David Foster

The Nature of Dictatorships

by

It seems like there are a lot of people these days who justify–or at least make excuses for–dictatorships. “Well, it’s true there are some things you can’t do,” goes one typical line. “But if you steer clear of politics, you’ll be just fine.” Dictatorships are justified based on many purported benefits, including suppression of internal violence, enabling economic development, and above all “stability.”

Mario Vargas Llosa talks about what dictatorship really is and what it does to people.

Related: Ralph Peters takes on the “stability is always good” argument. I have related thoughts here.

Vargas Llosa link via Neptunus Lex.

The Trivialization of Science Teaching

by

A U.K. physics teacher writes about the destruction of his subject by the new government-estabished syllabus.

(via the excellent Natalie Solent)

See my related post from 2005, Skipping Science Class.

SECOND UPDATE: An interesting collision between science and “Theory,” as the latter is practiced in many university humanities departments, can be seen in the episode known as The Sokal Hoax. (More here.)

Also, these books are relevant to this discussion: Higher Superstition and Fashionable Nonsense.

FIRST UPDATE: From the Telegraph:

The curriculum in state schools in England has been stripped of its content and corrupted by political interference, according to a damning report by an influential, independent think-tank…No major subject area has escaped the blight of political interference, according to the report published by Civitas.

Read more