October 2008
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The American Election
This remains the best source I’ve found on the upcoming elections, which are obviously of considerable importance for humanity at large. We don’t know, of course, what malfeasance the Republicans will engage in at the last minute, but, at this point, it seems like there should be a Democratic sweep. Political philosopher Chris Bertram (Bristol)…
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Advice to North Carolina Readers: It’s OK to Vote Hagan for Senate
She’s a Godless American, notwithstanding being an elder in the Presbyterian Church. Now if we could just clarify whether Obama really is the Antichrist, I could support him with enthusiasm too. UPDATE: Meanwhile, in another bastion of enlightenment, Texas, nearly 1 in 4 voters thinks Obama is a Muslim, and gun sales are also up…
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More Thoughts on Grades and Gradations
A senior scholar who has taught at a large number of top law schools writes: USC's grading system was the best (when I was there, is it still in use?). Lots of grades is a lot better than just a few. Don't know why people don't see this. If the grades you have are A,…
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“Zombie Science” in Texas Marches On!
Details here.
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Switching to the Yale “No Meaningful Grades” System is Likely to Hurt the Best Students
There is an elite cadre of super-selective high-end law firms (generally litigation boutiques), whose hiring standards are so high that the top of the associate class at many leading law firms wouldn't make the cut! Think of Kellogg Huber in DC, Susman Godfrey in Houston, Bartlit Beck in Chicago, Keker & Van Nest in San Francisco, among others. A…
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Blog Traffic Rankings, Again…and Anyone Want to Buy This Blog?
Blog Emperor Caron once again updates his rankings of blogs by traffic. He leaves out a rather interesting statistic, namely, average visit length, where there is huge variation, ranging from (in minutes and seconds) 1:40 on my philosophy blog, 1:35 here on the law blog, to :02 at Instapundit, :22 at the Volokh blog, and…
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Princeton University Press Blog
Here. So far nothing from any of their philosophy authors, but a number of items that are likely to be of general interest.
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“Boiled Nonsense” for Lunch
Here. Maybe they’re serving Derrida or Ayn Rand? (Thanks to Matt Burstein for the pointer.)
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More Thoughts on Grading Systems: The Berkeley Approach
My former colleague Mark Gergen (now at Berkeley) writes a propos our recent post on the Yale 'no grade' system which some other schools appear to be adopting: Your posting on the Harvard and Stanford grading systems got me thinking. Berkeley has long had a P/H/HH system. I gather 60% of the class gets P, 30%…
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Never Underestimate the Stupidity of the American Electorate!
This is amusing (it would be even more so if it concerned some other country!): How did politics in the US come to be dominated by people who make a virtue out of ignorance? Was it charity that has permitted mankind’s closest living relative to spend two terms as president? How did Sarah Palin, Dan…
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Intellectual Property On-Line (and with CLE Credit to Boot!)
Douglas Lichtman (UCLA) writes regarding a new project, the Intellectual Property Colloqium: It is essentially an online audio program devoted to intellectual property topics. We aspire to be something like an NPR talk show, but focused on copyrights and patents, and aimed primarily at a legal audience. The programs are neither lectures nor debates. They are conversations,…
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What Planet is Steve Calabresi (Northwestern) On?
Brian Tamanaha (St. John's) is wondering, and so perhaps is anyone who read this article in the NY Times.
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In Memoriam: C.B. Martin (1924-2008)
At the time of his death, Professor Martin was an emeritus professor at the University of Calgary. The Calgary memorial notice is here. UPDATE: An informative obituary by Paul Snowdon (UCL) here. (Thanks to Stephan Blatti for the pointer.)
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Life is peachy…
…if you’re Nietzsche.
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Thinking About Graduate School in Philosophy?
David Brink (UC San Diego) has posted some quite sensible advice on-line that covers the main issues for a prospective grad student. UPDATE: A graduate student writes: One thing I noticed is that Brink claims that having a Ph.D. is necessary for full-time employment at a Community College. While I do not personally know anyone…
I don’t think it’s that the philosophical debates will become irrelevant in your example, so much that your example demonstrates…