CULTURE

Why Most Civilizations Fail, Part 3: The Choice Between Stasis and Infinity

What separates societies that generate knowledge from those that suppress it, and what does this mean for our future?

Duke University Rape Case

Duke University Rape Case

Nothing should be surprising any more about the Duke University rape case. Still, it is a little staggering that, after all these months, District Attorney Mike Nifong has still not interviewed either the accuser or the accused. Rape is a felony with serious...

The Joys of Reading: A Proper Reading Program

The Joys of Reading: A Proper Reading Program

This year, I have the pleasure of teaching literature to our school's Elementary 1 students, children in second and third grades, a class that includes my own seven-year-old daughter Lana. Their uninhibited enthusiasm for learning, their eager quest to see...

The Power of Observation: From Art to Literature to Life

One of the great joys of the present school year has been the addition of an art appreciation class, taught by art enthusiast and VanDamme Academy teacher Luc Travers. Mr. Travers' unique approach to analyzing a work of art has transformed my esthetic life, enhancing...

Microsoft and Science Education

Microsoft and Science Education

Science education is a frequent topic in the news these days. Earlier this month, Microsoft announced a campaign to improve math and science education in the Seattle area. According to Brad Smith, a senior vice president and general counsel for Microsoft: "We're very...

High School Physics: Grade F

High School Physics: Grade F

Physics is the fundamental natural science. Its birth in the 17th century heralded man's coming of age as a rational being. The discovery of the basic laws of nature led to the industrial revolution and modern technology, demonstrating the enormous practical power of...

Pope Benedict the Deeply Mistaken

When the Koran or a Mullah asks followers to subjugate or kill those who do not uphold the ideas of Islam, the line from civilized dialogue to rule by force is crossed. Someone who is required to "accept" Islam at the point of a gun has not made a moral choice. Those...

The Pope vs. Islam

The Pope vs. Islam

The Muslim world is storming in violent outrage against the Pope's recent quoting of a 14th Century emperor of the Byzantine Empire. A NY Times editorial says: "The pope quoted the emperor saying, 'Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will...

Children as Bombs

Children as Bombs

As if things weren't crazy enough already in the Middle East, here's the officially sanctioned message in sixth-grade Palestinian textbooks for 11- and 12-year-old kids: "The noble soul has two goals: death and the desire for it." The goal isn't to build magnificent...

Harvard’s “Tolerance” for Brutal Dictators

Harvard’s “Tolerance” for Brutal Dictators

For many years I have argued that America's intellectuals--those learned people with the greatest ability to understand our virtues and articulate a moral defense of our way of life--have long abandoned America. Another piece of evidence of this betrayal can be found...

Blame Hezbollah and Iran for Death of Qana Children

Blame Hezbollah and Iran for Death of Qana Children

Responsibility for the tragic deaths of scores of Lebanese women and children in Qana, Lebanon falls primarily on Hezbollah and its backers, Syria and Iran, not on Israel. To initiate a war against Israel and then use children as shields is so evil and disgusting that...

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