Recalled some texts in my 'Western Civ' survey course in first yr at uni
-Republic
-Oedipus
-Dante (I think more Purgatory)
-Frankenstein
-Sade
-Grand Inquisitor
-Civilisation and its discontents
-Blade Runner
V far from the ethnonationalist canon (to the extent they read old/long books)
Yes, most of the 'gone too fars' are too far gone for rational engagement
A nugget in the survey suggests how men might be convinced
The very large majority, from nearly 75% of Reform to 95% of Green voters wd speak to their children about misogyny
Which indicates they agree misogyny exists
Which then suggests they (implicitly?) also agree gender inequalities persist
I do think there is a little insight in the survey of how this might be done
The large majority, incl 75% of Reform voters, would explain misogyny to their kids
They agree misogyny exists
So they must then think gender inequalities persist, or how otherwise would misogyny persist so strongly?
Hmm. Maybe yes, which is why the argument has to have a good narrative and link to people's existing moral and rational commitments. I don't say it's easy, but it is possible! And we must think it's possible or we're assuming moral and rational persuasion to align with reality is infeasible?
51% of men think gender equality has been reached or that it has gone too far
Indicating the majority of men are unaware of the evidence. A question/challenge is how to effectively communicate the facts & change their minds (perhaps targeting the 'equality reached' quarter not the 'gone too fars')
I saw this book in the flesh once, in a monarchist restaurant and oh boy they seemed to think this expensive hagiographical coffee book presented the regime in a *positive* light
I’m looking for speakers for a London event on the science of Star Trek. I’d really appreciate suggestions from underrepresented minorities in STEM, especially PoC/global majority.
(10 min, central London, Sept, currently unpaid but I’m trying to fix that)
Feel free to message
The @demos-uk.bsky.social Our BBC report is rooted in solid evidence & analysis, & inputs from experts & stakeholders, so it is hugely gratifying to see that the #BBC quoted us twice in its own official response (see my read-along on - sorry - LinkedIn👇)...
www.linkedin.com/posts/sameer...
A ballroom, howevery kitsch and gold, is so underambitious
British mortgage providers increasing the interest rates hmm it looks like the 'international situation' is impacting directly on ordinary homeowners
Image of Palais de Papes in Avignon
I could get on board with the current East Wing plans being replaced with a new antipapal palace in Avignon's Palais de Papes style
One consequence of migrants having limited/no access to welfare state
They need to take whatever job on offer, creating a (large) supply of labour w/less protections, also impacting their housing options
Employers and landlords know and respond to this. This has conseqs on migrant pay& wider wages
Very good piece. I'd only add that as most migrants can't access the welfare state (social housing, universal credit etc), they are also more likely then to take jobs with poor pay and conditions, and employers in areas with large migrant populations know this
Why is Dubai discourse so rich? Class identities all mangled and so everyone thinks they are punching up and letting rip. Full column 🫵 www.economist.com/britain/2026...
Recall contorted debates in grad school on whether 'false consciousness' amg the working class cd be defended or was patronising
In the public debate on class, one side of the debate has won: not even that false consciousness is wrongheaded, but that identity legitimately trumps material interests
Covid deaths by poverty of postcode from ONS, with dark blue bars the most deprived
Poverty was itself, in the parlance of that time, an “underlying condition”
www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopula...
A sickening society is clear in these statistics
So why is it not in the news?
Powerful wake-up call from @chakrabortty.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Most violence from Congress since Preston Brooks?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preston...
#ntsummit
Baroness Casey
The evidence from various reports and recommendations and research outputs only takes us so far with social care reform
In a democracy with a political/electoral cycle, we will not take things further without a major public engagement and conversation and public support
“UCLA neuroscientist Maryanne Wolf has shown that deep reading, defined as sustained immersion in a text, builds the cognitive circuits required for critical analysis, empathy and perspective-taking in ways that skimming, scrolling and short-form video simply cannot.”
I wonder how much of it is also about number of internal migrants; ie some areas have more churn, with people living in different areas from where they were born (particularly for home counties?)
A kid around 6-7 wearing a very sharp blue tux with black bow tie. Who is he meant to be for world book day?
While I can agree that the dice are loaded against working class people, that is 1. a rather narrow view of 'fairness' and 2. Assumes migrants can't be working class
Evidence please that it misses the point
Hypothesis: this does lead to greater reading prevalence
Admittedly needs evidence in favour too, and I understand your scepticism
Three preregistered experiments with prolific participants (N = 2,254) found no evidence for experimenter demand effects
osf.io/preprints/ps...
It is possible to argue that migration policy is too permissible, but it is important to be accurate and clear about what the current (or recent) system is and where it is deemed to be failing. This is not just for accuracy/evidence grounds, but for public understanding and democratic accountability
Open borders is not a thing. Pretending it is further hinders public understanding among non-migrants and is a signal to migrants that you have no idea or don't care what it's like to navigate the migration system, getting a job, accommodation, utility bill or accessing public services
In honour of World Book, a recitation from the latter day saint Seuss
youtu.be/A1mqg4C0awA
New post!
It may seem ambitious to ask for individual patient data from clinical trials to be shared, anonymized, for use by other researchers.
But the history of medicine shows us that clinical trials have already undergone a series of transformations that once seemed equally bold:
