I thought everyone should see this video in that it represents how someone completely insane can write a book (although after watching the interview, she’s so slow that it seems like she didn’t even write her own book).  I think it’s ironic that she says that she’s pro-life, but is actually making a case for pro-choice… in that abortion might have prevented her from ever being born.  Zing.  (sorry that was a real low blow… I deserve to be slapped).

Suppose you buy a nice condo, and a terrorist magnet moves in next door? Even worse, the government places her next to you because you live in a secure, gated community. Do you have any recourse to this? Does the safety of your family or value of your property make you think about this, or do you accept the risk based on a strong, principled stand?

I found the immigration story of Ayaan Hirsi Ali compelling because even as a recepient of the generous immigration policy of the Netherlands, she supports limiting free immigration.

After becoming controversial in Holland, she had her citizenship revoked (maybe temporarily) and was offered a job with the American Enterprise Institute in DC. So I expect that we’ll be hearing more from her from the conservative forums of the US.

There were favorable stories in the WSJ and Salon demonstrating her wide appeal among both the liberals and conservatives, but fundamentally for the sake of discussion:

The Da Vinci Code Movie, which should be in theatres soon, has sparked a lot of controversy. This is because in the story, it says that Jesus and Mary Magdalene had children together, and that Jesus still has heirs alive today.

The Catholic Church has been going crazy, in particular, about this movie. I have already heard multiple Catholic priests on the radio during commercials talking about how absurd the Da Vinci Code is.

This is going way too far. Dan Brown writes that the Da Vinci Code is FICTION, not fact. If Dan Brown wanted to attack the Catholic church, he would not have wrote that his book was simply fictional. James and the Giant Peach was a great, fictional book too. However, it defied the laws of gravity. Does this mean that physicists should call for it to be banned from theatres?

Censorship is a dirty thing. When I was in high school, I was a member of the Freedom to Read Club, and we fought against a group called PABBIS (Parents Against Bad Books in Schools) who wanted everything banned from books about sexual education to Where’s Waldo (no joke!). Asking that this movie be censored, especially considering that it is openly a FICTIONAL STORY, is ridiculous.

Have you ever tried connecting two seemingly unrelated concepts, such as slices of pizza eaten and the grade you will receive on a test the next day?  If so, you should read Freakonomics, written by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner.

Although Levitt seems a little conceited (every chapter is prefaced by a line from a New York Times magazine article about how Levitt is so amazing), his writing is very down to earth and easy to read.  If you’re afraid of economics, this book won’t scare you away, I promise, there is very little in-depth econ involved.

The most controversial part of the book is the discussion of abortion and crime.  Levitt hypothesizes that the legalization of abortion led to a huge decrease in the crime rate.  He compares the US before and after Roe v. Wade, and finds that about 20 years after, crime dropped substantially.  Clearly this is not enough to prove anything, so Levitt goes further and uses all sorts of interesting facts that point towards supporting his hypothesis.

If you’re going to read the book, you’re going to have to put any strong moral ideas you might have on the shelf for a while, and just try to read objectively.  But trust me, it is totally worth reading.

Many people seem to have the idea that just because someone has a certain characteristic, they will be a certain “type” of person. This is not true. I am here to point out some common misconceptions. This list will probably get more controversial as it progresses. A lot of these have to do with college related stuff, so forgive me if you are not in or recently graduated or about to enter undergraduate studies.

Just because you have a high GPA doesn’t mean you’re smart.
The same goes for SAT scores, LSAT scores, MCAT scores, etcetera. Smart doesn’t mean you test well. Smart means you can use your brain to the best of its ability. I know plenty of people who are pretty darned smart yet don’t quite test well so their GPAs don’t necessarily reflect their intelligence. I also know plenty of people who test really well and couldn’t reason their way out of a paper bag. In conclusion, smart is a very subjective term.