Aperiogon – Page 2 – The Junction

Wag the Dog

In 1997 Hilary Henkin and David Mamet adapted Larry Beinhart’s novel American Hero into a screenplay which depicted a spin doctor and a Hollywood producer fabricating a war to distract voters from a presidential sex scandal. The film was far ahead of its time in many of its insights into the nature of politics, media and security. What I find particularly ominous is the […]

by Freddie Stuart

Sapiens

So I recently finished reading Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. It is a compelling read which examines the history of humanity from the very first of the species to its potential future demise. It is done succinctly and with good humour, I would thoroughly recommend it! Below is a short video of the author explaining […]

by Freddie Stuart

“Life would be tragic if it weren’t funny”

I thought I’d use today’s Aperiogon to remember the late great Stephen Hawking. I realise I cannot do the genius of his life justice, so I thought I’d let him do that for himself. Here are some of my favourite Hawking quotes: “My goal is simple. It is a complete understanding of the universe, […]

by Freddie Stuart

The Science of Bathing

Water is a miraculous substance because it can carry great amounts of energy and heat. It conducts heat to and from a living system and can conform itself to any shape. The use of water to restore health is commonly referred to as hydrotherapy. Hydrotherapy can be performed in many ways, but essentially it causes […]

by Freddie Stuart

Kurzweil Predicts

Imagine being smart enough that you not only have your own wikipedia page, but your predictions on the future have their own wikipedia page. Now that’s the dream. As well as being an author, computer scientist and inventor, Google’s technical director Ray Kurzweil can be considered an optimistic futurist. Handily for a futurist, he’s very […]

by Freddie Stuart

Capitalist Opportunism

So this weekend I decided to visit the grave of Karl Marx. A quick google search told me Karl had passed away in 1883, and his grave was located in Highgate Cemetery in North London. A mere bus ride later I was confronted with this site: “There are no depths of irony, or bad taste, […]

by Freddie Stuart

Ignorance is Bliss

I spotted this photo in a newspaper this week and had to post about it. It depicts a diver in the fjord of Kaldfjord near Tromsø in the Arctic Circle, blissfully unaware of the presence of two killer whales who have come up for air behind him. The phrase ‘ignorance is bliss’ was coined in Thomas […]

by Freddie Stuart

The Universal Theory of Justice

Cosmopolitanism and its theory of universal justice are motivated by three distinct principles: A commitment to the moral belief that our obligations to distant others are of no lesser priority than those to our compatriots. A belief that global problems require global political strategies. An understanding that the boundaries of the modern nation-state are arbitrary, […]

by Freddie Stuart

Quality and Priority

In every walk of life it is important to complete tasks to a high standard, but it is equally important to complete the right tasks. Similarly, it is important to use both of these measures to critique aspects of life on both the macro and the micro scale. In journalism for instance, it is important […]

by Freddie Stuart

Ulysses

Come, my friends, ‘T is not too late to seek a newer world. Push off, and sitting well in order smite The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths Of all the western stars, until I die. It may be that the gulfs will wash us down: It […]