DISPLAYS OF POWER

“Son, there are assholes everywhere” was my father‘s pithy rejoinder when I complained about some idiot or another – something I did frequently as a teenager. That reminder didn’t mean that assholes are the most common form of people, but that everyone had the capacity to be one. Hence my axiomatic approach – “trust butContinue reading “DISPLAYS OF POWER”

Elitism and Aristocracy

Aristo– is a word-forming element meaning “best,” or “of the aristocracy,” from Greek aristos “best of its kind, noblest, bravest, most virtuous”” (of persons, animals, things). In its Greek form, aristos denoted that which was excellent in kind, noble in bearing, virtuous in conduct. It was not yet the title of a class. The aristoi were thoseContinue reading “Elitism and Aristocracy”

From Cosmos to Multiverse

My introduction to cosmology was Carl Sagan’s Cosmos: A Personal Voyage (1980). What struck me was Sagan’s cadence. He spoke slowly, almost reverently, as though the subject demanded awe before explanation. He framed knowledge as a moral duty: to understand our place, to cultivate humility in the face of immensity. The series worked because itContinue reading “From Cosmos to Multiverse”