Flânerie: The Art of Aimless Strolling

Strolling aimlessly – instead of having set routes and set sites to see – is something I’ve always enjoyed doing, especially in big or new cities. I discovered that there was a French term for this aimless wandering, considered to be a kind of art. And that’s flânerie, while the person who engages in this…

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Hipster Intellectualism: When the Obscure Feeds the Ego

Making a selective effort to seek out the most obscure ideas, theories, thinkers, and books is, on the one hand, a sign of intellectual hunger. But a kind of ego-stroking tendency can suffuse this seeking too; the more obscure the material, the more self-satisfying it can feel to find it and tell others about it.…

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The Art of Rhetoric: How Articulate People Get Away With Making Bad Arguments

There are innumerable ways to persuade others of an argument or point of view that don’t rely on solid reasoning and logic but instead employ persuasion tactics, either wittingly or unwittingly. This is rhetoric: the art of persuasion. Many arguments can have the appearance of being correct, but under scrutiny, the flaws start to appear.…

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On Masculinity and Male Bonding

Being able to form strong bonds with other men is often essential to protecting a man’s well-being. The problem, however, is that a lot of men struggle to form deep, emotional, and meaningful connections with men in their lives, including those people they love or care about the most, such as their father or good…

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Book Review: Jews Don’t Count by David Baddiel

In his short polemic, Jews Don’t Count, the writer and comedian David Baddiel argues that progressives have left out one identity in their commitment to anti-racism and identity politics. As will be obvious: this group is the Jewish people. Here Baddiel makes the case – with incisiveness, nuance, and even-handedness (in my opinion) – for…

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