Monthly Archives: July 2011

Is That Supposed to Be, Uh, New?

Posted on July 25, 2011 by John Churchill

A Chronicle blogger, Laurie Fendrich, posting on July 21, 2011, under the title “I Argue, Therefore, I Am,” has put us on notice about something called “the argumentative theory of reasoning.” Also known, she says, as “the social brain hypothesis,” … Continue reading →

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Leave Your Long Spoons at Home, Please

Posted on July 18, 2011 by John Churchill

A well-turned proverb is its own recommendation, as Frost shows in “Mending Wall,” where the doltish neighbor repeats his father’s saying just because he likes it so well: “Good fences make good neighbors.” Close readers know that the narrator is … Continue reading →

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Don’t Believe What You Read Here. Really; Don’t!

Posted on July 11, 2011 by John Churchill

I want to be careful to make this a comment about logic and not politically partisan. So I will not name the Officeholder in Question. But the point at issue is just too central and too delicious, as a point … Continue reading →

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College: What’s It Worth?

Posted on July 5, 2011 by John Churchill

We live in a culture obsessed with keeping score and making rankings. Winning and losing seem to be our chief concerns, all the way from Family Feud, The Bachelorette, and Jeopardy, down to certain attempts to render the productivity of … Continue reading →

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