The Mystique of Menswear

Posted 7:11am Thursday 19th May 2011

This last week, three things popped up in my RSS aggregator which have been in the back of my mind ever since. The first was an article about the appalling working conditions at a large Chinese factory, which had led seven workers to commit suicide. The second was Isaac Likes’s blog post entitled, Read more...

The God Instinct

Posted 3:39am Monday 28th February 2011

Author: Jesse Bering. Publisher: Nicholas Brealey. (4/5) ‘God (and others like Him) evolved in human minds as an “adaptive illusion”, one that directly helped our ancestors solve the unique problem of human gossip.’   Thus runs the central thesis of Jesse Read more...

Mirror

Posted 4:13am Monday 23rd August 2010

Author: Jeannie Baker Publisher: Walker Books (4/5)  There is something unspeakably happy-making about illustrated children’s books that are unapologetically forthright in their social messages. Jeannie Baker’s latest – Mirror – tells what is Read more...

How to Teach Quantum Physics to Your Dog

Posted 4:12am Monday 23rd August 2010

Author: Chad Orzel Publisher: Oneworld (4/5) Particle-wave duality is not the doctrine that photons and elections (etc.) are simultaneously waves and particles. Neither are they really particles with wave-like properties or really waves with particle-like properties. Rather, Read more...

the Bookseat

Posted 4:19am Tuesday 10th August 2010

Product: the Bookseat Manufacturer: Emerging Products Website: www.thebookseat.com Retailer: University Bookshop (5/5)      Even among gadget geeks, there is often some unease over reading accessories. They somehow seem to go one step too far: Read more...

Religion: Explained

Posted 4:31am Monday 2nd August 2010

The oddness of religion.Every 12 years, millions of Hindus from all over the world gather in India for the Maha Kumbh Mela pilgrimage. In 2001, 70 million people attended, purportedly making it the largest gathering of people in history.   Somewhat less impressively, three million Read more...

Religion

Posted 3:00am Monday 2nd August 2010

Title: Dialogues Concerning Religion Author: David Hume Publisher: Oxford University Press Title: The Miracle of Theism: Arguments For and Against the Existence of God Author: John L. Mackie Publisher: Oxford University Press   Title: The Existence of God Read more...

Do Llamas Fall in Love?

Posted 12:14am Monday 26th July 2010

Author: Peter Cave Publisher: One World 4/5   There’s been a spate of these popular philosophy books recently. I guess it was just a matter of time before philosophers capitalised on this phenomenon. It makes me wonder, though, if the market for popular philosophy and popular Read more...

The Naked Chef and Jamie Does...

Posted 12:14am Monday 19th July 2010

Author: Jamie Oliver Publisher: Penguin The Naked Chef: 5/5 and Jamie Does...: 3/5   Like most graduate students, I used to live on ramen and coffee. Or KFC and Red Bull. Pick your high-sodium, high-caffeine combo of choice. It was quick and convenient, and it freed up cash Read more...

Copernicus, Darwin, & Freud: Revolutions in the History and Philosophy of Science.

Posted 10:37pm Sunday 11th July 2010

Author: Friedel Weinert Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell (4/5) In less than 300 pages, Professor Weinert pulls off the impressive feat of re-telling the story of three major chapters in the histories of astronomy, biology, and psychology, while also discussing the implications these Read more...