Ideas, opinions, politics, humanities
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Lower IQ in psychiatric populations: A complicated relationship
I once discussed intelligence among psychiatric patients with my former psychiatrist. My impression was simple: people with psychiatric disorders seemed, on average, to have lower intelligence than the general population. He disagreed. At the time, my argument was largely anecdotal. Since then, however, I have had considerably more contact with psychiatric populations. I spent time…
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Czech Republic had a lot of significant people. They weren’t Czech
The Czech lands have produced an impressive number of scientists, writers, composers, philosophers and other intellectuals. Yet there is a historical complication that modern national narratives can easily obscure: many of the most internationally famous people born in what is now the Czech Republic were not Czech in the modern ethnic or linguistic sense. They…
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The worst things feminists have ever said
Feminism has been one of the most consequential movements for human rights in modern history. Women gained political representation, greater economic independence, reproductive rights, protection against discrimination and vastly greater control over their own lives. None of this should be controversial. But feminism is not a single doctrine, and supporting equality between women and men…
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What if Richard Dawkins really makes a deathbed conversion?
Richard Dawkins has spent much of his life arguing that there is almost certainly no God. Yet if one day the news announces that the famous evolutionary biologist accepted Christianity on his deathbed, believers around the world may celebrate one of the greatest conversions imaginable. But would it actually mean anything? The question is more…
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They won’t admit Jesus didn’t exist. It is the opium of the people
The establishment will not admit the truth. The media will not say it. Rich interest groups refuse to consider it. Even Christian scholars avoid the question entirely. There is absolutely no evidence that a person such as Jesus Christ ever existed. No contemporary Roman records mention him. No historians from his time wrote his name.…
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American political commentators: Useful idiots of the establishment
They are idiots, but make no mistake—they are extremely well paid idiots, and their fat paychecks should never be confused with intellectual honesty or moral courage. They speak with the swagger of prophets, yet their principles are nothing more than rental properties, leased out to the highest bidder on any given news cycle. Imagine, for…
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Development of the Xi Jinping–Putin relationship: From admiration to contempt
When Xi Jinping came to power in China, Vladimir Putin looked like a remarkably useful political partner. He had already spent more than a decade consolidating power, marginalizing domestic opposition, weakening independent media and presenting himself as the leader who had restored Russia after the instability of the 1990s. Xi was beginning a similar concentration…
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Political orientation is partly an extension of our morals
Bill Maher has said that our political orientation is an extension of our morals. He is partly right, but the relationship is more complicated than that statement suggests. Political orientation can reflect morality. However, morality comes first in a much broader sense. Humans differ in their innate moral dispositions, while upbringing, culture, education, experiences and…
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We are truly lucky God doesn’t exist
For thousands of years, believers have described the existence of God as the greatest possible source of hope. God supposedly gives our lives meaning, establishes morality, watches over humanity and promises that death is not the end. But imagine for a moment that the traditional monotheistic God really existed. Not a vague force somewhere beyond…
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What will happen when Le Pen and AfD win?
The European far right no longer lives on the political margins. In France, Marine Le Pen’s National Rally has become one of the country’s dominant political forces. In Germany, Alternative for Germany (AfD) has transformed itself from an outsider party into a major electoral force. What happens if these movements eventually control their respective governments?…