Month: November 2011

Tim De Chant connects a sequence of events:

The Industrial Revolution was fostered by a surge in literacy rates. Improvements in reading and writing were nurtured by the spread of schools. And the founding of schools was aided by rising population density. … Many people knew of the value of an education even in those days, but there were obvious limits to how far a person could travel to obtain one. Yet as population density on the island rose, headmasters could confidently establish more schools, knowing they could attract enough students to fill their classrooms. What those students learned not only prepared them for a rapidly changing economy, it also cultivated a society which valued knowledge and ideas. That did more than just help spark the Industrial Revolution—it gave Great Britain a decades-long head start.

Quentin Rowan, writing under the pen name QR Markham, had a book deal for a series of spy novels. The first installment, Assassin of Secrets, was favorably reviewed until it was discovered that mulitple passages in the book were blatantly plagiarized. Rowan explained himself to author Jeremy Duns, who had blurbed the book:

[T]he more I did it, the deeper into denial I went, until it felt as if I had two brains at war with each other. Half of my time this past year was spent in a strange internal argument: Yes I can, no I can't. They'll figure it out! No they won't!

It became like a strange schizophrenic form of gambling, and for some reason – viewing myself as a failed 'literary' writer – I saw this book as my "last shot." So even though what was left of my rational mind understood I would probably be found out, I still thought I had to bet it all on this one horse.'

In trying to understand Rowan's actions, Macy Halford quoted William Dean Howells' 1902 essay “The Psychology of Plagiarism":

You cannot escape discovery. The world is full of idle people reading books, and they are only too glad to act as detectives; they please their miserable vanity by showing their alertness, and are proud to hear witness against you in the court of parallel columns.

Paul F. Norris summarizes some recent research:

[C]himps laugh in response to the laughter of their playmates, that this laughter differs in acoustic form and timing from their spontaneous laughter, and that the purpose of their non-spontaneous laughter appears to be to prolong social play, promoting group cohesion and perhaps providing the chimps with important social advantages.

He looks at the science on rat laughing here.

 

Miles Corak found a major correlation between a father's earnings and the probability that his offspring will work at the same firm he does:

The bottom line is that about 40% of us have at some point worked for exactly the same firm that at some point also employed our fathers. But if dad’s earnings put him in the top 25% these chances are above average, they start taking off if dad was in the top 5%, and reach the stratosphere for top earners. Almost 7 out of 10 sons of top earning dads had a job with his employer.

Researchers have found that voters prefer candidates with lower-pitched voices:

Participants in the study, published in the journal of Evolution and Human Behavior, were asked to listen to archival voice recordings of nine U.S. presidents. The researchers, from Canada's McMaster University, created higher- and lower-pitched versions of each voice. Listeners were then asked to assess the attractiveness, honesty, leadership potential and intelligence — among other qualities — of the speakers.

For nearly every attribute they were asked to rate, participants were significantly more likely to prefer the deeper voice. The only category in which higher voices won? Most Likely to Be Involved in a Government Scandal.

A British crime writer proffers a theory to explain Austen's death at 41:

[Lindsay Ashford] strengthened her theory when she learned that a lock of Austen's hair bought at an auction in 1948 by a now deceased American couple, had tested positive for arsenic. … She added that it is very likely Austen was given medicines containing arsenic. Indeed, the poison was widely prescribed at that time for anything from rheumatism –- something the novelist admnitted to have suffered from — to syphilis.

(Hat tip: WM Ferguson)

Lawrence Lessig traces our financial devolution:

[I]n 1980, 98 percent of financial assets traded in our economy were traded subject to the normal rules of transparency, anti-fraud requirements, basic exchange-based rules of the New Deal. By 2008, 90 percent of the assets traded were traded invisibly because they were not subject to any of these basic requirements of transparency and anti-fraud exchange-based obligations.

