A man walks into a conversation with a statistic the way some people walk into a bar fight: not to learn anything, but to leave with a trophy. He doesn’t say “Hello.” He says, “Mississippi has higher GDP per capita than France and the UK.”
Pause for applause. Somewhere, a spreadsheet blushes.
The trouble is that GDP per capita is the kind of number that makes you feel informed while … Read the rest
Mr. K kept two documents in his desk drawer. One was a residence card that politely promised stability until 2030. The other was a passport that politely promised identity until 2031. He treated both like adults treat seatbelts: he knew they mattered, he hated thinking about why.
On good days, he almost forgot them. He went to work, bought bread, argued with a coffee machine that refused to understand the … Read the rest
By Eric Le Roy
First, I support no ideology under this shining sun. You don’t have to be wrong for me to be right, and vice versa. All my life, I have involved myself in civil discourse with all comers. Often it has seemed modestly productive, although rare is the occasion when I’ve noticed any radical shifts of opinion. Most people, including me, walk away with our convictions … Read the rest
Content advisory 18+ Although the 2018 World Cup can now be placed in the file of Yesterday’s News (and what is deader than the headlines of the day before the day before ?), it is worth a brief look back simply as a way of saying goodbye-to-all-that.
And no matter what your take on sports in general might be– and regardless of your politics — I think that only the … Read the rest
