Cat whisperer Tuck knows what a Baby Cakes wants.
"If you haven't taught them how to weigh one argument against another, you haven't taught them anything," says Thomas Sowell in an Opinion Journal interview on the occasion of publication of his latest book, "On Classical Economics." A voice in the wilderness of politically correct academic groupthink:
"My job was to teach them economics, not teach them what I happen to believe," says Mr. Sowell, who adds that efforts by some today to counterbalance the prevailing liberalism in academia with more right-wing instructors is not only an exercise in futility but a disservice to students. "Even if you succeed in propagandizing the students while they're students, it doesn't tell you much [about how they'll turn out]. I suspect that over half [of the conservatives at the Hoover Institution] were on the left in their 20s. More important, though, let's assume for the sake of argument that, whatever you're propagandizing them with on the left or right, every conclusion you teach them is correct. It's only a matter of time before all those conclusions are obsolete because entirely different issues are going to arise over the lifetimes of these students.
Speaking of teaching methods, there's still no better pedagogy than the School of Hard Knocks. We have a cabal of graduates of that venerable institution blogging undercover right here in mostly blue-state New England, and not a groupthinker among them.
More sweet nothings soothe the savage breast. Note nick center nose, the mark of sibling rivalry (thanks a lot, Tiny).
Many came of age as truth-seeking liberals until 9/11 came knocking. A group of them met recently in a seminar room at Boston University to share fear-society horror tales. Miss Kelly sums it up nicely:
Kind of nice to sit around a table with smart, opinionated people and hear how others got started, what motivates them, how they find time to blog. I was a little surprised that we're all "of a certain age." I was expecting at least a few young punks.
Like the heart that loves, the punk that blogs is ever young. The list:
Augean Stables
Libertarian Leanings
Miss Kelly
neo-neocon
Squaring the Boston Globe
Solomonia
And ourselves, of course. Lots of blogfood for thought. Now off to update our blogroll.
Update: Blogchow -- feline, canine and other families with and without backbones -- now being served at Modulator's Friday Ark #79.
Great post as usual and Baby is looking good.
I am going to check out Augean Stables and Miss Kelly..I haven't read them before.
Posted by: Tara | March 25, 2006 at 12:49 PM