By: Michael Hansen on February 13, 2025
My grandparents gave me a Coleco Electronic Quarterback Handheld Game for Christmas 1978. Outside of an N-gauge electric train kit and later an Apple 2E computer, it was probably one of the only digital games I owned as a kid. Playing it was exhilarating; sometimes, I couldn’t put the game down. At night, I would…
By: Daren Jaime on February 13, 2025
Growing up in New York, I can strongly remember my 5th-grade Social Studies and American History teacher. His awkward demeanor always stood out to the class. Adorned frequently in hippy-ish dress and with an unforgettable voice, he constantly reminded our class that America was not always America. This admonishment was to bring to light the…
By: Mika Harry on February 13, 2025
Forget lions, tigers, and bears. The danger looming for today’s society is more from the pervasive influence of fear, ignorance, and depression. This week’s articles discussed how the rapid advancement of AI and the ever-present nature of social media have profoundly exacerbated societal disconnection, distrust, and injustice. The articles highlight that while the internet and…
By: Jeremiah Gómez on February 13, 2025
What comes to mind when you complete the phrase, “Knowledge is ___________”? When I ask this question as part of an exercise in a leadership workshop, the answer that most people share is power. Though not likely what Francis Bacon intended when he committed the phrase to paper[1], many take “knowledge is power” to mean…
By: Betsy on February 13, 2025
I was walking through a mall in Oxford to grab a coffee when I saw a crowd of mums with buggies all drinking the same brand of coffee I was pursuing. All the babies were around nine to eighteen months, and their little hands each clutched a screen. Research has confirmed our gut instinct that…
By: Joel Zantingh on February 13, 2025
Part of a Colonial Story I am part of a complicated colonial story. As the son of Dutch immigrants, I have come to both celebrate the good of my ancestral and spiritual heritage, and lament over some of the history of my nation, and that of my Dutch ancestors in relation to the treatment of…
By: Darren Banek on February 13, 2025
The Coca-Cola Company had a branding disaster in the late 1980s with “New Coke.” Initially introduced in the marketplace in 1985 as a substitute for Coca-Cola, it was not gaining the traction the firm hoped for. It could be argued that it was a disastrous rollout followed by a significant rejection from the marketplace.…
By: Ivan Ostrovsky on February 13, 2025
Smash the Technopoly! Who knew that around 50% wish cell phones had never been invented. McLuhan asserts, “Each technology conveys an implicit message that transforms us, instills new desires, and fosters fresh feelings of possibility.” [1] I like the example of samurais and their use of swords. This example helps us understand how a tool…
By: Elysse Burns on February 13, 2025
Pre-Furedi Reflections on Colonialism Colonialism is fundamentally about superiority—asserting dominance through economic control, political influence, and cultural imposition. During the Cold War, for instance, the West sought to block communism’s spread in Africa, using financial and diplomatic leverage to secure allies. Beyond material exploitation, colonialism reinforced a hierarchy in which Western powers—armed with resources, technology,…
By: Graham English on February 13, 2025
What Do I Currently Believe About Colonialism? In reflecting upon this question, I have considered whether my age influences my perspectives on colonialism. I am keen to understand the viewpoints of younger generations on this matter. If colonialism is loosely understood as the invasion and settlement of one nation over another, accompanied by the domination…
By: Diane Tuttle on February 13, 2025
What I believe about Colonialism: When I think of colonialism I think of one country increasing their land mass by settling their citizens on land that is owned by others with the goal of owning it. Colonialism has been going on for thousands of years such as the Roman Empire conquering much of the known…
By: Robert Radcliff on February 13, 2025
I’ve been familiar with Jonathan Haidt for the last couple of years. I subscribe to his Substack, After Babel, and have read his most recent book, Anxious Generation. Today, I want to share what I’ve learned from this week’s articles and create an idea that is not new. I want to understand people who ‘find…
By: Alex Mwaura on February 13, 2025
According to an article on Stanford Medicine, Dopamine, the main chemical involved in addiction, is secreted from certain nerve tracts in the brain when we engage in a rewarding experience such as finding food, clothing, shelter, or a sexual mate. Nature designed our brains to feel pleasure when these experiences happen because they increase our…
By: Rich on February 12, 2025
James Madison wrote about the dangers of faction—a group passionately united for one cause at the expense of the rights of other citizens—and the ability for the Union to control this threat.[1] Madison felt that the size of the nation would prohibit widespread faction. “The influence of factious leaders may kindle a flame within their…
By: Jess Bashioum on February 12, 2025
An article pops up in my NEWS feed about the ails of AI or I overhear concerned parents talking about how to limit their child’s phone use and it takes everything in me to not roll my eyes. I have a visceral overreaction that causes me to snark under my breath, “this technology is here…
By: Ryan Thorson on February 12, 2025
I can remember playing “The Oregon Trail game” from a very early age. Growing up in the Northwest of America, we could travel to places where the ruts were still visible from the thousands of people who came west looking for land and opportunity. While I knew that there were Native Americans here, my young…
By: Joff Williams on February 12, 2025
After reading through this past week’s material, I wonder what it means to have a ‘digital community’–something many have now accepted as a given reality for those interacting online for work and play. Do these words overlap sufficiently to be relevant to one another, or are they too different? What are the costs and benefits…
By: Jennifer Eckert on February 12, 2025
Thoughts on Colonialism I was born and raised in Oklahoma, otherwise known as “No Man’s Land.” However, that label was a misnomer because American Indians lived upon this rich soil for centuries before white settlers arrived in the early 1800s. Even more settlers came during the 1830s when the Trail of Tears occurred, which forced…
By: Shela Sullivan on February 11, 2025
Introduction The War Against the Past: Why the West Must Fight for Its History, by Frank Furedi argues that there’s a growing trend to criticize and discredit Western history and culture.[1] Furedi believes that this trend, driven by modern political agendas, is harmful because it makes people, especially young people, feel ashamed of their history…
By: Debbie Owen on February 11, 2025
Before reading The War Against the Past by Frank Furedi, my understanding of colonialism was a mix of personal experience and general knowledge. On the one hand, I had an overwhelmingly positive experience of participating in historical reenactments with my family. For about ten years, while our children grew up, our family was involved in…