But the really astonishing thing is that after 2008, after we suffered the biggest collapse since the Depression, after every independent analyst had said there was a link between the structure of deregulation and the collapse, after the dean of deregulation—Alan Greenspan—confessed he made a mistake in assuming that the self-interest of the banks would lead them to behave virtuously rather than behave in a way that would drive to their maximum profit, after all of that, even then, Wall Street was able to blackmail the Democrats and the Republicans into handing them essentially a “Get Out of Jail Free” card and effect no fundamental change in the architecture of our financial system. That is, frankly, terrifying.

Today on the Dish, readers weighed in on God, love, and the universe. Ann Coulter made an uncomfortable case for Romney, Republicans embraced a pernicious mythology, and the GOP base catapulted Gingrich to frontrunner status. Newt peddled influence, Paul got the expert BLR treatment, and Congress confronted a long-standing scandal. Some evangelicals are drifting to the left, "politainment" took hold, and pizza entered the fray. The most effective way to limit government is to pay for it, and in our AAA video, Andrew revisited the 22nd Amendment.

Egyptians resisted military rule, female images were defaced in Jerusalem, and the Syrian protests forged on.

Our social model is driven by debt, coffee is getting more expensive (as is clean water), and parking lots are destructive. Siblings may be "good for nothing," 40 percent of day care centers are rated "poor," and readers shared their own experiences here and here. We appraised the marijuana market, debated the promise of "ethical consumption," and sex with groupies is infrequent and unsatisfying. Andrew returned to Harvard, and the Dish popped up on Jeopardy. 

Chart of the day here, quote for the day here, rant of the day here, MHB here, FOTD here, and VFYW here. 

Afghanistan – touch down in flight from Augustin Pictures on Vimeo.

Thursday on the Dish, Andrew confronted the new reality of income inequality, and conservatives in Britain actually engaged with the modern world. Rick Perry's funds dried up, Drew Westen emanated nonsense, and grand jury investigations are often unreliable. The Old Boys' Network breeds cowards, and the case against Prop 8 caught a second wind.

In our AAA video, Andrew discussed whether Bush deserved any credit for Iraq, and Frum issued a cost-benefit analysis of the invasion. Netanyahu is not the living embodiment of Israel, a fixation with atrocity drives our policies toward a nuclear Iran, and Israel is prepared to go it alone. Republicans dismissed the UN, the Chinese struggled to find love, and we checked in on the uprising in Syria, which is intensifying. Intellectuals make for irresponsible policymakers, Qatar is richer and fatter than the US, and war is not inherently male. Andrew clarifed his assessment of Obama's foreign policy, and beauty endured in Afghanistan. 

We pushed back against Internet censorship, readers complicated the productivity paradox, and the White House came under assault. Smart kids are more curious about drugs, fiction intervened in death penalty cases, and scientists explored sex differences. Jonathan Coh ndelved into the science of early adversity, vegetarians struggled with tattoo ethics, and marijuana softens PTSD. Christians resisted Christianism in Michigan, democracy is about ineradicable disagreement, and gold gave the other elements a run for their money. Mark Warren profiled a "revolutionary American," Andrew fortuitously encountered some intellectual foes, and he delivered a speech at his alma mater. 

VFYW here, FOTD here, and MHB here. 

Rhodes, Greece

Wednesday on the Dish, we scrutinized Gingrich's boomlet (and his close ties to Freddie Mac), and Newt's ideological deviations were overlooked as he assumed the not-Romney position. Losing Iowa would stymie Mitt's path, the right is suddenly obsessed with Calvin Coolidge, and the Supreme Court challenge to Obamacare is bigger than we think. We wondered if the supercommittee was even taking the trigger mechanism seriously, the chairman of the Senate Republican Conference is ready to go big, and we speculated about Mark Kelly's possible political career. Andrew explored the implications of the productivity paradox, Krauthammer spewed partisan propaganda, and readers weighed in on the seismic implications of fracking. In our AAA video, Andrew explained his highbrow affinity for Judge Judy.

Europe approached a black hole, Syria neared a turning point, and Marc Lynch held out hope for Egypt. China is not becoming more democratic, and no, the U.S. should not write off Taiwan.

