Cenotaph for an Enlightenment Ideal: Why Europe Really Conquered the World

A cenotaph is a marker or monument to a person whose remains are interred somewhere else. Pictured above is Enlightenment architect Étienne-Louis Boullée's famous design for a massive cenotaph in honor of Sir Isaac Newton. It is a wonderful example of the European hubris of the age, a hubris that cast a long shadow from...

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A Measure of Sympathy

After any news-grabbing tragedy, such as what happened in Paris last week, there are two social media responses. The first is an outpouring of sympathy, some tactful and heartfelt and some, frankly, not. The second wave responds to the iniquities of the latter. Someone inevitably points to the numerous other tragedies, often very recent --...

The Sheer Limits of Disgust

It's remarkable to reflect on how much disgust completely permeates our lives, from the lowest form -- yuckiness -- all the way up to moral disgust. It is especially remarkable considering the only innately disgusting artifact appears to be spoiled meat. Everything else, from piles of dead bodies to handling human feces to eating the...

The Asshole at the End of the Lane

I suspect that growing up we all had the relative or friend in school -- or maybe it was you -- who liked to take things apart, the kid who, if left alone for a few minutes, would have someone's favorite toy disassembled on the living room carpet, or maybe the remote control to the...