who has conducted a series of long, interesting interviews. My interview, posted a few hours ago, is […]
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A common error of school lessons, or, why I’m homeschooling
Here is one reason why I’m homeschooling, and why I would probably never send my children to a school–even most private schools. I was looking over some instructional material recently (something I do often […]
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Should Science Communication Be Collaborative?
Plenary address at PCST-10 (10th conference of the International Network on Public Communication of Science and Technology), Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden, June 25, 2008. A slightly abbreviated version of this was delivered. I. […]