More cartoons, this time in Sweden.

The right to parody, which goes hand in hand with the cultural imperative to investigate all aspects of a topic, has come to the fore again.

quote: "The right to freedom of religion and the right to blaspheme religions go together," [the newspaper] wrote.

It's more than freedom of speech. It's the freedom of inquiry that is the basis of human existence. Radical Islam has no right, no cultural imperative, to block that.

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Nerd, Geek or Dork?

I have a serious weakness for some quiz topics. Who would've guessed that I'd score as a pure nerd?

Your Score: Pure Nerd

65 % Nerd, 47% Geek, 43% Dork

For The Record:


A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.

A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.

A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.


You scored better than half in Nerd, earning you the title of: Pure Nerd.



The times, they are a-changing. It used to be that being exceptionally smart led to being unpopular, which would ultimately lead to picking up all of the traits and tendencies associated with the "dork." No longer. Being smart isn't as socially crippling as it once was, and even more so as you get older. Eventually, being a Pure Nerd will likely be replaced with the following label: Purely Successful.


Congratulations!



Thanks Again! -- THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST

The merits of genteel poverty.

Nice short article from The Economist about the possible contributing factors to the development of the Industrial Revolution in England. I can see why some would find it inflammatory, but that's a matter of guilt on their part, not error on the part of the writer--or on the part of England.

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Everything Sucksism.

I've been looking for a phrase to capture this attitude, and here it is, thanks to The Onion's A.V. Club.

"Another reason I’m pursuing this project is to refute what I like to
call the “Everything Sucksism” afflicting popular culture, a cheap
adolescent nihilism that delights in taking down celebrities and
pop-culture entities that are already walking punchlines."

I would argue that it goes farther than celebrities and popular culture. It may have started there, but it's far afield now.

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