In the face of mockery and criticism, Stanford University recently took down a website grandly named “The Elimination of Harmful Language Initiative”. The most egregious examples of what its creators apparently deemed terrible wrongs that need righting were a clarion call that the higher the dudgeon, the more likely it is to alienate than educate.… Read the rest
The Fifth Dimension’s1967 hit “Up, Up and Away” was voted one of the top 100 songs of the 20th century. The Chinese have made its catch line, “Would you like to ride in my beautiful balloon?”, the theme song for 21st century producers of a what you need to take that ride.… Read the rest
Common sense, as defined by the Cambridge Dictionary, is “the basic level or practical knowledge and judgement that we all need to help us live in a reasonable and safe way.”
Sounds clear and simple enough. So why is there such a dearth where it’s really needed?… Read the rest
African leaders playing host to influence-vying luminaries from Moscow and Washington over the past few days might want to bear in mind the Roman poet Virgil’s epic the Aeneid, specifically, the line: “Be wary of Greeks bearing gifts.”… Read the rest
Arrogance is seductive. It doesn’t require questioning, dealing with self- doubt or changing one’s ways. Along with its cohort irrationality, it is a trait we recognise as dangerous, yet seem increasingly tolerant towards, even when it is demonstrably counter-productive.… Read the rest
It’s four generations late, but being late is supposedly “fashionable”, which means “newspeak”, the term coined in 1949 by George Orwell in his dystopian novel “1984”, is right on time in 2023. The welcome is embodied in three seemingly unrelated but in fact “peas in a pod” phenomena: Prince Harry’s “Spare”, social media ‘influencers’ and fashion advertisements.… Read the rest
It is my firm belief that neither the hype-artists nor the doomsayers in the exploding “artificial intelligence” market are to be taken at face value. The two parts of the concept are contradictions in terms, for starters. Nonetheless, I am assured by the daily arrival of unsolicited advertisements in my computer that AI could write this blog.… Read the rest
“Ring out the old, ring in the new” is a joyful way to start the New Year, and I shall symbolically trumpet it when the prosecco cork pops at midnight. But based on past form, I’ve decided to temper my hopes for 2023 by bearing in mind it’s the child of a year with a lot of lessons we’ll probably have to learn all over again.… Read the rest
No fist pumping. No face-contorted, triumphalist screaming.
When the penalty kick sealed the dream, Lionel Messi looked up, raised his arms, fell to his knees and was swamped by his team mates. When they finally untangled, he saluted the rapturous Argentinian fans with open arms and his signature boyish smile: a lesson in class for the many who lack it, in sport and elsewhere.… Read the rest
The sin of racism is almost invariably conjoined with references to its most pernicious offshoots; colonialism, slavery and exploitation. That’s valid until it becomes selective, at which point it speaks ill of we who like to think of ourselves as “right thinking people”, and of those we elect as leaders.… Read the rest