Andrew pooh-poohed tobacco prohibition, we searched for a hybrid rental/home-ownership model, and charted marijuana's economic potential. Mass protests matter, math and science majors ditched the STEM track for better grades, and Amazon disrupted the publishing ecosystem with a digital library. The SOPA would wreak havoc on the Internet, driving laws faced a slippery slope, and men aren't funnier than women but get more credit for being funny. Rick Perry mangled the truth and the English language in his own campaign ad, Andrew offered an explication of his faith, and we met the woman behind a familiar voice.

Moore award nominee here, VFYW here, VFYAW here, MHB here, and FOTD 

small belgium: Antwerp from Jasper Léonard on Vimeo.

Tuesday on the Dish, Andrew urged the president go big on budget reform, the GOP is prepared to say no, and a reader wondered if we should accept the do-nothing option. It's no accident that the Tea Party is candidate-less, Gingrich is plainly dumb, and Josh Marshall downplayed Newt's chances. Kevin Drum trusts Mitt in an emergency, we inspected the former governor's unfavorables, and once again, there's a new GOP frontrunner. Zuccotti Park was cleared, a seemingly unfazed Jerry Sandusky responded to the charges against him (a reader's analysis here), and Charles Pierce took the longview. 

Andrew grappled with the escalating nuclear crisis over Iran, 70 Syrians were murdered, and Obama had the last word on waterboarding. We assessed the damage after Cain's Libya episode, Gloria Cain's "delightful" interview didn't make a dent, and in our AAA video, Andrew imagined how a McCain presidency would have been different. 

We tracked youth unemployment, the Great Recession is suffocating 25-34 year-olds, and most states face a long, hard road to recovery. American millionaires rake in more than $30 billion in government subsidies annually, Richard Kahlenberg assailed affirmative action for the rich, and we reviewed the Supreme Court's choices on Obamacare. Andrew reflected on the Dish's insideriness, atheists found meaning, and Gabby Giffords bravely sprung to life.

The world's most expensive photograph here, FOTD here, MHB here, VFYW here, and VFYW contest winner #76 here.  

By Narinder Nanu/AFP/Getty Images.

Monday on the Dish, Herman Cain truly outdid himself, a witness corroborated his accuser Sharon Bialeck's story, and the GOP embraced torture. Andrew Cohen blamed Obama, John McCain stepped in, and we corralled foreign policy debate reax here. Bachmann sort of clarified her assertion that the CIA is "run by the ACLU," we checked Perry's pulse, and assessed Gingrich's surge. Andrew glimpsed "the fantastic utopian nightmare of Newtism," he stood by his condemnation of Mike McQueary (as did Dreher), the Penn State football cult widened, and readers weighed in here. Andrew assailed the GOP's newfound anti-tax ideology, he introduced a related new construction ("successful and wealthy"), and in our AAA video, he addressed whether he was reckless in contracting HIV.  

We wondered if/when Germany would take over Europe, Berlusconi fell from grace in Italy, and the Arab League denounced Assad. Jennifer Rubin endorsed "throwing Arab prisoners into the sea to meet righteous divine punishment," and we noted vile murderous sentiments on the other side. 

SCOTUS will hear the case against Obamacare, the supercommittee equivocated, and big business undermined free markets. We envisioned the Future Of Interaction, Wikipedia is as wondrous as the pyramids, and modern DC architecture is deliberately unoriginal. Child actors grew up, O'Reilly botched the history of the Lincoln assassination, and Harold & Kumar pioneered a stoner's "post-racial dream." We shouldn't condescend to the elderly, the mentally ill spurred the early humans on, and vaccines have a greater impact on health than "all the new drugs." We were inspired by Mark Kelly, Nicole Gelinas reimagined personal-retirement accounts, bad local immigration policies have far-reaching effects, and dirty work is "beneath" most Americans.

Malkin award nominees here and here, hathos alert here, cool ad watch here, VFYW here, FOTD here, and MHB here. 

– M.A.