Thursday, December 11, 2008

New Links

I am updating my links based on the blogs I have been reading that I find helpful.

Popular Mechanics has a lot of helpful tips (especially for men) and even had an article a while back that discredited much of the 911 conspiracy theory. There is an extensive archive of the old issues here.

Works and Days is a social commentary by historian Victor Davis Hanson. He has written quite extensively on classical history and history of war. You might call him a conservative. He has more articles here.

Greg Mankiw wrote my Economics textbook (Mine is an earlier edition). Brilliant man. I am not sure were he leans politically, but he makes a lot of sense and can dumb things down for the rest of us.

Ben Stein. Need I say more? Ok, Ben Stein on economics.

Instapundit being mostly political (with some entertainment mixed in) and leaning conservative. Updated very frequently.

22 Words is Abraham Piper's blog of brevity. He tends to be thoughtful and his topic range is wide.

Friday, December 05, 2008

On the "definition" of insanity.

Being once again irritated by the false definition of insanity, I hereby declare it a clichéd metaphor. Not only is this not a definition put forth by a psychologist, it is also misattributed to other non-psychologists like Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin. According to Wikiquote, it was first recorded by the author Rita Mae Brown in the novel Sudden Death. Everyone knows that it is often foolish to use methods that have proved to fail, but the concept can be used prematurely to mock things that take time, perseverance, maintenance, and hope. It can also bring about cynical attitudes toward preventative measures that help but do not solve the problem. See the last paragraph in this article by Ed Morrissey on the war on drugs. Since brushing my teeth did not stop some cavities in the past, shall I stop brushing?