Education
Interview about ESPN Report on the FSU Academic Scandal
A while back, I did a brief interview for a blog article examining ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” report on the Florida State athletic department’s academic scandal; since I was both a former player (albeit briefly) and a former tutor in the athletic department, I was able to see both sides of the academic support... »
Intellectual Flexibility and Resistance to Unorthodox Ideas in Football, Life, and Religion
Chuck Klosterman has a fantastic article up on ESPN.com. He’s not correct on all the football details (such as referring to former top-ranked prep QB and #1 draft pick Tim Couch as an “ungifted quarterback”), but the article is fabulous. Klosterman shows how “liberal” the game of American football actually is, with its radical... »
“Blank Slates” and Poor English Equal Bad Translation
Joel Hoffman has just observed that he thinks many people prefer the “blank slate” that comes from incoherent translation because it allows them to see whatever they choose in the passage. That is, they can get whatever “feel” they want from it, without having things like the actual meaning getting in their way. I’ve been... »
Reading the Bible On Its Own Terms
John Hobbins over at Ancient Hebrew Poetry has put up an outstanding post on reading the Bible, gracefully making a point I’ve emphasized for years: Claims about the Bible work best if you take the time to actually read its contents with the empathy one reserves for any potential friend whose acquaintance you have not... »