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The Sense of Style – Steven Pinker

    I’m a huge fan of Steven Pinker’s 2014 book, The Sense of Style. It’s essential reading if you’re a writer as it makes sense of all those nonsensical “rules” you encounter in style guides. As a taster, check out this video which I guess dates from the book’s launch. I’ve only just found […]

Truth, integrity, post-truth and easy anger

Two pieces, coinciding on a current trend to ignore veracity, or even plausibility, and leap straight to anger, outrage and indignation. On LinkedIn, Chameleon’s Tom Berry talks about communication in the world of emotional obesity: “But the words lose their lasting power in the modern medium. Today, we live on a diet of snackable content, […]

Equality vs freedom, a timely reminder from Cultural Offering

“A society that puts equality before freedom will get neither.  A society that puts freedom before equality will get a high degree of both.” Milton Friedman (1912 – 2006) A timely reminder from economist Milton Friedman, via Kurt Harden at Cultural Offering.  

When science gets politicised – @mattwridley

“In 2013, you may recall, the European Union banned some uses of neonicotinoid insecticides to save bees. The verdict on this policy has now come in, from the commission’s own Joint Research Centre (JRC)…Its conclusion is that the ban has been disastrously counterproductive, resulting in an increased use throughout the continent of more damaging pesticides, […]

Andrew Marr

The dark-shadowed sweet shop of the internet – @AndrewMarr9 #Writing

An Oakeshottian* conservative’s view of the world, per Andrew Marr: “Superabundance is foisted upon us as the only sure route to happiness. And from the dark-shadowed sweet shop of the internet to the imminent arrival of driverless cars, we prefer the untried to the tried every time.” A thought-provoking column from Andrew Marr in yesterday’s […]

The rehabilitation of Michael Gove

Since leaving office, in the bizarre aftermath of the Brexit vote, Michael Gove has returned to his prior career as a writer, writing a regular column for the Times. His two latest contributions are excellent, objective observations on current events. The first, in the immediate aftermath of the Westminster attack, contemplates how best to respond […]

Food miles – not what they seem

An interesting post from Oliver Riley on the Adam Smith Institute blog: Save The Environment – Don’t Buy Local. “Those who encourage us to buy locally often do so with the view that reduced transport distances will result in less CO2 emissions. Seems simple, but what such people neglect is the fact that the majority […]

The relevance of Ayn Rand – @ASI

Eamonn Butler, at the Adam Smith Institute, discusses the increasing influence of Ayn Rand 35 years after her death.  

The power of parliamentary assertiveness, reformation radicalism and Lockean liberalism – Michael Gove

Michael Gove has a thoughtful column in today’s Times (requires free registration). It echoes an argument I’ve heard in a few places over recent months; broadly that we – the liberal, democratic, West – need to be prepared to assert and defend our beliefs. Indeed, need to assert that these are our deep-rooted and long-standing […]

The cost of climate change policy – @mattwridley

Matt Ridley has posted his Times column on the cost and consequences of the government’s ill-conceived climate policy, here. It doesn’t really matter where you stand on climate change –  unreal, real and devastating or real but not actually cataclysmic – no-one is ever served by bad policy, founded on poor analysis and dishonestly presented: […]

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