Persian Excursion: Sahar's Adventure log

No wait THIS is the best thing I read today

Smartest thing I’ve read today. Shows a glimpse both of the promise and possible banality of the 2008 law mandating philosophy instruction in schools.

Promise: a Socratic dialogue on race, inequality, religion, authority of god, etc. Banality: Standardized rote-learning “what was Sartre’s nationality?”

Interesting how the corresponding idea to this in the US is civics class, What does it say for us to pose civics vs philosophy?

Civics might be structuralist, and more about understanding the pathways and potential of America’s democracy than on the values within.

Of course, everything can degenerate into rote learning. Sad.

“[Adam] Smith was, in short, a mensch. He would not feel at home in the American Enterprise Institute or the Heritage Foundation.”

These people are heroes. They inspire me to live.

Math is cool!

Great stuff!

h/t Rachel LaBruyere

Truth.

Marc Peske’s utopia sounds pretty awful to me.

Simon Johnson on how the banks became oligarchs. What happened and also what must be done.

The nationalistic conception of American history: “Mistakes were made!”