My friend Ilya Somin has written a detailed critique of my doubts about the Protestant Reformation. Here’s my reply.
Tag: writing
Will the Real Populism Please Stand Up?
Populism is quite easy to define. It is the separation of people into two warring classes. Let’s call them “the righteous masses” and “the power elites.” The populist, of course, sides with the righteous masses. It’s as simple as that. But the devil is in the details of defining those two classes.
This Halloween, Celebrate the Commercialization of Sweetness and Surprise
Have you ever noticed how no one complains about the commercialization of Halloween? Halloween is one of the most honest, self-aware holidays. It knows it’s about costumes, candy, parties, and fun scares. It knows money will be involved. And yet you won’t find too many people who don’t like Halloween.
Creating the Elegance of Simplicity & Focus in Your Work Day
Our days can feel like a crazy sea of distraction, stress, busyness and overwhelm. We can get lost in that sea, and it’s hard to figure out how to find mindfulness and focus in the middle of it all. The answer, I’ve repeatedly found, is in the pure elegance of simplicity.
Econ as Anatomy
We shouldn’t let the genuine triumphs of the experimental method overshadow the rest of the field. And we should staunchly resist anyone who uses methodological dogmas to veto well-established truths – or selectively pretend they don’t exist.
Uniquity V
Associations can be any connection between any two persons, places, things — for instance going to a Boy Scout Jamboree and being addressed by POTUS can be an association with an event — between you and the event.
Overcoming Our Biggest Obstacle to Creating Habits
Whether you want to start a new exercise habit, start meditating or writing daily, start to get out of debt or clear your clutter … creating a new habit isn’t always easy.
Private Crooks vs. Public Crooks
Maybe pickpockets who mostly do petty theft are out robbing people on a daily basis, of smaller amounts, but most thieves and aggressors do not commit their crimes all that regularly. For many it’s very rare, for some just a one-time thing. Now compare that to the thieves and aggressors who work for the state.
Blaming the Victim, or Digging for Wisdom?
As a man dedicated to stopping the widespread abuse of children, I am very much an ally in this particular fight (“Me too.”). I don’t deserve to be attacked like this. These people don’t know me and the work that I do. They don’t know the trauma I’ve suffered and its long-term effects, effects that I deal with every day of my life. They were wrong to do what they did, but they are not alone in carrying responsibility.
Want to Be a Great Writer? These 5 Things Will Get You There
Here are five tips that can help you make your writing process less complex and terrifying, find joy in it, and become a great writer eventually.