Richard Dawkins at the Sydney Writers' Festival
I was very interested to hear Robyn Williams interview Richard Dawkins for a recent Science Show broadcast from the Sydney
Writers' Festival.
The topic was of course Dawkins'
The God Delusion.
I've yet to read this, but definitely have
it on my reading list now. I remember reading his
The Selfish Gene
many years ago, and being
struck by its clarity and compelling proposition. It seems like The God Delusion is cut from the same cloth.
Speaking of cloth, the following is I gather the foreword to the UK edition, and a nice bit of satire;-)
[The Courtier's Reply by P.Z. Myers]: I have considered the impudent accusations of Mr Dawkins with exasperation at his lack of serious scholarship. He has apparently not read the detailed discourses of Count Roderigo of Seville on the exquisite and exotic leathers of the Emperor's boots, nor does he give a moment's consideration to Bellini's masterwork, On the Luminescence of the Emperor's Feathered Hat. We have entire schools dedicated to writing learned treatises on the beauty of the Emperor's raiment, and every major newspaper runs a section dedicated to imperial fashion; Dawkins arrogantly ignores all these deep philosophical ponderings to crudely accuse the Emperor of nudity.
Until Dawkins has trained in the shops of Paris and Milan, until he has learned to tell the difference between a ruffled flounce and a puffy pantaloon, we should all pretend he has not spoken out against the Emperor's taste. His training in biology may give him the ability to recognise dangling genitalia when he sees it, but it has not taught him the proper appreciation of Imaginary Fabrics.
Oh, hail the Emperor!
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The Best Laid Plans
I found
The Best Laid Plans
by Terry Fallis on the podiobooks.com recommendation list, and I am so glad I
did.
This is a heart-warming story of a jaded political staffer rediscovering some of his idealism in the form of an
Engineering Professor who becomes an accidental MP, turning parliament upside-down in the process. Mr Fallis
has created an ensemble of wonderful and unconventional characters, and a story that you can enjoy on so many
levels.
The podcast version of the novel is a delight. It
is like having Terry tell you the story while sitting on the balcony overlooking the Ottawa River, sipping a
good whiskey. The short introductions he does for each episode - mentioning some of the feedback, and updating
on publishing plans - lend that personal touch in a way that few have been able to equal.
I'm pleased to see that the publishing deal has come through, and you can now find the Best Laid Plans
in print on Amazon. I'm looking forward to my copy arriving soon so I can enjoy this story all over again in
printed form (yes, that's how much I liked it!).
Join the Friends of “The Best Laid Plans”
Podcast Facebook group, or check out the author's site for more
information and his blog. Maybe we will see news of a sequel there in the not too distant future...
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Gwen Stefani - The Sweet Escape
Gwen's back on high rotation.
The Sweet Escape
is stuck in my head, not that I mind.
Last time it was
Love.Angel.Music.Baby.
I was working in Tokyo and I had it permanently in my phone, along with
Uplift Spice's first album 射的 (one of my
great finds at HMV Shinjuku - my favourite Sunday afternoon haunt). For 6 months.
Here's a snap from Gwen's Sweet Escape concert in Singapore. Crap picture, fantastic show. Yep, she really
mixed in!
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The World is Flat
I'd heard about Thomas L. Friedman's
The World is Flat
long before I got to read it of course.
Living in Singapore, a nexus of the flattening world, makes for a daily self-evident truth.
Finally sitting down to read it, I was totally engaged way beyond my expectations. Friedman's views are well
though out and strongly held. It's an impressive analysis, but not dry as a result. By taking us on
somewhat of a travelogue with interesting characters and stories along the way, it is a neat voyage of
discovery and illumination (although I must I admit to skipping some of the discussion of US domestic
issues).
A warning though. This can be a frightening read. Helping you see further down the road does not necessarily
mean you are comfortable with the destination! It depends from whence you come, and how prepared you (and your
children) are for the journey.
There is one thought that increasingly niggles however.
It strikes me that there is an inherent contradiction between the conventional response of developed nations to
the forces flattening the world. We seek to move from sunset to sunrise industries, transform our citizens into
high-value knowledge workers. But how sustainable is that? In a flattening world, increasingly it's like trying
to hold back the ocean as historic educational and environmental/economic advantages are washed away.
At least, this would be a contradiction if we do not lean on a "hidden assumption" that I think Friedman
doesn't directly address: the regulation of people and labour that sovereign states and our tribal nature still
demand as our right.
To me, this seems to be the last frontier of globalisation:
- The freedom of financial markets. Capital can move around the globe in milliseconds. Nations may tax and regulate, but fiscal policy generally does not "control". Check
- The freedom of goods and services. Check
- Freedom of labour. Work in progress
This is border protection in action. The structural mechanism that maintains the "impedance" between nations. It is what helps to maintain differential standards of living, wages and opportunities. Sovereignty.
Logically one would think that this is a barrier that must eventually come down as the flattening process proceeds inexorably. Utopia! ... if it wasn't for human nature. One wonders whether there is any possible future in which this could be played out peacefully. Or will politics, tribalism, and xenophobia overcome our more lofty tendencies?
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